YPulse Research Launches; Digital Youth Posts Videos Online

ypulse-researchthumbnail.jpgLots happening in the research realm lately, as CSM/MacArthur Foundation’s forum held at Stanford goes online in video format, after being webcast live into Second Life, which I wrote about here.

In case you missed the event, Global Kids has posted videos (in 3-parts) on YouTube. Plus, you can read summations of the research “From MySpace to Hip Hop: New Media In the Everyday Lives of Youth,” as well as other great data/publications via Digital Youth covering kids’ informal learning with digital media.

Gee, I wonder if they caught the Q&A when I was at the mike to ask how to keep the encroachment of corporate commercialism from altering the conversation in the youth arena? Hmn…I’ll take a peek later. Watch for me in a light-blue suit…(tho my question was somewhat dodged yielding a high ‘squirm factor’ among some panelists)

Meanwhile, over at YPulse, Anastasia Goodstein is rapidly expanding with YPulse Research and YPulse books soon to follow! They’re now offering a “neutral platform and channel within Ypulse.com, where youth-oriented research reports and white papers will be available for sale.”

anastasia-new-headshot.jpgWow. Congratulations, Anastasia…quite the youth pub tycoon!

Sounds like a new “rev gen cash cow” to me, as YPulse.com also provides “unique advertising opportunities where research companies can promote their companies, studies and services via traditional online advertising units.”

Already, bigwigs like the VP of Harris Interactive are saying it will become the “premier source” of intelligence on the youth market, as a centralized hub for “up-to-date research on trends, attitudes and behaviors”…ostensibly due to the ‘neutrality’ as a funnel from all arenas.

I assume this includes research from the nonprofit, child advocacy realm.

This begs the question…will Shaping Youth be able to afford these services for our own research or contribute in some manner of a swap by providing data of our own?

I continue to be frustrated by the economics of participation, as my industry colleagues tend to operate under a ‘pay to play’ rule which shuts out any real notion of ‘neutrality.’

Anastasia has been very understanding of this dilemma, so I’m hoping her initial notion for her ‘Mashups’ bringing together divergent voices and views holds true here.

As with most of the industry events, I simply can’t afford to be everywhere at once nor pay to sponsor to secure a guest panelist seat…(There’s something inherently icky about that to me anyway, as it not only frames the digital dialog based on economics, but alters it based on rev gen vs. intellectual firepower or conversational need, imho…)

Anyway, I’m hoping to snag a ‘press pass’ to Anastasia’s National Mashup July 14-15, 2008 as a win-win solution to bring the data to our readers…

But what about other worthy thought leaders in the youth sphere, will they be shut out of this new research data or have access to these white papers?

I mean, come on, folks, $5000 for the Teen Topix Study? How neutral is that? We ran a multi-grade, 8-week counter-marketing beta session in schools for that amount!

Even the lesser offerings at $200-300 bucks a pop is not exactly loose change for a start-up 501c3 like me either, so I’m hoping they’ll offer a nonprofit rate or partnership deal or something.

Otherwise, what’s to preclude a consortium of a few of us pooling funds to ‘go in on it’ together and circulate it among ourselves? Lisa? Barry? Sara? Anyone game to team here?

If that’s ‘against the rules’ or whatever, so be it; call me a renegade and a maverick. Clearly won’t be the first time…;-)

Here are more details on the offerings from YPulse and also the content line-up of the videos from Digital Youth. Enjoy!

The YPulse Research site launched this week with research reports from:

· AMP Agency, an Alloy Media + Marketing Company: Cause AMPlified

· AllyKatzz.com: What’s Hiding in Her Fridge?

· Harris Interactive: The Social Networking World

· OTX Research and the Intelligence Group: Teen Topix

· Pearl Research: The Phoenix Generation: China Youth Project – Online Games in China

SurveyU: The Now Report Winter 2008 Digital Edition

Digital Youth Research: Videos Now Online

First of all, who/what is Digital Youth Research about?

After finishing a loooong, late, and rewarding lunch with Michael Carter, one of the Principal Investigators of DYR today, I can safely say that the DYR projects are a blog series on research in itself! I’ll need more processing time to parcel out all of the data pinging around in my brain…

Soon I’ll post a formal interview with Michael Carter, and his many gaming projects, for unbeknownst to many, he’s also integrally involved with the forward-thinking Zookazoo.com virtual networking game as “Chief Playwrite.” (Izzy Neis wrote a preview about it here)

Michael Carter is an amazing man, and I thank our fellow NextNow digital collaboratory guru, Bill Daul (Mr. Human Glue) for following a hunch and connecting us…

Anyway…the Digital Youth videos are in three-parts on YouTube. Special thanks to Heather Horst for posting this on her blog as well as the MacArthur Foundation Spotlight Blog which is chock-full of digital media and learning data.

For more, check out this post/recap from education director Connie Yowell on the event, and this research poll (Logging into the Playground) which I blogged about earlier in this post on Digital Media in Education: First Annual Sesame Symposium.

Makes me wonder how academic and learning research like this will integrate (compare/contrast) with the YPulse Research offerings and findings…

Also wonder how great new communities like RezEd (virtual world happenings) will find their way into the YPulse Research white paper circles if some of that data starts surfacing as quantifiable…

Hmn…Anyway, without further ado:

Digital Youth Video Content Key:

The first video features: Julie Stasch, the Vice President of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, who is introducing the forum.

The second video features: researchers for the Digital Youth Project, including Mimi Ito who discussed Participatory Learning in a Networked Society: Lessons From the Digital Youth Project; danah boyd who focused upon Teen Socialization Practices in Networked Publics; Heather Horst who examined family dynamics in Understanding New Media in the Home; and Dilan Mahendran, who discussed Hip Hop Music and Meaning in the Digital Age.

The third and final video: is a panel discussion featuring Dale Dougherty, General Manager, Maker Media Division, O’Reilly Media; Deborah Stipek, Dean, Stanford University School of Education; Kenny Miller, EVP & Creative Director, MTV Networks’ Global Digital Media; Linda Burch, Chief Education & Strategy Officer, Common Sense Media and moderator Connie Yowell, Director of Education, The MacArthur Foundation.

Reminder: Friday, May 30 is the final ‘early discount registration’ for the YPulse National Mashup, July 14-15, 2008.

Full YPulse Mashup Prices will jump from $845-$995, and from $495-$595 for nonprofits/academics.

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Comments

  1. There is always so much information here in your blog, thank you!

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