Four Tips for Mobile Marketing to Kids – Whether we like it or not, brands are going to gear aspects of their marketing efforts towards children (some more so than others). Luckily, there’s Shira Simmonds, President of Ping Mobile. In this article, she explores some refreshingly creative ways for marketers to use the mobile channel to reach teens.  More important, her suggestions “support good parenting while teaching kids how to be responsible, discerning consumers.”

I really enjoyed this article and think that its a must read for any company even considering using mobile to reach a younger demographic. (Adlaw By Request)

Those interested may also want to check out Teens + Mobile + Retail = $.

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Mobile Checklist for Brands – Is this the year of mobile? Sigh. I really hoped we’d moved past that question. Mobile is here (IMHO). How do you plan to utilize it?

Though he may still be wondering if this in fact the year of mobile, John Bell provides some important information for those ready to make their foray into the medium. The charts come courtesy of the people at www.jouleww.com, a WPP Company. Read this stuff, people. Learn it.   (Digital Influence Mapping Project)

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Tweet Tweet Boom Boom – NY Mag takes a look at the people shaping the NYC Tech scene, and potentially the future of the world (okay, that may have been a slight exaggeration, but these companies are doing great things).

A new generation of tech entrepreneurs in the city is trying to overthrow old media and build a better New York—with the help of their iPhones. Are they dreaming? Definitely. But in a good way.

This is a comprehensive article that profiles some familiar (to me) and well deserving faces.  I’m hoping this piece serves as a precursor to something akin to the rebirth of Silicon Alley. That said, I’m looking for this ‘scene’ to innovate and create a mythology of its own. This would be preferable to a rehash of the past or a community modeled as a Silicon Valley East. Either way, a must read. (NY Mag)

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History Channel Launches Foursquare Campaign and a New Badge – This is actually slightly older than this week but I’d be remiss not to mention it. Just read the article people. This promotion is a great example of welcome, contextual engagement. I say this having experienced it first hand. After forgetting that I was ‘friends’ with the History Channel on Foursquare, I received this wonderfully informative ping upon checking into Union Station in DC last weekend.

I predict that, America The Story of Us, will be the highest rated History Channel show EVER. At least the first episode, that is. You heard it here first people.  (Mashable)

For different perspectives on this story, check out History Helps Turn Foursquare Into a One-Player Game and History Channel Turns Foursquare Into A Real World Pop-Up Video.

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Mobile Barcodes Are Going Nowhere Unless The Big Players Start Using Them – I agree. That’s only half of the issue though. Yes, big brands need to begin using them in highly visible, actively promoted campaigns. Beyond that, we need to see massive amounts of consumer education.

“What are these funny little symbols and what am I supposed to do with them?”

If mobile bar codes fail to take off in the US, it won’t be because of a culture gap or poor technology that is difficult for consumers to grasp. No my friends, it will simply be due to a lack of consumer education. (Mobile Marketing Watch)

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Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopedia – Maria Popova provides us with an in-depth look at “prison storytelling, subcultural anthropology, and the allure of darkness.”

Actually, this piece is more of a review of Danzig Baldayev’s work on the subject, cataloging more than 3,600 inmate tattoos. A guard at St. Petersburg’s notorious Kresty Prison, Baldayev began releasing this archive in 2003. While the images are visceral, his work reveals “a rich and eerie intersection of art and violence” (Brain Pickings)

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And the rest…

Innovative Church Branding
Credit cards losing ground to mobile technology
Mobile Users Respond To Location-Based Ads, Coupon Biz To Hit $57 Billion in 2014
Faux MTA Signs Urging Politeness
Delaware: The MUSICAL