In Bed With Branding: Virtual Worlds Pair With Children’s Hospitals

May 3, 2009 What's with all the children's hospitals partnering and news-making so much as of late? This spring, “Operation Teen Book Drop” gave bed bound kids across the country over 8000 titles from young adult book publishers to support Teen Literature Day, sponsored by YALSA, readergirlz, and GuysLitWire. A tad earlier, Dell Children’s Medical Center in Texas became … [Read more...]

Shaping Youth At Ypulse 2009: Send In Your Priorities

May 1, 2009 Much like the scene in the new Disneynature Earth documentary where the lions and the elephants are drinking from the same watering hole, Shaping Youth has been invited to share space among the über-marketers at the YPulse Mashup June 1 and 2 as well as the Tweens Online (Un)Conference taking place the day prior. Attending as ‘press’ sends a positive sign that … [Read more...]

A Picture Is Worth…A Free Cure For Lackus Appreciatis

April 29, 2009 Thought I was going to say '1000 Words' right? (Kodak is counting on it) With flashbacks of the Invisible Woman campaign from Moms Rising last year, Kodak Gallery is echoing a recession-friendly, customizable 'cure' for “Lackus Appreciatus” by hosting a give-away of one million FREE photo cards reminiscent of the 'million mom march' awhile back. It's not a … [Read more...]

Text Monster: Teen Tips On Digital Dating Obsessions

April 28, 2009 "Whatcha doin’? Who you with? Text me! Text me back!" When does 'caring' become controlling textual harrassment? What happens when the ‘connectivity’ that takes the form of digital grunts, ‘sup?’ ‘hey,’ ‘lol’ gets annoying even to kids themselves? “That’s not cool” is a fun Ad Council riff using sock puppets, tin can art, comedic fruit and graphic mixed … [Read more...]

Hope is On the Horizon When Movements Go Mainstream

April 25, 2009 I've used 'follow the money' as my rebel yell for 'why things are the way they are' and can usually sniff out the trail like a canine customs patrol. So it thrills me when the path leads to something positive, obvious, and fruitful, particularly when it's a movement gaining momentum that I embrace... Whether it's CCFC's Bay Area premiere of Consuming Kids, … [Read more...]