July 27, 2010 “Why aren’t you posting on Shaping Youth every day like you used to, Amy? Are you on summer hiatus like the networks?” Um, I guess that’s what you’d call it. Frankly, it never occurred to me that I needed to ‘inform’ people that I was trying to eke out some ‘white space’ and life balance in the name of healthy media consumption, because it seemed like an … [Read more...]
Media Slave? ReShaping Habits For More Summer Fun
Flirt Bots, Sex Bots and Artificial Intelligence: Future Shlock?
Feb. 10, 2010 Anyone remember sweet Rosie the Robot from The Jetsons cartoon? (If you're not having a retro flashback there's a 2012 live-action remake in development so you'll no doubt hear about her soon) Robotic maids and servile techno gizmos and conveniences have come a looooong way since Rosie... Some show humanity ascending with hope and promise, others pose … [Read more...]
Iger the Ignorant? Disney Chief Says Kids Don’t Care About Privacy?
July 24, 2009 Hey, kids, did you know the mouse house thinks it’s okay to mine your personal information and sell it to advertisers to make a buck off your back without your permission? Wonder what Maine legislators that just banned data mining of minors will say to that? (h/t to Ypulse and Privo!) Reuters reports Disney CEO Robert Iger is bullish on direct web … [Read more...]
Privo Privacy Vault: How Safe is Kids Digital Data? Part 2
July 14, 2009 Yesterday in my Part One preamble to the interview with Privo executives, I tried to give an overview of how 'kids online safety' is more than 'balancing safety and fun' it's politics, it's opportunistic marketing, it's regulatory, and...it's complicated. With dogged tenacity here's my attempt to sort out how to keep kids safe online (for parents, as well as … [Read more...]
Keeping Kids Safe From Predators (er, Marketers) Part One
July 13, 2009 Since researcher Sara M. Grimes opened up the conversation on data mining and privacy practices for us, I’d like to keep the focus on this important topic for a sec, because I DO believe we can use media and marketing to impact kids in favorable ways, and have founded our entire organization on that premise to sift out the sludge and elevate the possibility. … [Read more...]