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...]
Is this a sweet spot for marketers targeting teens' sticky eyeballs or just a bunch of fizz and buzz from desperate soft drink companies? As soda giants start pouring into the mobile platform, get ready for some commando branding gimmicks, as seen in this New York Times article, Promoting a Thirst for Sprite in Teenage Cellphone Users. Shaping Youth wrote about soda and … [Read more...]
For the next two days I’ll be working with many of our NextNow collaboratory pals at Digital Earth, which is being held in the U.S. for the first time in its history. Previously hosted by Canada, China, the Czech Republic and Japan, this time it’s in my S.F. Bay area backyard, so I wouldn’t miss it for the world. (traffic willing; I’ll be the blonde … [Read more...]
I was raised in a ‘question authority’ family of intellectual gamesmanship. When my Dad would cite stats as facts in know-it-all style, my Mom would trot out How to Lie with Statistics and take him down a notch, grounding him in reality. Such is the case with statistical hullabaloo about today’s wired kids being such hot shots at multitasking... Mind you, … [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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