Billabong is a Media Company, Not Just a Surf Brand: Great post by youth guru Dan Pankraz. "Billabong really get it. They create content, not ads. 40hrs of it a week actually, distributed via Fuel TV, mobile phones and the web." Dan's blog focused on youth culture is a must read.
Cool Stuff for Kids in Beantown: This is a super site full of fun and educational activities for parents and kids in Boston.
Kids Motivated By TV to Visit Web: "According to MRI's 2008 American Kids Study, children ages 6-11 are increasingly using the Internet to check out products they see in advertisements. 46.3% of kids visited a Web site that they saw or heard about in a commercial or advertisement." (AdAge)
Support the Brothers Flannery: The Flannery Brothers, a kid's band from Maine, are finalists in the prestigious John Lennon Songwriting Competition in the children’s music category.
How to Weather a Twitterstorm: "Motrin Moms. "Dove Onslaught(er)." Thanks to Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, all sorts of new critics and activists are finding their voices amplified online. So what's a marketer to do when an online firestorm erupts?" (AdAge)
Bullied 11-year Old Commits Suicide: An 11-year-old Massachusetts boy, Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, hung himself Monday after being bullied at school despite his mother’s pleas to the school to address the problem. So, so sad. Check my blog post from earlier this week for tips and resources on bullying. (TakePart)
The Center for Social Media at American University has published a new white paper titled Public Media 2.0: Dynamic Engaged Publics. Wanna get a quick synopsis? Check out this five minute clip on YouTube or this powerpoint on Slideshare.
2009 Totally Wired Teacher Award: The Ypulse 2009 Totally Wired Teacher Award (sponsored by Dell) will honor a trailblazing teacher who has successfully pioneered the innovative and educational use of technology, mobile technology, social media (blogs, wikis, social networking, photo/video sharing) in the classroom.
Youth Work Online: This is an online community dedicated to exploring how youth work and informal education professionals can support young people in a digital world. The site was launched and continues to be moderated by the brilliant Tim Davies.
I'm Just Not That Into You Facebooking With My Kid: Author and parenting guru Sharon Cindrich blogs about Parental Faux Pas on Facebook
– "written by a real parent (me) of a real teen (my 14 year old
daughter) as I watch my real friends (without teens) send my child
friend requests on Facebook (weird)." Hey Sharon--I agree. Weird.
Twitter Gets Mad Props: Oprah, yes *that* Oprah is joining the Tweetosphere. @oprah welcome!
Scholastic Launches Virtual World: Scholastic has partnered with SC Johnson to create a "green" virtual world for kids. The Virtual Forest Challenge is tied into the product launch of SC Johnson's new line of green cleaning supplies, Nature's Source. The site also includes some very lightweight "lesson plans" and other edutainment learning materials.
