Shaping Youth BETA BLOG

September 1, 2010 It’s the first of September, as the first day of school angst bubbles up throughout the nation on either side of this ‘premiere’ week. (many have started school already, some are about to)

A welcoming ‘first day?’ Hardly. This is classic online product placement meets mean girl drek in “First Day: The Series,” an abysmal branding collaboration between  K-Mart and Alloy Media. “A new series from the executive producers of Pretty Little Liars” made me wince,  knowing full well that Alloy isn’t exactly on my BFF list (per my piece about their Gossip Girl show) And that they’d be bringing their behavioral blights on the trashy media landscape to relentlessly push their vapid values via digital engagement to kids.

I suppose I should be relieved this horrid absurdity is limited to a ‘merchantainment’ digital ditty rather than a full blown TV series, but they’ve hit a new low by giving us a snapshot of “what’s wrong with our culture” in a handy compressed 8-series, 8+minutes each episodic, which enables them to skirt the FTC rules of product integration by taking it online to target kids with snark, sneers and oh, yes, LOTS of sales pitches. Careful retailing industry, branding backlash could cost you even more in this recession.

Lest you think I’m exaggerating the teencentric crud and cues, here’s a transcript of some of the opening dialog, as the bonafide mean girl upends her older sibling in her own “pathetic” home: “First day of school determines who you’re gonna be friends with, which determines if a guy is gonna like you which determines if you’ll ever be kissed, because after awhile you build it up and you get all nervous, until you’re 25 and totally unkissable…and…” Yadayada. Trust me it gets even worse. (more…)

August 19, 2010 Today is World Humanitarian Day and I definitely needed this inspiring humanitarian video to gain some perspective on humanity. (fab 4 mins after the jump, and a how-to disable vid on Facebook Places too!)

I don’t know why anyone would give a flying fig about my whereabouts, but I DO know I’ve had my own personal safety blogger moments and am frankly unwilling to be bait for someone’s pranks, so color me incredulous when Facebook once again set my default geolocation settings far beyond “Only Me.” Not quite a Beacon privacy breach, but still danged arrogant if you ask me. Yep, I started out my morning of media moments wanting to ‘chuck it all’ and “go off the grid” on a digital hiatus from humanity itself.

From this morning’s Twitter tabula rasa/wiped slate data access vanishing act in Casper the ghost style to fiddling with how to disable Facebook’s “Places” location feature on their newly premiered check-in vehicle, I definitely needed a dose of “grouch be gone”  lest I take this great NYTimes article literally and “go outdoors and out of reach” pronto!

Everyone already knows I’m a fan of pulling the plug and dialing down the drama intermittently to get mindshare back and to put peer reality shows on summer hiatus but escaping from digital humanity on Humanitarian Day? Well, kinda ironic… (more…)

July 3, 2010 With the TEDxOilspill recap of innovative solutions airing on pbs last night (complete with faux BPGlobalPR masked man Leroy Stick) Oil, and WorldWildlife Fund Free e-cards reminding that almost a quarter of the world’s mammals face extinction within 30 years, Independence Day is taking on a bit of an oily sheen to me.

Seems “patriotic duty” is veering toward using media’s might to turn red, white and blue celebrations “green” with awareness, education, and “independence” from oil, in a nonpartisan, nonprofit call to action for the future of the planet’s beings…

So while NBC blitzes Broadway with Bieber and the Macys parade fireworks fandango, I’m going to spark some red white and blue ideas for greener living which I think our founding fathers would give a nod toward, to enhance sustainability and protecting our seas.

There are tons of July 4 patriot games and new media apps for US Presidents perfect for picnic play, but I’m opting for basic beach clean up after our July4th annual BBQ on the island here, to ‘make some waves’ with youth and remind that America the Beautiful literally needs to be “from sea to shining sea.” Enjoy the 4th everyone! (more…)

July 2, 2010 When I first saw this  note in my social media stream it raised my media literacy eyebrows to explore further.

It said, “Interesting: McAfee has a very diff take on their own study  than does CNET’s Larry Magid.”

First thing that popped into my brain was, “That’s NOT surprising, research is only relevant when one can deconstruct the background of who’s doing the study.” Both McAfee (anti-virus giant) and CNET’s Larry Magid (tech reporter and co-founder of Connect Safely) are extremely credible resources, so how do you make sense of data when it comes to stats and studies skewing points of view with such vast polarity?

Rule number one, read “How to Lie With Statistics by Darrell Huff” an oldie but goodie that my parents used to summon whenever they had a smartypants at the dinner table. Number two. Summon your own critical thinking skills. McAfee’s business is based on fear-driven motivational triggers in the tech realm, CNET’s business is delivering tech news and reviews…it seems only natural that a study on youth online safety would trigger different levels of pragmatic information.

Number three. Evaluate the headline. The minute I saw the study name, “The Secret Online Lives of Teens” my thoughts went to ABC Family teen soaps versus academic white paper; it smacks of sensationalism and sales. I’m not saying the McAfee study is invalid. I AM saying… (more…)

July 1, 2010 For those mumbling, “COPPA schmoppa, there goes Amy into policy wonk land, please translate media jargon into usable tidbits” I’ll offer a few primers…

What is COPPA? Why do we need it? (see DigitalAds.org for an interactive show-n-tell which all ages can grok for an ‘aha’ moment on food and beverage marketing targeting kids in the digital age) Who are some of the key advocates involved with COPPA?

And…for those who have been waiting on pins and needles to hear what new roles and rules are taking shape with mobile, video game and behavioral ad marketing to kids, the COPPA coalition has provided an update (summary here) to keep the FTC abreast of the ever-expanding spectrum of targeting kids as it pertains to privacy protections and digital (er, human) rights. This was a huge discussion at the Ypulse 2010 Mashup as marketers, academic researchers and tween moderators/online community leaders grappled with compliance, ethics, and ‘what ifs’ to try to get a handle on loopholes that need closed, as well as misinterpretations of age restrictions and residual fallout from a policy and practices standpoint.

Here’s the full release, the gist of the filing, and what the COPPA coalition specifically asks the FTC to do: (more…)

June 16, 2010 Personal post today to welcome (in over 325 languages) Shaping Youth advisory board member Dr. Robyn Silverman’s new son into the world of global digital citizenship.

Born: Mr. Noah Stone Silverman today at 8:25am – 7lbs 4oz. – 19” already making his premiere on Facebook, Twitter and Shaping Youth!

What does this have to do with media and marketing’s impact on kids? Plenty. For starters, the very way we communicate has uncorked new conversations in digital connectivity.

It’s uplifting, heartening, and downright astounding to see how this ‘brave new world’ has transitioned to be  the digital womb for birthing new relationships, familial bonds and lifelong ties that bind.

Whether it’s the ability to find ‘half brothers and half sisters’ via the voluntary Donor Sibling Registry, important medical and research advances for special needs children or the information silo funneling domestic and worldwide open adoptions into the digital sphere for life-changing actions, the terra firma has shifted forevermore. (more…)

June 13, 2010 One week from Father’s Day and media is awash with ubiquitous tie and techie ads for Father’s Day finds. Meh. Better ideas? Experiential fun for memories in the making…

How would YOU fill in the blank, “My Daddy Taught Me To…?”

It’s no secret I’m a water rat and an island girl who spent much of childhood splashing in the surf or sprawled on one of Hawaii’s many beaches…but when I saw the new kids’ book “My Daddy Taught Me To Surf” by surfer-dad Joseph Tomarchio I laughed aloud, since my dad doesn’t remotely share my affinity with water, hails from the Midwest flatlands, and isn’t too comfy even swimming.

That said, as I listened to the roar of the surf on their site and read that a portion of their profits go to The Surfrider Foundation I fell further in love with their mission: “Our goal is to promote the love of surfing, the passage of heritage and the bonds between parents and their children through reading and learning together”

I knew this book would succeed in opening up a larger conversation about parent-child experiential learning…expanding far beyond surfing to unwrap the gifts each of our dads have brought to us. What did your Dad teach YOU? And what will you teach YOUR children? (more…)