Here are my picks for the best and worst in teen media and marketing this year. Feel free to add to these lists in the comments!

Best

Virgin Mobile's ReGeneration initiative: I can't say enough good things about this effort. They did almost all of it in-house with support from the top. They partnered with great organizations (YouthNoise and StandUp for Kids) in a way that actually gives those organizations traffic and money and brought an under-the-radar issue to light (youth homelessness). Coolhunting just posted about the ReGeneration art auction that happened in NYC.

Jones Soda: Jones Soda has successfully and holistically integrated the user-generated vibe into its product - whether it's designing the lables or rating new flavors, this company gets what it means to hand over control to its consumers. Jones also gets the "MySpace Ecosystem" and has created branded slideshows and layouts its fans can use on MySpace to spread the gospel.

Veronica Mars: This season's fall storyline provoked a lot of controversy and discussion -- it also raised awareness of the rampant use of date rape drugs on campus. As you all know I'm a huge VMars fan anyway, but I think this season gets extra kudos -- and it seems it has paid off in the ratings, earning the highest the show has received this fall.

BG Blast: I'm not sure how successful this campaign has been for Busch Gardens, but I think they deserve big kudos for launching a podcast series that is driven by teens. They partnered with Emo Girl and offer opportunities for other teens to host. They handed over the reigns, and it shows.

Virtual Laguna Beach: I am giving MTV a nod here for trailblazing in the avatar/virtual reality space. It was the perfect series to start with because of its rabid fan following and fascination with a place, a town, a vibe. It's also a brilliant way to keep fans satiated in between seasons. I think they are going to have to actively program the site with events, parties, etc. in order for it to be successful long term, but I give them props for being the first network to try this.

Honorable Mentions:
The Adobe Foundation and The Omidyar Network for supporting youth media with millions of dollars this year.
MySpace for dipping its toe into youth activism with Rock for Darfur and the MySpace Impact Awards.
Trailblazing youth librarians for launching a teen library in Teen Second Life.
Zadi and her crew for the energetic and entertaining JetSetShow vlog for teens.

Worst:

Wal-Mart's The Hub: Wal-Mart's short lived attempt at creating a "hip and cool" social networking site for teens. You can read my analysis of what went wrong here.

Facebook's Newsfeed: Sometimes being so in awe of your own features means forgetting about your users. I think Facebook learned a lot from this misstep.

Seventeen and Paris Hilton: I'm a fan of Atoosa, and I'm sure Paris sells magazines, but I think Seventeen's readers deserve better than PH and her, um, sincere PSA about drinking and driving.

Girls Gone Wild: One of the driving forces of the Porn Normal trend, finally got busted to featuring girls under the age of 18 in its spring break videos.

Teaching brands: Clearasil and P&G for having teachers give out product samples in classrooms as a way to "teach" about skin care and menstruation.

Posted by anastasia