What’s a YPulse TWEEN Mashup? I’d say it’s a mishmash of exciting people and conversations that erase the polarity between any two sectors to smush the thinking into a fresh point of view.
Nonprofits and for profits. Youth and adults. Academics and entertainment. Teachers and students. Sometimes even outreach and outrage in the marketing and advocacy realm.
The agenda and speakers have taken shape, and it’s all happening in New York September 28, with the last call for the early bird rate NOW! We interviewed Anastasia Goodstein here, (author of Totally Wired: What Tweens and Teens are Really Doing Online) and this mashup event is her brainchild. It comes right on the heels of her first successful TEEN national mashup in San Francisco this past summer, which Shaping Youth attended. (more on that in a more robust post tmrw)
This TWEEN full-day business conference focuses on how 8-13 year olds are using technology and what brands, media companies and .orgs are doing to reach them “in a safe, COPPA compliant, ethical and authentic way.”
Like the new Quantum Shift.tv community which I’m eager to embrace with zeal (I’m interviewing Hugo Bonjean, their CEO next week, stay tuned) this YPulse Mashup has an opportunity to align accountability and responsibility with ethical marketing and sponsors. Will it?
YPulse Tween Mashup Advisors include the leaders of some of the most exciting companies and media literacy educators that interact with young people today…And a host of tween innovators doing fabulous things we embrace!
Such as? Media literacy, online internet safety, innovation through education…Examples?
AMLA champion and Media Education Lab’s Renee Hobbs will be speaking. Renee created MyPopStudio which I wrote about here. (their interactive online tool for tweens is a core part of Shaping Youth’s multitasking demos)…
New Moon is a partner org…New Moon brings girls’ voices to the world via magazine, books, and online presence, founded by Nancy Gruver, author of “How to Say it to Girls.” Nancy’s also aligned with the fabulous Daughters.com newsletter which I constantly use (and sometimes write for!) spearheaded by editor in chief Helen Cordes.
Erin Reilly, the age verification and parental consent queen will be there. Erin’s founder of the award-winning interactive hub, Zoey’s Room encouraging tween girls in math, science, technology and engineering…
And entrepreneurs like Addie Swartz, CEO of B*Tween Productions’ Beacon Street Girls, who exemplifies the indie bridge between their book series offline and their tween exploration online will offer tips on delivering content consistent with a brand’s positive message.
There are all kinds of helpful media finds from the prepaid phones of Kajeet to Privo’s online safety…
Point? This is NOT all about marketers trying to snag mindshare of little munchkins.
True, YPulse also hosts a panel of tech savvy tweens sharing their top likes, dislikes and personal preferences, in a real time, ask ’em anything feedback forum that marketers drool over like a focus group fandango…
Anastasia explains, “Part of the Ypulse mission, and by extension, the Ypulse events mission is to facilitate connection and cooperation between non-profit youth media and commercial media and marketers.”
“This is why we have a reasonable non-profit attendee rate. It’s also why we gave free exhibit space to local youth media organizations. We will always include young people in our events in meaningful ways…Teens and youth media are active participants.”
She summed in her event wrap-up last round:
“It’s not just about marketing. It’s about making lasting connections. And as we learned on the social change panel yesterday, everyone has a brand, (even if you’re a non-profit) we ALL have a message and an audience to reach — and that, my friends, is marketing.”
I’ll be there virtually on Sept. 28th (hmn, maybe we can get Anastasia to stream it into a virtual world and I’ll send in my avatar?) and hope to stay informed via video and podcast, but I encourage you to be there in person, because that’s where the real conversations are fueled with energy and promise.
Anyone want to be a stringer for Shaping Youth? I’m hoping Ashley will attend and report back for us from New York. Izzy Neis can fill us in too, as she’ll be moderating the ‘new school’ panel of virtual worlds and online communities. Stay tuned…
Also of note: Anastasia has cut a deal with Digital Media Wire which is putting on their Millennials Conference in Manhattan right before the Tween Mashup…
If anyone is attending both conferences and willing to do some recon in that realm, Shaping Youth would LOVE to hear some firsthand intell from a ‘fly on the wall.’ Ping me!
My twelve year old grandson, really surprised me last weekend when he spent the night. William is a wonderful young man, who is entering that zone where he is no longer a child, teen, nor adult..
While he was here, the phone, literally grew out of ear. Whenever he was able to use it, he did. He was very cooperative to my requirements, (when I wanted his full attention)and always made sure it was acceptable to be using the phone when he was alone.
William’s mom and dad make sure he’s not over in minutes or texting. He is aware of the phone rules, where Verizon allows free calls or not. However, my husband and I were surprised that so many of his friends have cell phones and the instant communication that goes on no matter where the kids are. William, for instance was with us which was 40 miles from some of his friends and they were always talking. He never walked away from us for a conversation and was very comfortable knowing we could hear what he was saying.
My husband wondered if it was a bad idea to allow kids to be so closely in touch with each other at all times? When William fell asleep, I noticed the phone was next to his ear. I don’t find being on the phone an issue. My position is I’d rather have them talking in my presence rather than meeting in dark places or behind buildings to share whatever they share.
Even though at 61 I thought I knew a lot.. William took me back a step. I now realize..there is much to learn about this new world, our kids having access too phones, computers, ipods, etc. How should we react, and what should, could, or will we do, is another question?
We need to understand more about the current status of kids and communication today. I thought email, voice mail, text messaging was for adults. I’m so far beyond the new world, I hope your seminars introduce what kids are doing to the naive parents and grandparents. and how they should react to the new way kids can stay attached.
Suggest how they might consider reacting to their kids phones and computers. What amount of time and energy they will be allowed. Of course, you won’t suggest this to the older teens. However, those under 15, should know the rules, and how to respect them. The question my husband posed is interesting. Should there be a time limit to phone calls? I don’t think so, however, I’m not sure and I hope more information will come from your group.
Thanks for your commitment to our most precious resource, our children, the future. Hope I can figure out how I can help. Recently just learning about blogs, websites and the avenues available to adults and kids. It will take me awhile. However, I’m committed and so is my 41 year old daughter. I speak for Sherry and I. Our best.
Dorothy from grammology
Baffled at this time…
wow…well, Dorothy, you’ve posed some interesting (possibly even rhetorical) questions, as I feel everyone has their own parent/child relationship parameters in terms of trust, leeway, ‘rules-n-regs’ & such.
I’d say the whole phone/connectivity bit differs in every family, and often among children even within the SAME family! (you might have a 15 year old 2am texting addict with a twin who’s a ‘meet me at ___’ wherever, F2F type that only uses the phone as a conduit for connectivity.)
Developmentally, kids are peer driven toward nonstop connectivity at this age, and media just turns up that volume into ‘always on’ environs…
Many kids handle self-rein just fine; it’s up to the parents to stay informed, media literate, and enlightened far beyond thinking that a cellphone is some sort of ‘personal safety’ tether…To me, that’s the biggest naive ‘uh-oh’ we’ve found time & again in parent education ‘holes.’
Parents get junior a fully loaded phone thinking they’ll use it for pick ups at soccer without realizing they’ve literally just ‘put the whole world in their hands.’ (internet, camera, texting, pranks, budgetary $$ overages/minutes) Again, media literacy is key here. Seems many parents need it more than the kids do at this point!
CSM has a few basic tips on Safe & Smart Cell Phone Use for Kids here, (link below) but most of this is pretty obvious. http://www.commonsensemedia.org/parent_tips/commonsense_view/index.php?id=253&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=weekly&utm_campaign=212&utm_content=QA(or Maybe not though, for you make a good point on the naivete of parents/careproviders and since I tend to live/eat/breathe the media zeitgeist much seems elementary.
With that in mind, let’s start w/the basics…how many kids (under 17) are packing cell phones in the U.S.??? Ping?! Time’s up. 85%. Whoa. yeah, I know. So your grandson is in no select group…he’s just being a 21st century kid.
I think you make a good point in the notion of time allotment overall though, because as I wrote in this piece about kids being so ‘wired’ that they miss out on the natural/outdoor world, something is sacrificed when kids are TOO media connected sans limitations and common sense. https://shapingyouth.org/blog/?p=132
Just think about the last time you were on a hike and heard someone’s beeper, cellphone/whatever go off and the silence was broken by blab. Bleh.
Ditto during intimate restaurant/dinner conversation, or even on the street/bus/commute en route from point A to B. Noise pollution.
No one cares who hears what. And though I agree w/your point about kids being ‘open’ w/their calls (you should be flattered he trusts you so!) there’s such a thing as courtesy in certain environs. Sounds like he’s got a good handle on that, too…We need to use media as tools, not be a slave to them. And “off and on” should remain part of the lexicon forevermore, in my book.
And just in case you need evidence of that one…here’s a ‘whoa nelly’ moment on the cell/safety front: A 2007 AAA and Seventeen Magazine survey found that 51% of teens 16-17 talk on cell phones behind the wheel, 43% read text messages; & 32% of them said they text while driving.
Um…I’d say…there’s a solid case for the ol’ common sense.
Amy, great information I’ll share with our family..and my husband. Thanks for responding.
Dorothy from grammology