Got more questions about tech and youth?
April 8th, 2010Did you love Sex::Tech? Did you learn stuff, but want to know how to take the next step and reach the kids? Then check out the 2010 Ypulse Youth Marketing Mashup, May 24-25, 2010 in San Francisco, where you can hobnob with the influencers in marketing to youth with technology.
We sat down with Ypulse Founder, Editor-In-Chief and Vice President Anastasia Goodstein about what to expect at the Mashup this year and what she’s jazzed about for the future.
What are some of the latest trends or developments in marketing to youth for 2010 and beyond? Are there any new technologies or strategies that the Mashup will be covering this year?
Over the past year, “social media” has become the buzzword in youth marketing. The internet has always had a “social” and viral aspect to it from the days of old school message boards and chat. What’s different is that marketers have discovered the power of friend collections and how social networking sites make it much easier to get your message/brand/app out to friends, friends of friends, and so on. I know our speakers will touch on the “new” technologies or companies people are talking about right now – Foursquare, iPad apps, etc. (though Loopt has been doing versions of Foursquare without the badges/game elements for the past few years), I think the takeaway will be that it’s the authenticity of the content and the conversation that are always more important than the tools and technology. One of our keynotes, Dr. Genevieve Bell, will actually touch on youth around the world who are not plugged in as well.
We took a peak at the agenda and are really excited about the panels “Reaching Youth Through Action Sports” and “Moderating Online Communities for Youth.” Can you tell us a bit about those tracks?
We’re excited about those as well! We teamed up with a great SoCal action sports organization called groupY to create an entire pre-conference dedicated to action sports case studies. This is a huge subset of youth marketing where it’s really important to understand the different action sports, the leaders/influencers within these subcultures and what not to do – i.e. never use the word “extreme”! “Moderating Online Communities for Youth” will be a practical panel with voices from the trenches – executives who are knee deep in online communities for tweens and teens about how to deal with different types of community members, inspiring community participation and creativity and ensuring these sites are safe for youth.
The speaker roster is stacked! Which speakers are you particularly excited about?
Of course I’m excited about Ms. Deb Levine from ISIS who is moderating a panel at our preconference on Youth, Health and Social Marketing! This year, our keynotes rock. Neil Howe is incredibly insightful in helping understand generational differences. I’m really curious to hear what Richard Loomis and Kelly Pena from Disney will say about DisneyXD’s success and plans for the Marvel integration. I alluded to Dr. Bell’s anthropological research above. Jamie Tworkowski has an amazing story behind To Write Love On Her Arms, and Ron Faris from Virgin Mobile USA is an incredibly dynamic speaker with lots of great insight on tapping into music to reach youth.
Many of our Sex::Tech attendees would greatly benefit from attending the Ypulse Mashup. Can you talk a bit about who or what they should seek out?
The great thing about this event is that like the Ypulse readership, we always attract attendees who work in the nonprofit or civic space. We’ve had folks from the Salvation Army, Answer at Rutgers and Hopelab register alongside folks from Frito Lay, Nike and Cartoon Network. When I started Ypulse (the blog) in 2004, it was with the intention that we would be a forum that would facilitate networking and partnerships, especially between nonprofits and for-profits. This is our fourth annual Mashup, and I know from speaking to past attendees that these types of partnerships happen at this event. And of course, the speakers/sessions/learning are all worth the ticket price alone.
Are there any youth marketing websites or resources that you would recommend?
We’ve created a pretty comprehensive list of what’s out there in the Ypulse directory. Definitely worth perusing: http://www.ypulse.com/directory
What can attendees expect to take away from the Ypulse Mashup?
They will come away with lots of practical information they can apply right away – through the case studies they will hear (what worked AND what didn’t) to panels and keynotes with ideas and tactics they can employ within their own campaigns. They will also come away with a ton of new contacts, connections and potential partners. Most importantly, they will hopefully be inspired and excited to create cool content or campaigns that add value for the young people they serve.
With all this in store, how can you not attend? Get 10% off registration with the discount code “SEXTECH”!