'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)

- What young Catholics want... (from the Pope) (Newsweek)

- MTV investigates (the Emo attacks in Mexico - with video interviews)

P.S. Thanks to the media broadcasting the cheerleader beatdown everywhere, we now have the first "copycat" case. (Jezebel)

Posted by anastasia

The CW pulls 'Gossip Girl' from the web (OMFG. This seems like a bad move to me. It's never good to give people something for free online and then take it away. Teens know how to watch TV using Torrents, too, ya know) (L.A. Times, reg. required)

- Teens still love soaps (ratings up for CBS) (Media Life Magazine)

- Sarah Marshalls lash back (against Judd Apatow) (Fancast)

- MTV launches its 'Movie Spoofs' contest (again for the 2008 MTV Movie Awards)

- Bebo announces its 'Gap Year' winners (including one from Chicago who will join the globe trotting twentysomethings for this online reality series)

- 'Beyond the Rave,' ctd. (danah boyd commented yesterday that the series is vampire/horror and asked, "if you find out why the age marking, I'd love to know." I asked MySpace and got this response: "MySpace has strict policies in place to ensure that younger users cannot view mature material on the site. Due to content that is designed for mature audiences in MySpaceTV's new Beyond the Rave series, MySpace has implemented specific safety precautions so that the delivery of the content is limited to mature audiences." My cynical side, says it's really to make it even MORE appealing.)

- MySpace music will save the music biz (says Chris DeWolfe. Plus good times for music blogs. And..Facebook fatigue, what fatigue?) (Wired) (AdAge.com, reg. required) (Alley Insider)

- Rock The Vote & Wiretap (looking for youth reporters to cover the election...Plus the United Nations Foundation and Better World Foundation running a video contest asking youth to advise the new president on what he OR she should do on their first day at work. And download this compilation of Latino artists from iTunes for $3.99 to benefit Vote Latino)

- Eating disorders (can be contagious. According to this study...) (Reuters)

- Alicia Keys (in WeeWorld! Plus loads of brands lining up for WeeWorld's Prom -- you know your WeeMe needs whiter teeth, right?)

- Playboy snowboards (I wonder what female boarders will think of these...) (Jossip)

- AOL to launch a site for young women (so...what happens to Yahoo! Shine if the two were to merge?) (MediaPost, reg. required)

- The 'New China' (on Current.com - thanks Andrea!. Plus another vid on "Young China") (BrandNoise)

- Want you to want me (not the Cheap Trick song, but a very cool data visualization of what people are saying on online dating sites. Plus SubwayCrush - "missed connections" on the NYC subway system) (danah boyd) (SubwayCrush via Fimoculous)

P.S. Happy Passover to all of you in "the tribe" and anyone else who likes this holiday!

Posted by anastasia

'MTV's Baby Woodwards' (The New York Observer on the teens behind MTV's new reality series "The Paper," which I can't wait to watch. Plus MTV attempting to reclaim its music roots with an "I Want My Music On MTV" contest? And the competition heats up online - Pitchfork.tv joins Videoogum in the indie music online video space)

- 'HSM 4' will happen (most likely without the original "High School Musical" cast "in tact") (MediaPost, reg. required)

- Gossip blogger/music tastemaker Perez Hilton (will get his own twice daily radio show on 'C' Entertainment)

- Do they still have the 'right stuff' (New Kids [who are all pushing 40] release a new single) (Idolator)

- Surrge (an iTunes for populists, according to Iconoculture)

- GoFish adds FactMonster (popular homework destination to its tween/teen ad network)

- MySpace launches (MySpace Latino....do Latino youth need or want a bilingual version...or will it be more popular with their parents?)

- GrindTV (launches an action sports channel on Yahoo!) (MediaWeek)

- Emoodicons (kinda like emoticons meets the mood ring. The price seems too high for teens but you never know...)

P.S. Newsletter readers: Check out yesterday's Ypulse Guest Posts on Facebook chat and Dove's "Fresh Takes."

Posted by anastasia

Something to cheer about? (personal care products targeting cheerleaders and other high school athletes with product samples and competitions. To me this is definitely marketing creep into schools/school activities. But since it's not going away, coaches should be talking with these students about why companies are inundating them with samples, i.e. marketing literacy. Plus J&J is expanding Clean & Clear for teen girls with "normal" skin, part of the burgeoning tween/teen girl personal care biz) (L.A. Times, reg. required) (Cosmetics Design)

- Trendrr (cool way to track what the internet is buzzing about) (via TrendCentral)

- NPR on Mexican emo bashing (and the homophobia fueling it)

- More than 57 million streams (of MTV's mobile videos. Plus inside "Speedracer's" multi-platform campaign with MTV) (press release) (Hollywood Reporter)

- LG15 lives! (or at least the actress who played Bree does -- starring in a new web series) (NewTeeVee)

- Soulja Boy analysis (pretty interesting article on the Soulja Boy phenomenon with proclamations like "the explosive popularity of that Soulja Boy dance partially reflects a change in how America raises our young") (PopMatters)

- Radiohead remix (latest way Radiohead is engaging with fans)

- Kid safety site boom (U.S. News on the latest launches)

- Kids choose ("Kids Choice" - ratings way up over last year)

- BKFK on a partner spree (the kid idea/inventor site working with Do Something, Weather Channel, CosmoGIRL! and more) (press release)

- UK tweens on MySpace (we knew this, now there's research. Plus a nice commentary in response to the TIME.com piece on fearing UK youth called "Hoodies" or "Goodies" basically arguing for the grey area in between) (UK Guardian)

- Tokyo Girls (the fusion of fashion and phones. Plus Solitaire, the girl game? Online card game gets a fashion spin)

- College students plea for cash (in a ugc contest from UPromise. Plus professor leaves when students text in class creating controversy) (via AdRants) (Inside Higher Ed)

- And finally, on the heels of the buzzworthy blog Stuff White People Like (is Stuff Jewish Young Adults Like. Oy.)

Posted by anastasia

Our cellphones ourselves (lengthy Washington Post, reg. required, article with lines like: "Girls stare into their cellphone screens as if into the mirrors of compacts, looking to see a reflection of themselves in who has called, who has messaged. Parents no longer know who has a crush on whom -- boys no longer call the house." Plus "Teeny Shoppers" (a .pdf report on attracting teens to retailers via mobile. AdWeek offers piece on mobile's challenges. And USA Today on the college fight song ringtone that's ringing up the profits...)

- The 'American Idol' effect (bringing in younger audiences to London's theater scene) (Media Life Magazine)

- Atoosa's alpha kitty (debuts on the Huffington Post...with a big announcement. Plus College Humor debuts its videos on Joost) (Media Post, reg. required)

- Miley's YouTube channel (Tommy2 asks: "Could this new account be something that was planned to help us feel a little more for her when the tabloids go after her?" Plus the Dove user generated ad winner...)

- The Flipside of internet fame (more on JuicyCampus and other internet nastiness. Plus read The Future of Reputation online for free) (Newsweek)

- Free love (free is the new "fill in the blank." Wired thinks so, too) (Trendwatching)

- Piczo not doing so hot (more social networking fatigue? And RockYou to reach Hispanic teens) (News.com)

- Athena (another new alternative online mag for girls. Plus Stuff White People Like -- pretty funny) (via Racialicious)

- Sexual assault... (a "fact of life" for girls and young women at school in Canada - yikes!) (CityNews)

- Losing their religion? ("Among Americans ages 18-29, one-in-four say they are not currently affiliated with any particular religion," according to a new Pew report)

Posted by anastasia

Current TV to go public (Paid Content has the details...Plus a dissenting view of the network from one of its viewer/producers - thanks Eric!) (Daily Kos)

- 'Gossip Girl'... (big on buzz, still not so much on TV ratings for The CW. Plus "quarterlife" has a new premiere time: Tuesday, Feb. 16 at 10 p.m., following hit reality program "The Biggest Loser." And Adult Swim censors two episodes of "The Boondocks" that criticize BET execs) (L.A. Times, reg. required) (Media Life Magazine) (Newsarama)

- Nick cruises (joins Disney in offering cruise vacations for families. Plus Disney's HSM plans to take over the world while Disney's internet group plans to take over kids' virtual worlds "eyeing subscriber revenue and brand recognition.") (press release) (New York Times, reg. required) (L.A. Times, reg. required)

- The 2.0 'generation gap' (AP story on youth reaction to adults joining MySpace and Facebook. New stats on social networking penetration - thanks Bob! CBC podcast on the Canadian teen Facebook cat killers - thanks Kim!)

- Parent company of video site Break.com... (launches new sites and an ad network for marketers trying to reach its young male audience) (MediaWeek)

- Cell phones are the new everything (including the new wristwatch: "Wristwatch sales have slowed -- down 25 percent for Timex between 2003 and 2005 -- as teens and young adults tell time by their phones.") (San Diego Tribune)

- Old Navy goes after H&M crowd (twentysomethings - [read: aspirational teens]) (Shiny Style)

- UK teen mag Sugar... (offering teens a pre-paid shopping card) (Marketing Week UK)

- More pre-teens boozing it up... (in Britain leading to "anti-social behavior") (Reuters)

- 'American Teen' (interview with director of the doc that generated lots of buzz at Sundance) (Cinematical)

- 'The right stuff'... (again? I guess if the Spice Girls could pull off a reunion so can New Kids On The Block) (Idolator)

P.S. Tune in to G4's "Attack of The Show" at around 4:30 p.m. PST today to see Ypulse College Mashup speaker David Burstein and me talking about the youth vote. And definitely check out Declare Yourself's latest telenovela-style video targeting Hispanic youth voters.

Posted by anastasia

Will model for free Tees (meet Alice Fraasa, the 19-year-old face of Snorg Tees) (USA Today)

- 'Degrassi's' gay Marco (is gay in real life) (After Elton)

- Hasbro and Mattel give the finger to the next generation of Scrabble players (by attempting to shut down Scrabulous -- just get them to pay for a license or something...And fans are fighting back) (USA Today) (BBC)

- Kids are freaked out (by clowns. I know my generation was permanently damaged by "Poltergeist") (Izzy Neis)

- Just another cheerleader (Hayden Panettiere may take the lead in the teen coming-of-age movie "I Love You, Beth Cooper.") (Reuters)

- Teacher resource alert (Library of Congress photos now on Flickr)

- How can the BBC engage youth? (with an "out of the black box" online video experience. Maybe this will help, too) (Mobile Youth) (Paid Content)

- Pepsi rolls out the 'Blue Carpet' (for young Latinos in a series of events related to upcoming Latin awards shows) (BrandWeek)

- Target misses the bull's eye (when it comes to PR by dissing our friend Amy over at Shaping Youth) (Gawker)

P.S. If any of you are at Sundance and plan to check out the doc "American Teen," let me know, I'd love to get a Ypulse reader review.

P.P.S. 14 days left until the Ypulse College Mashup...

Posted by anastasia

The 'Juno effect'? (in the wake of the Vanessa Hudgens photo scandal, Nickelodeon now has a scandal of its own -- yes, 16-year-old Jamie Lynn Spears is pregnant. And, speaking of "Juno," Slate lavishes praise on the flick for defusing the culture wars around teen pregnancy.) (USA Today)

- QuinceGirl teams with Terra (to reach Latina girls) (MarketingVOX)

- Jerry Bruckheimer to make big explosive games (with MTV. While students will make "serious games" at Parsons) (press release) (AP via USA Today)

- MTV censors M.I.A. video (evidently the bullets and bong references of the British female artist were too much for the same audience that gets to watch Tila Tequila's bisexual dating dilemma. Plus ReelPop reviews the streaming version of "Jackass 2.5" ) (Entertainment Weekly)

- 'Quarterlife' to hit the other small screen (TV that is, Feb. 18) (Fimoculous)

- Meet 'Them' ("In reaction to the misrepresentation by the media and a general lack of British teens on TV, 'them' sees real teens putting the record straight by inviting us into their world, which is defined by the teen tribe they're a member of. Current tribes include a Mosher, a Techie and a Scene Kid.")

- Brands continue to play in virtual worlds (this happened while I was gone, but just in case you missed it, Nike is in Zwinktopia and Heidi Klum is in Stardoll Plus Whyville may be launching new worlds...for adults!) (Millions Of Us) (BrandWeek) (Worlds In Motion)

- danah boyd's recommended reading (The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor, and Privacy on the Internet - thanks danah!)

- More research comparing U.S. and Chinese youth (this time from Harris Interactive. Plus new research on European Youth from Research And Markets)

- L'Oreal makes fun of advertising (by making a fake web tv show making fun of product placements but that's really pushing product or something like that) (New York Times, reg. required)

- Marketers discover widgets (look for more branded, adverwidgets in '08 says CNET)

Posted by anastasia

YouTube debate as homework assignment (love this: "Ray Keller, a Nebraska teacher, turned the YouTube invite for questions into a video homework assignment to get his students interested in the election.") (WSJ Washington Wire blog)

- Sundance lineup announced (Ypulse-y docs to watch: "American Teen" and Slingshot Hip Hop) (Variety)

- Vice report (R. J. Reynolds pulling print ads. Plus Millennials still love beer and "The only effect slightly larger than the effect of media violence on aggression is that of cigarette smoking on lung cancer" ) (New York Times, reg. required) (Marketing VOX) (Media Life Magazine, last item)

- Toy scare... (a boon for video games. Plus the first Latino Gamerz Match) (L.A. Times, reg. required)

- Magi-Nation to launch a kids' virtual world (Magi-Nation: Battle for the Moonlands will be going into beta in December) (Izzy Neis)

- What kids are watching (OpEd on kids' TV diet of reality programming and "Family Guy." Plus MTV to put every "South Park" clip online) (Yahoo! News) (Paid Content)

- Uncle Sam wants (your parents. Army targeting mom and dad with recruiting messages) (WSJ)

- Phoning it in (cell phone classes in Japan. Plus teachers reading teens' texts from confiscated cell phones prompting the ACLU to say, "Oh no you don't.") (USA Today) (Textually)

- Cosmetics and personal care products (to target tweens and teens big time)

- Curvy girls (can now find plus sizes to their favorite brands online) (NorthJersey.com)

- Alloy formalizes its ad rep relationship (with college newspapers) (MediaPost, reg. required)

- The AdCouncil (launches on YouTube) (New York Times, reg. required)

P.S. Please read my post from yesterday about the Ypulse widget. I really want to make this happen, but need help from a widget-eer. RockYou? Off to go speak then flying home from "the Magic Kingdom."

Posted by anastasia

Diesel launches a faux reality show (to sell underwear while Reebok launches a branded TV show on IFC to sell sneakers) (AdAge.com, reg. required) (New York Times, reg. required)

- Plum TV not so plum (laying off staff...maybe it's a sign of the economic downturn, i.e. TV for rich young people? Yet Tila Tequila is a hit on MTV. Maybe this is a sign that the end of the world is near) (New York Post) (Media Life Magazine)

- Barbie fashions (for women. Kind of like Disney wedding gowns.) (BrandWeek)

- DMV 2.0 (wow. You know this social networking thing has gone completely mainstream when the DMV has a MySpace profile. There is also a new social network for teens with diabetes) (Mercury News)

- McCain on MySpace (latest presidential candidate forum. And MySpace still bigger than Facebook where you shouldn't even try to change your name) (Biz Report) (News.com)

- MTV Tr3s (launches a mobile social network for Hispanic youth. Plus check out Blyk's new blog Shift6 with contributors like danah boyd) (AdWeek)

- Will MTV's Rockband redefine what it means to play music? (I think that's a stretch, but maybe they should combine marketing the game with vh1's "Save The Music" campaign. Plus check out RCRD LBL the new music/MP3 blog from Pete Rojas & co.) (EW's PopWatch)

- Anne's Diary (Canadian site for girls that requires a finger print i.d. -- I'm not clear on how that actually works...Thanks Susan!)

- Just 'Listen' (new celeb infused campaign to help kids' charities around the world. Also check out this very cool case study of YouthLAB, a Chicago-based youth media org leveraging technology to increase media literacy) (USA Today) (Youth Media Reporter)

Posted by anastasia