Ben Smith became editor in chief of BuzzFeed in 2011 when the website known for its listicles and cat photos got into the business of breaking news.
Smith, an early hire at Politico, immediately built a reporting staff. BuzzFeed's mix of news and frivolity attracts more than 130 million visitors a month.
“You can’t trick people into sharing things. They have to really like it and be proud to share it.”
During a talk at the Nieman Foundation, Smith discussed social media as a news distribution channel, the importance of editors, the evolution of beats, the new hegemony of the article as a unit of media, and the value of brevity and high-energy reporters.
A new global research project conducted by Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN), surveyed over 6,200 kids aged 9-14 across 32 countries--one of the largest studies of its kind.
The “Kids of Today and Tomorrow Truly Global Exploration” study focused on what VIMN valls “last wavers,” or the youngest Millennials, born between 2003 and 2008. The findings point to several key traits that shape these kids’ world views and make them distinct from older members of this generational cohort.
Kids of today and tomorrow are more “we” than “me.”
The youngest Millennials extend their positive spirit to also include a commitment to community and the wider world around them.
88% believe it’s important to help people in the community, with 61% having taken part in an effort to raise money for charity in the past year.
94% believe it’s people’s responsibility to protect the environment.
Advances in digital media play a large part in broadening horizons and inspiring kids to use the power they have at their fingertips in a positive manner:
85% agree “my age group has the potential to change the world for the better.”
71% agree “having access to the internet changes the way I think about the world.”
However, they don’t see this as anything out of the ordinary or think of themselves as “techy”:
2 out of 3 kids think that being connected is as much a part of everyday life as eating and sleeping – it’s simply how life is today. As a consequence of being constantly connected in a fast-moving world, it is natural for them to constantly adapt and be open-minded. They are resilient and life-ready.
Implications:
To reach these confident kids, it is important to communicate with them with a tone of positivity, smart but not cynical humor; and a playful approach, in line with the fun and happiness they seek in life.
Kids respond best to authentic brand messages: they recognize when someone is trying to sell them, so be honest.
It’s important to be both globally and locally relevant.
Kids of today and tomorrow are grounded.
Authenticity is a key value for kids today and they live with their feet firmly on the ground.
94% report wanting to be true to the close circle around them and 93% to be true to themselves. When it comes to the people who inspire them or the people they trust most, it’s all about close family and friends. They might feel inspired by celebrities and sports stars, but they know not to trust them.
49% of the youngest Millennials name a family member as their #1 best friend– rising as high as 90% in Morocco and 87% in Brazil.
Kids of today and tomorrow are confident.
Today’s youngest Millennials are overwhelmingly happy and optimistic.
88% consider themselves very happy, with happiness levels in this age group increasing over last six years.
Spending time with family and friends is the top factor generating happiness in most countries. Young Millennials enjoy doing activities together as a family.
Humor is important to young Millennials, who use it strategically to navigate life: 64% agree “I use humor to help me get my way.”
Happiness outweighs stress by a factor of 3 to 1: while almost 9 in 10 young Millennials describe themselves as very happy, only 24% report high levels of stress, with stress levels falling since 2006.
Kids today are re-calibrating their sense of what it is to be stressed as well as happy: they have grown up in a world of constant change and global economic crisis – for them, this is the norm.
Even in Greece, where the economic crisis is particularly acute, stress levels are only 36%. The highest stress levels among 9-14s are actually in Singapore and China (41% and 39%) – caused almost certainly by the highly pressured education systems in those countries.
In general, the youngest Millennials are characterized by an optimism with which they approach challenges: 90% agree “I can accomplish anything if I work hard enough” and 89% agree “I always try to be positive.”
At the global level, these high levels of happiness, low stress and growing positivity are combining to form a “virtuous circle” of mutual support that helps kids create an overall sense of confidence.
Belief in themselves: 65% believe not only that they are smart but also that they are smarter than other people.
Belief in their future: Despite everything, a large majority (84%) believe they will earn more than their parents
Belief in their generation: This is the winning generation … the expression “#winning” suits them perfectly and is acknowledged by many more 9-14s than by older Millennials (77% vs. 66% of 15-30s)
Belief in their creativity: 89% believe their creativity will help them to keep on winning in a fast-paced world.
Kids of today and tomorrow are simultaneously more and less sheltered.
The difference is very clearly defined: in the real world, they are much more sheltered than in the past, with parents restricting and controlling their interactions with everything. However, given advances in technology and access to a wide range of devices, there is often relatively little protection – kids have unprecedented exposure to global ideas and images.
43% own their own computer/laptop and 28% own a smartphone.
61% have a social media account (and 11 years is the average age for having a first account – despite being below the age threshold set by many social platforms’ Terms & Conditions).
9-14s have 39 online “friends” they have never met (up from five since 2006).
Kids of today and tomorrow are proud to be.
The youngest Millennials are increasingly expressing a sense of affinity with their country. Their sense of national pride is growing stronger and they are more likely than six years ago to believe it’s important to maintain their country’s traditions.
87% agree that they are “proud to be [their ethnicity]” up from 81% in 2006.
79% agree “it’s important to maintain my country’s traditions,” up from 60% in 2006.
At the same time, they are tolerant of other cultures: 74% think it’s great to have people from other countries living in the kid’s country.
Methodology
This VIMN study is based on 6,200 interviews with the 9-14 age group (at the time of research, born 1998-2003, which we have defined as “last wavers” within the Millennial generation) across 32 countries (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, US, Canada, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece, UK, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Russia, Hungary, Poland, China, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, India, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa).
Video is also available in the following languages:
Michael Shore, VP of Global Consumer Insights for Mattel, discusses research on traditional play vs. technology play. Has the app and tablet world changed the nature of play for kids today?
"It's almost too easy to agree with the majority and think, "People are right, technology is destroying the human connection." But I think just the opposite.
Technology brings people together. Shocking, I know? It sounds like some crazy marketing ploy, and many commercials support that. But the fact is, it's the truth.
I can talk to one of my friends in California, Canada or Taiwan with the touch of a button. Technology has helped me forge lifelong connection with people I would have lost touch with ordinarily. I can say I talk to more people now, whether it be through Facebook, texting or tweeting, than I did three years ago. And for the argument that nothing compares to face-to-face conversation?
I'd love to engage and be a part of that, but the fact of the matter is, without Skype or Google Hangouts, I wouldn't be able talk to a large portion of my friends. I'm not trying to advocate for technology to replace all forms of in person conversation, I'm just trying to suggest the stigma attached to it isn't necessarily just."
It’s also an exciting opportunity for teens to present to their teachers who can use the guide’s tips to implement service-learning at school.
From leading food drives and fundraisers to successfully lobbying for school feeding programs, these teachers and their students are demonstrating significant increases in academic engagement while making a real difference in their communities.
Featuring success stories and practical tips from K-12 teachers, the guide includes examples of alignment with Common Core and other academic state standards.
See3 Communications, the leader in online video for nonprofits, and YouTube, the world’s largest online video community along with the Nonprofit Technology Network, announced today the launch of the 2014 DoGooder Video Awards.
The DoGooder Awards recognize the creative and effective use of video in promoting social good. Cisco, a global leader in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), is generously contributing a cash prize to one contest winner.
The National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture in partnership with the National Youth Media Network & with support from The National Association for Media Literacy Education Nickelodeon, AFI Docs and Lights. Camera. Help, will also provide the following prizes to the winner of the new Youth Media category:
Lights.Camera.Help - will screen all four of the finalist films at their 2014 Festival
AFI DOCS film festival - will provide two festival passes for 2014: one for the winning filmmaker and one for the filmmaker's mentor from the facilitating nonprofit
Nickelodeon- will award a $3,000 cash prize to the award-winning film's nonprofit
In addition to prizes provided by Cisco and the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture, contest winners will receive free registration to the Nonprofit Technology Conference, the signature event hosted by the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN). Zacuto will also provide a $500 gift card to the winner of the Funny for Good category.
Beginning February 1st, video submissions will be accepted via the contest website until February 15th,in the following categories:
The ImpactX Award: honoring those videos that have demonstrated impact for their causes.
The Best Nonprofit Video Award: honoring nonprofit organizations using video to make change.
The Funny for Good Award: Recognizing effective use of comedy to make people laugh and take action.
The Most Inspiring Youth Media Award: For youth who best communicated their thoughts on pressing social issues in a way that inspired others.
Members of the YouTube community will have the opportunity to vote for the best among the finalists from February 28th through March 10th. Organizations and individuals can enter the contest by going to www.youtube.com/dogooder.
MTV Insights published an online study on the app Snapchat, surveying millennials ages 15-24 and how they use the photo-messaging app.
Snapchats tend to be selfies or photos of "random" things paired to random captions. Artistic and planned photos are left to Instagram, which is perceived as more "official."
There's etiquette for Snapchats, including how many Snaps are appropriate to send to a crush (no more than five/day) and the acceptable waiting times before opening a Snap.
What people like most about the app is that it's "face-to-face" interaction and snapchat selfies made the surveyed group "feel like you're just talking to someone." However, users say they like the distance to it as well.
It's a really informative piece and well worth a read for anyone who's building products geared towards a youth audience or even parents and youth pastors who want to just decode the hype behind this popular mobile app.
This lesson, based on the documentary film Bridegroom, will help students better understand the issues concerning the disparity of civil rights extended to different communities in American society.
The film also addresses student strategies for coping with bullying and overcoming feelings of social isolation.
The lesson is also aligned to McREL learning standards, contains project based learning activities and a discussion guide for educators.
These learning materials have been released under a Creative Commons license and may be shared and downloaded for educational and non-profit use, with attribution.
LESSON MATERIALS
To complete this lesson, students will need access to the following:
There are 1.7 million youth who are homeless in the United States today. You make a difference, bring in a pair of your gently used jeans to Aéropostale, they'll collect them all and distribute them to local homeless shelters in your community.
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