MySpace has been enormously popular in a short amount of time. The issue of MySpace conjures up the image of trying to balance fascination and fear. MySpace was created in 2003 and boasts 43 million users. But to make some gross generalizations, kids love it and parents either don't know about it or if they do, they hate it. The fascination with MySpace is that teens use it as a way to connect, a method of personal expression through a combination of journaling, photographs, music selections, inside jokes, listing of friends, etc...All wonderful for creative expression and personal connection. However, MySpace owner NewsCorp is taking some heat for safety issues which leave young and unsuspecting contributors open to the world at large. A Massachusetts Police Chief claims that "one out of five kids gets sexually contacted over the internet." Online predators can find a teen's profile on MySpace or Friendster and note their likes and dislikes, can see pictures of teens, and use that information in a virtual conversation to engage them.
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The Center for Media Research reported today that 4 out of 5 consumers read advertising inserts. I usually agree wholeheartedly with the research briefs from the center but I'm having a hard time buying into this statement today. Maybe those numbers are true in specific cases such as 'senior women reading inserts in the Sunday paper to find this week's cheapest over-the counter drugs', but I think the statement is far too broad to make about all consumers. That's the danger of soundbyte marketing when applied to research - the assumptions, criteria and research constraints are left to the readers imagination.
The report brief did provide some interesting tidbits about the impact of ad inserts on female consumers:
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