Ypulse Essentials: Sneakerheads, Jerky Boys And Girls, Meet Alexa Chung

Sneakerheads (the history and culture of sneaker fanatics. Plus, pro-snowboarder Shaun White designs a line of affordable gear for Target) (wiretap) (Cool Hunting)

- A brewed awakening? (a former restaurant owner runs a summer Teen Entrepreneur Boot Camp, where she leads a group of teens into developing a business plan for a coffee shop) (Downtown Express via New York Magazine)

- Digital check up (an online health quiz for teens. And a much cooler UK version run by the government-owned NHS) (Medical News Today) (Teen LifeCheck)

- Jerky boys and girls’ (popular bands like New Boyz and dance troupes with videos on YouTube, bring attention ta youth movement based on jerk music and the dance style associated with the L.A.-born sound) (Los Angeles Times, reg. required)

- Microsoft’s hard sell for sofware (appeals to millennials’ pro-social side, offering to donate up to $1 million to charity based on IE8 downloads)

- Branded websiodes (Generate CEO Jordan Levin [and  former WB head] makes the case for brands to get involved in webisodes) (Tilzy.TV)

- Meet [and tweet] Alexa Chung (the star of MTV’s upcoming on-air music show that incorporates Facebook and Twitter) (WSJ)

- Knowing how Gen Y  buys (a lesson in Millennial spending habits for marketers. And another marketing expert instructs how to speak “teen”) (MediaPost, reg. required)

- It’s not quantity, it’s quality (when it comes to living situations for Gen Y. In other words less space, more frills) (Silive)