NEWS FROM: Thursday 31 March, 2011
Youth Culture Study Reveals Significant Changes in Market Trends and Opportunities - PR Web
Fresh research from Label Networks’ 11th Spring Youth Culture Study reveals key findings that leave little doubt that a new generation has come into their own, creating a fresh set of trends within the American youth landscape in spending patterns, use of social media, communication patterns, and changes in brand preferences in fashion, footwear, music, sports, and relevant lifestyle associations.
Social Segmentation Key For Brands Reaching Consumers - MediaPost
As the father of a teenage daughter, there are a few things that I know for sure: Teen girls love to shop, always have their phones (quickly becoming smart devices), and are all extremely active on Facebook. A few more things to consider: Facebook’s growth will only continue; the proliferation of smart-mobile devices will explode in the next few years; and teens will still gather and meet to shop. Yes, as in real brick-and-mortar stores. That should make all brands who market to teen girls smile with possibilities.
Lady Gaga To Be V Magazine Columnist – MTV
Pop star, entrepreneur, philanthropist: Is there anything Lady Gaga doesn’t find the time to do? Well, it seems that she’s made room in her schedule to add a new job to her ever-growing résumé. Gaga just announced she will have a column in V magazine. “I begin next month as a Fashion+Art Columnist for @VMagazine,” she tweeted. In an e-mail to MTV News, the magazine revealed that her first column, in which Gaga “will be gracing us with the presence of her pen [as] she weighs in on all things fashion throughout her multiverse,” will appear in the summer issue of V, out on May 12. And she’s even letting her little monsters get in on the fun.
Sorry mom, kids rack up huge bills with in-app game purchases - TG Daily
When you’re deeply entrenched in a game, sometimes it seems like there is a fine line between the virtual world and reality. And with the advent of virtual currency where gamers can buy virtual goods with real-life money, the line seems that much more blurry. With in-app purchasing become more frequent, parents are becoming aware of the new trend in gaming the hard way as their kids rack up huge bills gaming.
The BlackBerry maker has found devoted followers in text-messaging teenagers – Macleans.ca
It’s a balmy March afternoon in Toronto and Emma Brun-Hayne is lounging with two friends in Yonge-Dundas Square, the city’s ad-plastered shrine to commercialism. She talks loudly over the din of a nearby street performer’s drum solo while her turquoise-coloured fingernail traces the touchscreen of her new BlackBerry Torch smartphone, in constant search of updates from friends. While teenagers are known for their dramatics, one can’t help but take Brun-Hayne, 19, at her word when she professes her love for the wireless device. “Without my BlackBerry,” she says, “my life would be over.”
Special Age, Special Doctor - WSJ
No longer children and not quite adults, teens face a combustible mix of physical and mental-health issues that can set the stage for long-term problems in adulthood, ranging from obesity and chronic disease to substance abuse and depression. Only about 650 doctors nationwide, a tiny fraction of the total number, are board certified in adolescent medicine. Now, government agencies and medical associations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, are developing programs to train primary-care doctors to more effectively treat adolescents. Doctors are changing how they talk with their teen patients and coming up with phrasing that they think encourages teens to discuss feelings.
GoLiveCampus.com Gives Schools Safe Access to YouTube Content – Social Times
For parents or teachers, YouTube and other social networking sites can be a double-edged sword. Though they are rich with educational content, they also contain explicit videos, inappropriate comments and ads. But now, there is a way for users to safely access educational content on YouTube and Web 2.0. They can use a filtering program called GoLiveCampus.com by iBoss Web Filters.
Skype In The Classroom: An International Social Network For Teachers [VIDEO] – Barking Robot
image from tctechcrunch.files.wordpress.com Skype realizes full well its software is used by many school teachers and students from around the globe, and today announced that it has built a dedicated social network to help them connect, collaborate and exchange knowledge and teaching resources over the Web.
The Cloud Will Be Your Hard Drive, Despite The Record Labels’ Greed – TechCrunch
Amazon’s move into the cloud music storage and streaming game is nothing if not controversial. I love it. They’ve seemingly looked at what companies like Apple and Google have been dealing with for months, if not years, and just said “screw it, let’s just do it.”
The Cloud That Rains Music – NY Times
For years now, the most popular music system — Apple’s — has worked like this. You buy song files from the iTunes store. They download to your computer. If you want to listen to them on the road, you connect your iPod or iPhone to that computer and copy the files to it.
Google Releases In-App Purchasing for Android – Mashable
Google has released in-app billing for Android, finally giving mobile developers a much-needed source of revenue for their apps. In-app billing gives developers another way to monetize their Android apps. iOS has had in-app purchasing since June 2009, helping app developers generate millions from virtual goods, in-game upgrades, content purchases and more. Like Apple, Google will take a 30% cut from all in-app purchases.
NEWS FROM: Wednesday 30 March, 2011
Are You M-Ready? - Fast Company
Unless you compete in a market that specifically targets youth, you probably don’t spend a lot of time thinking about the emergence of the so-called Millennial Generation in America today. And if you don’t spend a lot of time thinking about Millennials, it may come as a surprise to you that at 100 million strong they are the single largest generational cohort in American history, dwarfing their predecessors Generation X, and even out-sizing that most famous of all generational behemoths, The Baby Boomers.
Gen Y Not Slackers, Just Slow Starters – FOX News
Generation Y is often thought of as a slacker group of young adults who have failed to launch, delaying real careers and families until later in life. But new research suggests their heavy dependence on Mom and Dad might ultimately prepare them to be successful adults. Specifically, the study found this generation of “emerging adults” turns to parental support in times of difficultly and as a way to advance their careers in a job market geared toward the highly educated, though most are weaned from such support by their early 30s.
Global Youth: What Does It Mean To Be Young In China? [VIDEO] – Barking Robot
We All Want To Be Young in China from enovate on Vimeo. We all want to be young. But what’s it like being one of 300 million youth in China? ‘We All Want To Be Young in China’ was made in response to the popular youth culture video ‘We All Want To Be Young’, released last year. It’s an inspirational, 3-minute crash course on the most important consumer in the world today: the Chinese youth. Created by enovate, China’s leading youth insights company
Sesame Street’s virtual bookshelf hits the iPad – kidscreen
iPad-toting youngsters now have access to more than 150 Sesame Street eBooks through the Sesame Street eBookstore iPad app. The app allows users to connect to Sesame Street’s own eBookstore to preview content, browse its bookshelf and download all or select books directly to the iPad. The eBookstore is run and managed by New York City-based digital publisher Impelsys and features a collection of titles that cover 19 subject areas including letters, numbers, counting, colors and cultural appreciation. Popular eBook titles include Elmo’s ABC Book, Abby in Wonderland, and Grover’s Guide to Good Eating.
Young Lions Fiction Award Finalists: Free Samples – GalleyCat
Today the New York Public Library revealed the finalists for the 2011 Young Lions Fiction Award. We’ve created another literary mixtape linking to free samples of all the nominated novels. Here’s more about the annual prize: “The award honors the works of young authors carving deep first impressions in the literary world. The winning writer will be awarded a $10,000 prize on May 9, 2011 at a ceremony hosted by actor Ethan Hawke held in the Celeste Bartos Forum of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street.”
New York University Comes To Shanghai – PSFK
NYU Shanghai will be an entity operated by both NYU’s administration and China’s Shanghai-based East China Normal University (ECNU). The venture represents a trend that we have seen in the Arabian Gulf, where American and European educational institutions are brought in to elevate educational standards, and be paid handsomely for it.
New online magazine for Vietnamese youths – VOV News
The online Vietnamese young people’s magazine www.thanhnienviet.vn was launched in Hanoi on March 30 as a portal of information for communist youth members and young people across the country. Its editor-in-chief, Le Van Cau, said the e-magazine aims to provide information on the Party’s policies and State’s laws as well as on activities of the communist youth league, students association and young pioneers unit among others.
Perez Hilton To Publish Children’s Book – GalleyCat
Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton has inked a book deal with Celebra Children’s Books (in partnership with Penguin Young Readers Group) to publish a children’s book: The Boy with Pink Hair. In his book, Hilton (pictured, via) “celebrates individuality and self-acceptance.” Celebra Children’s Books publisher Raymond Garcia acquired the book and Dutton Books for Young Readers associate publisher Steven Meltzer will edit. Publication is set for September with an initial print run of 75,000 copies.
Teenagers’ Favorite Dirty Words – Flavorwire
Kids today! Who can tell what they’re saying, right Grandma? In fact, Andrew Sullivan points us to these fascinating tables from Trends in Teenage Talk that suggest teens are cursing the same way they have for decades. (Spoiler: they sure love to drop the “F-bomb.”) While there does seem to be some lighthearted concern about the diminishing use of “bollocks” in the UK, we’re just happy the “C word” and various racist slurs aren’t making a comeback.
New Teen Wolf Much Darker than Original – People Magazine
High school werewolves have come a long way since Michael J. Fox in 1985. Judging by the just-released trailer, MTV’s upcoming series Teen Wolf will be much darker and more intense – into the realm of horror romance – than the campy ’80s comedy that was its inspiration. The series, clearly influenced by the Twilight films, stars Tyler Posey as Scott McCall, a shape-shifting teen who falls for the mysterious new girl in town, Allison, played by Crystal Reed. But his tendency to morph into a ferocious beast gets in the way of romance, to say the least.
NEWS FROM: Tuesday 29 March, 2011
Death rates ‘higher’ among young adults than children – BBC
Premature deaths are now more likely to occur in adolescence and early adulthood than in childhood, a new global report claims. The study in The Lancet looked at data from 50 countries – rich, middle-income and poor – over 50 years. It found that while mortality had fallen overall, rates were now relatively higher in teenagers and young adults, than in young children. Violence, suicide and road accidents are being blamed.
Why Social Networking Might Alleviate Bullying – Slate
Another day, another story on the supposed dangers of social networking, especially for young people. This one is on “Facebook depression.” The American Academy of Pediatrics is now urging parents to be mindful of cyberbullying and says the endless stream of grinning pictures and “OMG my life is so awesome!” status updates could harm young people suffering from low self-esteem. But my usual skeptical stance with regard to any story that implies social networking changes human nature was not budged a bit by this one. On the contrary, I think that social networking may in fact be providing new information that could help kids who suffer because they are shunned and bullied in school.
A Teen Speaks: Real Friends Versus Facebook Friends – Social Times
Friend: it’s a term flung around loosely in this day and age, especially among teenagers. Just like love and hate, and several obscene names that were once considered extremely offensive. All it takes is one walk down the school corridor to know that terms such as these, ones that my parents and the generation before us felt held strong meanings, now have no such power. “You know you love me”, “Oh, I hate you” and “that’s it, we are so not friends” are all commonly used phrases among today’s youth and while many adults stand in shock at such comments, they are all simply casual statements with no true meaning.
Abercrombie is Pushing Push-Up Bikinis For 7-Year Old Girls – Racked
Topping the list of things pre-pubescent children probably don’t need in their lives is: To be ogled and treated as sexual objects. No brainer, right? Welp, looks like the powers that be at Abercrombie & Fitch didn’t get the memo. Say hello to the company’s children’s swimwear line, which prominently features a range of “Push-Up Triangle” bikini tops for girls as young as seven. But wait, isn’t this the same company that was roundly criticized in 2002 for selling a line of thongs for 7-year olds decorated with the words “Eye Candy” and “Wink Wink”? Looks like Abercrombie didn’t learn their lesson.
How Publishers Can Attract Young Boy Readers – GalleyCat
Although it’s difficult to get any child to read, the boys’ market particularly challenges publishers. According to The Washington Post, girls are more willing to try a broad range of genres while boys tend to be more picky.
More Warner Bros Movie Rentals On Facebook: ‘Harry Potter’ & ‘Inception’ – Deadline Hollywood
arner Bros. Digital Distribution (WBDD), a market leader in video-on-demand and electronic sell-through, announced it will expand its test offering of movies for rental through Warner Bros. Entertainment’s Facebook Movie Pages. Starting today at 10:00 pm Pacific Time / 1:00 am Eastern Time, consumers will be able to rent five additional titles directly through each film’s official Facebook Page using Facebook Credits.
‘I Have Sex’: The Pro-Sex Video From America’s Youth – PSFK
Students of Wesleyan University have created a short clip which acknowledges that American youth do indeed have sex, in protest of the budget cuts targeting Planned Parenthood. Believing the US’s leading sexual and reproductive health care provider has been “unfairly characterized as a source of abortion services,” the group wish to highlight the sexual health advocate’s many benefits to the nation’s youth namely: affordable forms of birth control and contraceptives, sex-ed programs, free cancer screenings, pap smears, gynecological exams, free STI and STD testing and other crucial health services.
Three in four students worry they will be unemployed – The Telegraph
Three out of four students worry they will be out of work when they graduate this year as youth unemployment reaches another record high, new research has revealed. More than 40pc of undergraduates also fear their degree has no relevance to the world of the work, making it harder for them to make their first mark on the career ladder, a survey by PathMotion has found.
Woah! Alarming News About Teen Ecstasy Use – JSYK
We all have been told to not do drugs like our entire lives right? Well, apparently some people aren’t listening. A new federal study has shown that more teens are using a very dangerous, man-made drug called ecstasy. The study was conducted after more and more teens began getting admitted to emergency rooms due to complications after taking the deadly drug.
Lindsay Lohan plans to drop last name to be identified only by her single moniker, says mom Dina – NY Daily News
Move over, Madonna, and make way for Lindsay. Lindsay Lohan has decided to forgo her surname, the starlet’s mother, Dina, told PopEater.com. “Lindsay is dropping the Lohan and just going by Lindsay,” Dina Lohan said, adding that “me and [Lindsay's sister] Ali will be officially changing our last names back to my maiden name, Sullivan.”
Snoop Dogg Drops New Album on MySpace – Mashable
All 21 tracks of Snoop Dogg‘s latest album, Doggumentary, have just been released on the artist’s MySpace page, two days prior to the album’s official release. The new release features performances from such artists as Willie Nelson, Young Jeezy, R. Kelly, the Gorillaz, John Legend and many others. The album is a conceptual follow-up to Snoop Dogg’s 1993 debut, Doggystyle.
Radiohead Releases Newspaper; Listen To ‘King of Limbs’ Here – Billboard
Radiohead mysteriously described eighth album “The King of Limbs” as the world’s first “newspaper album” before its digital release last month, and fans have finally been given that cryptic newspaper today (Mar. 28). The alt-rock kings have published “The Universal Sigh,” their own newspaper available for free today and tomorrow at various locations worldwide, to celebrate tomorrow’s physical release of “Limbs” in the U.S.
EXCLUSIVE: Go Behind The Scenes Of Willow Smith’s ’21st Century Girl’ – JSYK
If you’re a Willow Smith fan and totally love “Whip My Hair” and/or her new song, “21st Century Girl,” then you have to check out this awesome, new video. The video lets you go behind-the-scenes of her “21st Century Girl,” music video. How adorbs and fierce is she?! Ever since she released “Whip My Hair,” Miss Willow Smith has been on top. She’s co-hosted with Oprah and is now on tour and opening for Justin Bieber.
NEWS FROM: Monday 28 March, 2011
Facebook Test Mines Real-Time Conversations for Ad Targeting – Adage Digital
This month — and for the first time — Facebook started to mine real-time conversations to target ads. The delivery model is being tested by only 1% of Facebook users worldwide. On Facebook, that’s a focus group 6 million people strong. The closest Facebook has come to real-time advertising has been with its most recent ad offering, known as sponsored stories, which repost users’ brand interactions as an ad on the side bar. But for the 6 million users involved in this test, any utterance will become fodder for real-time targeted ads. For example: Users who update their status with “Mmm, I could go for some pizza tonight,” could get an ad or a coupon from Domino’s, Papa John’s or Pizza Hut.
Millennials most likely to view and respond to SMS text ads – BizReport
QR Codes and location-based marketing may well be all the rage, taking advantage of consumers with smartphones, but many marketers continue to use one of the simplest of mobile marketing ad tools – SMS text messaging. New research from GfK MRI shows that despite all the techie gadgetry provided on today’s mobile devices, today’s youngsters still look at text ads and respond to them. In fact, the data shows they do so far more than their elders.
Tweens Hold All the Power: Marketing to America’s Savvy Youth – American Banking News
Brand Marketers are feeling the ground shifting beneath their feet as social media, gaming, mobile, and other trends continue to change the expectations of consumers, especially the youth. If anyone holds the purchasing power in this digital age, it’s them: the kids, teens, and tweens of America. No other demographic is more ‘connected’ online. With the kids holding the power, companies find themselves with the quandary of understanding how to market to this new generation in a way that resonates.
Census Data Presents Rise in Multiracial Population of Youths – NY Times
Among American children, the multiracial population has increased almost 50 percent, to 4.2 million, since 2000, making it the fastest growing youth group in the country. The number of people of all ages who identified themselves as both white and black soared by 134 percent since 2000 to 1.8 million people, according to census data released Thursday. Census 2010 is the first comprehensive accounting of how the multiracial population has changed over 10 years, since statistics were first collected about it in 2000. It has allowed demographers, for the first time, to make comparisons using the mixed-race group — a segment of society whose precise contours and nuances were largely unknown for generations.
YouTube Adds Apps: Make Videos & Animations Without A Camera – Social Times
Making your own YouTube videos is now easier than ever. YouTube has just announced that they have added Xtranormal, Stupeflix and GoAnimate apps to their site, allowing you to easily create and upload animated videos and slide shows, no camera required. The announcement went up last night on the YouTube blog. YouTube software engineer Stanley Wang and product manager Shenaz Zack write, “More than 35 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute, and with the motto of “Broadcast Yourself”, it’s hard to believe that anyone is left out of the YouTube experience. But the truth is, sites like YouTube do largely leave out people who don’t have a video camera.” Not anymore!
Town Relies On Troubled Youth Prison For Profits – npr News
Prisons are filled with stress and violence; without proper supervision they can revert to primitive places. That’s what happened at Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility in Mississippi, an NPR news investigation has determined. As the nation’s largest juvenile prison, Walnut Grove houses 1,200 boys and young men in a sprawling one-story complex ringed by security fences about an hour’s drive east of Jackson. The State of Mississippi pays a private corrections company to run the prison.
Facebook May Trigger Teen Depression: Report – NBC
Is Facebook depressing? It might be for kids. The social site could lead to depression in teens, according to a recent clinical report about the impact of social media from Elk Grove Village-based American Academy of Pediatrics. For some teens, social media is the primary way they interact with friends, says Dr. Gwenn O’Keeffe, co-author of the report. And elements of Facebook make online interaction challenging for those with low self-esteem. Prominent displays of status updates, flattering photos and shots of happy-looking people provide a skewed version of reality and make some teens feel like they don’t measure up.
OMG! Online Abbreviations Make the OED – abc News
OMG! The exclamatory online abbreviation has won the approval of the Oxford English Dictionary. The term — short for “Oh my God” or “Oh my gosh” — is one of dozens of new entries in the authoritative reference book’s latest online update. Other Internet-inspired expressions given the stamp of approval include LOL, “laughing out loud”; IMHO, “in my humble opinion”; and BFF, “best friends forever.”
Lady Gaga Releases Country Version Of ‘Born This Way’ – MTV
You can take all those Madonna comparisons and throw them out the window of your Ford F-150 truck, because on Thursday night Lady Gaga released a new version of her global smash “Born This Way” that featured a totally unexpected spin. After tweeting to her Little Monsters that she was preparing to release “Born This Way (The Country Road Version),” Mother Monster dropped the tune at midnight PT on Friday (March 25) via her Twitter account … and it did not disappoint.
Imbee, HarperCollins and NFFTY Announce National Film Contest – Harper Collins Children
imbee, the kid’s social network, has partnered with The National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY) and HarperCollins Publishers for the imbee FILM CHALLENGE, the first-ever national film contest of its kind. The contest kicks off today and tasks aspiring filmmakers with executing their film vision of select chapters from author Michael Grant’s The Magnificent 12 book series for tweens. imbee partnered with HarperCollins and NFFTY on the FILM CHALLENGE to bring together all of their resources and give young filmmakers the chance to adapt the written word into a film that reflects their personal vision.
Rampant Teenage Sexting Is Tearing America Apart – Jezebel
Morning Gloria — Rampant Teenage Sexting Is Tearing America ApartA naked menace is stalking our fellow countrymen and countrywomen, and especially our countryteens. Across the land, the purple mountains with their majesty and plains unapologetically fruiting, teenage girls are sending boys pictures of their boobs. This is a Giant Problem. An article in yesterday’s New York Times explores a particular case in Washington state involving a young woman named Margarite who sent a naked picture to her boyfriend, who sent it to this other girl, who sent it to everyone, and like a case of crabs in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, soon everyone had it.
NEWS FROM: Friday 25 March, 2011
Amazingly, MySpace’s Decline Is Accelerating – TechCrunch
Between January and February 2011, says Comscore, worldwide unique visitors to MySpace declined by a staggering 14.4% from 73 million visitors to 63 million visitors. It’s about half of the audience they had a year ago. Everyone knows MySpace traffic is going the wrong way, but the accelerating decline (and big financial losses) is a serious problem. Parent company News Corp. is in the middle of a sale process, and everyone from venture firms to private equity firms to operating companies are taking a look. “It’s like slowing down at the scene of an accident,” says one person with knowledge of the discussions, “everyone wants to take a look at how bad things have become.”
Happy 9th Birthday to Friendster! – Flavorwire
A long, long time ago, way before the creation of copycats like MySpace or Facebook, there was Friendster, a social networking site launched by Jonathan Abrams and Peter Chin nine years ago today. And while the website has become something of a joke in recent years (particularly in business school classrooms), at the time it was insanely popular, gaining three million users within the first few months, and subsequently, a $30 million buyout offer from Google, which was declined in the hope of eventual billions. There were even spin-off sites. Remember Dogster? Or Elfster?
Ever Wanted To Invite Your Online Friends To Watch A YouTube Video Together? – Social Times
With SynchTube you can create a video and have members of your group watch the same video at the same time. This is a way cool application because it doesn’t matter the location of each member; they could be located at different locations around the world and view the same video together at the same time. When I first took a look at this nifty application, I didn’t see the big deal. Then, it dawned on me that you use SynchTube to view a video clip or full-length movie with your extended family, friends or clients at the same time. So, if your mom or client clicks on the wrong clip you know, or during a presentation you mistakenly pause the video while the client tries to turn up the volume you know. As a group you are still on the same page so to speak, and as a host, you know what the guests are doing.
Chicago Youth Program Aims To Decrease Violence – npr
Youth violence rates around the country have been decreasing in recent years, but violent crimes are still most concentrated in poorer, urban neighborhoods. Experts say kids who grow up in dangerous areas are more likely to become targets. In Chicago, a program called CeaseFire is working to curb violence by helping at-risk youth find employment and patrolling the streets to stop crimes before they happen.
Children’s Choice Book Awards Finalists Unveiled – Galleycat
The 2011 finalists for the Children’s Choice Book Awards have been revealed. Kids can vote from March 14th to April 29th, and the winners will be announced live at the Children’s Choice Book Awards gala in May. Individual title nominees have been divided into four groups classified by different school grades.In the Author of the Year category, teen fiction writers dominate. The nominees include Suzanne Collins for Mockingjay, Stephenie Meyer for The Second Short Life of Bree Tanner, Rick Riordan for The Lost Hero, Jeff Kinney for Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth, and Cassandra Clare for Clockwork Angel.
Rebecca Black Tells Jay Leno She’s Donating “Friday” Cash To Japan – idolator
First Lady Gaga calls Rebecca Black a genius, and now the much-discussed “Friday” songbird announces on the Tonight Show that she’s donating the proceeds from her viral hit to Japan and her school. Sainthood isn’t far, little diva! Head below to watch Black give more insight into her producers, Ark Music Factory.
NYT Publisher: Only Teenagers, Unemployed Will Game Paywall – Forbes
Arthur Sulzberger Jr. knows it’s going to be possible to keep reading his newspaper, The New York Times, for free after its online pay meter kicks in on Monday. But he’s not too worried about it, because, in his view, the only people who will try to do that are the sorts who don’t matter: teenagers and the unemployed. And both are thieves if they do it.
Apparel Media’s Interactive T-Shirts Boost Brands on Campus - Fast Company
In 2005, Jared Golden and Amish Tolia were undergrads at Indiana University, where they ran an apparel printing business on the side. From campus groups, they kept getting the same request: Could you find a brand to sponsor us, to offset the cost of these T-shirts, hats, or sweats? Golden and Tolia, who graduated in 2007 and 2008, respectively, realized they had a hot idea for a company on their hands, and they launched Apparel Media in 2009. Now, with three recently unveiled campaigns involving QR-code-equipped apparel, they’re helping brands reach college organizations all around the country. A program for Axe, the men’s grooming products company, just launched for men’s sports teams in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) yesterday.
MTV Renews ‘Real World’ – B&C
MTV Wednesday announced today that it has picked up seasons 27 and 28 of its successful reality series The Real World. The series – the longest-running reality show in cable history – is currently in its 25th season and has already begun casting for next season. The current Las Vegas edition of the series is averaging more than 2 million viewers and is the top ranked show in its 10 p.m. time period since launching March 9, according to network officials.
NEWS FROM: Thursday 24 March, 2011
Jane Pratt And Tavi Gevinson’s Teen Website Will Debut This Summer – Refinery 29
For anyone who grew up obsessing over Sassy and Jane magazines, you’re not going to want to miss this morning’s story in WWD. Jane Pratt’s upcoming web endeavor, JanePratt.com, has been a fairly public project, as is her bringing on teen blogging queen Tavi Gevinson to head up the upcoming teen component. Jane Pratt’s been credited with pioneering the kind of smart, snarky writing that defined ’90s mags, but whether she’s up for doing the same with the online world is still up in the air. Says Jane, “Everything I’ve done in my career has been about gathering strong voices and making them more mass. This is the perfect fit.
Tribal Marketing - Media Post
If you enter a roomful of crying but healthy babies, chances are they all share at least one of the same needs: food, sleep, a diaper, or some undivided attention from a loving grown-up. As they grow into early childhood, they will hit the same developmental benchmarks at roughly the same time, and they’ll still want and need lot of the same basics (snacks, naps, potty, hugs), though they are beginning to assert their distinct personalities. Even before preschool, the differences start to emerge. This kid loves soccer, that one only wears sandals, this kid cares about animals, this one is afraid of animals, and this kid collects menus. And so it goes as they grow, with each young soul becoming his or her own person.
SoundTracking: ‘Checking In’ With Music - PSFK
Promoting the idea of ‘Sharing the soundtrack of your life,’ SoundTracking is a new app which allows users to share their musical experiences as they happen. There are three steps to creating a ‘SoundTrack’; the ‘Music Search’ lets users search and submit music tracks, add a photo, location and comment on a track they are currently listening to. The ‘Music ID’ built-in audio-ID function (similar to Shazam) identifies a song playing nearby. Finally, the ‘On my iPod’ app accesses tracks stored on the iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad for publishing.
Shazam Partners With Facebook To Help Share Your Music - PSFK
Shazam has carved out a name for itself by allowing smart phone users to identify almost any song they hear in the world just by having the app “listen” to it. Now this handy service is dipping its toes into the social media landscape. A new update allows users to log into their Facebook accounts through Shazam and begin sharing the music they’ve tagged with their friends.
Facebook Bans 20,000 Underage Users A Day – allfacebook.com
Some 20,000 children under age 13 get kicked off of Facebook for lying about their age every day. That came out during testimony by one Facebook’s privacy advisors, Mozelle Thompson, before Australia’s parliamentary cyber-safety committee, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Angry Birds Rio Available Now! 2 Episodes w/60 Levels. 4 More Episodes Later in 2011. Thumbs Up for Game Play – Think Mobile
The Angry Birds franchise just grew by one app. Angry Birds Rio is a tie-in to the soon-to-be-released movie “Rio.” It is available for a number of platforms including the iPhone and iPad where it first took off. The iPhone version costs 99 cents while Angry Birds HD for iPad is $2.99.
A Teen Eye for Design – Fast Company
YEARS AGO, we had a running joke at Fast Company: What if we tallied up all the game-changing ideas CEOs claimed had come from their 13-year-old kids? We could do a story on how middle schoolers were the secret sauce in America’s innovation recipe! Meant as a spoof of isn’t-my-child-a-cute-genius-itis, the joke actually had a dash of merit. Of course middle schoolers would be our future innovators — they would grow up, after all, and that space between their earbuds would become the seedbed for the businesses of the future.
We Watched Lady Gaga’s 65-Minute Google Interview So You Don’t Have To – Yahoo Music
The Amplifier just spent 65 minutes that could have been alternately used to repeatedly view Elizabeth Taylor’s White Diamonds commercial watching the 65-minute Q&A a very nervous Google employee conducted with Lady Gaga yesterday afternoon at the tech giant’s California headquarters. Why did we do this? So you don’t have to watch adults wearing cut-up pink bunnies ask, “What do your pajamas look like?”
‘Hunger Games’ Experts Weigh In: Who Should Play Peeta? – MTV
Last week, MTV News exclusively revealed that Oscar-nominated actress Jennifer Lawrence landed the highly coveted role of Katniss Everdeen in the film adaptation of “The Hunger Games.” Experts and fans were mixed on the thought of the tall, blond 20-year-old taking on the role of the 16-year-old, dark-haired heroine, but it seems like Jennifer can rest easy for now, since the debate has shifted to who will play fellow Hunger Games competitor Peeta.
Cartoon Network reveals upfront lineup – kidscreen
Cartoon Network US made its annual upfront presentation to advertisers this morning in New York City, announcing a total of 13 brand-new series, 18 returning shows and 650 new episodes of original and acquired programming that are set to premiere this year on the net.
Amazon’s Android App Store Launches: Test Drive Apps Directly From Your Browser – TechCrunch
This morning Amazon is officially launching its Android App Store — a storefront for apps that will compete directly with Google’s official Android Market. We first broke the news about the impending App Store back in September and had some thorough coverage on the details in January when it opened to developer submissions. But now the store is finally going live to consumers (it will be rolling out over the course of the day, so you may not be able to access yet). And while there were leaks abound about this morning’s launch, there are still a few details that Amazon managed to keep quiet.
NEWS FROM: Wednesday 23 March, 2011
San Francisco becoming a child-free zone as youth population declines – SF Examiner
Despite efforts to stem the tide of family flight, the population of children in San Francisco continues to ebb. Families that remain in The City are bucking the trend that has plagued San Francisco for years as the number of children — defined as people up to 17 years old — has dropped from 181,532 in 1960 to 107,524 today, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau figures. The 2000 census counted 112,802 youths.
Mercedes-Benz to Launch Teen Driving School in the United States – Sun Herald
The Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy is set to open in the U.S. in late 2011 to offer teen driver’s education, – Designed using a unique combination of interactive classroom sessions, online learning and behind-the-wheel training. Mercedes-Benz USA, headquartered in Montvale, New Jersey, is responsible for the distribution, marketing and customer service for all Mercedes-Benz and Maybach products in the United States. MBUSA offers drivers the most diverse line-up in the luxury segment with 12 model lines ranging from the sporty C-Class to the flagship S-Class sedans and the SLS AMG supercar.
Twitter celebrates #5yrs since the first tweet: who are the most-followed users? – guardian.co.uk
Twitter has marked the fifth anniversary of the first tweet today . Who are the most influential tweeters and which countries are the biggest users? Twitter celebrated five years of tweeting today, very aptly creating a #5yrs tag to observe the day. Co-founder Jack Dorsey was the first person to send a tweet on 21st March 2006 and since then billions of twitter updates have flooded the social networking site. The 140- character updates have attracted celebrities, politicians and sport stars over the years and now over 140 million tweets are published a day.
What Is Facebook Doing, Adding Checkins to Events? - Fast Company
According to some reports, Facebook is adding checkin buttons to events, if they’re timely and nearby to a user. According to AllFacebook.com, several users have reported seeing a little blue “checkin” button on the page for some events organized through the social network. It would seem to be an expansion to the company’s “Places” system, which Facebook initially promoted as a way to “immediately tell people about that favorite spot,” but which is essentially its own entry into the checkins game led by systems like Foursquare and others as a way to sell more precisely targeted adverts. Places, however, is limited to a list of specific places–a real life location, rather than any sort of “virtual” checkin like those that are beginning to pop up on Foursquare.
Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj Tapped For Japan Aid Compilation LP – MTV
Some of pop music’s biggest artists, including Justin Bieber, Rihanna and Nicki Minaj, are lending their tunes for a good cause. On Monday (March 21), it was announced that Universal Music is rushing out a digital-only compilation album to raise awareness and funds for those affected by the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan. While the lineup and track list have yet to be finalized, other chart-toppers expected to be featured on the release include U2 and Bon Jovi. Lady Gaga may also appear on the album. Proceeds from sales will go to the Japanese Red Cross. “We are doing it only digitally because it is faster, and this will be a worldwide release. The plan is to have it available later this week,” a spokesperson for Universal Music said.
Catering to Kids: Cable Networks Divide to Conquer – Multichannel News
Competition among kids’ television channels has never been hotter than it is right now. Last October, Discovery Communications transformed its underperforming Discovery Kids into The Hub with a joint-venture partner, Hasbro, providing much of the content. More recently, The Walt Disney Co. laid the groundwork for a new preschoolers’ channel, Disney Junior, by debuting a rebranded block on the flagship Disney Channel that will expand into a full-fledged network next year (replacing SoapNet).
Kids’ Business Looks for Grown-Up Boost – Multichannel News
Kids’ TV isn’t just for children any more. A lot of moms are watching with their offspring, and marketers are itching to reach those parents, and that’s one reason why this year’s kids’ market is expected to be strong. The kids’ TV business contracted with the rest of the industry when the recession hit. But some on the sales side think the market could add several hundred millions in new spending, topping the $1 billion mark and moving into record territory, in 2011-2012. “We think ’11 and ’12 is going to be Nickelodeon and Nicktoons’ best year ever,” Jim Perry, executive vice president of 360 Brand Sales at Nickelodeon/ MTVN Kids and Family Group, said.
Ken Doll’s New Face: The Search For The Great American Boyfriend - psfk
After letting Ken reach his milestone 50th birthday, Mattel has decided to place more emphasis on Barbie’s longtime counterpart with a 21st-century makeover. This spotlighting of Ken comes on the heels of the toymaker’s updated Barbie (who turns 52) being deemed an arbiter of high-fashion. To strengthen Ken’s visibility, the company launched an eight-part “Bachelorette”- style web series geared towards grownups called “Genuine Ken: The Search for the Great American Boyfriend.”
Are moms to blame for provocatively dressed teens? – Salon
Watch out, little girls. High heels cause sluttiness — and a lifetime of regret. But it’s not your fault if you don’t know that yet. It’s your mom’s. In yet another button-pushing, lady-blaming screed in the Wall Street Journal — the folks who first introduced us to the Tiger Mother — this weekend, author Jennifer Moses raged against letting our daughters “dress like prostitutes” — and the consequences of untrammeled slatternliness.
Is awful the new good? – Salon
Rebecca Black, Charlie Sheen and other recent flameouts prove that being bad is the new fast track to fame. “I think that’s an accomplishment,” the girl replied with a wry smile when “Good Morning America’s” Andrea Channing read the words, “I hate her voice, it’s going to be stuck in my head for life.” “Even a person that doesn’t like it,” she shrugged, “it’s going to be stuck in their heads. So that’s the point of it.” And with that, Rebecca Black, the auto-tuned singer from the “worst music video ever,” “Friday,” said an insightful mouthful about contemporary fame and the state of the entertainment industry. Being terrible — it’s the new being good!
NEWS FROM: Tuesday 22 March, 2011
Why Do We Let Them Dress Like That? - Wall Street Journal
In the pale-turquoise ladies’ room, they congregate in front of the mirror, re-applying mascara and lip gloss, brushing their hair, straightening panty hose and gossiping: This one is “skanky,” that one is “really cute,” and so forth. Dressed in minidresses, perilously high heels, and glittery, dangling earrings, their eyes heavily shadowed in black-pearl and jade, they look like a flock of tropical birds. A few minutes later, they return to the dance floor, where they shake everything they’ve got under the party lights.
Vulture Premieres a Climactic Musical Segment From Skins’ Season Finale – Vulture
It’s been a strange debut season for Skins. A heady mix of anticipation and consternation met the British adaptation before its premiere; during its actual run, all the news was focused on the Parents Television Council’s wild-eyed vendetta. Things wrap up for the show on Monday, and at some point after that MTV will have to decide about a renewal. Will it listen to New York Magazine’s television critic, Emily Nussbaum, who wrote that “if the show continues down the path of the British series, it could turn into something queasily addictive, not despite but because of its cheerful amorality”?
Justin Bieber Passes Michael Jackson’s Box-Office Record – MTV
Michael Jackson may have dubbed himself the King of Pop, but the late icon didn’t hold the box-office crown for long. Less than a year after the posthumous MJ documentary “This Is It” became the most successful concert-themed film in U.S. history, Justin Bieber is poised to snatch the mantle. According to The Hollywood Reporter, “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never” has earned $72.2 million in domestic box office so far, passing Jackson’s $72.1 million haul. And while Bieber has racked up those impressive numbers in just six weeks, he’s got a long way to go before he laps the global receipts for the MJ doc.
New ‘Facebook Yearbook’ Prints All Your Posts, Updates and Photos – Social Times
The internet has a memory. Perhaps we don’t think about it as often as we should—you know, that time you allowed yourself to be tagged in that photo where your guzzling from a keg, or that time you uploaded that video of you and your friends taboozing on new year’s eve—but nevertheless, each time we update our status or write on a friend’s wall, we’re recording our digital histories.
A Glossy Take on Disney – NY Times
Ask executives at Disney Publishing to explain why they are trying to build a children’s subscription magazine business in the United States, and the answer will involve marketplace ana
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