Is There A “Decline” In Kids Reading Or Is It Just Shifting Forms?

Nov. 16, 2010 When I lobbed the “what do you read just for fun” query at some middle and high school kids recently, reactions ran the gamut from quizzical, “what do you mean by “for fun” to disturbing, “I don’t have TIME to read for fun" or "I have too much school work”…and yet their nose-in-the-text-screen antics tells another story by sheer observation. Kids are CONSTANTLY … [Read more...]

Is There a Possibility the FCC Hasn’t Seen The Irony Here?

Dec. 6, 2009 Samuel Johnson once said, “Our aspirations are our possibilities.” I love the limitless empowerment in the short phrase, so when I heard there was going to be a new online DIY craft show called ‘The Possibility Shop’ with Jim Henson’s name attached, I thought perhaps there would be a “possibility” that media would be used to create a sort of eco-Etsy style … [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...]

Virtual-to-Real World Play Patterns; Sims Used For Solutions?

Shaping Youth Correspondent Sara Grimes (at left) our hands-on research pro in the gaming arena and a smart as a whip academic to boot, (here's scholarly Sara at ACT Lab) has helped us ALL by distilling the findings from a new study on kids, toys and online play, which she posted on her blog Gamine Expedition. (always on our sidebar if you lose the link!) Here’s the … [Read more...]