Ypulse is still a very, very small company -- right now, we don't produce and sell our own research and we are not a youth marketing agency that offers consulting. Our revenue as a media platform comes from site advertising and events. This is why we have to keep our costs down at events as much as possible while still producing the highest quality program we can. It's why we can't pay our speakers and why we rely so much on sponsors to offset our costs. I'm being transparent about this because I think we do what we do on a shoestring so well, that folks think we are much bigger than we actually are.

Folks have also asked about another tween event -- we plan on producing a pre-conference focused on tweens at next year's San Francisco Mashup. Right now our event strategy for '09 includes our third annual Ypulse International Mashup in San Francisco (I want to give next year's event a bit more global focus) and in fall of '09 an even bigger Ypulse Mashup East (depending on how Boston goes, and what other locations open up, site tbd). In some ways, Boston is our pilot for a regular Mashup East. We want to focus on creating two high quality larger events vs. doing lots of smaller events that ultimately require almost as much planning and don't earn quite enough revenue. Of course this could change, but that's what we're planning for now. You may see us pop up at other folks' events as well offering a day-long or half day program if it makes sense. Some have also suggested producing smaller virtual webinars or online seminars -- readers, would you pay $150 - $200 for a Ypulse webinar? Assume it has an amazing speaker/presenter you really want to hear...

We are just beginning to work on our Boston program, so I wanted to invite Ypulse readers to suggest speakers and programming ideas. Since we will be on campus at Boston University, we are going to focus our event on youth ages 16-24, think high school juniors and seniors and college students. Our focus continues to be on reaching youth with technology and includes speakers from brands, media/technology companies, non-profit organizations, academic or other independent experts, and of course, young people. We will have sponsored case study slots available and invite agencies and others to contact Charles Pelton for more information. To learn more about our speaker selection process, read this post. To suggest ideas, feel free to email me or leave a comment!

MTV Rocking the Youth Vote 2.0 Style

We heard from Ian Rowe, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs and Strategic Partnerships, MTV, and Carl Brown, California Citizen Journalist, MTV Street Team '08, that while there is more interest than ever before in this year's presidential race, local issues are what resonate more with younger voters, i.e. what's happening in their back yard. In response, MTV has created a citizen journalism program to tell these local stories. These video stories are also being distributed by the Associated Press. They showed an example of a local story in southern California about how young activists were fighting the development of a new highway that would have altered the local eco-system. One attendee asked if MTV makes an attempt to show "the other side" in these reports -- the response was not so much in individual reports but more in shaping the project as a whole. We couldn't help but notice how much the CJ story looked like what's happening over at Current TV...

Emerging Teen Technology

Bill Carter, from Fuse Marketing (anchor sponsor for the event), presented results from a survey they did of senior technology executives from companies such as Sony, MTV Networks, Yahoo, and Nokia to find out what's next for teens. They heard that content is what's most important, and that technology should never be use for its own sake without something real to say. The tone of the content is the next most important aspect, and then comes how technology is used to disseminate the content or message. Only half of the brands that are using technology as a platform are backing it up with a real message. Before a company decides to use technology, they need to ask why they want a mobile campaign (side note: I just saw a website banner for a Listerine promo offering a free music download - what a random way to draw in potential users of mouthwash!).

Handheld devices will surpass and potentially replace the desktop. The iPhone is just the beginning of the all in one device. Yet despite the handheld's key feature (allowing teens to be untethered from a desk), only 20% of teens have a smartphone. Other platforms will save -- not kill -- TV networks. Device is inconsequential compared to content, because they are in the content-creation business; they can thrive with technology. Analog-to-digital conversion will soon make it possible to watch live TV on portable devices.

Geo-targeting will go mobile, and the analysis of four billion IP addresses provides street-level targeting. Combine this new technology with teens giving advertisers "permission" to market to them, and growth could be exponential, resulting in continuous, relevant ads and content based on teens' location and interests.

The evolution of music online is just beginning. CD retail sales are declining, but there's growth and more to come in online downloads. Subscriptions (the cable model) will soon rule. There will soon be more than 65 million cable TV subscribers, and cable providers (and iTunes!) will offer unlimited downloads.

In the end, it's about a simple connection to friends. Based on the premise of teens' expectations of connectivity ("IM is not different than seeing someone in person"), easy tools count while additional features don't. The focus is on improving communication across platforms (mobile, Net, PC, Mac), and the ability to update all of your networks (Myspace, Facebook, AIM) at once. In the future, we will finally be universally connected; things don't really start happening until they're happening everywhere.

Newsletter readers: Visit Ypulse.com for the rest.

Matt Britton from Mr. Youth gave a sponsored case study about how Neutrogena teamed with his agency to create a "fully integrated branded entertainment campaign" for the launch of a Neutrogena acne stress product. Playing on the "stress" factor, they researched what stressed teens out, and used these as touchpoints to connect with teen girls. They started by repositioning the skincare brand as a resource on stress instead of skin.

They went to spring break destinations with their "one less stress oasis," complete with massages, facials, and a set that allowed teens to get in front of a camera and chat about what stressed them out firsthand. They also reached out to college campuses with brand ambassadors, who were enlisted to film friends about the stresses in their lives. The videos were uploaded to a website, where girls were encouraged viewers to vote on the 24 most stressed girls in America.

The main purpose was to find teen costars to be in an online reality series featuring Hayden Panettiere. They filmed webisodes in a "stress free" New York loft, where the girls lived candidly (or as candid as you can possible live in such a situation). Each webisode had a theme ("dress without stress," "eat without stress") and featured a guest expert. Although they didn't release statistics as far as success rates go, the first webisode had more than 10,000 views on YouTube.

Teens and Tech: The Myths and Opportunities

Jennifer Carole from Listen2Youth/Worldwide Teen Lab's sponsored presentation included the following teen insights: Teens are relationship centric, not technology centric. They don't like technology that's hard to use, but they will do what it takes to get what they want. They don't exclusively shop at the mall - they want to shop all the time, everywhere (online, mobile, television). Following on Antti's Blyk keynote, teens want to be marketed to across all screens - not just TV, but mobile, too [when it's relevant].

The idea is to enhance the brand relationship, encourage interaction, and build relationship between online and real-life. To successfully market to teens, companies must further their relationships, find things they truly care about, and help them build their own personal brands.

Totally Wired Hip Hop: Reaching Urban Youth

The panel started off with an attempt to define hip hop, which has become a global phenomenon. Adisa Banjoko offered the old school definition of DJ-ing, break dancing, etc. while Hammer emphasized that it's less about the specific genre and more about using music as a way to reach young people from all kinds of demographic backgrounds -- he welcomes all kinds of dance on Dancejam.com!

When asked whether radio-friendly hip-hoppers like Soulja Boy are ruining rap, MC Hammer said that, like any other medium, music evolves. He scoffed at the mention of the end of hip-hop, and explained that Ice T believes Soulja Boy "killed hip hop" because his personal style of rap (Ice T's) doesn't sell as well when something as catchy as Soulja Boy is what people are buying.

One of the most interesting discussions was the prominence of profanity in music. Like any other genre of music, hip-hop is a form of musical expression. Instead of tackling the graphic content of certain rap music, we should work to improve the conditions and situations that inspire such songs.

For more coverage of this panel see: PSFK, Spinning Indie & Feministing.

Are Girls The New Geeks?

Girls want to be heard, respected and celebrated, and they will flock to websites that give this to them. It's important to let girls express themselves, but it's crucial to step in with resources, numbers for help, substantial advice, etc. It's also important to let peers be a sounding board.

Cutting and eating disorders have always been around. These problems aren't necessarily more prevalent, but girls now have the ability to use the internet to express them. It's important to understand that, when it comes to online conversations between girls, for every serious and depressing conversation, they are having positive, empowering discussions. The internet is far more enabling than disabling.

The internet can be a hostile environment so between the ages of 8-12, tweens need a safe place free of judgment and the possibility of getting attacked (especially by anonymous commenters). Registration has to be safe, because when different generations/sexes mix, problems pop up. At the same time, opinions and alternate viewpoints can teach girls to begin to develop a mental filter, taking in what they like and leaving the rest.

For more coverage of this panel, check out Feministing.

Afternoon Keynote: Damon Whiteside, Senior Vice President of Walt Disney Records, on Marketing

When most record companies are struggling with album sales, Walt Disney Records has seen a 60% rise in music sales in the past year. The really impressive aspect is that Disney's digital sales only represent 5% of their revenue; 95% comes from physical album sales which is an enormous feat. The brand's digital album sales alone are enviable, with digital tracks leaping 122%. Radio isn't exactly a thriving industry, but even Radio Disney is seeing growth and ranks as the top tween radio network among satellite stations.

As we heard throughout the Mashup, tweens and teens are going mobile. With almost half of the generation owning cell phones, more than half of those kids are using their phones to purchase mobile music and ringtones. Disney's ringtone sales are up 722%.

The recent fascination with teen pop stars might not last more than a few years, because music trends change quickly. But because tweens and teens adapt and adopt new music just as quickly, Disney's musical staying power will likely outlive the careers of some of their of-the-moment stars.

For more coverage of this panel check out this CNET story.

Unfortunately, I had to jet and missed the cyberbullying panel and the final youth entrepreneur panel....If anyone has notes or posted about either, send us the links!

Freeing Mobile with Antti Ohrling, Co-founder, Blyk

"We want to make communication free for young people." Mobile is the only media outlet without advertising -- Our opening keynoter, Antti Ohrling from Blyk, hopes to add advertising in exchange for free texts, calls, etc. If you want to engage people, you must give them what they want. In mobile, teens want text, voice, and - interestingly enough - an alarm clock. 71% of youth would like to receive text ads targeted to their interests and it's safe to say that most would love free texts and calls. Thus, Blyk has had outstanding response rates in Europe, where they first launched their company.

Antti summed it up well on his blog: "My overall take? Relevancy and engagement matter to the youth audience and mobile is the perfect media for relevant and interactive communication. Incentivise young people to interact with brands directly by giving them what they want - in Blyk's case, that's free communication, 'money-can't-buy' offers and messages from brands they like. That's the marketer's point of entry (and long-term relationship) with the youth audience."

What's Next in The Mobile Youth Space?

Teens and tweens like to have choices in how they communicate, seamlessly moving between texting, instant messaging, chatting, and talking. They also like communicating online, and in the near future we might be handing out MySpace URLS instead of telephone numbers.

Tweens and teens are teaching their parents text message so they don't have to talk over the cell phone to keep in touch. Instead of answering (or, more realistically, not answering) a call from home, teens can keep the communication channels open by texting. The tween audience specifically pushes their parents to use mobile regularly, because that's the only way they truly want to communicate with them (while this might be true, don't give us the flak - these are panelists words, not ours!). Mobile technology is playing with the impulse of picture-taking and translating it to sharing between family and friends. Through new photo-sharing sites like Radar, kids invite parents to go on to share experiences that previous generations might have never shared. You can read CNET's recap of this panel here.

Sponsored Research Presentation: TeensEyes Division, C&R Research

C&R Research has been conducting qualitiative an quantitative research for over 50 years, and they began providing computerized multimedia reports in the early '90s. While the size and opportunity among young people is exciting, autonomy, fragmented lifestyles, and tech-savviness makes them a challenging bunch to reach. They're in a constant state of flux, trying to define their individuality while also securing themselves a place in the crowd.

53% of tweens an 84% of teens own cell phones. They're talking, texting, and using their cameras for both still shots and videos.The average teen generates around 18,000 a year. The average adult cell phone user generates 200 text messages a month. However, most are still not using data service plans to access the internet, watch TV programs, or listen to music on their mobile.

Teens are still watching TV and averaging about 2 hours a day during the week, and 3 hours on the weekends. They love their video games; tween guys are playing the most, and teen girls are playing the least.

Teens feel more crunched for time than their tween counterparts, but they do not see themselves as over-scheduled - just busy. Teens typically have more money to spend because they're earning more than a typical tween allowance. On top of that, they have more access to transportation so they're spending more on activities they can engage in outside the home (movie theaters, restaurants) while tweens prefer at-home entertainment (video games, DVDs).

They're constantly on the lookout for the next best thing...and they're looking in different places for that information. To stay relevant, companies must leverage the viral potential of their world and of the Internet. Respect them as consumers, they have their own money to spend and they're spending it on everyday items and entertainment. Entertainment sells; humor can initially draw them in, while authenticity will keep them interested.

Keynote Conversation: What Our "Mortifying" Memories Can Teach Us About Reaching Teens

This was absolutely hilarious and sadly, words cannot convey how hard the audience was laughing. The common denominator that brings together every teen's experience is that they are mortifying. There's no better time machine than your own childhood, the feelings you were experiencing at the time, and what being a kid meant to you. Takeaway message: Even though David Levithan is a successful author and editor, he should consider stand-up comedy. Actually, no, the message is that the core experience of what it's like to be a teenager hasn't changed, and that remembering our own mortifying years, will help us to be more authentic in communicating to teens today.

How to Successfully Reach Youth on Social Networks

Brand sites that are lacking relevant social interaction are behind so-called "social networking fatigue," according to this panel. Social networking is a fantastic tool, but no one is interested in going through the steps of joining a social network on a niche, company site. A self-produced blog has much less luck than a community-produced outlet. Letting users do the work for you is cheaper, easier - an often higher in traffic. When social issues are involved in an ad campaign, teens are very open to getting involved. If something catches their attention on a website's homepage, they will click. We heard a success story from Vickie Collier, the VP of Disney-ABC's digital media. Their teen soap "Greek" challenged their audience to upload social media, and the winner got a walk-on role. Thousands of viewers got involved, and this brought significant traffic to the site. A contest was a great way getting viewers involved, checking back, and consistently clicking around.

As much as I wanted to sit in on all three breakout sessions, I couldn't be in three places at once so I missed out on "Killer Apps: Which Widgets and Applications Are Hits With Younger Users?" and "Brand Engagement in Virtual Worlds for Youth." If you caught them and want to add your two cents, chime in!

Casual Games? That's What Mom Plays, Right?

Kids are playing games just as much as they are watching television. Kate Connally from Viacom's Addicting Games, likened her site to "The Superbad, 16 Candles, Pretty and Pink" of games. Product placement in games - i.e."advergaming" and adding advertising to existing games is the best way for brands to reach this audience (vs. banners). Teens are advertising savvy and they recognize that they're getting free game play, so they are okay with a certain level of advertising. But if you're going to add an ad, it has to bring something meaningful to the game. Many families have successfully used inter-generational gaming to strengthen the bond between kids and parents. Min Kim from Nexon America told us that In Korea, the parent-child-gaming relationship is so strong that some parents play their kids' avatars while they're at school!

Afternoon Keynote: 100 Young Americans with Michael Franzini

Michael talked about his experience traveling to all 50 states, photographing over 100 teens and attempting to reflect U.S. census data as much as possible. It became clear to him that American teens in 2008 cannot be simply defined. One general consensus is that, first and foremost, kids want to be rich and famous -- but of course with reality TV and all of the imagery bombarding them with this message in our pop culture, why wouldn't they?

In a sea of generational labels, Michael's calls millennials "the instant access generation." He argued that the biggest generation gap since the dawn of rock and roll is happening right now. Instead of being driven apart by music, we are driven apart by technology. He said that instant access means teens grow up faster, and cited the example of an 18-year-old girl who heard about The Bunny Ranch on HBO, immediately Googled it, and fled her hometown to work there. With this generation of teens, there is less parental control, new meanings of the words "friends" and "dating," and radically different attitudes towards privacy ("blogging generation," anyone?).

These are Michael's rules for interacting with teens and tweens: there are no rules; make it about them; no judgments (what defines what's right and wrong? your parents!); treat them as your equal; and don't tell them anything. In marketing, add these three rules to the mix: don't try to be cool, always be real, and stand for something good. It's not just about what and how we say it, it's also about where we say it.

He ended with one final question to ponder: Does adolescents exist? (and shared an anecdote about a car ride with the controversial Robert Epstein)

CBS News (Larry Magid) Larry moderated our cyberbullying session...I attempted to post this response on his blog, but even though I was logged in, it didn't seem to work:

While we do focus on effective ways to reach youth with technology, our audience is about one third non-profit/advocacy organizations so branding could be branding for a company or branding for an agency serving youth. In addition to the sessions you mentioned, we also had sessions on this year's election, youth activism, on whether girls are the new geeks, and of course your own on what folks who create web sites for youth can do about cyberbullying.

So it was not just about "selling stuff to kids" it was also about using those technologies effectively and authentically to reach them whether it is with a product that is actually useful or a message that could save their lives or inspire them to create social change.

Also, in case anyone missed my one sentence sound bite on The Early Show, check out the segment they did on "Avatars behaving badly."

CNET coverage:

For teens, the future is mobile
Disney bucks music industry downturn
Cell phone is mom-avoidance device for teens

Publisher's Weekly

Embracing Technology in a YA World

Blog press coverage:

The Reverb of Ypulse (Youth Media Exchange)
Harvesting Kids' Eyeballs; Free Mobile For Ad Views: Blyk! (Shaping Youth)
Confessions of a Virgin Meebo User At Ypulse (Shaping Youth)
Texting Is the New Rock and Roll (NextGreatThing)
MC Hammer Maximizes and Optimizes the Commodity of Music (PSFK)
Ypulse National Mashup 2008: Are girls the new geeks? (Feministing.com)
Ypulse National Mashup 2008: Totally Wired Hip-hop (Feministing.com)
Ypulse 2008: Interview with Creaters of Midwest Teen Sex Show (Feministing.com)

Attendee posts:

Let's Talk About Sex, Baby. And Disney. Have I Piqued Your Interest? (House On Fire)
The Ypulse Mashup (Kosovodad: Proud to be a Soldier)
Is Disney Trying to Keep Parents Out of the Loop? (House On Fire)
The Mashup Round-up (Ramblings of Immersive Marketing Geniuses/Premise)
From FooCamp to Ypulse to BlogHer in 8 days (Smart CEO)
2008 Ypulse National Mashup Recap (YouthCultopia)

Good times and good people in San Francisco (Claire Mysko)
Wow! Tech Execs and Global Teens Share a Vision of the Future at the Ypulse Mashup Day Two (Teen Lab at Alcatel-Lucent)
YPulse Mashup 2008 Day One: A unique blend of culture, marketing and technology (Teen Lab at Alcatel-Lucent)
Photo Friday: Pics from San Francisco (Melissa Walker)
"Reaching Today's Totally Wired Generation:" Antti Öhrling's Take on YPulse Mashup 2008 (Blyk)
YPulse Mashup Part One - Teen Music Trends and the Go-Go's (Spinning Indie)
YPulse Mashup Part Two - MC Hammer, Chess and Hip Hop (Spinning Indie)
Mashing it up! (Justina Chen Headley)
The Morning Fog May Chill The Air, I Don't Care (Benjamin Wagner)
Ypulse Mashup (Adina's Deck)
Teen Talk at Ypulse (Dixie LaRue)
Live Blogging the Ypulse Mashup (Social Citizen Blog)
Minkster's blog (and one more)
Reaching Out To Da Yoots (Digital Blue -- our rad AV team)

I had a chance to do a short email interview with Hannah Bailey, who in my mind was the breakout "star," if there can even be stars of documentaries. Check it out and RSVP today!

Ypulse: How conscious were you of being filmed for "American Teen"? How did that impact (or not) what we see of you senior year?

Hannah Bailey: Here's how the movie production went down: Nanette starts filmin', for a month, and yes, I noticed the cameras. I was little, let's say, reserved for that month. Fortunately, they didn't use any footage from the very beginning. I think all of us were staring into the cameras. After a while, all of it became very natural. Needless to say, after that first month, I did not notice them. The cameras basically became part of the setting of my everyday life.

YP: In the film, we see you experience very real depression - something that impacts lots of teens but is still taboo to discuss. What would you say to other teens who might be experiencing similar feelings? What finally pulled you out of it?

HB: I just know from personal experience that a major problem with depression is that it's hard to find something to be positive about in the present, so it becomes really easy to dwell on the past, mistakes, things you would have done differently. But that's a useless thing to hang on to and the only real way to rise above the self-pity is to find something productive to focus on.

YP: Paramount Vantage is using "The Breakfast Club" imagery to promote the film - how real were those types of cliques and stereotypes at your high school?

HB: Yes, there are easily recognizable demographics in high school, like the ones we see in "The Breakfast Club." The simple truth is that there are so many people that don't fit into those cliques, so many kids that are friends with everyone, that it would be untrue to say that all high school kids can be stereotyped. It is true that teenagers tend to judge, tend to be a little crueler at that specific time in their lives. When it comes do it though, it's all about insecurity and self-consciousness. The key is to have an open mind.

YP: What have you learned from your experience of being in the film?

HB: I've learned that I never ever want to make a documentary about high school kids after watching the director, Nanette, deal with a bunch of teenagers!

YP: Tell us a little bit about life after high school and where you are now.

HB: I just finished up my freshman year at the Film Conservatory over at SUNY Purchase. It was great. Looking forward to sophomore year. Right now I'm living in LA, promoting the movie, hanging out with my dog Julie, and trying to get a cool internship. Life's alright.

Ypulse Mashup 'User Generated' Lunch Tables (more TBA)

Defining Social Media Celebrity - Joe Marchese, SocialVibe

Girls, Self Esteem & Media - Claire Mysko, author of Girls Inc. Presents: You're Amazing

Reaching International Youth Digitally - Adam Aberman, Ashoka Youth Venture

Managing User Generated Conversations - Benjamin Wagner, MTV News

Teens & Finances - Stefanka Von Brzeski, Santa Clara University

How to Create Engaging Social Apps For Youth - Lance Tokuda, Rock You

Understanding Today's College Students - Clifton Wright, Survey U

Engaging Youth On Health Issues With Technology - Liz Song, HopeLab

Creating Successful Partnerships In The Youth Space - Paul Brindaki, Miss O & Friends

Leveraging Technology For Youth Civic Engagement - Jamie Contreras, GenerationEngage

Is Tech Hurting Youth Communication Skills? - Allison Mooney, NextGreatThing

All Things Mobile: Mobile Web, Mobile Games & More - Stephen Saiz, mDisney

State of Affairs On Legislation Affecting Youth Online - Denise Tayloe, Privo

Building Online Buzz With Teens - Roger Slaven, USAA

Advertising In Mobile Environments - Antii Ohrling, Blyk

Creating A Multi-Platform Teen TV Experience - Geoffrey Goodwin, BBC Teens

If you are planning on attending, we have room for a few more tables (not many!) so be sure and suggest a topic and raise your hand to moderate the discussion. If you already registered and just didn't take advantage of this opportunity and have a topic that's different from what you see listed here, email me! We had some very similar topics suggested and are trying to avoid multiple tables focused on the same topic.

I caught a screening of the much buzzed about doc "American Teen" when I was at SXSW -- I loved it. Of course I would love it. I spend my days and nights thinking about "American teens" so I devour any content that relates. That's not the only reason I loved it though. I thought the film, which was shot reality TV style, told the stories of four small town middle America teens in their senior year of high school in a way that was both engaging and entertaining. In telling these stories, we see that "The Breakfast Club" teen archetypes still exist in the teen caste system that is high school: The jock, the geek, the princess and the freak.

What's new? We got a glimpse of cyberbullying as it happened when Megan (the princess) decides to punish her friend for hooking up with her male best friend by sending her topless photos (originally sent to him) all over the school -- then topping it off with a torrent of nasty phone messages.

Other than that -- there wasn't much that was new. Some of the parents put an unreal amount of pressure on their teens. The jock's dad, a fallen high school basketball star who is now an Elvis impersonator, basically tells his son he has two options, getting a basketball scholarship or going into the military. Megan's dad is all about Notre Dame -- it's the family tradition.

Hannah, who is really the star of this film (featured in the photo), is the misunderstood artist, the creative girl (think Molly Ringwald in Pretty in Pink) who just wants to move to San Francisco. She falls hard for boys who ultimately reject her, struggles with a manic depressive mother and fights her own inner demons. It was hard not to fall in love with her and cheer her escape. I also loved Jake, the nerd who never gave up.

After watching the film, you realize (and remember) that teens tend to live in the moment and often can't see beyond high school. For most teens, high school is hard -- even for the jocks and the princesses. They feel trapped in whatever role they are assigned (usually back in middle school) and literally just have to survive until college. You see these teens awaken to the possibility of reinventing themselves after high school as senior year comes to a close -- they fantasize of being liberated from who they were and begin to dream about who they want to be.