Update 2013: It's been 6 years since I wrote this piece and my views remain the same; 'corollary vs causation' arguments, context, ratings and research (handy: 25 studies on media violence) STILL remains less of interest to me than the basic 'why are we creating market demand for thrill to kill content in the first place, when we could better spend that money, clout, political … [Read more...]
Yesterday I wrote about what happens when stars are caught on camera unaware, and alluded to what could happen if kids become ‘slumber party set-ups’ for funny viral videos, or turned into web celebs when they wish to be regular Joes. I was hoping I could defer the topic a tad longer to do my homework with some legal beagles, but alas, the 18-year old … [Read more...]
“When a racial incident occurred in her classroom, 23-year-old English teacher Erin Gruwell spun it into an ongoing dialogue that ultimately changed the lives of 150 inner-city students…” With new media, social web connectivity, and video posts, she’s no doubt reached millions more! True stories like the Freedom Writers don’t make it onto … [Read more...]
Pop Tarts. Pop Rocks. Strawberry Quick. Targeting kids is working so well for the junk food giants, the creeps-n-criminals are stealing the sugary-flavored branding strategy to recruit new customers and increase market share. Not here to ramp up hysteria…the entire concept of marketing drugs to children will do that alone. But we need to discuss this, put it in context, and … [Read more...]
Recently, I brought my tween daughter to meet Anastasia Goodstein, (at left) publisher of youth blog YPulse and author of the Totally Wired book and blog. Since we’re both Bay-area based, I thought I’d seize the local opportunity to hear what she had to say at one of her book talks on the press circuit. I ended up bumping into some parents I already knew, … [Read more...]
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