Girl Caught: New Moon Girls Slams Sexualization of Kids

July 7, 2011 Good news! New Moon Girls has created a prototype ‘virtual girl caught sticker’ you can slap on some of the repeat brand offenders commodifying kids to call ‘em out social media style…In … [Read more...]

Media That Uplifts & Inspires: Positive Picks For Youth Outreach

Sept. 10, 2016 Update World Suicide Prevention Day is flooding my Twitter account, with poignant posts pointing to the desperate need for mental health resources and outreach, especially among youth … [Read more...]

Blog Action Day: “What’s In It For Me?” Charity Water Meets AOC3

October 15, 2010 Last year on Blog Action Day more than 13,000 bloggers participated from 152 countries to shine the spotlight on climate change. Shaping Youth's post was all about inspiring kids as … [Read more...]

What I Learned From Maya Angelou’s Mark Twain Media Moment

May 28, 2014 Update Sadly, this time it is true. Dr. Maya Angelou has died at age 86. Original Post: Oct. 4 2009 "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated" is a Mark Twain classic, which … [Read more...]

Do Those ‘Take Action’ Causes and AutoFill Forms Really Work?

August 25, 2009 Ever wonder if those urgent ‘act now' e-mails from your favorite causes work? Last week I received an NCLI eco-literacy action alert, as Shaping Youth is a member of the consortium … [Read more...]

Social Media ABC’s: An International Opportunity

June 23, 2009 Changeblogger and informal learning pro Jasmin Tragas, (also one of my fellow NextNow Collaboratory global gal pals and co-contributors to the Age of Conversation Gavin Heaton and Drew … [Read more...]

Celebrity Star Power To Benefit Urban Battlefields

May 24, 2009 See this “Tweet” at left? That’s the power of Twitter. Now get this…I’m not even ON Twitter. You heard right. No Twitter account. That means your content can be ‘tweeted’ even if … [Read more...]

Grammy Winners Use Music to Uplift the Heart On Memorial Day

May 23, 2009 I love the fusion of media and marketing when we can epitomize positive uses to merge the two and glean celebrity role models to boot. I haven’t heard this much buzz in musical circles … [Read more...]

Celebrate My Birthday By Helping Beth Kanter Celebrate Hers!

Visual Insight guru Eileen Clegg sent me this lovely card (at left) along with a sweet sentiment about “trips around the sun” prompting a recall of a kindergarten tradition I want to … [Read more...]

Fem 2.0: Feminine Feminism & The Mother of All Conversations

Femmes and friends of all colors are abuzz about whether Erin Aubry Kaplan’s recent Salon article about Michelle Obama’s backside was out of bounds or ‘a joyful celebration’ of … [Read more...]

A Tee Party Kicks Off ‘All Things Girl’ Week on Shaping Youth!

Nov. 10, 2008 Sick of suggestive innuendos plastered on the chests of wee ones? Tired of ‘So Sexy So Soon’ messaging at ever-younger ages? Looking for media and marketing that builds up rather than … [Read more...]

Eileen Clegg: Capturing Knowledge Via Visual Insight

When I was asked to present a workshop with all the powerhouse thought leaders and academic bigwigs this past spring at the 6th annual CCFC summit: Consuming Kids: The Sexualization of Children and … [Read more...]

The Age of Conversation 2: A Tribe of 237 Leading Change

AOC2--Double the flavor, double the fun! (quick, name that ad!) The ever prolific Seth Godin of Purple Cow fame (yes, I’m proud to be one...moooo!) has a new book out called … [Read more...]

Parents for Ethical Marketing: The Role In Shaping Youth

The name alone is a winner. “Parents For Ethical Marketing.” It’s universal, inclusive, and makes my name generation synapses smile (metaphorically, grammarians; hold the … [Read more...]

Youth Riffs On HFCS Ads: Web 2.0 Satire Is Snowballing

What do ants and rubber tree plants have to do with syrupy HFCS ads and high hopes for the future of youth media mobilization? Stay with me after the jump to find out... Last week I wrote about my … [Read more...]

The Power of a Pen, The Story of A Sign

“Sometimes all it takes is a stroke of a pen. A beautiful film by Alonso Alvarez Barreda.” This was the caption for the amazing video I received via Facebook from my NextNow … [Read more...]

How Can Such An Avid Blogger Miss Blog Day? Oops!

Aw, crud, it’s ‘Blog Day’ and I might have missed it! Like a Hallmark Holiday that shanghais the buyer into feeling like they’ve missed an occasion of importance, (Heads up! … [Read more...]

GovTweets: A Snapshot of Election Dialogue

Not that a ton of teens are tweeting on Twitter just yet, but if helpful hacks like GovTweets take hold, the PoliSci exam cram kids will be au courant in a micro-second with these little info … [Read more...]