 | Ypulse Daily Update 06.17.09
Directory and more at Ypulse.com | |  | Quick Links Ypulse Essentials: Disney 'Netpal,' CN Real, Nickelodeon's 'Addicting Game Showdown' Posted by meredith  Disney 'Netpal' (as other toy companies focus on more affordable items, Disney debuts its first laptop for kids. Still, some say it's a smart move) (Reuters) (everythingPR)
- Iranian youth and Twitter (a closer look at how young activists are using the site to organize rallies at home and attract support around the world. Plus, UC Berkeley chronicles the ways that bloggers contribute and enrich the discussion on human rights and BayNewser profiles "the kid at the State Department who figured out that the Iranians should be allowed to keep tweeting") (Bloomberg) (FORA.tv via CultureLab)
- America's next girl crush (The Daily Beast profiles Sarah Haskins and the brilliant Current TV segment on marketing aimed towards women that earned her internet fame. And NewTeeVee deems Alexa Chung a "younger, more web 2.0 " Jimmy Fallon. Plus check out Penguin's YA Central, video content for YA fans)
- Wrld's bst txter (a 15-year-old takes home the top prize -- $50,000 -- at the L.G. National Texting Championship. Check out the text interview. Also, a teen tweets a play-by-play of his meeting with lawmakers on behalf of children's hospitals) (CNN) (Ohio.com)
- Music and art lacking in 8th grade classrooms (according to a new survey from the Department of Education. Also innovative organizers of youth sports programs help get girls in the game) (New York Times, reg. required)
- The day the music [megastore] died (the closing of the last Virgin Megastore raises questions about the future of the music industry and retail. Also,bands defend piracy as a positive influence on the music scene) (New York Times, reg. required) (BBC)
- CN Real (More details on the slate of live-action shows set to debut this week on Cartoon Network. Plus, CW's flashback fall begins with "Melrose Place" and "90210" on Sept. 8) (Los Angeles Times) (Variety)
- Nickelodeon presents 'Addicting Games Showdown' (a casual games awards ceremony that will air as a primetime TV event) (Game Informer Online)
- The Bridgette Alese Show (a weekly web show for young African Americans featuring topics that range from "Roommates" to "Racial Profiling." And Jezebel takes issue with the conservative tone of SexReally, the sex and relationships blog for twenty-something women. Plus, tweenworld.net, a site aimed at tween girls and boys)
- Australia's Gen 'Zed' (and the serious streak that runs their values and brand choices.)
- The return of 'flower power' (the 60s are recycled in recent advertising efforts. Plus Mashable offers case studies of the top five branded Facebook fan pages. And Chase targets the Twilight demo with credit cards) (The Sydney Morning Herald) (The Consumerist) (New York Times, reg. required)
P.S. If any Ypulse readers are planning on attending What Teens Want next week in NYC, and would like to write a guest post about what you learned for Ypulse (we'll include your bio/photo/link to your site), please contact Meredith.
P.P.S. Same goes for any readers attending this year's Comic-Con in San Diego!
Posted in: Ypulse Essentials Technology Brands Should 'Come Together Right Now' (For Education) Posted by anastasia Yesterday I tweeted (on @ypulse) a new initiative from McGraw-Hill Education in the education space: The launch of a new "Center For Digital Innovation." Here's the quick description from the press release:
...a first-of-its-kind research and development center focused on bringing to elementary and secondary classrooms the same digital environment that today's young people have embraced outside of school. The Center will be led by McGraw-Hill Education's talented and experienced team of classroom educators, expert engineers and software developers who are marrying McGraw-Hill Education's expertise in curricula development and successful record of developing digital education solutions with emerging technology to design new, paradigm-changing PreK-12 learning solutions. These offerings are helping usher in a new phase of cutting-edge digital-based instruction that will help improve student performance and accelerate the development of 21st century skills.
Sounds fantastic -- "bringing to elementary and secondary classrooms the same digital environment that today's young people have embraced outside of school" -- isn't that what many of us concerned about the challenges teachers face when it comes to embracing technology in schools want? Yes.....but. Over the past three years I've been watching different companies attempt different education initiatives -- Yahoo! for Teachers, Google for Educators and even our Mashup sponsor Dell's Edu4U initiative. These are all positive, well-intentioned efforts, but my concern is that having so many efforts from different companies (some duplicative, some not), all with the secondary goal of having educators embrace their specific products or brand (aka the "double bottom line"), may not be the best way to solve these challenges.
I'm sure I'm being naive since we are a capitalist country and educators are another fair market to target with all kinds of different technology solutions (may the best one win!). I've spoken at one of the education conferences and seen the multitude of vendors lining the trade show floor. Still, I can't help but think that there could be real power and real change that could come from the power of a collective industry effort. Imagine if Yahoo!, Google, Twitter, Microsoft, Dell, Mac, McGraw Hill, EA, etc. actually sent their best and brightest to create a research and development center that set out, with trailblazing educators (and students!), to explore best practices for using technology at school and how to train and support teachers to incorporate them. Practices that were brand/platform/hardware/software agnostic -- sure, once they were disseminated to teachers across the country, educators and administrators could decide which tools to buy (and all of the different brands could pitch away), but the practices wouldn't be dependent on using a specific tech brand.
I am sure some of my readers might be rolling their eyes or mumbling "dream on," but I believe that a more collaborative approach to these challenges -- one that involves technology companies, educators and students -- will ultimately have a much greater impact than each individual brand attempting to win over pockets of educators to their vision (and products) for creating "totally wired" teachers.Posted in: Ypulse Essentials | Education YAB Review: 'NYC Prep' Posted by meredith Today's Ypulse Youth Advisory Board post is a TV review from Alyx Steadman who caught Bravo's sneak preview of the new Gossip Girl-inspired reality show "NYC Prep." 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 was the biggest draw?
The premise of the show just seemed like something I would enjoy watching. My immediate impression was that it looked like a cross between "The Hills" and "Gossip Girl," two shows that I adore. Besides that, the characters looked fun, and I was quite drawn to the idea of seeing what real Upper East Side prep school students were like. I only know what I watch on "Gossip Girl" and somehow I doubted that kids were actually that outrageous and enjoyable to watch. I am happy to report that I was wrong. The kids on "NYC Prep" are overly dramatic and beyond spoiled just like "Gossip Girl" making it so much fun to watch. They are terrible role models for teens, but amazing entertainment.
What did you expect going in? How much did you know beforehand?
I expected there to be drama, and, of course, there was. I just watched a preview episode, so I don't know if they were holding anything back in the catfight department. Regardless, it was good enough for me to want to tune in every week just to see what crazy shenanigans these overindulged teens will get into. I didn't know much about the show going in besides what I'd heard about it through internet advertising. I did read the character bios, so I wouldn't be completely lost as to who's who.
How did you tune in? Did you watch commercials?
I didn't know when it aired, but I was watching an episode of the YouTube web show titled "What the Buck" with Michael Buckley and he said a snide remark about the show, and that he would be reviewing it in coming days. This reminded me to go to the Bravo website to watch it.
Sum it up
If you love "The Hills" or "The City" then you're pretty much guaranteed to like this show as well, because it follows the same format. The main characters all happen to be friends and most of them go to the same school. A breakdown of their stories: Taylor (the equivalent of Jenny from "Gossip Girl") goes to a high class public school, so she's almost like an outsider to the Upper East Side kids who all go to private school. Her goal is to get in good with them so she, too, can be just as popular as they are. Sebastian (a mix of dreamy Nate and Chuck of GG) is a definite player, and that's basically all that we know about him at this time. PC (no real connection to any GG character) is my favorite reason to watch this show. He is a rebel type, a heartthrob, and seems to wear plenty of "guyliner." He's not the nicest guy sometimes, but is trying to make up for it by reconnecting with his old best friend, Jessie. Kelli is trying to start up her musical career while living alone with her 18-year-old brother while her parents are staying in the Hamptons. Jessie (kind of like Serena in my mind) loves everything fashion, but her rocky relationship with PC is creating drama that might hold her back from her dreams. Camille (who is Blair-a-licious!) is studying hard to get into her perfect college, but in her spare time, likes stirring up drama for her entertainment. These guys are BFFs, but that doesn't mean they'll always stay that way.
Did you spot any brands?
I have not spotted any brands surprisingly enough. You would think a show like this would be putting brands everywhere you look, but I guess not. There is still some time to drop a few names though.
So, what did you think?
Overall, I found it very entertaining. It may have just been a preview episode, but I'm already hooked and excited to see more. The teens are witty characters who at times made me laugh out loud from some of their one-liners, such as, "If you were a veggie burger I would so eat you," and the girl later responded, "If I was a veggie burger I would probably eat me too." There is potential to make this a big new hit, if it's approached the right way. I would love to see these kids end up big stars like "The Hills" cast has, but only time will tell what will happen to these rich teens (but truthfully, it's not as if they need the extra money!)
Sorta Related
Gossip Hurl: Real NYC Prepsters Scorn New Bravo Reality Show [Wall Street Journal, reg. required]
About Alyx
 Alyx Steadman is a freshman in high school in Montana, and loves every minute of it. He loves reading, writing, acting, singing, and being a social butterfly. In the past people have accused him of being a YouTube addict and a pop culture junkie (and sadly Alyx cannot deny these accusations). His love for teen culture has led him to many hours slaving on the computer soaking up every piece of drama Hollywood has to offer. In the future he hopes to pursue a writing career as some type of journalist. Excited doesn't even begin to cover how he's feeling to be in the Ypulse Advisory Board. "Today the world changes so quickly that in growing up we take leave not just of youth but of the world we were young in." Posted in: Ypulse Essentials | Education | TV
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