Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Santa forgot something this year: children's healthcare



I am dedicating my last blog of 2008 to an issue that I care deeply about: children's healthcare. Kristen Rowe-Finkbeiner, organizer for the nonprofit organization MomsRising.org sent out this e-mail today and I couldn't agree with her more... and that is why I'm quoting her text verbatim:
In my nine-year-old daughter's letter to Santa this year she wrote: "Dear Mr. Claus, I know you are extremely busy this year, but I was hoping that you could give healthcare to all kids as one of my x-mas presents. I'm sorry if I'm asking for too much." (Evidently I take my work home with me!)
There wasn't a wrapped present under the White House tree this year with healthcare coverage for all kids, however… it's not too much to hope for in the next year. President-Elect Obama has vowed to fight for healthcare as well as for other family economic security policies like early learning/childcare opportunities, fair pay, paid sick days, family leave, and flexible work options.

In order to make this happen, the voices of mothers and families are needed. Why? Prior to the election, Obama was quoted as saying: "If lightning strikes and I get elected, I will need a movement at my back, or I won't be able to accomplish anything." MomsRising is just that kind of movement. Yet with the current economic crisis it's harder than ever for non-profits like MomsRising to raise the funds that are need to keep building the movement to make this happen.

*Can you please donate $10, $25, $50, $100, or $250 now to MomsRising? Your donation will help build a strong movement to push important family economic security policies toward the finish line.

Online donations can be made at http://www.momsrising.org/TogetherWeCan

Happy New Year, everyone.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

The Newbery Award's latest plot twist


The literary world is currently debating the Newbery Award's value, questioning whether the latest winners are inspiring to children, or just plain obscure. In yesterday's Washington Post article, reporter Valerie Strauss cites an October article in the School Library Journal --- "Has the Newbery Lost Its Way?" by children's literary expert Anita Silvey as starting off the debate. According to Strauss,  "of the 25 winners and runners-up chosen from 2000 to 2005, four books deal with death, six with the absence of one or both parents and four with such mental challenges as autism. Most of the rest deal with tough social issues." Not exactly light reading. This year's winner, "Voices from a Medieval Village" is a series of monologues that would be difficult for a child to read on his or her own. And... do I dare say that it sounds really boring? Not that I should judge a book by its cover. 

Nobody ever said that Newbery Award winners are supposed to have mass appeal;  it's not a popularity contest. Still, I do agree with Silvey that "quality and popularity are not mutually exclusive concepts." In order to stay relevant and to encourage and inspire reading among more and more children, The Newbery Award committee could rethink their strategy just a little. I wonder if they've ever asked kids what they think about the finalists before they make their selections. Just a thought.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Teens and mobile advertising: bad news/good news- or is it all just bad news?

eMarketer reported last week that More than one-half of teens do not want mobile ads according to a Direct Marketing Association 2008 survey. Compared to adults (64% of adults said they weren't at all interested), this is the good news.  The bad news? Harris Interactive and CTIA found that more than one-half of their teen respondents were not interested in mobile ads, even if there was some sort of incentive. Not all that promising given that teens are using mobile technology constantly and you'd think that they would be more open to paving the way. Which, of course, would only make sense if current mobile advertising and promotions were actually paving the way. Polls? Been there, done that. Contests? Ditto. Coupons? Snore. Music downloads? Better, but not quite good enough. C'mon, mobile marketers, you can do better. How about a game? A social networking component? A really cool app? Teens are perhaps the most technologically savvy and sophisticated audience you've got. They would appreciate it if you didn't dumb it down for them.