 | Ypulse Daily Update 07.10.09
Directory and more at Ypulse.com | |  | Quick Links Ypulse Essentials: Textbooks 2.0, Fun-employment, Nick UK Vs. Disney Posted by meredith  Little love for 'Beth Cooper' (from Salon, day pass required. Movie Critic Stephanie Zacharek calls it an "almost-there" teen comedy. Also Miley catches heat for another risque photo shoot) (Salon.com, day pass required)
- Textbooks 2.0 (Kindle gears up for the new school year, offering about 60% of American college textbooks -- including most freshman texts -- as e-book editions on Amazon.com. Also Jason Bakker from Ypulse sponsor Campus Media Group surveys some other alternative textbook options including rental services and open source providers) (Huffington Post) (MediaPost, reg. required)
- Minority characters in YA literature (a must read post from Colleen of Chasing Ray, featuring a slew of authors offering their take on diversity, or lack thereof, in teen fiction. Plus the WSJ stacks up the latest "Harry Potter" film against "Twilight" as supernatural rivals. Teens can't love both?)
- More on alcohol and college students (a campaign plans book from Minneapolis based agency Century Council. Lots of info and strategy here - thanks Erin!)
- 'Fun-employment' (CBS profiles unemployed twentysomethings with a sense of humor, reading the trend as slightly more lighthearted than I did)
- Nick UK takes on Disney (in the teen/tween girl market, launching Teenick, a daily programming block, and a new live-action series "Frankentwins." Also Manba, underground Japanese youth culture, hits the UK) (Broadcast Now) (BBC News via Derek Baird:: Barking Robot)
- Gen O raises urban violence (as an issue they'd like to see take priority on Obama's agenda) (WireTap)
- PSFK pans Levi's (for the skewed view of history in the brand's recent frontier-themed campaign. Check out the debate the post stirred up in comments. Plus a preso outlining the top ten youth marketing myths from Graham Brown of MobileYouth)
- Millennials go for rewards programs (more than any demo across the board, according to a recent study. Also when it comes to booking hotel rooms, this blogger doesn't think Gen Y will pick up the phone) (MediaPost, reg. required)
- ZulaWorld (more on the science-themed virtual world based on the The Zula Patrol television series) (USA Today)
Posted in: Ypulse Essentials The Best Things Online Are 'Free' Posted by anastasia I just got back from speaking on a panel with two recent college grads and two high school students entitled "Will Anyone Pay For Anything"? moderated by Guy Kawasaki. I wanted to thank the folks who commented on my post earlier this week -- I was able to incorporate some of your comments into my remarks. Like any youth panel, these four young people couldn't represent all young people their age, but I did take away some interesting points from the discussion.
Love for Google almost on par with love for Apple
The four panelists were all about gmail and even said they would pay for it if they could no longer use it for free. We know that many young people still mostly message their friends via Facebook, but its gmail where they are alerted to the messages, gchat they're using for chat and yes, even Google Docs. And of course, it all started with search [there have been several studies showing young people prefer Google over Yahoo! for search over the years.] While we can argue about whether Google is making superior products to other internet brands, to these young people, Google is THE brand and is seen as the most "innovative."
Some young people might pay for Facebook if they had to, but not that much. Three out of the four young people on the panel said they would pony up some cash to keep using the service, but it topped out at about $25 a year. Put on the spot, I said I'd pay maybe $30 for an annual sub - more if my business depended on it. The main idea emerging was if they can find a similar service for free, they will, but if their friends are all still there (and decided to pay) or they couldn't find a free version of whatever they have grown to love somewhere else, they'll pay a little.
Banner ads are dead to this audience. They don't click unless it's by accident, and no, fun looking polls that are really ads don't work either. Essentially they are nervous about clicking on anything that looks like an typical banner or digital ad because of spyware or it opening 10 more pop-ups. We didn't discuss homepage takeovers that have been used on MySpace or advertising skins on sites like MyYearbook, but the youth panelists did acknowledge they have passed around branded content or viral videos that are sponsored by or created by brands.
The two guys on the panel admitted they paid for XBox Live but on the whole, this was not a group that paid for that much else in the way of digital content. One panelist had an iPod Touch and admitted paying around $2 for selected downloads, but the rest had phones primarily for voice and text. While they did have ringtones, they either found them for free or made them themselves on sites like Garageband. Like so many other youth panels, apart from the recent grad with free cable and the high school student with Dish, the other panelists watched TV on Hulu or downloaded shows and podcasts from iTunes. We also discussed how you can now "watch" an awards show or sports game by just watching the highlights clips online and following the chatter vs. sitting and watching the whole program.
I think Guy may have been depressed by how little this panel seemed to pay or want to pay for anything online given that his audience was full of entrepreneurs hoping to monetize their digital businesses. But as one woman said to me in the hallway, "I used to get all these free samples of L'Oreal makeup as a teen, and now I spend hundreds on their products." Maybe free while they're young will lead to paying customers later -- or maybe that's just wishful thinking... Posted in: Ypulse Essentials | Web Does A Surge In Web Time Mean Game Over For Traditional Play? Posted by meredith  Earlier this week Anastasia responded to the recent Nielsen research finding that kids today "are living online" and it got me to thinking: With 11 hours a month spent online (on average), what offline pastimes are becoming endangered, or even obsolete in the wake? One answer that almost immediately sprung to mind was board games.
In the search to verify this hunch, I actually came across a 2008 survey from Hasbro that (shocker) pointed to just the opposite conclusion. Incidentally, the stats were re-reported just earlier this week in a local paper. From The Daily Astorian article:
..according to a recent survey conducted by Hasbro, nearly half (48 percent) of Americans believe that a family game night is the most enjoyable form of family bonding, ranking higher than watching movies (22 percent), cooking (19 percent) and playing sports together (9 percent). Additionally, three in four (75 percent) Americans would rather play board games than video games as a group activity at a reunion or gathering.
Of course, I'd take these numbers with a Monopoly-hotel-sized grain of salt (we know Hasbro has been focused on more lucrative commercial ventures as of late), but it does make me wonder whether there is still a place for physical board games in the average household. While I wouldn't bet on many standing weekly "game nights," (I think "Freaks and Geeks" perfectly captured the eternal lameness of this with the Weir family and the game Set), I can see the timeless appeal of an occasional visit to a stocked games cabinet -- namely, an affordable, mentally stimulating, inclusive entertainment option. Not to mention the value of an hour of social activity that doesn't revolve around a screen.
That said, I'm not against the evolution of a"game night" that also includes a computer or, more likely, a game console. No doubt, a round of Guitar Hero could be just as much of a bonding experience (and cardiovascular exercise) as a rousing game of Scattergories. And Scrabulous (or whatever the legal version is called these days) is actually a great way to stay connected with Mom and Dad when teens go off to college. But, when the real deal is an option, my feeling is why not mix it up?
I'm curious what Ypulse readers out there think about the fate of traditional board games? Are they going the way of Dominoes?
Sorta Related
Playing together and staying together [BBC News]
For more coverage of the tween space, check out the Ypulse Tweens Channel, sponsored by the Tween Tribune.Posted in: Ypulse Essentials | Web | Tweens | Web Ypulse Interview: Sean Cox, Nike Posted by meredith Today's Ypulse Interview is with Sean Cox, North American Retail Community Relations Specialist for Nike and one of the team members behind Back Your Block, the brand's recently launched $650,000 grant program to support local communities and schools.
 Ypulse: How does the "Back Your Block" program fit into Nike's vision for its philanthropy? What was the inspiration behind choosing this forum of public voting for distributing grants?
Sean Cox: A core aspect of Nike's commitment to the community is to unlock the potential of young people through sports. We opted to empower individuals to tell us about programs making a significant difference in their community by moving the program online this year.
YP: Are there examples you can share of youth using "sports as a tool to change the community" that illustrate Nike's vision for Back Your Block?
SC: The list is long. Whether it is a mentoring program in NYC that connects young people who skate with mentors to help improve their chances at academic success, a basketball program that activates their participants to volunteer, or a youth led soccer program that raises money to build fields in Africa, sport can be the tool that innovative leaders lean on to ignite the potential of communities.
YP: How are you [and Mr. Youth -- the agency Nike partnered with to create the campaign website] getting the word out to young people?
SC: We are working together to leverage a combination of digital advertising and social media to inform young people about the opportunity to nominate, apply and vote for these grants. We know that individuals have the best understanding of the needs, and champions, in their communities.
YP: What are your benchmarks for success? How many applications are you hoping to receive? What other kinds of youth participation are you looking for?
SC: Success will be measured by the reach of the program and the number of applications we receive from large and small organizations. Voting will be a significant tool in our decision making, however, in an effort to enable the support of small, yet promising, organizations who may lack the established network of a larger group, the final decisions will be made by an internal review committee.
YP: What comes next for "Back Your Block" winners? For the program?
SC: Nike will be accepting applications through August 24th. Voting will continue for another two weeks and winners will be notified by October 1st. Nikebackyourblock.com will remain active and the winning organizations will be able to promote their programs through the site. We will also maintain www.facebook.com/nikebackyourblock to enable fans of the program to continue to connect to the organizations in their community and to highlight the success fueled by the participation of young people in the program.
More on Sean
After ten years leading the development and executive functions of nonprofit organizations in Oregon, Sean joined the Nike team in 2008 to help drive the Retail division's community engagement functions in the US.
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Will Generation Y Put Nike in Its Place? [Seeking Alpha]
For more coverage of youth marketing, go to the Ypulse Youth Marketing Channel sponsored by Youth Marketing Connection Posted in: Ypulse Essentials | Web | Tweens | Web | Youth Marketing
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