We're heading into the final days before the latest Ypulse conference happening January 31-February 1 in Santa Monica, CA. I'm incredibly excited about our program -- if you're trying to reach college students, you should not miss this event. Other conferences may have "college tracks," but none promise this type of day-long immersion with some of the most knowledgeable people in this field. You can register online here. And on that note, we have added a final speaker, Mike Marriner, one of the founders of "Roadtrip Nation," the series following young people who hit the road after graduation in an attempt to learn from inspirational leaders who forged their own paths. More about Mike:

Post-graduation, feeling sheltered and underexposed to the world around him, Mike hit the road (with friends Brian McAllister and Nathan Gebhard) in an unsound 1985 Green RV to interview people who defined their own roads in life including the founder of Starbucks, Lobstermen, artists, the founder of Barnes and Noble, CEO of National Geographic Ventures, the scientist who decoded the human genome, CEO of Dell Computers, truck drivers, filmmakers, social activists, and many others. Contrary to what they had learned in school or from growing up in California, they learned that people can build lives in line with their passions and individuality.

That trip inspired them to create Roadtrip Nation, a grassroots organization that mobilizes students to hit the road, interview leaders from all walks of life, and explore the world for themselves. Footage from these trips are shared with individuals everywhere through the Roadtrip Nation Series on PBS, books, various broadcast partnerships, and online at www.roadtripnation.com.

Also, due to financial constraints on our end, our friends at Gorilla Soapbox will not be recording this event for us. So if you aren't there in person, you won't find it online. They will be posting video from the Tween Mashup soon...

The Ypulse College Mashup would not be happening without our sponsors -- a big thanks to our founding sponsor, Mr. Youth, our sponsor CollegeWeekLive, our research sponsor SurveyU and our exhibitors CafeScribe, Imagine Marketing Agency and our newest exhibitor, Nokia NSeries. Thanks also to our friends at Cynopsis, Youth Market Alerts, EMF, and New Music Tip Sheet for helping to get the word out.

Posted by anastasia