Today's Ypulse Books feature is from Ypulse Youth Advisory Board member Akanksha Aurora. Given all of the buzz surrounding the first "Twilight" movie, her post feels very timely and reaffirms that the "Twilight" series is indeed an international phenomenon…Remember, you can communicate directly with the Ypulse Youth Advisory Board by emailing them at youthadvisoryboard at ypulse.com.

'Twilight' Through The Eyes Of An Indian Teen

Indian mythology was created as a means of entertaining the masses long before television and computers. Therefore, every mythical hero or heroine had characteristics who set an example for the Indian people. Since most of these mythological characters in India were crafted for the purpose of encouraging positive transformation within its citizens, vampires could not even be conceptualized. Even though Stephanie Meyer shines a different light on vampires in her "Twilight" series, the preconceived notion of blood-sucking creatures enveloped in darkness doesn’t quite fit.

For me, fiction like Meyer's is unorthodox and refreshing and is a hit in India due to the Indian teen’s internal quest for change and undying curiosity. Books like Twilight introduce new concepts of mythical characters to our youth, incorporating topics like relationships, love and sensuality, making us look at things in a whole new light.

The Indian teen is nothing if not transformational. The new generation of Indian teens yearns to break free from the conventional ideals set up by Indian mythology. Seeing vampires through the eyes of Meyer's Isabella Swan has changed our perspective as the family of vampires depicted in this series is kind, warm and caring.

Indian authors such as Chitra Banerjee have also incorporated mythical concepts similar to Meyer's within their works but have targeted an audience consisting mainly of adults.

The possibility of drastic change, of starting afresh is exquisitely captured in this stunning and beautiful collection of books, marvelously combining myth and romance; easily finding its way into our hearts. Voraciously read by Indian teens, the "Twilight" series has truly broadened our horizons.

About Akanksha

By the time she got to the much-dreaded, self-esteem destroying wasteland also known as high-school, Akanksha began to develop an interest in writing. Suddenly, all the words she ever knew began to creep into her dreams, and discover all her darkest thoughts and feelings, before silently but permanently immersing themselves within her soul and transforming themselves into fiction. In addition to that, the French language is her drug and acne is her worst enemy. She laughs a little too much and is a romantic in the extreme sense.

Today's Youth Advisory Board post is from Michael who seems to have stumbled upon a pretty cool online game called TubeRockers. Remember you can contact our board directly via email at youthadvisoryboard at ypulse.com. I'll let him fill you in…

Best In Youth Media: TubeRockers

About a day after I read my fellow Ypulse Advisory Board member Caro's article on "Tube Converting," I found this little gem called TubeRockers. The concept is simple in execution, but complex in construction, but I’ll get to that in a moment. TubeRockers is a game where you take your favorite YouTube video and make it into a rhythm game. One of the featured songs, "Electro Gypsy" by Savlonic, hooked me, and now I can’t get it out of my head.

I played a few songs, and found the concept pretty addictive. After I exhausted my list of songs, I had to make some of myself. This is a game that not only offers you the ability to make your own content, it demands that you do. It officially only has two songs, so you have to make your own. You could go with some of the user generated content below, but the choices are limited to different interpretations of a certain Dragonforce song, assorted metal, and a few ska songs.

First I started with a song that I thought would fit well: "Not A Crime" By Gogol Bordello. That didn’t work out well. The song fit, but my handiwork didn't. So then I tried some Andrew W.K., and that was just as bad. Then I tried a little techno by my favorite German techno band, Scooter. Perfect! It was a simple enough song to get a good rhythm going, and I could even sneak in some creative note arrangements.

Tube Rockers is part of a trend of DIY-ness that teens want with their music. I love that I can just put in any old video of anything into the level editor and create my own level. Instead of just converting a YouTube video to an mp3 and forgetting about it, with Tube Rockers, I can play a fun Guitar Hero/DDR-esque game with them.

About Michael Hayball

Michael lives a simple life in Allen Park, MI. When he is not attending Henry Ford Community College for his Associates, he can be seen chatting and socializing around campus and the local coffee shop. He enjoys a good iced caramel cappuccino, or a regular coca-cola. Michael loves what he calls “The Blog Music," and he was and still is raised on a steady diet of electronic music and old-school hip hop. Michael hopes to work for Spin magazine one day, and screams like a little girl every time a new issue comes to the local coffee shop.

Today's Youth Advisory Board post is from Liz Funk who just saw "Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist" and wasn't really loving it. I'll let her explain…To contact our Youth Advisory Board directly, just email them at youthadvisoryboard at ypulse.com.

The Teen Media Limbo

Like many teen and twentysomething females in the U.S., I have a little crush on Michael Cera, the 20-year-old Canadian actor most known for his roles in "Arrested Development," "Superbad," "Juno," and most recently, "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist." See Anastasia’s review here.

I went to see "Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist" (based on the popular young adult fiction book) a few nights ago and was surprised by how packed the theater was despite the movie having been out for some time. But I was also surprised, because it was the first movie I’d ever been to that people actually booed at!

To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t in love with the movie, either. I just found the whole thing to be pretty unrealistic—if not for the orgasm that we see registering on the recording studio equipment, then for the mere concept that it’s illegal for people under 18 to drive in New York City, and if Nick and his friends were actually 18, very few people drive in Manhattan and certainly not teenagers from New Jersey (everyone takes the train!).

I can appreciate a lot of things about "Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist"—the positive approach to teen sexuality, the positive approach to teen homosexuality, and the pretty, but healthy-looking girl with a rather deep voice (Kat Dennings) playing Norah.

But I think the key problem with "Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist" is that it blurs the boundaries of teen media. The movie wasn’t outrageous enough to be posited as escapist, just-for-fun kind of entertainment, but it wasn’t realistic enough for its audience to really identify with the film or feel comforted by its portrayal of adolescence. It’s like how the TV shows "Gossip Girl" and "Degrassi" get away with broadcasting rather ridiculous, unrealistic stuff: No one expects it to be realistic or to be a model of how today’s teens live, and it’s very clearly marketed as teen drama that young people shouldn’t compare their lives to or try to emulate. (Actually, CW’s "Gossip Girl" makes that extremely clear, judging by the billboards and ads for the show picturing the characters in lip-lock in various states of undress, emblazoned with quotes from negative reviews: "EVERY PARENT’S NIGHTMARE" and "MIND-BLOWINGLY INAPPROPRIATE").

But even though Nick and Norah don’t have a lot in common with Nate and Blair, I didn’t get the sense that …Infinite Playlist was realistic enough for teens to really resonate with the film. I had assumed that a movie about a lonely guy in skinny jeans who likes indie rock would aim to make teen viewers identify with the movie and perhaps even feel comforted or less alone. But instead, the film showed these kids speeding around New York City, going to nice clubs and lounges, and hooking up in recording studios (which honestly, all sound like Gossip Girl elements)—without the overt disclaimers that escapist teen media come with. I sense that Nick and Norah… might compel teen viewers to feel like, "Oh. These characters are very similar to me, but my life isn’t anywhere near that exciting. Damn!"

I know, I know, I’m being pretty hard on the poor movie. But it's an interesting discussion. In teen media, it seems that there are shows and books that are clearly meant to entertain and don’t seek to show teens what their lives should look like (i.e. Gossip Girl, 90210, Privileged) and there is media that really speaks for a generation and helps teens have a sense of community as they struggle with the awkwardness of adolescence (i.e. "Freaks and Geeks," "Lizzie McGuire," and, to a certain extent, "Superbad"). But when teen media blurs that line, are they doing more harm than good by showing unrealistic depictions of teen life and encouraging teens to try and identify?

About Liz

Liz Funk is a freelance writer and college student. She has written for USA Today, Newsday, the Christian Science Monitor, the Huffington Post, Girls' Life, and CosmoGIRL!, among other publications. Her first book, Supergirls Speak Out, about the pressure on girls to be perfect, will be published by Simon and Schuster in March of 2009. She writes a blog for the Albany, NY newspaper the Times Union and she edits the teen culture and politics blog GirlHeadQuarters.org. She is a senior at Pace University and lives in Manhattan. Her web-site is www.lizfunk.com.

When Caro, who is on our Youth Advisory Board, offered to write about Britney's comeback, for our Best In Youth Media Feature, I have to admit was a little worried or at least my inner feminist was — after reading her piece, I realized that whatever my critique may be of Britney as a role model, the reality is that she was and still is for a generation of teen girls who were tweens (or toddlers!) during her reign as pop princess. With her new album, website and yes, Twitter, I thought it would be timely to hear a report from the teen trenches on Britney's comeback. I can't in good conscience title it under our Best in Youth Media feature, but it's important to know that many teen girls still love Britney. To contact our Youth Advisory Board directly, just email them at youthadvisoryboard at ypulse.com.

Britney Remains A Pop Princess To This Generation Of Teen Girls

Britney Spears is making a comeback – and I think it’s a good one. Her new video “Womanizer” from her “Circus” album dropped a few weeks ago and depicts Britney as her old self, blonde, sexy and notorious.

But is Britney really back? My sources say…Yes. Teenagers are once again interested in her and her music. Most of the people I know can already sing the lyrics to “Womanizer” by heart, it’s on MTV all the time, and on our MySpace pages…

Despite her recent troubles, she may not have not lost all her fans. We were just waiting for her comeback. So many teens I know have been saying: “I’ve been Brit’s fan since I was twelve…I’m so happy she’s finally back!” She reenergized her original fanbase, and may have added new fans who just think her song is catchy.

Britney used to be the ultimate pop princess, a role model for so many young girls. Now less young girls look up to her, but teenagers still adore her. Why do so many teenagers still love her? Because we’ve all loved her since we were toddlers, and she will always be an icon to us. We always looked up at her and wished we could be as confident as she appeared to be. And when your icon becomes messed up, it’s not a pretty site.

Seeing her normal makes most girls happy to see her back on track. Plus her songs are catchy, and she’s more familiar to most teens than Rihanna or Fergie. Justin Timberlake may have brought sexy back, but Britney stole it and is taking over!

About Caroline Marques (aka "Caro")

Caroline is a high school student in Geneva, Switzerland. While Caroline lists sports, music and travelling as her hobbies, she also very much enjoys writing and reading. After being a teen adviser for NickMag, she thought Ypulse would be the perfect opportunity for a new start. While trying to keep up with the trends (or setting some of her own), dance classes, working on long papers and trying to master three new languages, she rarely has time to write the novel she wishes she could finish, though she is certain one day she will. Writing is never far from her thoughts.

Today's Ypulse Youth Advisory Board feature: Our Side Of The Screen is from Libby Issendorf…

Our Side Of The Screen: Candies v. Trojan On Preventing Teen Pregnancy

Brands are pouring money into TV campaigns, viral videos, and Facebook ads designed to catch Gen Y’s attention. It’s easy for them to review impressions, click through rates, and pageviews, but what about real, unfiltered reactions? "Our Side of the Screen" will give marketers detailed, honest opinions about marketing campaigns aimed at youth. We’ll let you know what we loved, what we didn’t, how the campaigns made us feel about the brands, and most importantly, whether they made us do anything.

Have a campaign you'd like us to review? Please contact the board at youthadvisoryboard at ypulse dot com.

From Juno to Jamie Lynn Spears to Bristol Palin, teen pregnancy is all over the media. The Candie’s Foundation exists to "educate America's youth about the devastating consequences of teen pregnancy," and during this week’s “Gossip Girl,” it unveiled a new PSA to show teenagers the real consequences of that backseat romp.

The ad doesn’t choose sides in the abstinence vs. contraceptives debate; it just presents pregnancy as the consequence of sex. This tactic might scare teens, but the ad won’t succeed without a viable solution to this fear. Candie’s needs to advocate a method of protection instead of preaching, “If you have sex, you’ll get pregnant!”

The way Jenny McCarthy pops in and the girl’s snobby attitude toward her turn Candie’s into a nagging parent. I half-expected her to add, “And clean your room, young lady!” before the commercial ended. Couple this tone with the unresolved scare tactic, and the commercial comes across as an empty threat that makes most teens roll their eyes.

I’m equally disappointed in the website.The first things to catch my eye are images of a lovely Jamie Lynn, a poised Bristol and Levi, and four teenage girls, two with bulging pregnant bellies, on a carefree stroll. The photos glamorize teen pregnancy more than condemn it, and the entire site is boring and unattractive. I can’t interact with it beyond joining a Facebook group, and the “tips for parents” section will make teens feel as though this isn’t their space.

In contrast to this lackluster effort, I love Trojan’s Evolve campaign that encourages teens to use a condom every time. The website is incredibly attractive and easy to use. My favorite part is the “donate 1,000,000 condoms” feature. Teens can take a quiz, comment,and pass videos on to friends. Then, for every action, Trojan donates condoms to Americans at risk. So cool!

Also, Trojan understands the teenage mindset. In the first video, they acknowledge that teens have sex—and as Josh Lucas says, “there’s nothing wrong with that, [but] there’s not necessarily anything right with that either.” Trojan come across as concerned but not parental. The facts they present are scary (like how 1 in 4 teenage girls has an STI). However, unlike Candie’s, Trojan emphasizes a clear solution: condoms. On its own, no PSA will be enough to change teens’ behavior, but Evolve’s entertaining videos and interactive features will definitely facilitate conversation among teens. That’s a great first step toward taking action. Nice work, Trojan.

P.S. The best Trojan video I saw is “The Quarrel.” Be sure to watch until the end; it’s hilarious!

About Libby Issendorf

After growing up on a farm in North Dakota, Libby Issendorf moved to Minneapolis to attend the University of Minnesota. She discovered her passion for brands and media as a member of her school’s first-place National Student Advertising Competition team. After graduation in 2008, she began her career as a media analyst at an advertising agency. Libby works on media placement and targeting for national brands like General Mills and Land O Lakes. Outside of work, she loves blogging, playing sports, consuming gratuitous amounts of pop culture, the Minnesota Twins, being really geeky with her iPhone, and driving to see her boyfriend, who lives too far away.

Today's Ypulse Youth Advisory Board feature is from Caroline Marques who will clue us in on how many teens are finding a new way to download their favorite music [for free]. Remember you can contact our board directly via email at youthadvisoryboard at ypulse.com.

Teens downloading music online is still alive and well thanks to this technique: tube converting. This time it’s not through Limewire, but through something closer to home: YouTube or any online video site. Since YouTube is where most teens watch music videos, it makes sense. Sites like http://file2hd.com, www.vconversion.com and www.vixy.net are programs where you just type a URL and save the song. With a small chance of getting viruses, and the enormous choice of songs, many teens feel this method is easier and safer.

Here's how it works. To listen to a song on YouTube, there needs to be a video. You take the URL of that video to one of the sites I mentioned above, and convert it into an mp4 (ipod file), for example. Of course, downloading illegal music isn’t good, but it’s also something I don't think teenagers (and many adults) will ever stop doing. Teens may hesitate on the issue of it being illegal, but then they rationalize what they're doing by thinking that they’re just taking it from YouTube, so it’s okay.

I have heard of lots of people switching from Limewire to tube converting because it doesn’t crash your computer. The only flaw [besides it being illegal and the sound quality not being that great] people have discovered right now is the speed; you need to find a good, fast site. But you can download anything to anywhere: your computer, ipod, cell phone or even PSP. Teenagers love this, you just need to copy, paste and save…

About Caroline Marques (aka "Caro")

Caroline is a high school student in Geneva, Switzerland. While Caroline lists sports, music and travelling as her hobbies, she also very much enjoys writing and reading. After being a teen adviser for NickMag, she thought Ypulse would be the perfect opportunity for a new start. While trying to keep up with the trends (or setting some of her own), dance classes, working on long papers and trying to master three new languages, she rarely has time to write the novel she wishes she could finish, though she is certain one day she will. Writing is never far from her thoughts.

This weekend Disney's HSM3 had the biggest opening for a movie musical in history grossing $42 million domestically. The Gen Xer in me may long for grittier teen movie musicals like "Footloose," but not the Ypulse Youth Advisory Board. I had multiple requests from members to weigh in on the movie version of Disney's franchise. Here are two reactions from Alyx, a 15-year-old die hard fan, and Meg, a college student now studying abroad in the UK. To contact our Youth Advisory Board directly, just email them at youthadvisoryboard at ypulse.com.

Alyx: HSM Goes Out With A Bang

This is it. The final “High School Musical.” *tear tear* What started off in 2006 as just another Disney Channel movie has turned into a multi-million dollar marketing force. It’s impossible to avoid the popularity of this show. If you ask a childless adult, I’m sure they’ve even heard of this phenomenon.

I really think the “High School Musical” team stepped up to this big screen challenge and made this the best HSM ever. There, I said it. I think this is my favorite “High School Musical” in the entire series, and that means a lot coming from a dedicated HSM fan like me. The musical numbers are bigger, the song selection is better (meaning that there wasn’t one song I disliked like in #1 or #2), and the acting was perfect in that it was fun for adults and mesmerizing for kids.

The whole idea of making HSM into a big screen attraction was brilliant. Our small town movie theater was packed to the brim with screaming girls, their mothers, and my friend and me, which just shows even more that the magic of HSM has reached more than just young girls, but also a 15-year-old guy. We were beyond excited to see this movie, even though we are teenagers. High School Musical has been a part of our lives for a long time and to see it end was very…emotional (at least for me—my friend just thinks I’m too emotional in general).

So this legacy has ended, and without a doubt, it went out with a bang.

Meg: We Still Swoon Over The Teenybopper Romance

"High School Musical 3" premiered in the UK on Wednesday, two days before it hit American cinemas. Luckily, it's as big a phenomenon here as it is in the US, so I didn't have to see it alone — I brought along two equally excited flatmates from England and France, as well as an American friend. We're all over the movie's target age group, so we were a little surprised to see that the other big group in the mostly-empty theatre (it was a Wednesday afternoon matinee, after all) was another group of university-age girls.

Granted, part of our love of the movies is their over-the-top drama and possibly self-conscious campiness, but we still swoon over the teenybopper romance. My friend Lily warned us that if Troy and Gabriella broke up, she'd cry.

Though I was eager to see the movie, I'd assumed that HSM 1 and 2 had basically eaten up the franchise's quota of drama and catchy songs. How do you eclipse the hilarity/cringe-worthiness of HSM 2's "Bet On It," which includes Troy's infamous golf course epiphany? HSM3 made it look easy: The movie started with a close up of the sweaty, panting face of basketball star/super-heartthrob Troy, going straight into a giant musical number that, in itself, already eclipsed the drama of HSM1 and 2's numbers. There were explosions, neon, tons of special effects, giant ensemble dance numbers (drama queens Ryan and Sharpay's Broadway-influenced show-stopper was the best, natch), bright colors, and songs that were as catchy as ever. This movie's budget ran up to $13 million, and it showed.

The acting was also much better than the previous movies: The cast has clearly bonded and grown into their characters. Though the ending seemed a bit drawn out, I was pleasantly surprised, overall…and can't wait to buy the soundtrack on iTunes.

About Alyx
Alyx Steadman is a freshman in high school in Montana, and loves every minute of it. He loves reading, writing, acting, singing, and being a social butterfly. In the past people have accused him of being a YouTube addict and a pop culture junkie (and sadly Alyx cannot deny these accusations). His love for teen culture has led him to many hours slaving on the computer soaking up every piece of drama Hollywood has to offer. In the future he hopes to pursue a writing career as some type of journalist. Excited doesn’t even begin to cover how he’s feeling to be in the Ypulse Advisory Board. “Today the world changes so quickly that in growing up we take leave not just of youth but of the world we were young in.”

About Meg
Megan is a college student, freelancer and hardcore bookworm. She began writing fashion articles for her hometown newspaper at age 15, and her work has since appeared in publications like Boston magazine, Mountain Living and CosmoGirl. Meg also loves theatre and the arts, and when she's not sending postcards, devouring YA novels, or reading up on 19th-century cultural studies, she's probably dragging someone along on a late-night ice cream/Starbucks run. Meg has lived in three (soon to be four) countries and five states, though she currently resides in Arizona.

Today's Ypulse Youth Advisory Board feature is from Libby Issendorf…I'll let her take it from here.

Our Side Of The Screen: Voting PSAs

Brands are pouring money into TV campaigns, viral videos, and Facebook ads designed to catch Gen Y’s attention. It’s easy for them to review impressions, click through rates, and pageviews, but what about real, unfiltered reactions? "Our Side of the Screen" will give marketers detailed, honest opinions about marketing campaigns aimed at youth. We’ll let you know what we loved, what we didn’t, how the campaigns made us feel about the brands, and most importantly, whether they made us do anything.

Have a campaign you'd like us to review? Please contact the board at youthadvisoryboard at ypulse dot com.

Election day is less than two weeks away, and everyone is waiting to see what the Youth Vote will do. Obama? McCain? Will young voters even show up? Three recent political videos have been sent my way in the past week. They all target the 18-24-year-old voter, with varying degrees of success:

Don’t Vote (from DeclareYourself.com, a non-partisan group that promotes youth voting) is eye-catching and fun at first, but about halfway through it loses momentum and becomes condescending. The video would be great if it didn’t keep hammering its points about the importance of voting and of registering to vote after they’re already clear. We don’t need the stars to “wait around” (pause button, anyone?) for us to register, and we REALLY don’t need celebs to tell us how viral videos work. I love the lighthearted, sarcastic mood of the first 1:30, but as soon as the video gets preachy, I tune out. Thanks, Courtney Cox, but I don’t need your advice on which links to forward to my friends (although your crack about “I used to have 5 friends” had me laughing out loud). It might prompt more young voters to register than the other two, but its forced “viral” message actually discourages me from passing it on. Grade: B

I cracked up at Talk To Your Parents (from Obama-endorsing MoveOn.org) and immediately shared it with friends. This video is targeted most narrowly at 18-24-year-olds and succeeds at getting inside our culture. "Gossip Girl" stars’ spoof of anti-drug PSAs we remember watching awkwardly with our parents successfully resonates with our age group, and unites our generation against our parents’ pre-YouTube McCain-voting ways. I doubt any undecideds will be swayed to Obama’s side by the heavy humor and light content, but its command of social currency keeps his momentum and cool factor high among young voters. Grade: A

Hayden Panetierre’s video on FunnyOrDie.com was awkward and unfunny. The girl just doesn’t have her comic delivery down. Blake Lively could have pulled it off with carefree sarcasm, Sarah Silverman could have succeeded at the dry humor where Hayden failed, or Leighton Meester could have been the smug, bitchy, McCain-supporting Blair Waldorf that Gen Y loves to hate. Instead, Hayden read her lines as an unfortunate, uncomfortable mix of the three and left me confused. The lines also seemed to be a weird mix between exaggeration and truth: “John McCain will start another war.” If you’re being serious, give me convincing facts; if you’re messing with me, how about an SNL-style whopper about Joe the Plumber in the Cabinet? At least Darrell Hammond gave me a chuckle with that line. Grade: D

About Libby Issendorf

After growing up on a farm in North Dakota, Libby Issendorf moved to Minneapolis to attend the University of Minnesota. She discovered her passion for brands and media as a member of her school’s first-place National Student Advertising Competition team. After graduation in 2008, she began her career as a media analyst at an advertising agency. Libby works on media placement and targeting for national brands like General Mills and Land O Lakes. Outside of work, she loves blogging, playing sports, consuming gratuitous amounts of pop culture, the Minnesota Twins, being really geeky with her iPhone, and driving to see her boyfriend, who lives too far away.

Today's Youth Advisory Board feature is from Bruna Bonguardo, who reminds us that the Urban Dictionary isn't just a place to look up various slang — it's also a glimpse into teen life illustrated by language. Remember you can contact our board directly via email at youthadvisoryboard at ypulse.com.

Best In Youth Media: UrbanDictionary.com

UrbanDictionary.com is one of the top 250 sites on the web. It was even nominated by the Time Magazine as one of the 50 best websites of 2008. So what is Urban Dictionary? It's a web-based dictionary of definitions of slang words, phrases, and even emoticons (like o_O, for example, which according to the Urban Dictionary means “confused, stunned or weirded out”).

It’s amazing how much teenagers like this successful website, and how helpful it can be for adults trying to understand and reach teens. Anyone can contribute to Urban Dictionary, even anonymous users.

On this website you can find definitions of a word like "cool," or even more complicated words to define, like "love." But the thing is that you don't necessarily have to agree with the definitions, you can simply vote them "up" or "down." There are some words with just one or two definitions, while other words have hundreds.

In October 2005 some Urban Dictionary's definitions were turned into a book called Urban Dictionary: Fularious Street Slang Defined. In October 2007, the second book was made available, the Mo' Urban Dictionary: Ridonkulous Street Slang Defined.

Some of the highest-rated definitions on Urban Dictionary are about the Urban Dictionary itself. They claim that it "is a place formerly used to find out about slang, and now a place that teens with no life use as a burn book," and the "coolest semi-fake dictionary ever made," or even "the result of millions of teenagers who have too much free time."

However its users define it, Urban Dictionary is definitely a very helpful website for offering a peek inside the teenage mind.

About Bruna Bonguardo
Bruna is a 16-year-old Brazilian teenager who moved to Israel in 2004. She can speak, read and write in four languages, and she loves learning about new cultures. Bruna always loved computers, and she wants to study computer science in college. She also loves webdesign and writing, and she had a blog for about two years. Now she's planning to start a new one again. Even though she loves writing, her passion is reading. She loves reading fiction books, but now she's starting to read autobiographies and non-fiction books. She is a senior in High School, where she successfully studies Software Engineering.

Today's Ypulse Youth Advisory Board feature is from Caroline Marques and is about an organization she feels gets it right in their efforts to raise teen girls' awareness of breast cancer and raise money for breast cancer research. Remember you can contact our board directly via email at youthadvisoryboard at ypulse.com.

Best In Youth Media: Pink Hair For Hope

Pink Hair for Hope is an organization that encourages going to a salon and adding pink streaks to your hair as a way to show your support for the fight against breast cancer. You pay for your streaks with a donation. More and more teenage girls and their mothers are discovering this unique way to be fashionable and support a cause at the same time.

Many teen girls want to be involved in this issue, but aren’t sure how to proceed. With 2.3 million women in the US who have a history of breast cancer including teen girls’ mothers, grandmothers, older sisters or aunts, it’s a personal cause. The reason PHFH is so popular is that girls think it’s pretty cool and fun, and their parents, who might not be so enthusiastic at first, soon discover that their daughters are dying their hair pink for a reason. It's also a fun activity mothers and daughters can do together. Unlike short skirts and tight tops, PHFH is a trend we wish more girls would follow.

About Caroline Marques (aka "Caro")

Caroline is a high school student in Geneva, Switzerland. While Caroline lists sports, music and travelling as her hobbies, she also very much enjoys writing and reading. After being a teen adviser for NickMag, she thought Ypulse would be the perfect opportunity for a new start. While trying to keep up with the trends (or setting some of her own), dance classes, working on long papers and trying to master three new languages, she rarely has time to write the novel she wishes she could finish, though she is certain one day she will. Writing is never far from her thoughts.