Shaping Youth Father’s Day Letter to President Obama

June 17, 2009 Bill Cosby has always been my favorite star, dating back to my childhood listening to his comedy routines on record albums.  (roar, says the digital dinosaur!) It seems particularly fitting that President Obama has become a bit of a ‘Cosby-esque dad’ with his calm, approachable Cliff Huxtable demeanor and a media perception echoing that same warm, casual  "my … [Read more...]

Ypulse Offers Stimulus Package for Youth Marketing Mashup: 30% Off!

May 13, 2009 Even big league marketers seem to be falling on tough times, as I just noticed Anastasia Goodstein has posted a “30% off” deal for the final weeks of registration for the 2009 Ypulse Youth Marketing Mashup June 1-2 in San Francisco. It reminds me of my days at the ad agency working on high end cruise line accounts that didn’t want to devalue the brand with … [Read more...]

Shaping Youth At Ypulse 2009: Send In Your Priorities

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 among the über-marketers at the YPulse Mashup June 1 and 2 as well as the Tweens Online (Un)Conference taking place the day prior. Attending as ‘press’ sends a positive sign that … [Read more...]

What’s On Tweens’ Minds? Meet Denise Restauri of AllyKatzz

I figure the Obama girls are going to be a huge focal point in the months ahead (gawd help those darlings) and self-ascribed tween “experts” will be crawling out of the media morass elbowing each other for air time and talk show gigs, so why not check in on the conversations transpiring on tween-talk hubs themselves? Since my tween has just turned teen, and … [Read more...]

Kids Online UnConference: Everyone Has An Agenda, Including YOU!

November 13, 2008: Be there for the Kids Online: Balancing Fun and Safety Unconference! A few years back when I heard the geek/chic term “UnConference” I immediately thought it must be a “virtual” happening instead of a fly-in to reduce one’s carbon footprint. (shows you how I roll) Then I shrugged, “maybe it’s an … [Read more...]