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‘Charlotte’s Web’ tops the list of the 100 best books for kids (according to Scholastic’s Parent & Child magazine. Many of our favorites made the list, including the classics “Goodnight Moon” and “A Wrinkle In Time.” Did your... Read the rest of this post

 There were few surprises at the Grammy Awards this year, including Adele taking home (six awards, winning in every category in which she was nominated. The Grammys tried to reach out to a young audience with a showcase of electronica music, which... Read the rest of this post

The number of Americans who have a tablet or e-reader (jumped significantly between December 2011 and January 2012, thanks to robust holiday sales, according to Pew Research. In fact, among Millennial adults, tablet ownership — at 24%... Read the rest of this post

We’ve been casually calling the post-Millennial Generation the On Demand Generation (and the announcement of Fisher-Price’s new hand-held, personal DVR for kids that debuted at CES this week makes us think we might just have gotten the... Read the rest of this post

For a while, it looked like cell phones were going to put watchmakers out of business (but Gen Y is developing a retro fondness for timepieces…though the analog versions are treated as accessories, and wearers most often check their phones for... Read the rest of this post

We’re loving Pocket Popstar, a new iPhone app (billed as the younger brother to Pocket Hipster. Both apps suggest music for the user to listen to, but Pocket Popstar suggests songs from the top of the pop charts instead of obscure indie rock... Read the rest of this post

All that talk about the movie industry being in trouble (seems to have vanished over the weekend with news that “Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” became the eighth movie ever to pass the $1 billion worldwide box office mark.... Read the rest of this post

The Teen Choice Awards 2011 nominations are out (and — surprise, surprise — “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” takes the lead with 12 spots. “Glee” is close behind with nine nominations, and other usual suspects including Taylor Swift, Selena... Read the rest of this post

CBS News is targeting the (Facebook and Internet generations with an online news show, “What’s Trending,” which aims to give more context to the headlines that are trending on social media. In other social net news, young... Read the rest of this post

Beyonce releases (a new video single — no, not “Girls.” “Move Your Body” is a remake of “Get Me Bodied” — with lyrics like “a little sweat never hurt nobody” — for Michelle Obama’s... Read the rest of this post

Pia Toscano (might have lost “American Idol,” but she may have won the game. After all, many non-winners have become top sellers. Rumors swirl that the ousted crowd favorite has already scored a recording contract. In other reality TV... Read the rest of this post

Fans finally understand (what Radiohead means by calling their latest release a “newspaper album.” It’s an album that has a companion newspaper! (Duh, we should have known.) The band is distributing “The Universal... Read the rest of this post

The Children’s Choice Book Awards (voting is open, with nominees from Suzanne Collins [Mockingjay] and Stephanie Meyer [The Second Short Life of Bree Tanner]. Elsewhere in YA news, Amanda Hocking, the self-publishing standout, lands a book... 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

All week, Beliebers have raged on about Arcade Fire, a band they’ve apparently never heard of. I’d like to introduce them to you. If you don’t have time to take a listen now, don’t worry, they’re going to make a record in the month of May. (That’s a little joke.) [Myspace]

And speaking of Justin Bieber, the young pop star’s remarks in an interview are the subject of widespread anger and controversy. [Rolling Stone]

Mr. Graham discovers the extreme fear of conducting a professional orchestra. [Morning News]

Looking for a totally normal cabinet? Then look elsewhere. [Like Cool]

So what do you do when you’re stuck in a Las Vegas room with nothing to do… [Awesome Robo]

And I thought apartments in New York were small! [GOOD]

Just makes you wanna make a big mess, huh? [Laughing Squid]

I think Finland may have a coffee drinking problem. [Charts Bin]

Some people think Lady Gaga’s new song sounds a lot like Madonna, but at least we got this out of it! [Omar Afuni]

Julian Smith interviews James Cameron in the most awkward way ever. [Crack in the Universe]

And lastly, do you want to see the best picture on the internet?

MTV unveils (a slate of new scripted and unscripted shows at its upfront today, announcing a new "Teen Wolf" series and confirming rumors that "Beavis and Butthead" will return to the channel. Viacom and Hulu announced a partnership that will bring... Read the rest of this post

MTV confirms the Jersey Shore cast (is heading to the motherland for season four, and might drop in on Vinny’s relatives for a little comfort food and tourism tips. Entertainment Weekly envisions a season of mishaps and miscommunications  —... Read the rest of this post

Teen heroines (Great feature on the growing lineup of genre-spanning strong girl characters in film and the female directors and producers helping bring them to the screen. The list could use some diversity, but it's definitely a step closer to ... Read the rest of this post

MySpace introduces 'Hijacks' (a new feature where different celebs "take over" the site to curate featured and exclusive content. The project kicks off with the Black Eyed Peas followed by Jack Black, both of whom are promoting new projects)... Read the rest of this post

MySpace rolls out 'Mashup with Facebook' (the predicted content-importing partnership syncs up Facebook likes and interests to MySpace accounts. Cue the chatter around winners, losers and final surrenders) - Social learning and Facebook's new... Read the rest of this post

MySpace launches its redesigned interface today (though the overhaul won't be complete until mid-November. A new design is part of the struggling site's shift toward music and movies — an attempt to transform the social network into a "social... Read the rest of this post

Jerkin' comes to MySpace (The urban dance movement started by LA teens will be the focus of "Jerk All-Stars," the first original web series to come out of the site's content partnership with Ben Silverman's Electus) (THR) - MTV looks to diversify... Read the rest of this post

Guest Expert: Susanna Carr

Facebook dominates all social media and Twitter is growing exponentially. Authors are jumping over to these communities and ignoring their MySpace accounts. Website designers suggest a MySpace logo on your site looks antiquated. Should you delete your MySpace page?

Not so fast! While activity levels are down at MySpace, your profile page is still working for you. When I decided to test out which social media worked best for me, I developed a plan of action that made the most of what I was already using. The goal was to participate daily in a meaningful way on each community. I watched my website statistics, Google analytics, and activity levels on e-mail, MySpace, Facebook and Twitter to see what was working.

This is what I found after my month-long experiment:

• Twitter appears to be the most active but a small percentage of followers do the talking. Also, a lot of Twitter profiles are inactive.

• I get a lot of “friend” requests on Facebook, but the interaction isn’t consistent on both my profile and my fan page. It takes a lot of work to create discussion.

• MySpace is the least active of all my social media, but it drives the most traffic to my website. In fact, I did less work with this community but it gave me double the traffic than Facebook and Twitter combined.

An author’s MySpace page can increase your visibility and bring traffic with minimal care and feeding. If a reader drops by your MySpace profile and sees it hasn’t been updated, they think the page has been abandoned and they won’t interact with you. Show that you are there for them by offering original content without spending a lot of time or effort.

Here are three quick and simple ways to keep your MySpace page fresh:

• Update your status line at least once a month. It doesn’t have to be witty or insightful, just current. Some authors update their status line with their Twitter feed, which is convenient but it also may give the appearance that you aren’t “there” on MySpace. If you go with the Twitter feed, offer some original content on your profile in other ways.

• Update your MySpace blog. Already doing too much blogging? Do a recap of what you’ve said around the Web. I do a “Week in Review” and add links, and I occasionally add a Goodreads review. Watch your MySpace blog stats to see when most of your readers visit.

• Send MySpace bulletins. You don’t have to create one every week or every month, but definitely send out a bulletin when you have news. Some authors send a bulletin when they’ve updated their website, have an upcoming event or won a writing contest. Others only send bulletins when they have a book release.

Do one of these simple no-fuss tasks every month and your MySpace page will continue to work for you.

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