Ypulse Essentials: Disney Debuts Branded Web Show, The Return Of Layaway, Deprogramming Helicopter Parents

‘New Moon’ at midnight (doesn’t disappoint fans. Shocker. Also see YAB member Chelsea’s review for more. Plus Sweden rethinks its original restricted rating. And the livestream of the ‘New Moon’ premiere on MySpace draws more than 2 million unique visitors, and nearly 3 million total viewers) (Los Angeles Times) (Variety) (MarketingVox)

- Disney considers the ‘Possibility’ (announcing its first foray into branded-entertainment with the debut of “The Possibility Shop,” a web show sponsored by Clorox. Plus Sesame Street targets “iPhone moms” launching a Grover-branded app) (Ad Age, reg. required) (Virtual Worlds News)

- The Woodies (the MTV awards show you didn’t know existed—celebrating college music. Also MTV and Real Networks look to restructure the ownership of Rhapsody, a digital music service) (USA Today) (Reuters)

- Xbox rocks (so says the Jonas Brothers in a new campaign promoting family time with the gaming system. Meanwhile some don’t quite get that message—a 15-year-old in Illinois dials 911 after his parents take away his Xbox) (New York Times, reg. required) (CNET)

- The truth about ‘Gossip Girl’ (a real NYU student sorts out the facts from the fiction in the latest season of “Gossip Girl”) (Yahoo via Derek Baird::Barking Robot)

- Cruise blues (for unaccompanied young adults in Australia where a national cruise line insists 18 to 21-year-old passengers must be accompanied by parents or guardians, despite accusations that the policy is discriminatory. Also “virtual portholes” and teen/tween-targeted details on the new Disney cruise ship) (MSNBC) (Los Angeles Times)

-  Layaway makes a comeback (for Gen Y. Mediapost on the revival of incremental payments among young consumers. Also seasonal jobs still prove hard to come by for teens) (Charlotte Observer)

- ‘Cycler’ comes to the big screen (should be interesting to see how Hollywood translates the sci-fi YA series with a   transgendered protagonist. Look for our author spotlight with Lauren McLaughlin next week! Also Dimension Films holds a sneak preview of “Youth in Revolt” in January) (SlashFilm) (Variety)

- Deprogramming helicopter parents (a backlash against overparenting inspires a movement by some to start scaling back. Maybe it would help to teach them some handy skills like CPR. Check out this “Be the Beat” campaign to encourage 12-15 year olds to learn first aid) (Time) (GTR Newspapers)

-University of California fee hikes (spark angry, anxious students to protest, occupy buildings and call for reconsideration of the 32 percent increase. Also economic concerns lead to a sharp decrease in the number of students planning to study abroad) (CNN) (AP)