Dare to Share? What’s Your Beacon Story? (part 2)

My prankster friends love to pull my chain. I wish Facebook's beacon was one of their many gotchas. But it's not. After writing the behavioral profiling article on kids, reading the update on beacon from Facebook's reply, seeing the backlash surge from 0-45,000 members in 8 days, and hearing Ideashower's post was viewed 80,000 times, I should’ve seen this corker … [Read more...]

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...]

Game That Nourishes Kids’ Minds, Souls & Tummies!

Last fall I wrote about Food Force, an internet game you’d WANT your kids to play. Now, the same ingenious folks are at it again, this time with Free Rice, a new, quiz-style vocabulary builder that rewards correct answers with ten grains per bowl to feed hungry children, distributed by the U.N.’s World Food Programme. Beth Kanter’s blog listed it as one of … [Read more...]

Table Topics & Dinner Dialogue Builds Intimacy W/Kids

"I’m thankful for…" C'mon now, don't give me a 'Miss America' answer; what's an event, a growth point, an 'aha' moment you've had firsthand? We ALL know experience matters!) Intimacy-building can be dicey stuff, especially when kids are in ‘preadolescent privacy’ mode…Nevertheless, table time can be the equivalent of the carpool … [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...]