Facebook, Can You Hear Me Now? Peepin’ Is Creepin’ Me Out!

When our Age of Conversation* co-authors rallied on Facebook to form a group for book sales to benefit Variety, the children’s charity, I joined in the fun, despite my initial hesitance of adding yet another social media profile into my daily media mix, especially one mining digital data for ads. Since Facebook is a huge draw for teens, I decided I'd better fully … [Read more...]

Prelude to Parade Day From Shaping Youth’s Tween Reporter

Ever wonder what happens behind the scenes of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade as thousands of volunteers and intricate plans peel off into preparation groups with exacting precision? Here’s how those giant balloons are made and how the floats are built, plus a sneak peek video of school kids visiting the prep studio in Hoboken, N.J., to preview some of the … [Read more...]

Hollywood Walk of Lame: Star for Victoria’s Secret Models? Why?

Update Dec. 12, 2014 With the (ugh, annual) Victoria's Secret Fashion show strutting the 'Angels' around in their skivvies again this week, and Taylor Swift and her bestie Karlie Kloss center stage on the runway this season as Taylor moves toward age 25 and new sights and sounds, one has to reflect upon the ongoing barrage of pop culture messages sent to young girls, as our … [Read more...]

Rockstar21 ‘Rocks’ For Ditching Their Confusing Cans!

Let’s hope this becomes like one of those airfare wars with a ‘me-too’ scramble from other beverage giants to follow suit and snag some of the parental PR and ‘corporate citizen’ kudos... In the season of Thanksgiving, you might want to send a tip of the hat to Rockstar21 for “doing the right thing” and leading the pack by pulling … [Read more...]

Unilever Disrobed: Interview With Dove/Axe Mashup Artist

Update: 7-7-10 Added mashup video at the end Media transparency is more than a buzz word these days, as consumers connect the dots of who’s behind what, where money’s funneling from, and how we’re all being yanked around. Industry mavericks are giving consumers a bit of a nudge to see that elephant in the living room, but it’s NOT just me...Honest. Meet indie filmmaker … [Read more...]