Celebs battle over the tween market (Duffs vs. Olsens vs. Sprouslings) (MSNBC)

- Old white men joining Facebook (I mean politicians. Facebook is selling them special profiles just in time for the fall elections) (TIME.com)

- Speaking of old white men (Slate imagined Rupert Murdoch's MySpace profile)

- Fuse meets 'The Office' (new reality series "The P.A." debuts Aug. 15 - thanks Amy!)

- Hope is Emo (from the guys at MadTV -- I'm really hurting so bad right now watching this) (via fimoculous)

- Smoking is back ("the percentage of high school students reporting that they have smoked cigarettes in the past month increased to 23 percent in 2005 from 21.9 percent in 2003"...rut roh) (Reuters)

- Xbox to go (rumors swirling that there will be a portable in time for x-mas) (Wired)

- Marketers scramble to get into the game (or USA Today discovers advergaming)

- Summer Current (not the TV network where I work, but the college mag with the same name published by Newsweek -- packed with goodies including how campus cops are using Facebook)

P.S. I asked Ypulse reader Bill (who is in action sports marketing) what the latest trend is in that space. He wrote:

"There is on thing I might mention, what I'm calling 'Spicoli is dead.' For a really long time, surfers (and eventually skateboarders and surfers) were viewed at as slackers and degenerates (some of which justifiably comes from the participants being younger and rebelling). Well, the sports aren't all grown up yet, but they've come a long way. When you see Danny Way jumping the Great Wall of China on a skateboard or surfer Mark Healey riding a wave 1.5 times his size in Hawaii, you have to realize these guys train off their boards as well. Guys like Healey (who is also on the Hawaiian State Spear Fishing Team) train almost every day - Healey himself running while carrying huge boulders under water and riding an exercise bike while holding his breath...."

So actions sports is still about a certain lifestyle but increasingly about the sport.

Posted by anastasia