PeaceSigns

Ohio high schoolers not far from Kent State, when asked to come up with non-verbal symbols, quickly imagined peace signs. When they had to draw the signs, the girls were able to. They wear them on clothes and accessories. The boys tended to draw Mercedes logos.
Carole, their teacher, recommended that they imagine them as dove tracks.

Emoticons

East Asians read emotions from the eye region, westerners tend to scan the whole face.

No wonder that emoticons have their own language. Check out how the mouth tells the whole story in the west. In the east it's a straight line.

West/East differences in Emoticons

Happy.... :-)....(^_^)
Sad........:-(....(;_;) or (T_T)
Surprise..:-o....(o.o)

GirlMusicPSP

What makes a PSP more "like me" for girls? Not just the lilac color but the apoplexy-worthy artists that add fun to the games. Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, Vanessa Hudgens--all via free downloads when you enter codes. It launched Monday.

VerveLife provided the artists, the microsite and music delivery system. Don't know who added the "z." http://vervelife.com/girlzplaytoo

KidEntrepreneurs

Mary Mazzio has created a film on teen entrepreneurship, bless her. With few jobs for teens, it's more important than ever. And they're full of ideas like cake-on-a-stick and they're shooting for the moon. Even the trailer will make you choke up. It's called "ten9eight"

GenZ

What will the kids after Gen Y be called? "Gen Z" gets my vote, not because it's evocative, but because it's easy to remember.

If I coined a name for them, it would be the "MOBILE-GLOBALS" to recognize the most significant technology of their early childhood and the world-connectedness into which they're being born.

These children are the ones born after the mid-90's (some say 2000). Here are some of the other names in contention.

Computer Generation
Generation M (for Millennium or Multi Task)
Millennials
Google generation
Global Generation
Generation Einstein
Generation Q (for "Quiet", termed by Thomas L. Friedman)
Net Gen, a shortened form of "Net Generation"
Source(s):

Thanks to a blogger named Tehtaza for the list above.

AtlanticSponge

Atlantic Monthly takes a break from its erudite content to muse on the Atlantic's most popular denizen, SpongeBob Squarepants. We've been caught in his net for ten years.

They quote Rowland Semiotics, "Sponge Bob is one of the greatest believers of he American Dream," and end by saying "he will not succumb to complication. His corner of the world is all levity." They exhort the drained adult to embrace him and salute his yellow flag. "It's a sign of life."

In 2001, I noticed Edinborough U. students watching a show I'd considered to be a US kid phenomenon. That was the first time I wrote about SpongeBob.

The first month of this blog included him, too. Happy 10th birthday, Sponge!

KudosTraderJoe

I had thought that Trader Joe's check-out balloons were there to create a festive atmosphere. But Friday I witnessed the thrilled little girl who got to choose her favorite color to take home (you already know it). Her father's grateful pleasure and her shy joy sent a smile down the line. One happy child created contagious happiness.

I began to spot balloons bobbing on strollers in surrounding blocks.

So simple and visible. If I were a food manufacturer, I'd consider branding the helium tank or taking the idea to another retailer in return for balloon message-sharing.