- Random stuff about Dualstar (Harvard Business School blog post about a recent visit from Dualstar's CEO - like I learned that at one time, there was Mary Kate and Ashley toothpaste)
- Mania TV drops UGC (saying their audience wanted the professional stuff. What's interesting is that ugc was an add on vs. the focus of the site to begin with....evidently its not for all audiences at all sites) (Paid Content)
- Someday phones will find you (Oh wait. They already can! New York Times, reg. required, on 2007 Mashup speaker Loopt and location-based mobile networking)
- Verizon so happy (it beat out others to appear on "Gossip Girl," yet other advertisers not so sure if The CW is pulling enough teen girls to justify their rates)
Just wanted to let any folks in the tween/kid space know that a post Mashup site has popped up with the intent of keeping the conversation about coming together as an industry to talk about COPPA, implementation etc. The "user generated" lunch tables inspired this idea to keep the conversation going. If you're interested, send an email to info@tweenratings.com and express your interest.
I'm still recovering from the Ypulse Tween Mashup last week in New York. I learned from our feedback forms that one attendee thought because we call Ypulse conferences Mashups, she thought the event would focus on music. I call them Mashups because I am attempting to reinvent youth marketing conferences by inviting unlikely people to attend and speak at the same event. For example, having Renee Hobbs keynote on media literacy provoked strong reactions (both positive and along the lines of this blog post). I think that's a good thing.
Just a few highlights for me:
1. The tween panel inventing "the double mic." We had two microphones for the tweens to pass back and forth, and they somehow decided that each tween using two at one time was better.
2. Watching the Kidzbop video and realizing that if I were a tween today I totally would have uploaded videos of myself doing handstands and walkovers to Duran Duran.
3. Hearing that attendees wanted to keep the discussion going on COPPA and how to create a uniform way for kids to register on their sites (more on this soon including a way for all of you who work at kid/tween sites to connect about this). As a sidenote, I want to give Ypulse advertiser and Mixer sponsor MyYearbook props for taking the lead on making 13 and up social networks safer.
4. Lunch! Once again the lunch discussions were buzzing, especially Peter Grunwald's research discussion, which drew so many people, he had to pull four tables together.
5. Yummy lobster rolls and Sakipolitans at Bongo
I also loved the video interviews with tweens Snippies produced for the event. You can watch them all online here. Our friends at Gorilla Soapbox recorded the entire day and we will be posting it (except for the tween panel) after we get through the July Mashup videos.
Thanks to everyone who attended! Our next event will be focused on reaching college students and will take place in early February in the Los Angeles area...Stay tuned.
Update: Some more blog coverage of the Tween Mashup...
Just a quick to let you know the Ypulse Mixer sponsored by MyYearbook and Fleishman Hillard's Next Great Thing this Friday at Bongo after the Ypulse Tween Mashup is now full. We're reserving some spaces for Tween Mashup attendees who decide to come last minute. Thanks to everyone who RSVPd -- I look forward to seeing you Friday!
I've been pulling together some fun music to play at The Ypulse Tween Mashup Friday in between speakers and thought I'd share my playlist with you. I tried to throw in a few "old school" tween hits that we might remember as well. If there's a song or two I should add, let me know in the comments. I have to confess I had too much fun doing this:
Hannah Montana (who is NOT pregnant btw): Nobody's Perfect
High School Musical: Fabulous
High School Musical 2: You Are The Music In Me
Jonas Brothers: S.O.S.
Kidz Bop: All Star
Kidz Bop: Steal My Sunshine
The Cheetah Girls: The Party's Just Begun
The Naked Brothers Band: If That's Not Love
Jonas Brothers: Hold On
Corbin Bleu: Push It To The Limit
Raven Symone/Cheetah Girls: Do Your Own Thing
Kidzbop: Girlfriend
Hanson: MMMBop
Hannah Montana: We Got The Party
Hairspray: I Can Hear The Bells
High School Musical: We're All In This Together
New Kids On The Block: The Right Stuff
Hilary Duff: Stranger
Hilary Duff: Wake Up
L'il Bow Wow: That's My Name
New Edition: Candy Girl
Rhianna: Umbrella, ella, ella
Wicked: Popular
Marky Mark: Good Vibrations
High School Musical 2: Work This Out
Legally Blond: Ohmigod You Guys
Aaron Carter: I Want Candy
Soulja Boy: Crank That
Lil Mama: Lip Gloss
Akon: Sorry, Blame It On Me
The "early adopter" rate may have passed, but there are still good reasons to register for the Ypulse Tween Mashup. We just added two more sponsored case studies to the agenda. The first is from KiKi magazine, a start up magazine geared towards tween girls. I think it will be fascinating to hear about an independent upstart choosing to launch a print publication, and how they plan to leverage technology to make sure they stay in business. We will also have a case study from Privo, a company that helps brands market to tweens in ways that are safe and COPPA compliant. I first heard about them from work they did for the Schwab Foundation's site for tweens called Sparktop and met them in person at another conference this past spring. They will dispel the perception that you can't market anything to tweens under 13 online and talk about how to do it right.
Keep the lunch roundtable topics coming. Right now we have:
Future of tween magazines - Nancy Gruver, New Moon
What's developmentally appropriate for girls 8-13 online - Joi Podgorny, Ludorum
Tweens and video games - Jen Brown, Allykatzz
Research on tweens and social media - Peter Grunwald, Grunwald Associates
Why tweens love avatars - Maura Welch, Wee World
Mom and the tween media experience - Dr. Mary Manz Simon
Sponsor Roundtable
Tweens and Payments - Jessica Stroud, Pay Jr.
If you're attending and would like to suggest and topic and volunteer to moderate a lunch discussion, email me!
And finally, this event is not just about tweens, it has been powered by them as well. I wanted post a shout out to the tweens (featured in the photo: my business partner's daughter and her friends) who helped us mail out Mashup post cards last weekend!
I'm rushing to catch my flight back from Chicago, but wanted to remind readers thinking of attending the Ypulse Tween Mashup in NYC, that the "early adopter" discount ends tomorrow. So register today!
I'm excited to announce that Tina So, the Interactive Marketing Leader for P&G North America's Health and Well-Being business (which includes Beinggirl.com) will be joining the Old School to New School panel at the Ypulse Tween Mashup. (Full disclosure: Beinggirl.com is sponsoring the Totally Wired Parent/Educator Tour.) I've actually been really fascinated by Beinggirl.com's blending of health information, community and entertainment as a way to build its feminine care brands with tween girls, and I think Tina will bring an interesting perspective to the online branded community discussion.
In other Tween Mashup speaker news, check out this interview with Joi Podgorny all about kids, tweens and online communities. Joi will be leading a session with Zoey's Room founder Erin Reilly called "Marketing to Tweens with Parental Consent Plus Age Verification that Works."
Finally, I want to thank all of our friends who are helping to get the word out, especially our newest friend, Cynopsis Kids, which is pretty much THE newsletter to get if you work in the kids/licensing/tv space. I also want to thank:
The "early adopter" rate ends Saturday, so register now. Plus RSVP for the Ypulse Mixer sponsored by MyYearbook and NGT at Bongo if you haven't already (this is open to all Ypulse readers, not just Tween Mashup attendees).
It's funny to think about Pokemon being an "old school" brand, but the game has been around for over 10 years! Since its early days on the Game Boy, Pokemon has become a full blown media franchise with anime, manga, trading cards, toys, books, movies and more. I'm excited to announce that Lawrence Neves, the editorial director for Pokemon.com will be joining the Old School To New School Panel at the Ypulse Tween Mashup. Just one more reason to take advantage of the "early adopter" rate and register today.
For Ypulse readers already registered or planning to register, we will be reprising our hugely successful "user generated" lunch discussions. This means you can suggest a topic related to tweens and technology and moderate a roundtable discussion at lunch. Sample topics could be:
The future of tween magazines
What is developmentally appropriate for 8-13 year olds online?
How to reach moms and tweens
How to leverage different platforms for your tween oriented characters
Tweens and video games - which games are popular and why
Feel free to grab one of these and offer to moderate! Just email me.
We also added a new sponsor! Yes, my conference is being sponsored by a 17-year-old superstar -- Whateverlife will be joining us as an exhibitor at the Tween Mashup.
Tween girls love avatars. It's paper dolls gone virtual, and in the past year or so this space has exploded. While many of these sites cater to 13 and up (Meez, Zwinktopia, IMVU, Gaia), there are a handful that are kid-friendly and COPPA compliant, and Cartoon Doll Emporium is one of the larger sites (as is Stardoll, who will also be at the Tween Mashup). I did a quick interview with Evan Bailyn, the founder and CEO of Cartoon Doll Emporium, to find out more about their site and why they went the kid-friendly route.
Ypulse: What was the inspiration behind Cartoon Doll Emporium -- is this part of your "Peter Pan" complex ;-)?
Evan Bailyn Indeed, it is. Peter Pan Syndrome, to me, means living in your own world, apart from the societal mores that adults like to impose. I believe everyone has their own reality, and CDE is a reflection of that. Our site is going to be more and more a place where kids have control of their experience - a safe make-believe world.
YP: Why did you decide to make it tween friendly/COPPA compliant vs. going the 13 and up route?
EB: I wanted to include kids under 13 because kids imaginations are very fertile at younger ages and I think it is a super demographic to work with. Kids ages 6 - 14 are sophisticated in knowing what they like and don't like but when they find something that appeal to them, they can really fall in love with it. I've found that out from CDE's fan base.
YP: What's the most popular feature or game on your site? Why do you think it's so popular?
EB: Our superdolls are the most popular games on our site because they give kids hundreds of different clothing and accessory options. Kids come to CDE primarily because they love dress up games and we create more of them than any other site on the internet.
YP: Do you moderate your forums? How do you handle community management?
EB: We have six full-time moderators that cover the site 24/7. We also have over a dozen "junior police" - older kids that have earned moderating positions - that sweep the site on a granular level. We strive to be a leader in safety.
YP: What's new or coming soon on Cartoon Doll Emporium that you think Ypulse readers should know about?
EB: A ton of things are coming in the next two months. We are referring to this upcoming fall as the CDE Renaissance due to all of the new features debuting. I don't want to reveal too much, but our fans can definitely expect brand-new profiles where they can display all kinds of personal creations and make-believe items. We are also coming out with artificially intelligent pets that learn from their past experiences and play uniquely with other pets. There are at least ten more new features, but again, I have to keep hush-hush about them for now.
The "early adopter discount" ends September 15th, so register today! And RSVP for the evening event at Bongo (it's an "intimate" venue so the list will be full soon).
How manga conquered the U.S. (Wired Magazine's graphic depiction of how this genre became so popular, especially with kids) 
The "early adopter" rate may have passed, but there are still good reasons to 
I'm excited to announce that Tina So, the Interactive Marketing Leader for P&G North America's Health and Well-Being business (which includes 
It's funny to think about Pokemon being an "old school" brand, but the game has been around for over 10 years! Since its early days on the Game Boy, Pokemon has become a full blown media franchise with anime, manga, trading cards, toys, books, movies and more. I'm excited to announce that Lawrence Neves, the editorial director for 
Tween girls love avatars. It's 
