Ypulse Essentials: Gen Y Nostalgia, FCC Revisits Kids’ Programming, LOLQuiz
Posted by meredith on 07-23-2009
More like ‘now-stalgia’ (Gen Y-ers celebrate pop culture from the late 90s and early 2000s, including Harry Potter. Also a Boston science museum puts on a Harry Potter exhibit in honor of the sixth film) (New York Times, reg. required)
- FCC revisits regulations on kids’ programming (and announces plans to study the effects of digital media. See Anastasia’s BusinessWeek Online column on this here. Meanwhile on Shaping Youth Amy Jussel responds with her insight on product placement in kids’ media. Definitely worth a read) (Variety) (Bloomberg)
- Disney considers pay site (as a platform for TV shows, movies and games, along the lines of a “grown-up version” of Club Penguin. And the “Alice In Wonderland” trailer gets pulled from YouTube. Plus guinea pig rescue groups expect a spike in adoption rates after Disney’s “G-Force”)(Variety) (Mashable) (AP)
- ‘New Moon’ movie site (goes live. Also Nordstrom debuts “Twilight” clothing line with a Team Edward vs. Team Jacob theme) (People)
- Reeve Rocks (a benefit from The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation aims to engage young philanthropists. Plus two military daughters start a sisterhood for empowering teens like them. And a Public Radio interview with the feminist teen blogger behind F-bomb) (PSFK) (NPR)
- Mobile on the rise (Derek Baird pulls out youth-related data from the recent Pew report on wireless use. And youth mobile company Blyk changes their business model) (Derek Baird::Barking Robot) (Unthinkable)
- ‘The Secret’ for teens (the team behind self-help phenomenon expands the franchise into teen territory this fall. Plus controversy over the cover girl chosen for Liar. Also Will Arnett reads aloud from Are You There God It’s Me, Margaret? Hilarious) (AP) (GalleyCat) (Daily Blabber)
- Bling culture goes bust (as interest in high-end designers takes a hit from the downturn. Plus EnveMe, a new fashion and music site, looks for unsigned original musical acts) (MSNBC)
- Chicago Transit ban on ads for ’mature’ video games (comes under fire in court. Plus Best Buy and Sony sponsor pro video gaming with in-store events and online promotion) (Ad Age, reg. required)
- Cal Rec Sports Marketing (a very cool brand outreach program based out of UC Berkeley’s Department for Recreational Sports. Also follow the team on Twitter)
- LOLQuiz (targets quiz-happy tweens on Twitter. Plus tween powerhouses continue to make their mark in Hollywood. And ABC Family announces the TV premiere of “Legally Blondes”) (Fast Company) (The Independent) (Cinema Blend)
P.S. Bay Area readers check out the Get Live, Stay Live event in SF to raise awareness about the importance of sexual health for youth.
Categorized under: Ypulse Essentials
July 23rd, 2009 at 2:31 pm
Glad you found the Shaping Youth FCC piece re: product placement useful.
As Anastasia pointed out in her Business Week piece, the immersive nature of the digital sphere brings new issues to the forefront, and there’s some pretty sloppy thinking in terms of what constitutes ‘educational’ content, etc. w/blurred boundaries out the wazoo and a need for clearer demarcation.
Last thing we need is productainment and advergaming as the norm. There IS potential for peaceful coexistence in the digital sphere, with informal learning and beyond, but not when industry has hands reaching in wallets from the get go usurping creativity for mining kids’ data and dollars. Bleh.
The ultimate mindshift transpires when youth are immune to toxic cues/lures and advertisers resist putting them out there to begin with.
“Content” and “ethics” continue to be both the problem and solution…but self-rein has been an industry oxymoron.