- 'Gossip Girl' debuts on DVD (and tries driving viewers to the franchise's original book series, including an audiobook narrated by Christina Ricci, which according to Gawker, has not sold well. Plus, Tina Wells reveals her "Gossip Girl" research and finds that while the show isn't thriving with its target audience, 20- and 30-somethings love it) (New York Times, reg. required) (Huffington Post)
- Seth MacFarlane (the creator of "Family Guy" will unveil an animated variety show exclusively for Google. Burger King ads created and animated by MacFarlane will run before the show) (New York Times, reg. required)
- Same zip code... same stars (a new "90210" trailer includes clips with series alums Shannen Doherty and Jennie Garth. Plus, real L.A. cool kids Cory Kennedy and Mark "The Cobrasnake" Hunter will make an appearance in the first episode) (Defamer) (Nylon Magazine)
- Remember the spoiled brats from 'My Super Sweet 16?' (MTV is shipping them off to developing countries to live with - and live like - their host families. Think MTV will provide viewers with more information about the countries, the issues that plague them, and how we can help.)
- 'Guitar hero' whiz (quits school to focus on his, um, musical talent full time. At 16, his parents will be tutoring him at home in between tunes) (News Observer)
P.P.S. Whither Sconex? An anonymous tipster tells us it's down (it has been down all weekend). We're asking Alloy to find out what's up with the high school social networking site.
- Emmy Rossum (to be the official spokesperson for PiNKiTUDE, the fashion line targeting teen and young adult women with a percentage of proceeds going to Susan G. Komen for the Cure)
- TV moving from the screen (to just another screen? So says the Christian Science Monitor. And A&E tries games to hook viewers to its high quality programs like the one with the two Coreys [sarcasm])
- Hasbro updates Clue (new characters, storylines for a new generation. And Ford creates a whole team devoted to reaching "millennials" using tech) (Kansas City Star) (Detroit News)
- Mass animation ("Aniboom is part of a first-of-its-kind endeavor, in which animators from all corners of the globe will be invited to collaboratively produce a computer-generated animated short film for theatrical release.") (Facebook link)
- JuniorU (a new education oriented social networking site. And Teen Diaries, a new site geared towards multi-cultural youth ages 13 - 22 who enjoy urban and pop culture.)
- GirlSpeak (cool non-profit writing project in Chicago - reminds me of Teen Voices - story here) (Medill)
Note from Anastasia: I am literally rushing to post and finish packing before heading to the airport to fly to Charlotte for a speaking engagement tomorrow. I won't be posting regular Ypulse stuff tomorrow, but Alli will be posting on Ypulse Books....Hopefully will be able to post Friday. Until then, keep the tips coming!
- Limited Too... (expensive? Evidently so, since Tween Brands is shuttering stores and replacing inventory with its lower priced Justice brand) (WSJ, subscription required)
- Taylor Momsen v. Miley Cyrus (both 15, and both stars of very different shows, with very different expectations) (Gawker)
- Teachers friending students (this is a loaded issue, which CNN attempts to tackle -- what's interesting to me is the move towards defining healthy contact via technology vs. what crosses the line)
- More on teen Olympic viewing (Wired picks up the Harris Interactive release and interviews Bill Carter, from Fuse [a Ypulse sponsor]. Plus if young people are watching -- it's most likely online. And while GM may be struggling to sell cars during the Olympics, they did create a new YouTube star) (Media Life Magazine) (Alley Insider)
- Kids not yet 'totally wired' (according to this research kids under the age of 11 spend most of their time offline doing things like [gasp] reading books!)
- Allstate partners with Channel One ("to launch a multi-platform smart teen driving campaign during the 2008-2009 school year") (press release)
- 'Follow the music' (If MySpace offered a personal, immediate connection between musicians and fans, Loopt making that connection mobile. Oh and in case you were wondering who Obama will choose as his VP, he'll text ya later) (USA Today)
- Mega list of brands on Twitter (great resource to see how folks are using Twitter to do stuff besides Tweet about whatever movie you just saw....oh, that's me) (Fluent Simplicity)
- 'Don't be an asterick' (new anti-steroid campaign launched by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the Ad Council aimed at youth. And speaking of the Olympics, another Beijing relevant post about China online with stats and charts about what the Chinese [and esp. youth] are doing online) (Trendhunter) (TrendSpotting)
Correction: Anastasia misread a headline about the premiere of "The American Mall" yesterday -- it wasn't last night if you went looking for it on MTV -- it's Monday night. Sorry about that!
Hi-tech dorm digs (universities are tricking out dorms to make them more appealing to millennials) (Engadget)
- Gen Y is still broke (with the average college grad having at least $20,000 in debt... on top of credit card debt...) (MSN)
- WB Online (now in beta, will officially launch August 27 and plans to stream old favorites like "Gilmore Girls" and "Friends," as well as a brand new series from Josh Schwartz, the creator of "The OC" and "Gossip Girl") (Media Week)
- Nickelodeon's magic formula (the network finds success because of their easy-to-digest 22-minute entertainment) (Ad Age, reg. required)
- The kids aren't alright (kid magazines' ad sales and readerships are quickly declining. But one mag, "Discovery Girls," might be doing okay) (Media Post, reg. required) (Mercury News)
- ShopLikeAnna (new social networking site that allows girls under 15 to shop and chat in a safe, parent-approved environment)
- Scion's funk (after five year's of success, Scion hits a bump in the road) (CNET)
- Cool comic from Converse (about how to deal with a bully. Be in a constant state of photography, wear a bear suit - you know, the regular...thanks Chet!)
Let's kick this one off with Forbes list of top tween earners -- although it should be more like top earners popular with tweens since Miley Cyrus is tied with "Harry Potter's" Daniel Radcliffe for number one (each earning $25 million last year). Next up, according to the Baltimore Sun, the Jonas Bros. aren't just popular with tweens [and teens and evidently college students], but with moms. The Wall Street Journal weighs in on Traveling Pants 2 echoing that it's all about the girls vs. the pants this time around.
New research covered in today's Media Post (reg. required) says tweens like to shop online before they have mom and dad buy for them. For example, "61% of respondents said that they had involved search in the purchase or recommendation process for electronics like video game systems, mp3 players and digital cameras."
And The N launches a mobile site while the L.A. Times reluctantly disses on the new Sesame website comparing it to corporate competitors like Disney and Nickelodeon. Finally, one theme I've noticed in reviewing all the Ypulse Youth Advisory Board apps is how many tweens and teens love to cook. Seems like Jr. Chefs of America knows this, too.
Pitfalls of popularity (While "Gossip Girl" is one of the most buzzed about shows on TV, '"Secret Life of the American Teen" has significantly more viewers. Could it be that wholesome "Secret Life" is appealing to TV watching Disney tweens while "Gossip Girl" appeals to older teens/college students who watch online? Thanks Becki! Plus more "backlash" [buzz building] press for GG from Reuters) (The Live Feed)
- Identity cannibals (girls who admire idols to the point of losing their own identities) (The Age)
- Back-to-school spending (kids want DIY fashion, online steals, penny deals and anything endorsed by tween stars) (AZ Central)
- In advertising, thin is still in (despite the controversy surrounding skinny models, they are much more effect when it comes down to selling - well, selling everything except sweets and self-esteem) (Ad Age, reg. required)
- Hating on hipsters ("is the current cool/hipster/youth culture just an empty mash of previous cultures?") (PSFK)
- Defining Gen X and Gen Y(while Generation X is defined by their "Self-mocking detachment," Gen Y is characterized by their sincere interaction to change society. Plus, 7 reasons why twentysomethings are more productive than other eras) (Daily Texan) (Penelope Trunk)
- Setting a new tech agenda (key difference between Gen X and Y is that X uses technology to support a "lifestyle need" while tech is "embedded into everything Gen Yers do")
P.S. A reader wrote in response to yesterday's action sports Ypulse Toolbox: "I don't think that very many in our pretty little piece of Suburbia, Hamilton Sq., NJ, know much about the radical undertaking... or maybe over taking? of our community by the extreme sports scene. But I just found out, through a friend of mine, that there's been a hxc scene here for quite some time, and it's now exploding into something huge."
'Rock 'n' Roll' remake (Howard Stern to remake The Ramones classic. He kind of looks like he could have been a Ramone, no?) (Variety)
- Don't mess with Texas... (cheerleaders. More mean girls for Lifetime when "Fab Five: The Texas Cheerleader Scandal" premieres Saturday)
- '90210' to go (limited edition classic "90210" cast iPod Nano....um ok. Plus whatever happened to teen heartthrob Freddie Prinze Jr.? He's working for the WWE behind the scenes. Weird.) (Entertainment Weekly) (Broadcasting & Cable)
- Cell phone allowance (mobile carriers launch plans to help parents limit teens' minutes) (New York Times, reg. required)
- High gas prices... (ruining teen fun, according to the L.A. Times, reg. required)
- Cheap drunks (40% of teens say they received alcohol for free from an adult over the past month) (MSNBC)
- 'I kissed a squirrel' (and hundreds of other Katey Perry knockoffs on YouTube. Plus Miley's number one...again, her third number one album) (Reel Pop) (Marketwatch)
- From Be Bratz to Zibbie Zone (list of 100 kids virtual worlds - did you know that there are 60 youth worlds live at the moment, with another 53 in development? Wow) (Virtual Worlds Expo)
- Nick on the big screen (Nickelodeon is releasing a preschool-aimed movie that combines episodes of "Dora the Explorer," "The Backyardigans," and more, reformatted for theater screen) (Media Post, reg. requirede)
- Phasing out the pager (the latest in drug dealer fashion: wearing not one but two pairs of pants) (Wicked Local)
P.S. Campus Media is searching for a cool non-profit that wants to reach college students. They will work to have their PSA of choice placed in some of the top college newspapers in the country. Last year, The Campus Kitchens Project won. This year, it could be you! Download application here.
Note from Anastasia: I want to apologize for a reference made in relation to the latest Miley Cyrus photos to emerge on Defamer.com (reported in yesterday's Essentials). I referenced a statement by Walt Disney Records exec Damon Whiteside made at the Ypulse Mashup event, which was taken out of context. That reference has been removed.
Lifestyles condoms is brilliant (who needs Miley as an official spokesperson when all you have to do it put out a press release saying you offered her the job and why...) (eFlux Media)
- FTC numbers unraveled (MediaPost, reg. required, does a pretty balanced job at breaking down the FTC's report on food and beverage marketing to children and teens -- which Anastasia referenced yesterday. Plus Channel One allegedly violated its own policy by running ads for prescription acne meds...)
- MyYearbook... (a Ypulse sponsor, scores $13 million in another round of financing) (Adotas)
- Russia bans hardcore music (the country hopes to ban hardcore rock, emo, and goth. Funnily enough, Makeoutclub - which we told you about yesterday - encourages fans of the "hardcore, emo and indie music world" to come together to flirt and date. Oh, the irony) (MSN)
- Broadway play '13' explores teenhood (explained by the producer: "what we set about doing was taking the issues that face a 13-year-old, the whole coming-of-age element, and relate them ... to various passages that adults go through in life") (San Francisco Chronicle)
- Will computers replace TV sets? (new research says 20% of TV viewing is online, and most see streaming as a "TV replacement"....time for a new ad model) (NewTeeVee)
- Kim Kardashian... (is allegedly so good at blogging, Celebuzz has signed her up in a new partnership)
- Teens and cell phones (audio interview about how teens actually use their cells and the crucial role it plays in their culture. Plus mobile gets "girly". And the Virgin Mobile Fest goes green encouraging [with Toyota] carpooling) (CBC Radio) (Telephony)
- thx 4 the intervu (uh oh, informal writing sneaking into formal job interview process) (WSJ)
Television using the youth vote story (to appeal to younger viewers. Plus a look behind the scenes of youth favorite "The Daily Show," featuring "the most trusted man in America." Also, Obama.com will be launching a clothing line of sorts.) (New York Times, reg. required) (Fashionista)
