'Deathbowl to Downtown' (cool looking doc about the New York City skateboarding scene from the 70s 'till now - thanks Bill!)

- Grand Theft Auto biggest selling game... (ever. I get to hear it being played for the next few weeks in my living room) (Reuters)

- More 'advertainment' on MTV (the network will be creating more branded entertainment. Plus the nerds of "Superbad" rule the MTV Movie Award noms) (New York Times, reg. required) (Reuters)

- Turner's comedy site Super Deluxe (to be absorbed into Adult Swim...anyone heard much about Funny or Die lately?) (NewTeeVee)

- Tweens abandoning Miley? (maybe, but the ratings decline seems to have started before the Vanity Fair photos) (Gawker)

- Dove's 'real beauty' (not so real. Evidently the "real" looking women were airbrushed - big credibility blow) (AdAge.com, reg. required)

- School administrators concerned (about teens hopped up on energy drinks - thanks Andrea!) (The Moderate Voice)

- Fashionspace (social networking for fashionistas last year is evidently doing pretty well. And check out Coolspotters where you can find out how to dress like your favorite celeb. Plus Stardoll launches an app for girls to design their own virtual clothes) (Reuters) (Media Post, reg. required)

- If you love M.I.A.'s colorful videos (you'll probably love her new fashion line) (PSFK)

- Salvia madness (evidently kids' posting videos of themselves high on Salvia is helping to get the drug banned. Plus Facebook about to launch major new safety measures. And a new UK safety campaign for little kiddies online called Hector's World) (Gawker) (Tech Crunch) (BBC)

- Teen pregnancy prevention (goes viral - with a new campaign from our friends at Nextgreatthing.com)

- Totally wired youth activism (danah has the scoop and an essay in a new book focused on youth leveraging social media to organize)

Posted by anastasia

A comeback for "Square Pegs" (the '80s show will be released on DVD and remade into an upcoming movie - is there anything better than pre-SATC Sarah Jessica Parker?) (Washington Post, reg. required)

- OMFG ("Gossip Girl's" gay teen character is outed. I liked the scene with mom. Plus the show regains the top spot on iTunes) (Queerty) (Lost Remote)

- Will 'The Paper' make newspapers cool again? (the anti-"Hills" reality show is surprisingly entertaining and the star-slash-editor makes newspaper editing seem... fun? Plus don't miss this hilarious Amanda vid posted on Jezebel.com) (Jossip)

- Seeking a real-life Elle Woods (new MTV reality show hosted by Haylie Duff; winner will star in broadway production of "Legally Blonde") (Defamer)

- 'The Hills' might be Gen Y's equivalent of 'Friends' (both glamorize postcollege life, both are "aspirational" fantasies) (Chicago Tribune)

- 'Tiny TV' is the future in mobile technology (catching up on your primetime favorites from a cell phone) (NY Times, reg. required)

- Miley Cyrus vs. Miley Stewart (on and off screen, a celebrity existence during the teenage years is a complicated lifestyle) (Slate)

- 2008 Scion xB station wagon targets young drivers ("with the boxy, cartoonish look that Gen Y drivers seem to love..." Um, really?) (Boston Herald)

- Keep tabs on your friends with FriendFeed (an in-depth, grown-up version of Facebook's newsfeed) (NY Times, reg. required)

- Survey says that Facebook applications are a pointless diversion (and, like Facebook itself, completely consuming) (CNET)

- Can Hasbro and Mattel capitalize on the success of Scrabulous on Facebook? (their own version of the app is tanking...) (Contra Costa Times)

- Fifteen fans of fame is the new 15 minutes of fame (how the internet has changed the fame game. Plus the complete list of Webby Award winners) (L.A. Times, reg. required)

- College Tonight hires a former FBI guy (to help protect user privacy)

- Maybe a college education isn't necessary for future success after all (but what happened to the oft-quoted statistic of earning 75% less without a college degree? Plus one private college makes recruits the stars of its ads) (Newsday) (Associated Press)

Correction from Anastasia: In my jet lagged state, I posted in yesterday's Essentials that 7 Eleven was doing a Rockband promotion when it was actually a Guitar Hero promo with Slurpee. Thanks Chris!

Posted by casey

Comedy flicks like "Knocked Up" and "Superbad" have become such mainstays in teenagers' DVD players that you would be hard-pressed to find someone under the age of 30 who hasn't watched (and re-watched) them over and over again. Though these movies are enjoying a popular streak at the moment, will they still hold the same humor and relevance 10, 20 years down the road?

The Canadian Press recently reported that cult-classics like "Sixteen Candles," "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," and "Pretty in Pink" continue to outrank any of the Jude Apatow or Farrelly Brother flicks when it comes to teens' favorite movies. Despite the fact that Generation Y-ers weren't even born when these movies hit the theaters, they still have relevancy and wit -- and incredible quote-worthiness. Who hasn't sat down in class and heard a quiet voice from the back deadpanning "Bueller... Buelller... Bueller..." during roll call? According to the article:

Danielle McNally is an 18-year-old high school student who loves the raunchy hit comedy "Superbad" as much as the next teen, but her all-time favourite movies are ones that were made before she was born: "Sixteen Candles" and "Say Anything." "The stories are just so simple but they're so funny," McNally says of the 1980s cinematic classics that are still popular among today's teenagers.

These days, movies are sprinkled with a liberal dose of pop culture references -- everything from product placements to current events to celebrity name-dropping. While this might get an extra giggle now, it will be interesting to see whether this current round of comedies will have lasting appeal.

In 10 years, this "Knocked Up" quote will likely get confused murmurs with the next generation: "Marriage is like a tense, unfunny version of 'Everybody Loves Raymond,' only it doesn't last 22 minutes. It lasts forever." I can hear it now: uh, who is Raymond and why does everybody love him? Or this line, also from Knocked Up: "You're going to be embarrassed when you realize I'm Wilmer Valderama." Forget ten years, does anyone have any idea who Wilmer Valderama is now?

Only time will tell whether our kids and our kid's kids will cherish "Juno" (example pop culture reference: "No, it's Morgan Freeman. Do you have any bones that need collecting?") the same way we cherish "Pretty in Pink."

Posted by casey

Note from Anastasia: This is a short edition as I really do need to pack...

Nick Lachey returns to TV (will host the "High School Musical" reality show) (Entertainment Weekly)

- The CW scores a ratings victory (with the return of "Gossip Girl," but was it big enough to stop the streaming?) (MediaLife Magazine Younger Viewers ratings roundup)

- Tweens driving 'Idol' eliminations (theorizes this grumpy HuffPo blogger. Plus Reality Blurred reports that Carly thinks it was her singing "Jesus Christ Superstar" that upset Christians and sealed her fate)

- WeeMes get portable (letting its avatars travel with an open API. Plus there's now a "Blue Book" guide to virtual worlds!) (Mashable) (Association of Virtual Worlds via Izzy Neis)

- Congress may regulate teen 'boot camps' (good.) (AP)

- Group asks BK to pull 'Iron Man' toys (from kids' meals since the movie is rated PG-13) (MediaPost, reg. required)

- CNET on the MacArthur Forum (more coverage of Wednesday's event from Ypulse 2008 Mashup moderator Stefanie Olsen)

P.S. I want to apologize to newsletter readers for the grammatical errors in my post about teens and writing yesterday -- it's no excuse but rushing and not having an editor to backread my posts means sometimes they turn out that way. Funny that I sounded incoherent while writing about writing though. Also, you can find the report online here. I will be running an interview with the report's author Amanda Lenhart next week. Here's another take from Inside Higher Ed.

Posted by anastasia

Note from Anastasia: Please note Ypulse's new assistant editor Casey's first post today as well as our ongoing Ypulse Books coverage from Alli (the Ypulse Books channel is coming soon).

Parents Television Council goes after 'Gossip Girl' (And although The CW is claiming a ratings victory after damming the stream online, the Alley Insider says "not so fast." And, of course, "Gossip Girl" fashion is becoming its own cottage industry. Speaking of, did anyone else notice MTV plugging fashions worn by "The Paper's" Andrea?) (MediaWeek) (New York Daily News)

- Tight times mean thrifty teens (when is comes to fashion) (USA Today)

- Disney to put 'Narnia' exclusives online (from the new flick "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian")

- 'Heroes' Hayden Panettiere goes 'Al Gore' (with a new documentary about the ocean) (Contact Music. Plus Greenpeace takes on Dove for destroying forests in "Onslaughter")

- Social shopping/networking for good (I'm intrigued by Fanista's social shopping for a cause model as well as Socialvibe's team with brands and donate to your charity models. Oh and here's the actual Piczo press release - blogged about their new channels yesterday in Essentials)

- Cellphones still banned (in NYC schools. Plus BK launches a "King" mobile game) (Textually) (Media Post, reg. required)

- Little League (gets its own video game)

- Mr. Youth releases a white paper (on "Consumer 2.0" - full disclosure: Mr. Youth is a Ypulse sponsor) (.pdf)

P.S. I received this email stating: "We're a bit perplexed at present because ComScore's data shows that MySpace and Facebook get more traffic from 9-11 year olds than Webkinz and Club Penguin do...." Waiting for the news story on this one...

Posted by anastasia

'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

There are over 100 virtual worlds for kids... (either live or in development. Wow. Add Moshi Monsters to the list of now live and Cartoon Network's Fusion Fall to the list of "taking its time.") (MediaWeek) (Reuters)

- 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)

- 'Iron Man' mobile promotions (LG pushing the latest Marvel flick) (AdAge.com, reg. required)

- WeCheer (for all those girls who didn't make the squad. You can still cheer...on the Wii) (WorthPlaying.com)

- Young people beginning to feel the pain (of inflation. Plus another column on "Gen Me" @ work - this time in the New York Times Style section, reg. required) (Quad City Times)

- Marketing the priesthood (the Catholic Church updates its recruiting posters for the internet generation) (Miami Herald)

- Baracking the vote (online. I'm going to try to check out this event [Facebook link] focusing on the youth vote tonight in SF) (Search Engine Watch)

Posted by anastasia

Paris searching for her new BFF (on MTV.com....oof. In better news ThinkMTV teams with HighSchoolJournalism.org to help schools without a paper launch their own. And for all you "Real World" junkies, gobs of video can be found here) (Paris via Fimoculous) (Real World via Reality Blurred)

- Avril is the queen (of YouTube...where apparently music videos are very popular. Speaking of queens, Madonna is making a video for the Queen of All Media's site -- PerezHilton.com. Trying to stay connected with a younger fanbase, perhaps? And "Juno" is available on iTunes [the movie] - very smart) (Alley Insider) (PerezHilton) (PaidContent)

- Declare Yourself voting tees (exclusively at American Eagle)

- Inside GOOD mag (winning awards while giving away lots of cash to non-profits. Sounds pretty GOOD to me) (Media Life Magazine)

- Shocking HIV PSA (The Shot. I don't know how I feel about this. Very disturbing. Thanks Andrea!)

- Should video games get serious? (There are serious games, but critics say not enough of them. And for my readers who are educators, bookmark MIT's New Media Literacies blog for ideas on how to teach digital literacy/ethics in the classroom) (NPR)

- 'Freshman 15' a myth? (yes, according to this study. I'm still working on the "Married 20") (iVillage)

- My Beautiful Mommy (WTF? Plus like mother like daughter? Gag) (Boing Boing) (Jezebel)

- Go mobile (to reach young men. New study says texting makes teens' hearts grow fonder...of their parents. U.C. Berkeley student Twitters from an Egyptian jail. And ringtones down, ringbacks up.) (mMetrics) (TCM Net) (Textually) (Washington Post, reg. required)

- Individual yet respectful of authority (the new generation of Chinese youth) (Destination CRM)

P.S. Thanks to the Ypulse newsletter reader who corrected my "Motley Crew" typo yesterday. Evidently my hair band spelling has lapsed.

P.P.S. A big welcome to new Ypulse site sponsor SurveyU. If you're interested in advertising on Ypulse, get in touch with Charles Pelton today.

Posted by anastasia

Scream queens (still rule with teens even though Brittany Snow is no Jamie Lee Curtis. Plus the in-theater publicity stunt that became a viral ad campaign for the flick. And the multitude of Sarah Marshall virals) (Detroit News) (USA Today) (Pop Candy)

- J.C. Penny targets teens (in stores...Plus an article on how celebrities are making fashion more appealing to teens....which may be why P&G's TAG body spray has teamed up with Def Jam?) (USA Today) (Marketplace)

- 'I Love Chieftown' (new MySpace series from the makers of KateModern [on Bebo]) (Alley Insider)

- The 'Rap on Rap' (The Parents Television Council attacks MTV and BET in a new report. Plus parents more disgusted with sex in video games than violence. And on the other side of the spectrum, one parent blogs about letting her kids go "free range" - thanks Andrea!) (Media Week) (Ars Technica) (Boing Boing)

- Crossing the street and cell phones (don't mix. Check out this horrifying PSA driving the point home) (Textually)

- Speaking of teens, phones & driving (NPR's beloved "Car Talk" hosts are getting their own animated show -- where you'll hear zingers like this in response to teens using cell phones while driving: "As a parent, you have to threaten to kill them." Added Tom: "What also works are punishments that disrupt their social lives. I found, with my son, that writing 'LOSER' on his forehead in permanent marker was somewhat effective.") (CNN)

- Trojan 'evolves' (launches the "Evolve Tour" to encourage safer sex. Good for them! And Reel Pop reviews the new Montana Meth Project ads directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, of "21 Grams" and "Babel" fame.)

- RAINN launches online hotline (The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network goes online offering even more anonymity and encouraging young victims to reach out for help.) (USA Today)

- UK study finds pro-suicide sites (overtaking suicide resources online - this is scary) (BBC)

- It's the plunging, padded... (Pre-teen bra! Plus the fashion industry trying to make runway modeling more like driving - 16 and up) (Telegraph UK) (Reuters)

- Miley makes mad money (Plus another story on how Disney created brand Jonas Bros. And if you're sick of all the sugary tween pop, check out the Tiny Masters of Pop) (MTV News) (BusinessWeek)

- Math Counts (launches a new site for the "tiny masters of math" in your life. And Wired's "Geek Dad" marvels at the 14-year-old founder of Elementeo)

- College Humor (now sells posters) (Alley Insider)

- Next Great Thing (has a new free youth trend report)

P.S. I'm watching "The Paper" tonight on MTV...look for thoughts tomorrow.

Posted by anastasia