professional reading- Week 10 ypulse.com

Week 10
www.ypulse.com
I really enjoyed ypulse.com. I felt it was very informative, insightful, and well rounded in topics. Many of the articles brought on new discussion topics involving youth and the 21st century. I read a number of articles, the few that stood out the most were; Should Schools Be Breaking Up ‘Best Friends’?, A Teen’s Take On Tween Online Communities, Successful Social Marketing: Seed It, And They Will Run With It, and Social Nets For Tweens: Who Will Be The Facebook, The MySpace, The Friendster?
A Teen’s Take On Tween Online Communities
With the ever evolving generations and maturity, it seems that online communities are also ever changing with their participants. Julia is a high school senior who reflects on her online experiences as a tween. “My opinion that it doesn’t matter how safe developers try to make these games, kids will still experiment with what they can say and do… and eventually grow up and leave them for free-range networks like Facebook. Each generation has matured earlier on, and Gen Y is no exception. On the whole, I’m guessing what’s important to kids today is what was important to me — playing fun games and exploring a fantasy world (Julia).”
She makes good point that as she matured her needs and focus for online use changed, along with many other interests she had. Her once focus on games and fun is now turned toward socializing and “hanging out.” AS she matured, there was another group of tweens who felt the same way she did just a few years ago. However, with the every evolving youth comes the need to feel older quicker. Although these online communities are monitored, there will always be someone who is trying to push the limits.
Should Schools Be Breaking Up ‘Best Friends’?
This article looked at different aspects of friendship in youth. Have youth evolved from having one best friend into having groups of friends. They also looked at if school authorities should involve themselves in youth relationships, to avoid any problems?
Relationships and interaction with others is a natural part of society. How we deal with these relationships and manage them is a learned skill. Although friendship can be hard and hurtful at times, it’s a part of life and many times it turns into lessons for life. I do not think it’s the schools job or an adult’s job to interfere with relationships youth create (unless someone’s safety is at risk). Having close relationships and connections allows youth to learn how to mange certain behaviors and emotions when it comes to personal interaction.
Seed It, And They Will Run With It
This article was very eye opening. Product and brand marketing takes place all over the internet, but I was surprised to hear the interesting ways it is incorporated to tween sites. Marketers use the 3 P’s to reach the tween demographic: Person (put the person at the center of the branding), Place (create rooms and places where participants can discuss the brand) and Peer Influence (get everyone involved through different activities i.e. competitions). It appears that there are no limits and no one is excluded from product placement and sales. “YP: And finally, what tips can you give marketers from your experience in social marketing? PG: You need to have an agile development process so you can roll out new content every three or four weeks to keep it fresh and interesting. The key is to make it scalable so you don’t have to do all the work. You seed it and they will run with it. That’s also key in keeping the teen as the star of the show.”
Social Nets For Tweens: Who Will Be The Facebook, The MySpace, The Friendster?
Facebook is the most popular site for social networking, but unfortunately it eliminates children under the age of 13. However, in recent weeks there have been a number of social networking sites which have announced their launch or re-launch which are directed toward this group of 21st century users. Everloop, Togetherville and Imbee all have their own parallel to Facebook, however they are all safe, monitored, and appealing to a younger audience. All three are competing to become the next Facebook for the under 13 demographic. “Time will tell who will win the race to become the premier tween social network, in our opinion, Everloop is making the right moves and looks to gain the upper hand (Melanie).”
Ypuls.com is a great source for updating news on media and developments in youth products. The articles gave a wide range of opinions, views, and facts based on different aspects of youth media. There were articles from the marketer’s point of view, the ex-tween, the teacher, the parent, the developer, etc. The articles were short and too the point. They were informative and enjoyable to read. It makes it easy to stay current on changes and developments with in the tween and teen communities.