Consumer >> CEO Interviews >> August 4, 1999
MARY S. FURLONG, Ed.D CEO and Founder of ThirdAge Media. Dr. Furlong, is
the leading authority on the baby boom generation as it moves toward and
beyond 50. ThirdAge Media a full-ranged media company serving the more
than 70 million boomers entering this new and exciting life phase. As
the visionary behind ThirdAge Media, Dr. Furlong created one of the
first virtual communities on the Web, visited daily by more than one-
half million subscribers. Called ThirdAgers, this generational grouping
looks to Dr. Furlong for perspective in the areas of importance to them:
sex and intimacy, health and spirituality, finance, personal growth and
adventure. Dr. Furlong holds a presidential appointment to the National
Commission on Libraries and Information Sciences and provides counsel to
the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Aging. In 1996,
New Choices magazine awarded Furlong, along with Jimmy Carter and Lena
Horne, the coveted 'New Choices Award' for her commitment to the aging
community. Upside magazine named Furlong one of its 'Elite 100' and
Interactive Age deemed her one of the 'Twenty-Five Unsung Heroes on the
Web.' At this October's AdTech Conference Dr. Furlong received a
Momentum Award recognizing her achievements in her role as C.E.O. Dr.
Furlong makes regular press appearances and has been a guest on programs
including the Today Show, CNN and National Public Radio. Additionally,
Dr. Furlong and her work has been the focus of numerous articles
appearing in publications such as the New York Times, USA Today, People,
Fast Company, AdWeek and the San Francisco Chronicle. Also a respected
author, she writes a nationally-syndicated column 'Web for Grown-Ups'
and has published several books including: Grown-Ups Guide to Computing;
Computers for Kids Over Sixty; Young@Heart Computing with Seniors; and
We Teach with Technology. Her next book is due to publish in February,
1999. Furlong speaks regularly at national and international
conferences on topics ranging from 'Technology and Aging' to 'Community
Building in Cyberspace.' Dr. Furlong began her career as an educator at
Catholic University. She soon founded the Center for Instruction and
Technology and developed the model for a Masters of Arts program in
Educational Computing. In 1986, armed with a few Commodore computers and
the fervent desire to teach seniors how to use computers, Dr. Furlong
founded the non-profit SeniorNet and served as its executive director
for the next ten years. Today SeniorNet consists of over 140 computer
learning centers nationwide. Furlong still retains strong ties to
academia. She is currently on sabbatical from the University of San
Francisco where she is a professor of education and technology. Like
many ThirdAgers, Dr. Furlong has celebrated her fiftieth birthday and
recently sent her eldest child off to college. When not surfing the Web,
she enjoys travel, tennis and spending time with her husband and two
sons in Lafayette, California. Profile
ThirdAge Media?
Dr. Furlong: ThirdAge Media is the leading life stage portal for people
45 to 64. We offer community,
