Going Like Sixty

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Oct 2006

goinglikesixty.com

Mark Van Patten is Going Like Sixty.

I'm baby boomer man who turned 60 in late 2007. Boomer born in 1947 for search engine optimization. I retired from the newspaper business July 1, 2011.

Contact me: goinglikesixty(at)gmail(dork)com or @goinglike60. Facebook? Friends and family plan only, you can friend me and depending on my mood, I may take you into my inner-circle. We have a club-card and secret handshake, but no dues.

What is unique that's not in your bio?

I still have lots of hair. On my head.

What's your favorite accomplishment?

Uncle Milton's trust fund.

How do you define cool?

Anything Bianca writes is cool. Anything Jeremy wears is cool. Anything Marissa does is cool. Trend Hunter is cool. Therefore, I am cool. Next question?

What is your secret to uncovering trends?

RSS feeds. I use Google Feed Reader which allows feeds to be sorted into folders. I can filter the feeds into different folders and prioritize how and when I read the feeds. I use the keyboard short cut to buzz through the feeds very quickly. Because of this I hate truncated RSS feeds. I still have a few in my reader, but only because they have proved themselves to be valuable resources. I subscribe to a handful email blasts from good sources.

What do you enjoy most about Trend Hunter?

Being able to be conversational about a huge variety of topics. Often I will find myself holding back just a little because someone is excited that they made a "discovery" that had been covered by Trend Hunter a week before. At my age, it can be a challenge to keep up, but Trend Hunter keeps me ahead.

What is your favorite trend?

Luxury. Cars, yachts, architecture, real or conceptual.

What are your tips for writing a juicy post?

Keywords. Sometimes it's awkward to get a keyword in the post as often as Google likes. But keywords can grab monumental traffic if used properly. Jeremy and Bianca taught me that the right keyword used throughout a post is worth the effort. Otherwise, I just go with whatever impressions I have first. I think if I analyzed my posts, I probably have three forms: Conversational; write like you are telling someone what you just found. Factual; straight up about the trend and it's impact. Off-the-wall whacky: sometimes you just get feeling goofy and it's fun to write a post that reflects your feelings at the time.

How do you reset to be creative?

I write more. I have five blogs and I love to comment on other blogs and participate on the Trend Hunter Wall. I read more. Looking at other writing styles is a good kick start. As a last resort, I eat M & M's in their intended order: Red, Yellow, Orange, Brown, Green and Blue.

What inspires or excites you?

Inside information. And... Going Like Sixty

Predict something awesome for 2020?

Favorable: Most televisions are gone, replaced by Pico projectors in phones that are mass market affordable. Unfavorable: Digital divide will have widened because of government interference.