#18 - The Zoomer Philosophy with Moses Znaimer

KWL Director Mark Lefebvre interviews Moses Znaimer, co-founder and former head of CityTV, the first independent television station in Toronto, Canada, the current head of ZoomerMedia (Zoomer Magazine) and the author of The Zoomer Philosophy.

Mark and Moses discuss:

•          How Moses rarely stops to look back because he is always on to looking at the next thing that he is working on
•           The Zoomer Philosophy (his book) and the definition of what a Zoomer is
•           How the Zoomer Philosophy fits in with the idea of living longer and better lives
•           How the words old, senior, elder and mature provide discomfort and make people squirm
•           Znaimer’s examination, through his essays at how Boomers, who sang songs like The Who’s “My Generation” with lyrics like “I hope I die before I get old” have suddenly found themselves at the age they originally mistrusted
•           How the first group of people who coined the phrase “don’t trust anybody over 30” are now 60 years old
•           How The Zoomer Philosophy was inspired by Hugh Hefner’s The Playboy Philosophy
•           The serialization of The Zoomer Philosophy in the print magazine and in eBook format and how Moses is likely to continue writing the serialized essays until he dies
•           Demolishing that old “women of a certain age” stereotype
•           The appeal that long-standing celebrities who are “of a certain age” in their mastery of the professions they hold and the confidence they exude
•           The concept that what was important about the Boomers is NOT that they were young but that they were the largest generation ever made
•           The stat that 1000 Canadians turn 65 every day and will continue to do so for the next 20 years (that number is 10 times as large in the US)
•           The way that the print articles from the magazine endure and how digital helps bring them back into focus for some readers (by collecting them together in a single, easy to consume delivery system)
•           The challenge of trying to find a type of media that Moses hasn’t already been involved in
•           How Moses draws inspiration daily from the environment around him
•           Advice to writers on how it’s not the mechanics of the medium that makes the difference
•           How you don’t learn broadcasting from going to broadcasting school, and the importance of living a life the best you can so that you end up with the type of life that gives you something to say
•           The importance of accumulating a wide variety of life experience (reading or traveling – preferably both)

Mark then compares The Zoomer Philosophy to the fact that eBooks are also in their mid-forties and reflects on how we are still at the cusp of the eBook revolution. He applies these thoughts to the concept of writing and publishing being a long-term game.