Shaping Youth BETA BLOG

March 5, 2010 What’s on the minds of tween girls’ today?

We’re about to find out next Saturday at the Tween Girl Town Hall as 150 girls age 8-14 clamor for FREE swag bags and freebie finds from sponsors eager to hear their points of view.

Hosted by marketing consultancy and tween social networking site AllyKatzz.com, creator of the inaugural Tween Summit (photo gallery here) which premiered in Washington D.C. this past year (next one in NYC Oct. 2010) the inevitable question is obvious…

Is this a case of the fox guarding the henhouse? After all, AllyKatzz is a marketing research/online community of tween specialists.

If they’re probing the issues and implications of what’s on kids’ minds, then repackaging the outcome of the event as a deliverable to others interested in this demographic, it appears there should be bells ringing in loud clanging ‘aha!’ media literacy monetization moments…And to a degree, they are. But here’s why it feels different to me…

Like the YPulse 2010 Youth Marketing Mashup forum, AllyKatzz is striving to bring together all sides of the media mix, from philanthropy and social change to sponsors eager to influence this same target market…The way I see it, it’s as much about elevating kids’ spirits, confidence, and inner compass as it is elevating the brands tied to the event itself. There are avenues of opportunity to make this a win-win if we’re all transparent and crystal clear about motivations and outcomes. (more…)

March 2, 2010 Do you miss the Olympics already?

I know I do, as it’s one of the rare times I tune in to the tube regularly to witness the spectacle, the quests, the rivalries and glitches that define drama in life’s own reality TV show…I mean, really. You can’t get more ‘central casting’ than this…

…Wholesome looking athletes, intriguing back-story baggage, triumphant wins and tragic loss, all challenging themselves and each other to unleash the human spirit in an ambitious drive to reach a pinnacle of greatness. (And yes, that’s my silly family, at the Olympic Training Facility in Co. Springs ‘on the podium’)

While Winter Olympics headlines wrap the obvious, “party’s over” stance, and Time Magazine sanctions their version of the Top 10 Memorable Moments, Top 10 Figure Skating Rivalries, and 100 Olympic Athletes To Watch endorsement deal deliberations emerge, I have to ask myself, why do we have to portray this as an ‘end’ instead of a ‘beginning’ to take the lessons learned into our own lives?

Can’t we take the Olympic ‘soundtrack’ into our own screenplay of life and set forth on quests of our own whether it’s social change, startup ideas, academics, or athletics?

Sure, some will say the Olympics should be about the athletes, period. Not the emotions, of surprise, glory and tragedy gripping the spectactors in social media channels…nor the technical and ceremonial hoopla that earned the ‘glitch games’ snipes, but to me, all of these are ‘life lessons’ that linger long after the games are gone.

My own brother serendipitously sent me this ‘guest editorial’ from his hub in the Colorado Springs Olympic training ground environs, waxing poetic to my own daughter (a volleyball power player) about why she should consider each game her own ‘personal Olympics.’

I liked it…(and tweaked it) to share with all as a firm reminder that the Olympics may be finished for now, but the quests within us all, continue. Game over? I think not. Rock on… (more…)

March 1, 2010 Once upon a time, I spent 25+ years as a creative director at virtual agency:  Copy/Concepts.

Collaboration came very naturally to me, as we all divvied up our specialty areas and functioned as one global brain with seamlessness and ease. Now as a nonprofit? Not so much. The nonprofit world is new to me, with all kinds of new fiefdoms to learn, toes to step on and status quo behemoths to work around…I get impatient with the “talk but don’t do” types, or those that get gazillions in funding to study the obvious…OR worse yet, to aggregate OTHER people’s studies simply because they’re well connected or have a ‘name’ but wouldn’t know relevant new media research if it bit ‘em in the backside.

In short, “collaboration” in the nonprofit world is like visiting another planet. I’m getting lost in the galaxy sans guide.

Enter PFTF…The Program for the Future CoLAB March 3, 2010 at the Tech Museum on Wednesday, partners some of the best and brightest minds in an “Invitation to Innovation” to fire up the global brain (you can attend virtually, too, this collab is without borders). (more…)

Feb 21, 2010 Last night I snapped this lousy iPhone shot from Draeger’s deli as I scanned the takeout selections to treat myself to a quiet Sat. night feast.

I did a double-take when I saw “sexy broccoli” thinking some wry night shift worker with a droll sense of humor was slipping in a “sex sells” snippet on the ol’ Bush broccoli-hating spree of yesteryear.

Alas, I looked closer, and it’s laminated with a sense of permanence that made me eyeroll in that, ‘yougawdabefreakinkiddingme’ mode of sex-saturated pop culture. Really, people? Sexy broccoli? Okay, it’s funny, no doubt, but let’s look at the ambient teehee landing sideways with the K-5 kids in tow, “Mommy? How come that broccoli is sexy and ours is not? I want sexy broccoli too!”

Will we start dressing up brussel sprouts in little round bras for boobalicious lip-smacking tantalization to attempt consumer appeal next? I dunno ‘bout you, but I’d like to keep my legumes ‘off the pole’ so to speak.

It’s a pithy reminder of just how far objectification has taken over every ambient message in surround sound. When I posted the note on my Facebook status line, one gal pal shared offline that her six year olds were dancing around in big girl heels vamping to “be sexy” even though they don’t remotely have a frame of reference for the word…again, context is key; in shades of the former “tarzhay” media environment, and “Hooters Girl in Training” toddler tee, n’est ce pas? (more…)

Feb. 20, 2010 Remember the old adage ‘There’s no such thing as a stupid question?’

Wish I could say the same for some of these answers, muttered by adults groping for verbiage to handle tense talks about sex.

It’s all in good fun though, as ISIS-Inc., host of the Sex::Tech Conference asked youth about their craziest comments (or best advice) received from an adult, to boost awareness of this week’s upcoming public health event dealing with sex/sexuality, safety/prevention and more on Feb. 26 & 27. Join me? (yep, buying a coupla teen tix, too)

13,208 Say What?!? entries later, ISIS and partners proudly unveil the winners of the their Sex Ed Contest who will be flown to L.A. for a walk-on role in a Funny Or Die Sex Ed PSA based on their anecdote…You’ll hear from them at 9:30PT on Feb. 26, with snippets of the audio here. (fun little promo for the contest after the jump to get the idea)

Essentially, they asked young people 15-21 across the country to call in and share their funniest ‘Say What?!? moments, now captured on audio forevermore. (more…)

Feb. 18, 2010 We interrupt our series on teen sexual health with SexTech.org and ISIS-Inc. Founder Deb Levine (part one is here) because, well, we can. (We meaning me, I’m da boss of me, and this is timely beyond words) Tonight at 8pm Pacific Time and again at 2pmPT on Sat., Feb. 20 our local NPR affiliate KQED happens to be turning the spotlight on teen health dialogues talking to California kids about coming of age in our media-drenched, fast-paced youth culture (web snippets from teens after the jump).

We’ve already heard from the Pew Internet & American Life Project that one third of teens go online for basic health information…so now let’s find out more, like:

How do teens interpret media images of health and sexuality? And, what are some of the most pressing health issues for teenagers on their journey to adulthood?

How do parents and schools talk to teenagers about responsible sex and positive, loving relationships? Or do they at all? (more…)

Feb. 16, 2010 Ten days from now the mother of all sexual health conferences takes place again in San Francisco with the name Sex::Tech itself conjuring controversy, intrigue, and a bit of confusion.

I’ve been sending people over to the Ypulse interview with Margaret Lucas from ISIS-Inc. (Internet Sexuality Information Services, the host org) for an FAQ primer…because it’s hard to capture the essence of Sex::Tech in a soundbite. ( the double-colon design element to preclude sleazy spammers has confounded many a search engine too!)

To give you an idea of how misconstrued the topic of sexual health and the names Sex::Tech and ISIS can get, here are some snippets from convos with both parents AND teens I tried to recruit to help me cover the Feb. 26 and Feb. 27 conference. Voices from our teen tribe:

“So what is it exactly, I mean, what do you DO there?” “Who attends? Is anyone my age going to be there?” and of course my freshman HS/daughter’s timeless classic, “Do I get to miss school if I cover it?”

One parent said, “Is this about sexting or those stupid videocam contests like the American Apparel ads you’re boycotting?” (um, no, but I’ll definitely be bringing up those subjects with the pros there, and sexploitation of teens will no doubt get a roundtable hoppin’!) “I thought Isis was a bird, is this some sort of sextoy thing?” etc.

In its third year now, SexTech (blog updates here) has developed a sellout following with leading edge Health2.0 speakers, youth advocate sponsors ranging from National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy to MTV and Ca. Family Health Council, but to the uninitiated, SexTech is still met with blank stares. (more…)