 | Ypulse Daily Update 06.22.09
Directory and more at Ypulse.com | |  | Quick Links Ypulse Essentials: Nintendo's 'Secret Flirts', Remake Nation, Are Millennials The Next GI Generation? Posted by meredith  MadeMan.com (a lifestyle guide for young guys is the latest in a string of irreverent, video-centric properties from Break Media. Plus a motivational blog for young adults) (MediaPost, reg. required) (The Coloradoan)
- L.A's indie teen scene (private school kids with connections put on real rock shows with a little help from their friends.. and mom and dad. And Mos Def releases his latest album on a t-shirt) (New York Times, reg. required) (PSFK)
- 'Make it or Break It' (just misses the mark, according to The Boston Globe. Slate, on the other hand, calls the high school gymnastics-centered drama, a not so far cry from teen favorite "Friday Night Lights." And an overall look at the breed of TV teens on ABC Family) (Philadelphia Daily News)
- A call for course sponsors (to save the slate of city college classes set to be canceled because of the budget crisis. Need extra incentive? The course will be named after the sponsor) (San Francisco Chronicle)
- 'Secret Flirts' (an instructional flirting game licensed, but not developed, by Nintendo, comes under fire from family groups. Plus, Ars Technica explains how rhythm games like DJ Hero and Scratch fell short at E3)
- Deja movies (a columnist looks at the continuous recycling from Hollywood and asks "what today's young generation will be able to look back on when they're my age.'' And the latest addition to the list is 'Teen Wolf'. Cynopsis Kids reports a remake is in the early stages of development)(Canada.com)
- 'The father of tween TV' (how Disney Channel's Rich Ross, senior vice president of programming, turned the former House of Mouse into the House of Montana and co. Also "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" battle a soft DVD market) (Los Angeles Times, reg. required)
- Millennials: New GI Generation? (more comparisons between today's young adults and their great-grandparents Depression Era generation. Also, Australian Gen Y-ers still seek out their parents' advice) (Los Angeles Times, reg. required) (The Courier-Mail)
- Your 'friendly' neighborhood police officer (more police departments follow a national trend of joining social networks to improve community relations and share information) (The State Journal-Register)
- Buffy vs. Edward (a pretty amusing mashup showdown that should delight 'Slayer' fans and Twilighters alike) (Jezebel)
Posted in: Ypulse Essentials Ypulse Guest Post: Go Father's Day! Posted by meredith Today's Ypulse Guest Post from Gregg Witt, Creative Director and Partner for Premise in honor of the two holidays that took place yesterday. I'll let Gregg explain. And if you work in youth media or marketing and have an idea for a guest post, feel free to email me.
Go Father's Day!
 Skateboarding culture, with over 13 million participants in the U.S. alone,
has an undeniable influence on the lives of youth and young adult consumers. Leveraging skate culture to authentically connect brands with young people is, of course, nothing new. Yet, this weekend while skateboarding with my kids, I thought of a few noteworthy tidbits to share as Father's Day and National Go Skateboarding Day both fell on the same day.
For those of you who didn't know, the Go Skateboarding Day holiday was conceived by our friends at the International Association of Skateboard Companies (IASC) to help make skateboarding more accessible to the world through various events held in major cities around the world. Beginning with the first celebration in 2004, the holiday also known as GSD has since received Special Congressional Recognition from the US Congress for promoting the sport of skateboarding. This holiday is now celebrated by millions of skaters around the world.
Go Skateboarding Day events took place in many places, but one event in Afghanistan struck me deeply. The police actually provided an armed escort for these members of the Skateistan crew as they rolled through the streets of Kabul promoting skateboarding and how it is changing the lives of youth in Afghanistan.
"With sirens blaring, officers shouted commands through a megaphone at motorists telling them to make way for the kids of Afghanistan's first skateboarding school: Skateistan. . . "In the name of God!" cheered one man at the side of the road, clapping and smiling in disbelief . . . "Long live Afghanistan!" the children shouted in reply as they skated past . . . Wearing white T-shirts adorned with "Skateistan" logos, the children zipped from the national stadium - once the scene of public Taliban executions - to another part of the city to take part in a competition in honour of world Go Skateboarding Day."
I encourage anyone to contact the Skateistan non-profit directly if you are interested and able to contribute to their cause. It is truly having a
positive impact on youth in Afghanistan.
On a side note, I didn't really want to pull Tony Hawk into this, but simply had to. As part of a special famous fathers event at the White House, President Barack Obama invited Tony Hawk. While there the President gave Tony official permission to jump on his skateboard and bust a manual down the hall past the Old Executive Building! Now that's a RAD Dad!
More on Greg
 Gregg is partner at Premise youth marketing, three times Skateboarding World Amateur medalist, and father of three. Premise specializes in building positive connections between brands and youth through immersive marketing.
For more coverage of youth marketing, go to the Ypulse Youth Marketing Channel sponsored by Youth Marketing Connection. Posted in: Ypulse Essentials | Youth Marketing What Gen Y Gets Out Of Internships Posted by meredith Today's Youth Advisory Board post is from Bernadette Anat on her varied experiences with internships in college (4 and counting!) As always, you can communicate directly with any member of the Ypulse Youth Advisory Board by emailing them at youthadvisoryboard at ypulse.com…or just leave a comment below.
What Gen Y Gets Out Of Internships
In today's undergraduate world, the word "internship" has become a reflex. A given. A rite of passage. And like so many Gen-Y overachievers, I made a beeline to make "internship" part of my new just-graduated-high-school big-girl vocabulary. There's much to be said about a society that breeds students to make beelines towards coffee runs, 8-hour copy jobs and no pay, but that's a whole other article.
Actually, I've been quite blessed to pretty much avoid the dreaded "Curse of the Intern" - I can proudly say, within my 4 internships, I've only had to make copies once. Today, actually.
How? Preparation + Opportunity = Luck.
I completely lucked into my first internship experience. In 2007, I was chosen as one of Seventeen Magazine's "Freshman 15" (not the weight gain, thank you). They chose 15 college freshmen to document their first year of college through blogs, video blogs and quotes in the mag. I made goofy vlogs, interviewed the strangest campus crawlers, gave advice to girls worldwide, and learned a ton about brand marketing – Seventeen and myself being the brands. I actually still write freelance articles for Seventeen right now, and to be working this close to my pre-puberty social bible... Amazing.
The next summer, I flexed my tech muscles at a brand marketing internship with Fortune 500 computer-giant, Sun Microsystems. If only I knew how spoiled I truly was... My supervisor was incredibly supportive, almost motherly; my teammates were tech rockstars pursuing their MBA's; and the Sun campus was almost nicer than my own university. Our break room had DanceDanceRevolution, Rockband and a Wii. We had an internship curriculum - interns tracked our personal and professional goals on paper with our supervisors every week. And my job? To cultivate Sun's business initiatives through social networks, and to be the voice behind Duke, the Java programming language mascot. Getting paid full time to explore the internet for Sun was a dream. I was even chosen to present my work to Sun's CEO.
But make no mistake – it wasn't always roses. Amongst the few thorns: Spending my summers on the 9 to 5 grind, and making the commute with every other overworked adult in Silicon Valley; strict editorial deadlines and writers' block, on top of my own schoolwork; and having to sweat it out in an inflatable mascot suit, in 90 degree weather, while my fellow interns played Guitar Hero for our end-of-summer brunch.
Yes, you will do the grunt work; yes, you probably won't get the credit you deserve. But heed my advice - any internship is a true waste of time when you don't know what you want out of it. Think about it: Internships are a free ticket into the insides of a company. You're one internal memo away from sitting in on million-dollar decisions. You're a few cubicles down from the real powerholders of an empire. And being an intern is like being a 5-year-old: You're never penalized for being curious, asking for access or making suggestions.
So I've learned to always be completely candid – they hired me for a reason, so I literally think out loud. I've learned to ask around anytime I hear about a meeting or event happening that I find even remotely interesting. Most importantly, I've learned to make a promise to myself before every internship: I will come out with ridiculously impressive-sounding facts (that my supervisor can back up) about how I left the company a little different from how I found it. It doesn't matter at all where you go – it's how much of an impact you can make on your boss and your company.
Currently, I'm part of the first-ever PR & Marketing effort for an awesome non-profit in San Francisco called the Spark Program. The team is small, the environment is fun; I often run into our Executive Director while grabbing street tacos. But I chose this internship for those precious words: "First ever." I'm literally molding our press kit, online presence and media outreach with my own hands. And I've got my eyes on the prize – it's going to be one heck of a recommendation letter.
What's next? That's the beauty of internships. It's the only time journalism hiring managers will take a chance on a bioengineering major. It's a time to, as I've heard many past supervisors say, "Throw everything onto the wall and see what sticks." My only plan is to keep building my portfolio, keep my eyes wide open for opportunities, and do what feels right. If you play the game correctly, if you nurture the right relationships, if you shine at just the right moments... anything is possible.
About Bernadette
 Bernadette is a simple creature – all she wants out of life is to eat, write, dance and talk. But she hasn't found a way to do all four at once without a getting major cramp. Other than talking with her mouth full, Bernadette can be found beach-cruisin' through the brick paths of the University of Southern California as a sophomore studying Public Relations. It sounds fancy, but all she really wants to do is write to, talk with and help teenagers until she's wrinkly and gross. Bernadette is a former "Freshman 15″ and a current Los Angeles correspondent for Seventeen Magazine, but she's been journaling, blogging and Dear-Abby-ing since she was 8. This San Francisco native is a lot like her hair – crazy, in-your-face, and full of surprises.
For more campus coverage, visit the Ypulse Campus Channel, sponsored by Campus Media Group. Posted in: Ypulse Essentials | Youth Marketing | Campus | Youth Advisory Board
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