From the Media Week
Is Virtual Media on the Rebound?
Who says virtual worlds for tweens and teens are dead?
Once, virtual worlds aimed at teens and tweens proliferated, quickly becoming a popular vehicle for advertisers.
Then the recession hit the nascent industry hard, leading to the disappearance of pioneers such as Doppelganger, There.com and even Nickelodeon’s Nicktropolis. Recently, one of the surviving players in the space, Gaia Online, has stopped referring to its avatar-filled online playground as a virtual world entirely. Read more
From the New York Times
NOBODY calls me anymore — and that’s just fine. With the exception of immediate family members, who mostly phone to discuss medical symptoms and arrange child care, and the Roundabout Theater fund-raising team, which takes a diabolical delight in phoning me every few weeks at precisely the moment I am tucking in my children, people just don’t call.
It’s at the point where when the phone does ring — and it’s not my mom, dad, husband or baby sitter — my first thought is: “What’s happened? What’s wrong?” My second thought is: “Isn’t it weird to just call like that? Out of the blue? With no e-mailed warning?”
I don’t think it’s just me. Sure, teenagers gave up the phone call eons ago. But I’m a long way away from my teenage years, back when the key rite of passage was getting a phone in your bedroom or (cue Molly Ringwald gasp) a line of your own.
In the last five years, full-fledged adults have seemingly given up the telephone — land line, mobile, voice mail and all. According to Nielsen Media, even on cellphones, voice spending has been trending downward, with text spending expected to surpass it within three years. Read more
From the Tween Tribune
10-year-old to perform with Lady Gaga A ten-year-old Canadian YouTube star says she can’t wait to join Lady Gaga onstage in Toronto.
Winnipeg-native Maria Aragon posted a cover of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” to YouTube, one of dozens of videos she’s put online.
But this one exploded in popularity after Lady Gaga herself saw the video and posted a link on Twitter. Aragon has been on a whirlwind media tour ever since and her video now has more than 17 million views.
She hit “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and ABC’s “Good Morning America” to talk about being invited by Lady Gaga to perform at the Air Canada Centre on Thursday night.
CanadianAragon says she hopes to make the most of the big moment and then she’d like to have her life get back to normal, at least just a little bit.
Courtesy of
t(w)eensgosocial 