September 2, 2010 Without a doubt, guerrilla marketing campaigns can be effective disruptors as well as clever marketing and teaching tools for advertising AND media literacy. But what happens when … [Read more...]
Toxic Teen Messaging In A K-Mart/Alloy Episodic: The First Day
September 1, 2010 by 19 Comments
September 1, 2010 It’s the first of September, as the first day of school angst bubbles up throughout the nation on either side of this ‘premiere’ week. (many have started school already, some are … [Read more...]
COPPA: Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Filing
July 1, 2010 by 6 Comments
July 1, 2010 For those mumbling, "COPPA schmoppa, there goes Amy into policy wonk land, please translate media jargon into usable tidbits" I'll offer a few primers... What is COPPA? Why do we … [Read more...]
Grammy Glitz and Gimmicks Galore: Did Kids Watch? Did You?
February 1, 2010 by 4 Comments
Feb.1, 2010 Promise I’ll leave the 52nd Annual Grammy music deconstruction to the review pros, but just wanted to comment on the media and gadgetry of 21st century events in new media style. Where … [Read more...]
iPad makes women iMad? Gender or Generational Naming Gaffe?
January 28, 2010 by 16 Comments
Jan. 28, 2010 While the Baltimore Sun visual at left handily depicts the pros and cons of the new iPad tablet gizmo at a glance, geek girls and IT career women have been raising an iBrow at the iPad … [Read more...]
Halloween Beyond the Cliché: Packaging Boyhood Part Two
October 27, 2009 by 13 Comments
Oct. 7, 2014 Update I realize I've been 'deconstructing' Halloween for years with pushback on the societal sexploitation of girls as we fiercely try to "Take Back Halloween" by mythbusting "market … [Read more...]
Josh in a Box: Helpful Advice For Parents of Teens!
October 21, 2009 by 7 Comments
Oct. 21, 2009 What if I told you a few of my favorite advice slingers and youth analysis pros aren’t even parents at all? There’s Anastasia Goodstein of Ypulse speaking from the GenX pulpit (ok, … [Read more...]
SmartyCard’s Summer Challenge With Scholastic: Heads Up for Fall!
May 28, 2009 by 18 Comments
May 28, 2009 I was just about to post an in-depth review and analysis of the merits and watch-worthy aspects of the new SmartyCard.com "learn and earn" kids' program for 3rd-6th graders, when I … [Read more...]
Consider This: Virtual Worlds In Institutional Settings
May 7, 2009 by 2 Comments
May 7, 2009 See this smiling face? Meet my goddaughter, Lara, who recently turned 12. We gifted her an Elf Island 'virtual world' membership for 'premium content' as part of her B-Day celebration. … [Read more...]
Shaping Youth At Ypulse 2009: Send In Your Priorities
May 1, 2009 by 16 Comments
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 … [Read more...]
Shaping Youth Co-Sponsors “Consuming Kids” Movie Premiere!
April 3, 2009 by 7 Comments
April 2, 2009 Academic rockstars are descending upon U.C. Berkeley April 24th, as CCFC leaders speak in person on the commercialization of childhood and the impact on our culture!Shaping Youth is … [Read more...]
Get Out of Your Own Life! Environmental Influence on Kids
March 30, 2009 by 9 Comments
Mar. 30, 2009 Mea culpa for the unannounced vanishing act, but I’ve been out of town interviewing teens in a different ‘pocket’ of the greater Bay Area, exploring how environmental influences (peers, … [Read more...]
Motrin, Media Mamas and Twitter Tirades: Marcom Blunders Redux
November 17, 2008 by 26 Comments
“When will they ever learn? When will they eeeeeeeever learn?” With apologies to Pete Seeger this media mama is having a déjà vu moment blinking back to the corporate … [Read more...]
The Age of Conversation 2: A Tribe of 237 Leading Change
October 31, 2008 by 20 Comments
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...]
FCC Comment Extension On Kids Product Placement ‘til Nov. 17!
October 23, 2008 by 1 Comment
Your turn to sound off if you’d like to join me (and 173 other orgs and commenters at last count) to reinforce the notion that embedded advertising (product placement) does not belong in young … [Read more...]
CCFC Successfully Knocks Sense Into Scholastic Re: Bratz Books
September 17, 2008 by 5 Comments
As an anti-censorship media maven, I’m always reticent about ‘book bans’ of any sort, except when they’ve devolved into sexualized slop like Bratz diva doll toxic commercialism … [Read more...]
Get Greens For Your School: Free Idea Hamster Here to Help
September 12, 2008 by 10 Comments
Free ideas for the asking, folks! It’s not every day you see me donating brain time for a grant tied in with corporate sponsorship, as I can smell a wellness PR ploy a mile away…but the … [Read more...]
Media Rules! Shaping Youth Interviews Brian Reich
June 30, 2008 by 2 Comments
We interrupt this series on product placement and new FCC media rules to add a very pertinent voice into the mix, digital dynamo Brian Reich, co-author with Dan Solomon of Media Rules! Brian Reich … [Read more...]
Pop Culture on Parade: JibJab’s Hilarious Manic Media Montage
Jan.2, 2010 My head is still spinning (no, not from ‘The Hangover’ post)... My brain is simply trying to catch up with my eyeballs in this frenetic musical media montage which salutes the past year … [Read more...]