Sdwys

Boxes for Buzz

This is an awesome idea to create buzz in the blogosphere.  The creators of Coraline sent out 50 handmade boxes to some of their favorite bloggers.  The boxes contain mysterious items from the movie that allude to the plot.   NOTCOT highlights some of the boxes and their contents here.

Daily Candy Jr.

Daily Candy shows up like a sweet treat in our inbox every morning with information that usually proves interesting and helpful when it comes to Los Angeles.  Now, following the same free email newsletter model, I Heart Daily aims to appeal to teenage girls with news regarding fashion, makeup, music and everything in between.

The post from Y Pulse reads:

If ever there was a time to adopt this type of business model — free content delivered straight to readers' inboxes and/or RSS feeds — it's now. Because while most mags have websites (and as of late they've certainly been pumping that virtual real estate for all its worth) the idea of an online destination with no strings (read: paid subscriptions) attached seems like a refreshing and welcome change.

Mamma's Toy Free Zone

Is there anything better for a modern mom than giving her youngian a batch of new toys every month while at the same time relieving herself (and her beautiful living room) of a no clutter toy - free zone? Introducing Texas start-up Babyplays, a toy rental system where each parent receives four to six age-appropriate toys by mail each month. You can keep the toys as long as they like, and send them back to receive a fresh batch. It's the Netflix and Bag, Borrow or Steal rental model with just one difference, toys.

 

Kids Helping Kids

Speel Goed met Geld (roughly translated to "play well with money") is a unique way for kids to assist other youth in war-torn countries across the world. The site enables 'kidpreneurs' to upload pictures of toys they'd like to sell with proceeds being donated to War Child, a non-profit organization that provides psychosocial aid to children who've been traumatized by war.

Welcome HP to the House

Today’s youth are almost impossible to reach with traditional media and it has been a challenge for most brands to penetrate their inner circle and smuggle ideas into their minds.

HP is the latest of brands to successful break into their inner circle with a barrage of new ideas. Three months ago HP launched the finger skills video on YouTube, which produced incredible results: 6.3 million hits, 180,000 unique visitors, average visit duration of 5.45 mins. Most recently, HP has partnered with MTV to produce a global reality series called “Meet or Delete.” The show feature college students trying to decide if they want to meet one another, based solely on the contents of their hard drives. HP is part of a growing number of brands learning how to use communities to harness customer input and get customers to bond around a common set of issues or activities rather than trying to force information down their throats.

While the youth audience might remain elusive, the secret sauce for brands such as HP is to find ways to constantly reinvent themselves in order to remain fresh in the eyes of consumers. There is no natural commercial audience in today’s society so brands must continue to talk with youth and not talk at them. Once a consumer has come to trust a brand that is when the real bond is created. According to a study by SMG and CNET, “the latest brands seem better with 87% sharing brand information and another 77% of youth posting reviews and product feedback online.”

Also check out the new slimming feature, available on select HP digital cameras. It is a subtle effect that can make anyone look more slender.

Blogging Youth

Blogging now plays such a significant role in the lives of youth that almost half would rather share their innermost feelings on a blog (49%) than with their parents (51%) according to the AOL RED/Digital Marketing Services survey. The survey also showed that 72% of blogs they read are about people they know and 58% read blogs because they find them to be more entertaining than traditional websites. Two other interesting facts that the survey discovered were that 71% of teens prefer to keep in touch with long-distance friends via instant messaging or e-mail, and that 38% of teens instant message with their parents. 

Blogging has become a major factor in youth culture and another means for youth to connect and form subcultures. Social networking sites and blogs have created support groups for fringe communities and youth who cannot find support in their geographical vicinity. Friendster was the first big hit, but now social butterflies have numerous options. Flicker allows teens to blog, social network and share photos; the Face Book connects college youth; and countless other sites such as Myspace, Hi5 and Orkut provide endless options for social networking.  Several teens have even begun to jump-start their careers by promoting themselves on social networking sites such as Blitz. 

While blogs and community sites are a great source of entertainment and networking for teenagers, they also pose several threats.It seems that Youth have a tendency to let down their guard and assume a more outgoing presence when they are online. The traditional advice of “never talk to strangers” does not seem as important, and according to the Children's Digital Media Center at Georgetown University, two-thirds of teens provide their age and at least their first name, while 60 percent offer their location and contact information while online.