These days, teens are growing up in a digitized and exciting ad world where bands promotes their iPods, McDonald's gets them to see Star Wars and an EverQuest II video game delivers them Pizza Hut. But with all these branded entertainment campaigns, what's working and what is doomed to turn off the savvy teen today?
1. Know what's hot.Teens are passionate about the following: Electronics and entertainment; iPod accessories; Target, the place to be seen; NetFlix, which is gaining momentum over Blockbuster; "American Idol", the only must-see TV show for teens.
2. Pick music over film any day. Music is something that does not have a shelf life of three weeks. Looking at music versus films, films are great, but there is a buzz about a film for three weeks and then it goes away. The buzz about an album that can last for a year or more.
3. Turn off the TV. TV is something that is in the background for teens as they are IM'ing with friends or doing other things. TV is "there" and present, and is something they pay attention to, but it does not define who they are.
4. Get into their social networks. 89% of the 200 kids surveyed by Buzz Marketing Group said they were fine when friends send them info about products through "My Space", but on the flip side, 92% of them were not fine when advertised to directly on "My Space".
5. Integrate causes that matter. Cause marketing is very important to teens. They care about changing and improving the world for the better.
6. Let them explore and discover. Wells calls teens the "Google Generation" because "Google" is more than a search to them. It's a window to things that they may not have gotten to so easily before.
7. Give them the tools to customize and document. Young people are really big on owning their own universe, being able to document it and share it with friends, which is why uploading photos or writing music are big trends.
8. Keep them communicating and connecting. Teens are creating their own community or "pods," as they're called. Instead of just having a big group of trendy friends, young people exist in their own "pods," mixing and mingling.
9. Find them on their cell phones. Since teens are on their cell phones more than ever, you can move a lot of her traditional research practices to cell phone based.
10. Be funny, cool and on the Internet. The company called "Myspace" is a great example. Teens sent its sites around to their friends right away, because it was the funniest thing they had seen.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
DIY (Do It Yourself)
The do-it-yourself mentality is one of the things that built this country, and it is most certainly still deeply embedded into the fabric of American sensibilities. FedEx was dreamed up by a college kid. Apple Computer started out as a pet project of Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs that they birthed in Jobs’ garage, and Google was founded in a dorm room by a couple of grad students from Stanford University. The list of spunky and successful startups goes on and on. Do-it-yourself projects (DIY for short) have been brewing in garages, basements, and college dorm rooms for years. It was inevitable that these ideas found their way onto Web sites dedicated to DIY projects of all types, and the sites feed the growing legions of people searching the Internet for answers on how to do everything from knitting to building a computer to home remodeling. There is even a man whose DIY project is being considered the first cure for cancer. There is a bevy of interesting, wildly entertaining, and even mischievous Web sites out there that offer articles, instructions, and video of DIY projects. Have you ever wondered how to make your own solar-powered bicycle? Or wanted some creative ideas for entertaining kids at a party? Or tried to figure out how to fix your car without sending it to a repair shop? The answers are out there. Here are a few I've come across... http://www.instructables.com/ http://www.wikihow.com/Main-Page http://www.makezine.com/ http://www.diyhappy.com/
Friday, December 14, 2007
Cabrini Connection's College Application Fund
Please consider giving to the Cabrini Connections College Application Fund.
While students from families of modest means know that it costs a lot to attend college, the expense involved in applying often comes as a surprise. And the cost will increase in March when the price of the SAT Reasoning Test (formerly the SAT I) rises from $29.50 to $41.50 because a writing component is being added. Families know that the senior year of high school is not only stressful, but expensive, and unless families have done a great job of saving and planning, it puts them in a real pinch.
The cost of applying to and choosing a college can range from several hundred to several thousand dollars, depending on the decisions students and families make. There are fees for everything: applications, SAT or ACT exams; mailing extra copies of all those scores to schools; and even taking Advanced Placement tests. Students applying to highly selective colleges often take three to five AP tests in the hope they will score high enough to enhance their academic profile and earn college credits.
While students from families of modest means know that it costs a lot to attend college, the expense involved in applying often comes as a surprise. And the cost will increase in March when the price of the SAT Reasoning Test (formerly the SAT I) rises from $29.50 to $41.50 because a writing component is being added. Families know that the senior year of high school is not only stressful, but expensive, and unless families have done a great job of saving and planning, it puts them in a real pinch.
The cost of applying to and choosing a college can range from several hundred to several thousand dollars, depending on the decisions students and families make. There are fees for everything: applications, SAT or ACT exams; mailing extra copies of all those scores to schools; and even taking Advanced Placement tests. Students applying to highly selective colleges often take three to five AP tests in the hope they will score high enough to enhance their academic profile and earn college credits.
Application process can add up Not counting the cost of campus visits, the tab for a hypothetical student:
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Monday, December 3, 2007
Workforce and Career Information
In my last post I discussed information I learned at our Tutor Mentor Leadership Conference. Although, all of the workshops and handouts were equally informative, I feel the most relevant to our goals was “Gateway to Quality Career & Workforce Information."
As I related in my previous post, here our students, as well as, their parents, our volunteers and their friends can sign on and discover invaluable information about the career types, availability, expectations, knowledge path as well as a dissection of other careers that fall within the same description and learning requirements. I would suggest that all of our mentors sign onto the site to help our kids see the steps the should take find the career path that suits them best.
However, I want to further emphasize the important tools that can be found on their site. The site is broken down into multiple levels but the most important and useful information can be found on the first page. It's broken down into 5 elements; Career Resources (ICRN), Labor Market Information Source (LMI Source), Workforce Info Center (WIC), Kids and Careers and ICOMPASS.
The first portal is the ICOMPASS link. This link is their online training tool that will help you better understand and use the workforce, labor market and career information. Or as they call it, "Your Guide to Illinois Workforce, Career and Labor Market Information. Upon entering the site you are invited to take their online course designed to help you use the the IDES trio of economy-related sites. You will be asked to register, once registered you will be given a list of training resources based on the available data bases related to the information you're training on. There are two types of registration; On Demand- for those who only need portions of the training for their personal knowldged and Competency Certificate- for those interested in completing the whole training. These includes tests and a certificate denoting successful completion of training. I recommend that if you and your student sign up you take the latter level training so that they have a certificate as reward for their efforts. Once you've completed the training or if you opt to forego the training it's time to get into the nitty gritty of the site. At this time it would probably be helpful for the students to click into the Kids and Careers section of the site. Here you will find a PDF "IDES_kids_and_careers" which discuss various aspects of linking a kid to a career. They list "Best Bet" occupations and salaries as they relate to career choices, Career Planning steps, The educational requirement of various jobs and important targets and goals for students as they begin thinking of their career choices.
The next component of the site, Career Resources; offers a variety of career exploration products for elementary, middle and high school students as well as adults. 
Upon clicking you are given access to information on occupations education and financial aid, job search hints and a resume writer with links to employers nationwide, self-assessment tools and storage to keep the information gained here. It includes Career Click to see job titles along with educational requirements, skills needed for the job and predictions on whether these jobs will be available in the future. There are other training resources in the training publication section and CIS junior which is a must for any of our students planning for a possible career. Here they can match their intersest to occupations, find out about wages and what they'd do on a particular job and learn what to study to prepare for their future.
Upon clicking you are given access to information on occupations education and financial aid, job search hints and a resume writer with links to employers nationwide, self-assessment tools and storage to keep the information gained here. It includes Career Click to see job titles along with educational requirements, skills needed for the job and predictions on whether these jobs will be available in the future. There are other training resources in the training publication section and CIS junior which is a must for any of our students planning for a possible career. Here they can match their intersest to occupations, find out about wages and what they'd do on a particular job and learn what to study to prepare for their future.The other two components, LMI which is a database containing complete labor market reports, data and publications which can be viewed online or downloaded and WIC a portal that includes current and historical workforce and occupational information for job seekers, local workforce planning boards and economic development professionals. I strongly incourage our volunteers to link into the site and become familiar with its' offerings so we can be better armed to assist our students when they start asking about and looking for work. It's even a good way to answer the ever popular question, "why do I have to learn math when I really want to be a Fireman?"
Monday, November 19, 2007
Tutor Menor Leadership Conference
I’m at the last day of our Tutor Mentor Leadership Networking Conference. I’m currently 
attending a workshop entitled “How Business Leaders Can and Should Participate in Charitable Organizations, led by Steven Miller of Legacy Mortgage Corporation.
His approach to engaging new donors and volunteers is unique in that he goes through his checkbook and everybody he pays regularly he tells them it’s their responsibility as citizens to give back to the community, even if the community they’re giving to is not theirs. His discussion ranged from how he got involved with our
non-profit organization to how he cajoles his staff and friends to give or work with our organization.
Although two
of our keynote speakers were ex-NFL players, one young man really stood out for me, Marcues Sullivan. During the course of his speech he explained how although he came from an adverse background, it was through the benefit of mentoring that he was able to expand horizons and that there was more to life than the small piece of real estate he called his neighborhood. One particular quote of his stood out to me, “no successful person that he knows of got there without a mentor!” Those words ring true and give meaning to all we do here at Cabrini Connections.
To me the most relevant workshop was presented by LaMarr Johnson of The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES). He introduced us to the departments’
new “Gateway to Quality Career & Workforce Information” portal on their website. Here our students, as well as, their parents, our volunteers and their friends can sign on and discover invaluable information about the career types, availability, expectations, knowledge path as well as a dissection of other careers that fall within the same description and learning requirements. I would suggest that all of our mentors sign onto the site to help our kids see the steps the should take find the career path that suits them best.
attending a workshop entitled “How Business Leaders Can and Should Participate in Charitable Organizations, led by Steven Miller of Legacy Mortgage Corporation.His approach to engaging new donors and volunteers is unique in that he goes through his checkbook and everybody he pays regularly he tells them it’s their responsibility as citizens to give back to the community, even if the community they’re giving to is not theirs. His discussion ranged from how he got involved with our
non-profit organization to how he cajoles his staff and friends to give or work with our organization.
Although two
of our keynote speakers were ex-NFL players, one young man really stood out for me, Marcues Sullivan. During the course of his speech he explained how although he came from an adverse background, it was through the benefit of mentoring that he was able to expand horizons and that there was more to life than the small piece of real estate he called his neighborhood. One particular quote of his stood out to me, “no successful person that he knows of got there without a mentor!” Those words ring true and give meaning to all we do here at Cabrini Connections.To me the most relevant workshop was presented by LaMarr Johnson of The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES). He introduced us to the departments’
new “Gateway to Quality Career & Workforce Information” portal on their website. Here our students, as well as, their parents, our volunteers and their friends can sign on and discover invaluable information about the career types, availability, expectations, knowledge path as well as a dissection of other careers that fall within the same description and learning requirements. I would suggest that all of our mentors sign onto the site to help our kids see the steps the should take find the career path that suits them best.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Tech Update
Recently while compiling SVHATS login data, I noticed an alarming trend. While the student login and feedback numbers where pretty steady at a low rate of 24-25 logins the Volunteer login rate has dropped drastically, it has gone from 28 at it’s peak to 12. It is important for both the student and the volunteer to use SVHATS as it helps us to understand the relationship and progress of the student, volunteer pair.
Some of our volunteers like Alexandria Hill and students like Vontesha Stanfield has signed onto SVHATS every week they’re here. If anyone has troubles with signing in or have forgotten their password or login please don’t hesitate to ask.
The Tech Club is still looking for new student leaders to join up. Our computers have been loaded with both Flash and Photoshop software applications. Already some of the students have learned to create animated GIFs and how to remove backgrounds from images. Once the club members have developed competency with graphic and picture manipulation we plan to start working on learning the Flash product. Our end goal is to have students capable of creating dynamic graphic design elements, flash movies and websights. We welcome all Volunteers and Students who want to join.
Some of our volunteers like Alexandria Hill and students like Vontesha Stanfield has signed onto SVHATS every week they’re here. If anyone has troubles with signing in or have forgotten their password or login please don’t hesitate to ask.The Tech Club is still looking for new student leaders to join up. Our computers have been loaded with both Flash and Photoshop software applications. Already some of the students have learned to create animated GIFs and how to remove backgrounds from images. Once the club members have developed competency with graphic and picture manipulation we plan to start working on learning the Flash product. Our end goal is to have students capable of creating dynamic graphic design elements, flash movies and websights. We welcome all Volunteers and Students who want to join.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Remember September
Well, we just finished the orientation presentations here at Cabrini Connections. We put together two different PowerPoint presentations, one for the Volunteers and one for the Students that outlined the roles and responsibilities of both parties in the program. During the presentation we made informal introductions to the students and volunteers. We discussed the various programs offered at Cabrini Connections and provided information about Tutor/Mentor Connection, our knowledgebase of all things related to tutoring and mentoring.
In between the creating the power point slides and doing the actual orientation I worked on some of the projects that needed attention. We have a program called SVHATS (Student & Volunteer History And Tracking System) which we use for tracking the students day to day activities here at Cabrini Connections. It had some broken links and outdated email addresses that needed correcting. I also attempted to work on our Cmap program, to no avail. One of the pages has several broken links on it. I wasn’t able to fix it so, I did what every good techie does in times of trouble; I reached out to tech support.
During our presentations, I was afforded the opportunity to reflect on a story I read in the paper one year. It was about a young girl in 8th grade that had lost her 4 brothers and 2 sisters to street violence. When asked to write about her plans for the future, she wrote a paper that described her funeral arrangements. It was a very telling story of how youth, living in poverty see their future as hopeless. It is stories like this and others I’ve come across that have led me to this undertaking. I believe we can make a difference, if we but try.
We have some very interesting events coming up in the next few weeks. There’s a fundraiser coming up on October 19, 2007 called the Martini Madness, the other event is a Tutor Training Conference September 29, 2007, we’re looking forward to big turnouts at each event. This would be a great time for anyone interested in learning what we do or anyone interested in finding ways to help to get more information.
In between the creating the power point slides and doing the actual orientation I worked on some of the projects that needed attention. We have a program called SVHATS (Student & Volunteer History And Tracking System) which we use for tracking the students day to day activities here at Cabrini Connections. It had some broken links and outdated email addresses that needed correcting. I also attempted to work on our Cmap program, to no avail. One of the pages has several broken links on it. I wasn’t able to fix it so, I did what every good techie does in times of trouble; I reached out to tech support.
During our presentations, I was afforded the opportunity to reflect on a story I read in the paper one year. It was about a young girl in 8th grade that had lost her 4 brothers and 2 sisters to street violence. When asked to write about her plans for the future, she wrote a paper that described her funeral arrangements. It was a very telling story of how youth, living in poverty see their future as hopeless. It is stories like this and others I’ve come across that have led me to this undertaking. I believe we can make a difference, if we but try.
We have some very interesting events coming up in the next few weeks. There’s a fundraiser coming up on October 19, 2007 called the Martini Madness, the other event is a Tutor Training Conference September 29, 2007, we’re looking forward to big turnouts at each event. This would be a great time for anyone interested in learning what we do or anyone interested in finding ways to help to get more information.
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