Rachel Simmons Chats About Mythbusting “Mean Girl” Media

Aug. 31 2011 Transitioning back to school is tough, especially when media and marketing blitzes the ‘what could be’ fear dynamics of peer acceptance based on what you wear, how you look, and who you sit with at lunch. (Target's music teacher  ad/video sums in satire well, "if your kids want to sound cool, they need to look cool") Now toss in the social media promises and … [Read more...]

Reach & Teach: Global Goods That Do Good

May 23, 2011 "Where do you GET these things? How come I never find stuff like this?" Picture a coloring book page with Rapunzel's hair cascading down the castle tower, captioned, “This time, she had some power tools, a pair of scissors, a roll of duct tape, a Tina Turner album and a bus pass.” That's from Jacinta Bunnell's Girls Are Not Chicks coloring book one of my … [Read more...]

Recap of White House Conf on Bullying Prevention, Pt.1

Mar. 17, 2011 Unplugging for a day is a respite, but being gone for a week amidst news of tsunami disasters and first ever media moments like the March 10 White House Conference on Bullying Prevention plunged me into perpetual ‘catch up’ mode…Toss in this week’s March 16 FTC Privacy Hearings on Do Not Track policies and datamining behavioral profiles (see key quotes from … [Read more...]

Internet Safety: Media Literacy Tips From Industry Insiders Pt 1

Nov. 24, 2009 As fall weather kicks in and families hunker indoors to ‘more screen time’ than summer time norms, I hear tales of media management missteps that would spin heads faster than a Linda Blair Exorcist antic. (yes I know it’s almost Thanksgiving, but I’m still seguing from Halloween here…) I hear parents say things like “Oh, my kids play games sometimes, but we … [Read more...]

Privo Privacy Vault: How Safe is Kids Digital Data? Part 2

July 14, 2009 Yesterday in my Part One preamble to the interview with Privo executives, I tried to give an overview of how 'kids online safety' is more than 'balancing safety and fun' it's politics, it's opportunistic marketing, it's regulatory, and...it's complicated. With dogged tenacity here's my attempt to sort out how to keep kids safe online (for parents, as well as … [Read more...]