Posted by Meg Canada
How do you track what’s hot for the 12-18 set?
Ypulse offers a daily e-mail update that, “provides daily news & commentary about Generation Y for media and marketing professionals.”
The SafeKids/NetFamily Newsletter may also inform your reading of teens and tweens use of technology.
Finally on my list of regular professional reading is Pop Candy which comments on pop culture and what the cool kids are doing.
Do you have additional sources for teen research?
I read Trends & Tudes by Harris Interactive. It’s a monthly newsletter covering current topics in youth and education research. You can view it online at:
http://www.harrisinteractive.com/news/newsletters_k12.asp
-Beth Yoke, byoke@ala.org
In order to figure out what’s going on with hot celebrities, I read Pink is the New Blog (http://trent.blogspot.com/). It was also recently featured in Nicole Richie’s “fiction” book The Truth About Diamonds so many teens probably read it as well.
Shiny Shiny (http://www.shinyshiny.tv/) is focused on girly/cutsey-appeal tech toys, and what’s coming over from Japan and Europe. Games, toys, and new cell phones are regularly featured.
First of all, I think that the whole tracking idea is great when it is warranted. If you have a problem teen like me it gives great peace of mind. Or Not. I also believe that the power of these devices can be abused. If you use it just to be nosey and you have had no reason to track your child, Shame, Shame, Shame. I bought my gps from http://www.gpsteentracking.com after a whole lot of investigating. Theirs did’t have any monthly fees and was fairly price. Now I just use it as a deterrent since I have confronted my daughter several times with the tracking data. I think that the deterrent is the best value of the whole thing. Anyway, thats my 2cents.
Jay