In their own words
“This is the place to spill the juice about all the crazy stuff going on at your campus. It’s totally anonymous – no registration, login, or email verification required.”
Why it might be a killer
In the Perez Hilton era, this site lets regular folks gossip about their peers. This should catch on quick amongst the university crowd.
Some questions
Is this even legal? Doesn’t this facilitate the bulling that ends up with kids shooting up their peers in school?
What it does
Campus gossip has been around since the first university was established. With Juicycampus.com, the good old campus gossip meets the internet and the results are highly entertaining. On the site, you’ll find gossip from 250 campuses around the United States. All pieces of gossip are completely anonymous. This adds to the fun, but whoever that piece of gossip is about will certainly not like it. There are over 40 thousand posts on the site, and they all have something to reveal about someone in campus. If you’re thinking of dating someone you met in one of your classes, you should search for them on this to find out possible gossip about them. If you overlook the obvious privacy and defamation breaches that this site exploits, you have something that could change the way college gossip is spread. Let’s hope they don’t shut this down before it gets really popular.
Link: http://www.juicycampus.com
Our Review: http://www.killerstartups.com/User-Gen-Content/juicycampus-com-campus-gossip-online
More listeners and viewers, more ad spending
Regular Springwise readers no doubt remember Blyk, the Finnish free mobile operator that targets 16- to 24-year-olds with its ad-funded service. We covered Blyk’s British rollout on several occasions over the past year or so, and now one of our spotters has come across a similar concept that recently launched in the Philippines.
ümobile is an invitation-only mobile service and community that targets 15- to 35-year-old Filipinos with what it says is the first ad-funded mobile network in Asia, offering a range of telephony services including calls, texts, MMS, internet surfing and downloads. Beginning in June, when the service was launched by Connectivity Unlimited Resource Enterprise (CURE)—part of Philippine telco Smart—potential users were invited to apply for membership through a series of invite codes that were given away virally (and free) by already-accepted members or through online social networks. Young consumers with codes could then fill out ümobile’s membership application, which includes a range of personal information as well as lifestyle questions such as preferences in movies and music and whether or not they go to a gym, for example. Also required is a willingness to accept ads, of course.
Based on their answers, Filipinos who were approved by Aug. 31 were given their ümobile SIM cards for free—delivered at no charge—along with a free PHP 100 load every month for the next six months. Just how many ads users will be sent each day isn’t yet clear, but viewing them earns further rewards in the form of free loads or discounts and freebies. A portion of the revenues generated by a brand’s campaigns is given back to subscribers, who can then purchase ümobile services or pursue product offers.
Is there any market free love can’t conquer? Seems unlikely. Mobile operators: where will you spread some love of your own…?
Website: www.umobile.com.ph
Contact: customerservice@umobile.com.ph
Spotted by: Matthew Cua
Motorola Youth Research
More research is out showing that today’s youth view their mobile phones as an extension of the online lives from their PCs. The report from In-Stat points out that the generation aged 8 to 27 use their mobile phones to access their social networks wherever they are. This news is great for companies attempting to bring PC content to mobiles. As content is pulled to mobile devices, publishers will pay to make sure it arrives in a readable format and quickly enough to satiate user demand, mean
written by Kevin Walker
It is pretty much a universal belief in the advertising/entertainment circles that African American youth are pretty much the initiators of many trends that eventually reach the mainstream. Is that still true?
As an agency that prides ourselves on being rooted in research we are seeing that this is not necessarily the case.
We recently went to LA and Atlanta to do some trendspotting on behalf of one of our Clients, and what we saw developing was antithetical to that traditional belief that Black kids start trends. What we witnessed was that many African American [#%0#2]youth[/#%0#2] are mimicking the fashion, musical taste, and activities of the Williamsburg, Brooklyn “hipsters” and West Coast skate punks. We 
are talking about young people wearing skinny jeans, the hipster scarfs, backpacks, streetwear graphic tees, etc. In addition to the fashions, we noticed that many Black [#%0#3]youth[/#%0#3] in Atlanta and LA were into skateboarding and BMX biking. The icons of this Black hipster movement are Kanye West, Spankrock, The Gym Class Heroes, and Pharrell Williams. The cool clothing brands are no longer Phat Farm, and Sean Jean, they are now Hollister, Ed Hardy, Abercrombie and Fitch, Krewe, The Hundreds, and Crooks and Castles. It should be noted that none of these brands originated from urban hip-hop icons.
Did skateboarding originate in the hood? What about BMX biking? Or the skinny jeans trend? The answer is no. As you may or may not know, these are activities that emanate from the Southern California suburban areas.. So we see this new dynamic at work where suburban trends are shaping the taste of Black urbanites. Our [#%1#2]research[/#%1#2] points to the internet being one of the key catalyst for this new dynamic. My Space, Youtube, celebtity gossip blogs have democratized informational flow. So the influence dynamic becomes two way (suburban to urban, urban to suburban). This is a HUGE trend we see developing that will shape attitudes towards racial identity, and [#%0#4]youth[/#%0#4] trends for years to come. Issues of class also come into play here. The bottom line is that corporations and marketers cannot continue to live on past assumptions. Dynamics are different and agencies like ours will become more valued partners as these dynamucs change so quickly.. Real time [#%1#3]research[/#%1#3] and trendspotting will continue to gain in stature.
What can youth achieve without adults?
Fascinating insights from Sugata Mitra’s TED talk on [#%0#2]youth[/#%0#2] learning in India. For those of you interested in development issues, [#%0#3]youth[/#%0#3] and learning – this is a must. Raises some fascinating questions about education and will be a long standing testament to the power of [#%0#4]youth[/#%0#4].
If you are one of those people wondering when “convergence” will ship, we have news for you. It already has.
Today’s youth have already “converged.” By hook or by crook, the reality is young people are using all their devices in symphony despite the fact that we haven’t yet made it easy for them to do it.
So where should we focus, what do they want? Here are a few insights from our research:
- Nearly half want to watch TV on their phone (mostly video on demand)
- 32% want Internet on their TV
- 23% want to conduct teleconferences or chat with their friends
- 23% what to share data across devices – address books, files, photos, etc.
We think this means we need to get busy and based on our research, here’s why:
Young people are ready for convergence.
They already understand which tools are best for the job and they see the opportunity for seamless integration across devices. Getting access to the right tools does not appear to be a barrier for them. And they keep asking for a “single point of entry” to access all their services. Isn’t this something we all want?
Today’s [#%0#2]youth[/#%0#2] want fewer devices that deliver more.
Ideally they would have one device that’s portable and one that delivers a high quality picture (think high-definition television). They assume both will have Internet access, be able to talk to each other and the ability to store their content.
Sharing information and experiences are important.
The desire for Buddy Lists, chat, and teleconferencing were all mentioned frequently. Keeping up with their friends (knowing what their friends know) is a vital part of the entertainment mix. And they want to push or concurrently watch content with friends.
Want to know more? Let us know. We’d be happy to provide you with a briefing on the other lessons we have learned from our Lab Members at Alcatel-Lucent.
, Do you get digital marketing? Are you currently working at a media owner in the youth space – if yes we’d love to hear about you…., , , , This boutique size outfit have just secured extensive funding and are looking to roll out there …
I got the email below from my new best friend in the Australian Mobile Phone market – we met via Twitter and his name will be revealed in an interview later this week maybe tomorrow. But it is a great report.
The following link will take you to the AIMIA Australian Mobile Phone Lifestyle Index.
http://www.aimia.com.au/enews/events/AMPLI%202008/AIMIA_ReportAugust2008_FULL_Final.pdf
“The AMPLI [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “Australia Mobile Phone Lifestyle”, url: “http://www.gomonews.com/australia-mobile-lifestyl/” });
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