Yesterday I posted about an event called "Movement" and linked to everyone except the event itself. Here is the link to the Movement site. Also, Ypulse reader Ryan wrote to tell me about another "trend" in the Christian youth space, which I found fascinating. He said:
BTW, relating back to the same section that was speaking about youth ministers reaching out into youth culture one of the trends that's recently become a discussion point for youth that are both liberal and religious is deciding whether to call themselves Christian or not, they like the socially active and positive sides of Christianity (actively trying to make their neighborhoods and cities better, helping the homeless and troubled, etc) but don't want the stigma of fundamentalism that the word implies.
When I was at the recent MacArthur Foundation event at Stanford (btw you can watch some video from the event here and here), I crashed the dinner reception and was chatting with danah boyd and a few others about youth ministers. They make up a sizable portion of Ypulse readers and also follow danah's work in large numbers as well. Over the past four years (yes, Ypulse turned four this month!), I have been surprised by who is actually the most steeped in youth culture, media and marketing. Apart from execs at MTV or agencies that specialize in reaching youth, it's YA librarians and youth ministers. In a way, it makes sense -- both of these groups are driven by something greater than the almighty dollar -- in one case, they are driven by "the almighty" period. They both genuinely care about teenagers and are selling something bigger (literacy, salvation) than a sneaker or a candy bar.
I think that many of us who see ourselves as liberal are fearful of youth ministry or at least a flavor of it tinged with more judgmental fundamentalist thinking that tends to focus on the afterlife vs. this life (i.e. Battlecry and Livin' It see my past posts here and here). The reality is that youth ministry spans many denominations, and that there are even some evangelicals who lean towards more pro-social ministries engaged in trying to change the here and now.
I was pleasantly surprised to get word of this event called "Movement" in my inbox this morning. The focus is on social change and the key players include To Write Love On Her Arms (focuses on addiction), The Glue Network (social networking for social change), Walking on Water (surf community), Invisible Children (former Ypulse Mashup speakers) and Refuge (an OC youth ministry).
What I am always amazed at is how well these ministries are able to replicate very sophisticated design, marketing and technology in their efforts as well as create their own music and subculture within the hard to crack action sports subcultures. Whether they are more fundamentalist or more tolerant, all of these organizations attract thousands of teens to these events. It's worth checking out these sites as case studies in design and messaging.
'iCarly' star to record (Miranda Cosgrove has signed a deal with Columbia Records. Plus Disney Radio launches a mobile site to reach tweens) (press release) (MediaPost, reg. required)
- 'Baby fight club' (Channel 4 doc about kids' ultimate fighting) (via MTV Sticky)
- 'Gossip Girl's' genius (New York Magazine on how "Gossip Girl" is a new kind of hit. Problem is the network needs it to still be an old kind of hit. We'll find out if not being able to watch online helps or hurts ratings)
- Remember Corey? (the Australian MySpace party boy? He landed a role on "Big Brother" Down Under) (Daily Telegraph)
- Edelman goes Hollywood (yes, the PR firm, launches a competition to identify young filmmaking talent) (USA Today)
- Reaching young Latinos (means understanding "bi-dentity" -- brands that do? McDonald's, Pepsi, Univision and Rocawear) (BrandWeek)
- The Fashion-Y Blog (run by teen blogger Kori Perten, who was profiled in the Boston Globe Plus new research says "teenage girls who dress in their culture's traditional clothing may fare better mentally and emotionally than their peers who try to assimilate.") (Reuters)
- Volunteer vacations (teens traveling the world to do "good") (Washington Post, reg. required)
- Call GoFish (GrowFish -- the tween/teen ad network keeps adding new sites)
- Coming in July... (the "High School Musical" reality show) (MediaPost, reg. required)
- MySpace launches 'Beyond the Rave' (with an 18 and up wall sure to entice every teen under 18 [already lying about their age on MySpace] to watch. I haven't watched it yet...feel free to weigh in if you have in the comments)
- MediaPost on The CW's OMFG campaign (and the mags who turned it down. I thought "Gossip Girl." Evidently no matter how big a hit you may be on iTunes, TV ratings still matter)
- TommyTV (Tommy Hilfiger launches a YouTube Channel)
A couple of interesting tidbits to share today...First up "Generation Debt" may not be in as much debt as we think -- at least when it comes to credit cards. According to new research from Peanut Labs:
- Generation-Y has impressively kept out of credit card debt; 47 percent of respondents say they currently have zero credit card debt.
- 17 percent of all respondents currently owe less than $500 and 23 percent of Gen-Y respondents owe $500 - $5,000 in credit card charges.
- On the downside, 3 percent of Gen-Yers are carrying more than $25,000 in credit card debt.
And there's new research on girls playing sports -- while more girls are playing organized sports, the girls who aren't becoming jocks (including an over representation of poor girls and girls of color) are becoming less active and less healthy. According to a forthcoming report from the U of Minnesota:
- Girls are participating in sports in record numbers, but their participation in physical activity outside of organized sports is declining, especially as they move from childhood into adolescence.
- Girls' participation rates in all types of physical activities consistently lag behind those of boys and girls' dropout rates are higher.
- Girls' experiences are shaped by the quality and expertise of the adults who make decisions, manage, govern, deliver and coach physical activity programming, many of whom have minimal -- if any -- formal training.
- Outdated, stereotypical standards of femininity and masculinity continue to influence the extent to which girls participate in or shun physical activity.
- Female athletes continue to be trivialized through the popular media's widespread sexualization of women.
- Traditional models of physical education organized around competition, team sports, power, strength, aggression and which focuses on the "motor elite" rather than skill development, disadvantage girls (and boys) who are less skilled to begin with, which may contribute to a lack of enjoyment and a shunning of lifelong participation in physical activity.
And finally, just in time for the Pope's impending visit, new research shows Catholic youth are more traditional than older Catholics. According to U.S. News & World Report:
Conducted in February 2008 by the Georgetown University-based Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, the survey of 1,007 self-identified Catholics found that regular mass-attending millennials are almost as accepting of church teachings as pre-Vatican II Catholics. And in some respects, their practices identify them as the most traditional.
For example, millennials are the most likely of any age cohort to follow Lenten practices, whether abstaining from meat on Fridays during Lent or receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday. They are also the most likely to say that devotion to the saints is very important to their idea of being a good Catholic. They are as likely as pre-Vatican II Catholics to say that Christ is truly present in the sacrament of the Eucharist, and they are among the most inclined to say that the Eucharist is very important to their religious practice. While they are even more prone than pre-Vatican II Catholics to say that they are at least somewhat involved in parish life, pre-Vatican II Catholics still attend mass more frequently.
Today's Ypulse Guest Post is from Shari Biediger. Shari is currently a freelance writer with over 13 years experience in youth media and marketing. If you're a Ypulse reader who works in youth media or marketing and have an idea for a Ypulse Guest Post, get in touch!
What Youth Marketers Can Learn From Youth Ministry
It was a cool spring evening down by the river, and there was a rockin' band, about two-dozen young people, and an outdoor basketball court-turned-dance floor. Nice night for a party.
Then the Candlelight Crashers showed up ... a loosely organized band of teens who showed up at my 15-year-old daughter's retreat site over the weekend. (I say "loosely" only because they weren't wearing matching T-shirts ... yet ... and you won't find them in a Google search either.) She was there with 25 others from her all-girl, inner city Catholic high school.
Teen ACTS retreats are teen-led weekends where high schoolers sing, pray and generally talk about God, church and community service. According to their report, the 11-year-old ACTS movement now exists in Alaska, California, Connecticut and Missouri, as well as all over Texas.
These Crashers came loudly, uninvited and unknown (though not unwelcome), like they do at retreats all over the area nearly every weekend. I was intrigued as they danced and sang, that they had obviously sought out this "Jesus party," yet with good intentions. They didn't fit into one "type" or "clique" but were a mix of teens from artsy to preppy to loner.
OK, it's not like there was nothing else going on in town. But they had no doubt experienced an ACTS retreat themselves, and knew it was the best place for a free party. (It was probably easy to get mom and dad to hand over the car keys as well.)
A 2005 Harris Interactive Survey (.pdf) reported how religious leaders do a great job recognizing the need to be relevant to teens, and if they didn't do it now, it would be too late to establish lifelong faith. Now if Candlelight Crashers, who happily choose to spend their Saturday nights in this way, isn't an example of how effective they've been in beginning to create a lifetime preference, I'm not sure what is. Especially when it comes to picking up where parental influence leaves off, which can be a model applied so many other, uh, industries as well. After all, youth ministry has been around since the mid-1800s.
Of course, Crashers isn't a widespread movement and not an official group of any kind. But I loved how they subtly express their reaction to an experience. They serve as a non-digital reminder of how you can tell when your marketing efforts are a slam-dunk: when you see them (youth) make it social, make it fun, make it a little "underground."
- Broadway 2.0 (new sites look to communicate with a new generation of fans. Given the massive success of Legally Blond, Spring Awakening and Wicked, this makes sense) (Variety)
- Zipit (AP story on the teen cell phone alternative we covered back in September when they were at Digital Life)
- Why Gen Y Matters (speech given by a telecom exec on recruiting and retaining Gen Y- "In a nutshell, an echo boomer's dream job likely includes: social networks; work/life balance; personal growth; work that matters; opportunities to do good; quality of life; and creativity.") (Broadcast Newsroom)
The Webkinz model gets 'Freakier' (latest entrant is "Freaky Creatures." Other new kids' worlds include Dizzywood [formerly Zoodaloo] and from Scotland, mixibodz, kind of like Meez - portable avatars)
- The language of social networking (is not universal -- Netlog attempts to connect young Europeans speaking many different languages) (Wall Street Journal)
- Love this (Teens For Safe Cosmetics) (Tuscaloosa News)
Note to Ypulse NYC readers: You can still register for the Tween Mashup online today and tomorrow and save $100. Otherwise you can register (for $100 more) on site.
- Shiny happy activism (Mother Jones on sites where teens are talking about, if not doing "good." They must have written this before Think MTV launched their addition to this list)
- Hey! Nielsen (yes, Nielsen has launched its own pop culture social network where YOU can rate your favorite entertainment)
- Brooklyn to school teens in advertising (wow, it's Fame for teens who want to get into the ad/marketing biz. Make these kids your interns now! I think all schools should have some version of this curriculum for media and marketing literacy purposes) (The Brooklyn Eagle)
- Why are inner city teens obese? (Because there are no decent grocery stores in these neighborhoods...great stats on the real causes of the obesity epidemic) (USA Today)
- Stop the violence (congress holding a hearing into demeaning media images of women and African Americans) (L.A. Times, reg. required)
- CW premiering two shows... (on Yahoo! TV first including "Aliens in America." Did anyone else watch "Chuck" last night? I thought it was cute - geeks are the new studs.)
