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Today we bring you our weekly sampler of cool youth media and marketing gigs. If your company has an open position in the youth media or marketing space, we encourage you to join the Ypulse LinkedIn group, if you haven’t yet, and post there for... Read the rest of this post

Disney has debuted a new social media initiative called Disney Reads (spanning Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. We love that they’re posting sweepstakes, contests, quizzes, and other exclusive content, but we’re a little perplexed at... Read the rest of this post

Apple, the hottest brand among Millennials, is changing hands (Steve Jobs — one of the most visionary leaders in marketing and technology — has stepped down as the company’s CEO, and Tom Cook, the former COO, will take his place. We have Jobs... Read the rest of this post

Today’s post comes to us from Camilla Nord, who found some striking statistics about kids’ fast food eating habits in the wake of some recent self-imposed health-focused changes by food marketers. Despite changes for the better, kids... Read the rest of this post

Plenty of shoppers stalk the Gilt Groupe website (to get the best deals, and now the company’s children’s division is encouraging shoppers to do the same on its Facebook page, where it will offer exclusive products and deals. First up?... Read the rest of this post

The cast of ‘Jersey Shore’ (is banding together to demand more money for their fourth season, set to start filming in just a few weeks in Italy. Among the contested points in their contracts: limited personal appearances. Snooki has been... Read the rest of this post

On SNL this weekend, Miley Cyrus (cracked wise about the Disney School Of Acting and nailed Justin Bieber’s swagger. She proved her comedic timing, but more important, she made a statement about being a grown-up. In her opening skit, she... Read the rest of this post

Today we bring you another installment of Youth Media Movers and Shakers. We've culled through industry publications looking for the recent executive placements we think you should know about. If you have executive news that you want us to highlight... Read the rest of this post

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By Michelle Rafferty

“So, why did we launch the Trenta? We listened to you,” says Starbucks. Really?

Looking for more answers, I asked my friend Greg Dietrich for his thoughts on the matter. Greg works at Paragon Coffee Trading, which means he imports coffee and collaborates with members of the New York commodities coffee trade. Oh and he gets to roast beans and cup all day (see picture below on right). Below is a conversation (via Gmail’s instant messaging service) we had about the Bucks’ latest creation.

Note: Some g-chat names have been changed to protect the identity of those in the conversation below.

Me: So you work in coffee. What do you think of this whole Trenta thing?

Greg: Honestly, this is about McDonald’s. They are very successful with their iced coffee and Sbucks is trying to compete.

Me: So the Trenta is really a response to McDs?

Greg: Yes.

Me: They also appear to be warring over oatmeal…is Sbucks actually afraid they’ll lose their customers to golden M?

Greg: Sbucks started off as a specialty coffee outfit but they moved away from that a long time ago. Now they are responding to the demand for iced coffee and larger beverages.

Me: Wait what does “specialty” mean? Better quality?

Greg: There are many interpretations of specialty coffee, but for the most part it encompasses all Arabica/high grown single origin coffee.

Me: And what do they use now?

Greg: Well, Sbucks does not use bad coffee, in fact it is still considered specialty because it is Arabica, meaning it is grown at high elevations, and it is from a single-origin. But, by no means does specialty signify “good coffee.” Sbucks has gotten sooo big that they are now buying coffee from cooperatives (many different farms with varying degrees of quality), whereas the majority of the other roasters prefer to buy single-estate coffees (aka single farm coffees where quality is consistent and exact origin is available for the end consumer).

Me: So they still get to say they’re “specialty,” but in reality they’ve lost some rights to this claim. They’ve just grown too big.

Greg: Yeah. They have already lost a lot of customers to McDonalds/ McCafe due to quality and price. McDonalds has better coffee.

Me: Whoa, really?

Greg: Yeah, McDs has won numerous blind tasting competitions and they have cheaper prices.

Me: In terms of the bean, what’s the diff? And have you participated in these competitions?*

Greg: In my opinion the difference between the two is not so much the bean, but the way they roast. McDonalds has an outside company roast their beans for them that solely focuses on roasting whereas SBbucks roasts for themselves and I feel has become complacent and lacks innovation in terms of blending and adding new flavors.

Me: They are bad roasters?

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Today we bring you another installment of Youth Media Movers and Shakers. We've culled through industry publications looking for the recent executive placements we think you should know about. If you have executive news that you want us to... Read the rest of this post

We only have one week left in August, people. ONE WEEK! Oh, the agony…

Here are some things that don’t make me sad.

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On. It might be the most delightful video I’ve ever seen. [Vimeo]

Dinner Party Download needs your help! Because “it’s not really public radio if you don’t beg your listeners for money.” [APM]

Ah, home… This Day in History: Record Setting Tow-Truck Parade Held in Washington State [History Channel]

I’m sure this was staged, but it is delightful. [YouTube]

Cute item of the week: Puffin. [Next Web]

Our colleagues at Oxford Fajar have a treat for you! [Save the Words]

Kindle vs. iPad close-up showdown [Wired]

It’s about time we had a Silly Bandz anthem! [Urlesque]

#EatPrayWhatever [Twitter]

This is one “epic” parking garage. [GalleyCat]

By Dennis Baron

Apparently an English professor was ejected from a Starbucks on Manhattan’s Upper West Side for – she claims – not deploying Starbucks’ mandatory corporate-speak. The story immediately lit up the internet, turning her into an instant celebrity. Just as Steven Slater, the JetBlue flight attendant who couldn’t take it anymore, became the heroic employee who finally bucked the system when he cursed out nasty passengers over the intercom and deployed the emergency slide to make his escape, Lynne Rosenthal was the customer who cared so much about good English that she finally stood up to the coffee giant and got run off the premises by New York’s finest for her troubles. Well, at least that’s what she says happened.

According to the New York Post, Rosenthal, who teaches at Mercy College and has an English Ph.D. from Columbia, ordered a multigrain bagel at Starbucks but “became enraged when the barista at the franchise” asked, “Do you want butter or cheese?” She continued, “I refused to say ‘without butter or cheese.’ When you go to Burger King, you don’t have to list the six things you don’t want. Linguistically, it’s stupid, and I’m a stickler for correct English.” When she refused to answer, she claims that she was told, “You’re not going to get anything unless you say butter or cheese!” And then the cops came.

Stickler for good English she may be, but management countered that the customer then made a scene and hurled obscenities at the barista, and according to the Post, police who were called to the scene insist that no one was ejected from the coffee shop.

I too am a professor of English, and I too hate the corporate speak of “tall, grande, venti” that has invaded our discourse. But highly-paid consultants, not minimum-wage coffee slingers, created those terms (you won’t find a grande or a venti in Italian coffee bars). Consultants also told “Starbuck’s” to omit the apostrophe from its corporate name and to call its workers baristas, not coffee-jerks.

My son was a barista (should that be baristo?) at Borders (also no apostrophe, though McDonald’s keeps the symbol, mostly) one summer, and many of my students work in restaurants, bars, and chain retail stores. The language that employees of the big chains use on the job is carefully scripted and choreographed by market researchers, who insist that employees speak certain words and phrases, while others are forbidden, because they think that’s what moves “product.” Scripts even tell workers how and where and when to move and what expression to paste on their faces. Employees who go off-script and use their own words risk demerits, or worse, if they’re caught by managers, grouchy customers, or the ubiquitous secret shoppers who ride the franchise circuit looking for infractions.

I’m no fan of this corporate scripting. Calling customers “guests” and employees “associates” doesn’t mean I can treat Target like a friend’s living room or that the clerks who work there are anything but low-level employees who associate with one another, not with corporate vice presidents. I don’t think this kind of language-enforcement increases sales or

Marvel may test drive secondary characters (in a series of live-action short films to help pick out potential big-budget franchises. Meanwhile a Doctor Strange movie is apparently already on the way.  And in rival comic news, DC Comics asks readers... Read the rest of this post

Today we bring you another installment of Youth Media Movers and Shakers. We've culled through industry publications looking for the recent executive placements we think you should know about. If you have executive news that you want us to... Read the rest of this post

'Napoleon Dynamite' gets animated (for a new series in development for FOX. Also media buyers want less repeats, more original programming on The CW during primetime. And the new MTV docudrama "Hired" is reviewed as "helpful, but slightly... Read the rest of this post

'Iron Man 2′ starts off strong (with advance ticket sales and a good showing of fans at midnight screenings. And New York magazine has the lowdown on the J.J. Abrams' trailer that debuted before the film. Also casting begins for Jack Kerouac... Read the rest of this post

Food Network debuts the 'Cooking Channel' (an offshoot with a new slate of "low-key programs targeted at a hipper crowd interested in the grass roots of food culture." This makes me wonder how Food2 is doing. Also a comscore survey reminds us that... Read the rest of this post

MySpace launches a social calendar (with concert listings, links to buy tix and more features coming soon. TechCrunch calls the revamped MySpace Events platform "an elegant weaving of products that plays to a core strength of MySpace." Watch this... Read the rest of this post

Reminder! Applications for the inaugural GennY Award are due this Wednesday. Winner gets to present their case study on the main stage at this year's Youth Marketing Mashup. Also, "early adopter rates" end this Friday so register and save... Read the rest of this post

Upfront season at MTV? (an early, but energetic kick-off to the channel's spring lineup at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York offered a glimpse into what lies ahead including "Hard Times" and "If You Really Knew Me," a reality series about a day-long... Read the rest of this post

MTV teams with Crisp Wireless (to lure more advertisers with eye-catching ads. Also MTV once again reworks its increasingly questionable lineup.    Plus Disney, CNN and MTV (named the top social brands according to a study from Virtue) ... Read the rest of this post

Gender bending dress codes (in high school. The New York Times, reg. required, explores the complex issues of safety, self-expression and sexual orientation sparked by students who cross dress and how different schools across the country handle the... Read the rest of this post