Last week I attended a very interesting conference on the changing world of media and advertising in the new Tablet economy. The agenda for CleanSlate2011 was to discuss issues such as consumer use of tablets (still mostly iPads) now and in the future, advertising, monetization strategies, tablets and TV, how are tablets stimulating online media consumption and creating new revenue opportunities and where will the tablet be in five years.

I am not going to report on all of this, as much of the conference was for businesses. However, I did want to share some of the demographics and usage discussion, which I found very interesting.

Age and gender demographics

• The average tablet owner is 35 years old.
• Tablet owners skew younger.
• Female tablet owners are about 3 years younger than male tablet users.
• As you go older, women are a greater proportion of tablet users (I have seen evidence of this myself)
• Big adoption of tablets by families, especially moms with kids.
• Many women buy tablets to use as e-readers.
• Parents buy not only for the bedtime stories for kids, but also for the kids games.
• Tablets are easier for seniors than computers because many have trouble mastering the mouse.
• Easier for seniors to use apps on a tablet than a smartphone because the bigger size is easier on their aging eyes.

Use

• Many tablet owners use them while watching TV
• Tablets have a real immediacy
• They are used most for things that don't have to be done, light consumption such as games and video
• Not used as much for work or productivity

Future

• It is estimated that sales of tablets will continue to grow at an extremely fast rate. (Tablets and e-readers are already the fastest growing category of device in recent history).
• Market saturation should occur in 2015.
• The Amazon Tablet, which is not out yet, probably has the best bet in creating an ecosystem.

Do you own a tablet yet? Is it an iPad? What led you to buy one? Why haven't you bought one yet? Please share. I would love to see how you fit in with the demographics above?

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Ubisoft, one of the largest video game publishers in the world, has a great line-up of video games that will be released this fall, in time for the holidays. I was invited to a holiday showcase where I got to preview three fantastic games that are great for all age groups and therefore will be wonderful for family sharing.

Here is a description of the video games that I previewed. After they are released, I hope to be writing full reviews of at least one or all of them.

1. Rayman Origins
HD side-scrolling platforming adventure in full 4-player cooperative play. Discover or rediscover the magical universe and legendary 2D gameplay that captured the hearts of millions of Rayman fans. Over 60 levels of gameplay designed for all ages and playing styles. Unlock new abilities progressively and return to previous levels to discover new paths and secrets.

Although the characters make this game look like a kids only game, I promise that anyone of any age that starts to play it will become hooked. While you might purchase it for your tweens, everyone else in the household will want to join in. A perfect game for families to connect.  Available November 15, 2011 for PS3, Wii and X360.

2. Rocksmith
If you have a budding guitar play in the family, then this is a must have game. It is more than a game, it is guitar lessons and a game all in one. Rocksmith is sort of like Guitar Hero, but instead of a plastic guitar, you use your own real guitar. Any electric guitar will work. The game tracks your progression and the better you get the harder it gets. The goal is to master each song. Anybody that already plays guitar, whether they play well or are a beginner, or those that have been thinking about learning, should get Rocksmith. It is amazing.  Available October 11, 2011 for the PS3 and X360 and in December for the PC.

3. The Adventure of Tintin: The Game
Developed in collaboration with director, Steven Spielber and producer, Peter Jackson, or the 3D movie, The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn. Developed in close collaboration with them, the video game offers an authentic immersion into the movie's environments and characters. Players will experience great mysteries that may lead them to sunken treasures. The game works in 3D, if you already own a 3D television. I viewed it in 3D and I could have just watched others play all day it was so cool.  Available December 6 for PS3, Wii, X360, PC and DS.

As it gets closer to the holidays I will be recommending many more video games and other holiday gifts. However the three video games above are something to get excited about because they are all winners.

See also: 
LittleBigPlanet 2: Most Creative Video Game For All Ages
Meet PlayStation Family
PS3 Dance and Sports Games for Family Fun and Exercise
Atari Arcade - Classic Video Games for Parents and Teens

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To say that The Video Time Machine is one of the coolest apps or websites I've ever found is an understatement. I am having so much fun watching videos from my past and many from before I was born.

Video Time Machine, consists of over 10,000 hand-picked videos from 1860 to 2011. To watch a video, you select a year, and then you select one of the following categories:

• Movies
• Music
• Television
• News/Current Events
• Sports
• Video Games
• Ads/Commercials

You can choose to play random from within a given year or totally random from within the entire universe of videos within the app or site. There is also a social component - you can share videos on Twitter and Facebook.

You can go to the Video Time Machine website or download the Video Time Machine app for the iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad from the iPhone App Store. $.99 for years of memories and learning about the past; you can't go wrong.

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From the EW.com article

Comic-Con has been taking over most of the pop culture and entertainment news coverage this past week so I've given it its own section. I could have made an entire best of Comic-Con post, but I wasn't so sure if all my readers would have enjoyed that. I hope you also enjoy the technology, education and teen articles below.

Comic-Con

Want to see Sarah Michelle Gellar's Comic-Con panel? -- Video (EW.com Inside TV)

Video: Twilight Takes Over Day One at Comic-Con - all the Highlights You Need to Know!  (BuzzSugar)

First Look At Kristen Stewart In 'Snow White' (BuzzFeed)

10 Things We Learned about 'The Simpons' at Comic-Con (EW.com Inside TV)


Teens, Technology and more

Top 10 Apps for Summer Vacation (My Life Scoop)

An iPad University: Giving it the Old College Try (Wired Epicenter)

Top 21 Things Teenagers Never Say to their Parents (Radical Parenting)

Latest Geeky fun (MakeUseOf)

College Students and Technology (Pew Internet and American Life Project)

Teen Choice Awards 2011: 'Pretty Little Liars,' Rebecca Black Added to List of Nominees (The Hollywood Reporter)


Which was your favorite article out of the above?

See also: Lost "Deleted" Scene Comic-Con Video Must See

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Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse showed up at the Lost: One Year Later panel at Comic-Con 2011. They premiered what they said was a "deleted" scene from the season one finale of Lost that proves that they knew all along the full plan of how Lost was going to end. This is a MUST SEE VIDEO for any fan of Lost.



I love that Damon and Carlton have such a sense of humor. And the Man in Black has a name!! The best part of this is seeing Lost again. I hope it never dies.

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Are you looking forward to seeing Cowboys & Aliens, one of the most highly anticipated summer of 2011 movies? If you just can't wait any longer, tune in below to the red carpet premiere, which is being live streamed tonight, June 23 at 8:45pm ET, 5:45pm PT, by AP from Comic-Con International in San Diego. Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford and Olivia Wilde will be in attendance and giving exclusive interviews to AP.

Watch live streaming video from summerblockbusters at livestream.com

Stay Tuned, The Cowboys & Aliens premiere seems to be beginning late.

Don't forget, Cowboys & Aliens, directed by Jon Favreau, opens next Friday, July 29, 2011 in the United States and Canada. Get your tickets early.

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When my sons were younger, one of their favorite toys was K'NEX, the construction toy that allowed them to build giant objects and other worlds. When I took my college student son with me to see the launch of the newly licensed line of Nintendo Mario Kart K'NEX sets, he was as excited as if he was a kid all over again. He is already sitting and building the review kit I was given, as I write.

Created for kids 6+, people of all ages enjoy building with K'NEX sets, which make them a great toy for the entire family to enjoy. You never really grow out of them. The same can be said of the beloved Mario Kart Wii characters. That is what makes this collaboration such a perfect match.

Various Mario Kart K'NEX sets are available of different sizes and prices. The smallest and cheapest set is a Mario or Luigi Bike building set and then a Mario, Yoshi or Luigi Standard Kart Building Set. Larger sets are the Mario vs. Thwomps or Goombas Building Sets and the Mario  or Luigi Starting Line Building Sets. Mario Kart K'NEX sets are on sale now and should be available at all major retailers by Fall 2011.

From the reaction of both the kids and the adults at the launch event, the K'NEX Nintendo line should be a big hit. Parents will have as much fun building as their kids and tweens and even their teens. K'NEX, especially the Mario Kart Line, is definitely a toy that the entire family can connect over.

Update: My son just finished building the Mario vs. Thwomps K'NEX set and it is amazing. It consists of both a track and a car (see left) and there is a battery pack in the car so that when you are done, the car races around the track, and I mean races.

Full Disclosure: I was given a free K'NEX kit for review purposes.

See also:   
LEGO Life of George Combines Digital and Physical Gaming
Nanoblocks for Teenagers and Adults
3 Ubisoft Video Game Holiday Previews

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Keeping up with teen's music has been the most difficult area of pop culture to stay on top of. One easy way to keep up with some of the more mainstream popular music is to watch the Top 20 Video Countdown on VH1. Every week they play the top 20 videos of the week as voted on by fans on the VH1 website.

By watching the videos instead of only hearing the songs on the radio, you also get the benefit of becoming familiar with the artist(s). If your teens are into hard or indie rock, rap or anything not in the pop, pop/rock, pop/R&B category; you won’t win any coolness points with them by learning these songs. But, it is still nice to keep current with new artists and new songs. Every now and then, even some indie bands have a song on the list. 

For more information on the show and to see the current list, take a look at the VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown website.

This is an update from a post I wrote over three years ago, yet is still relevant.

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If you want to make sure that you are following enough Twitter accounts that tweet about technology, you will be fully covered by following these ten:

1. TechCrunch - Breaking technology news and opinions from TechCrunch, a website that publishes tech news and analysis.

2. Pete Cashmore @mashable - Breaking social media, tech and digital news and analysis from Mashable. Updates from Mashable staff.

3. Wired - Official Twitter feed for Wired magazine and Wired website, publisher of news on how technology affects culture, the economy and politics.

4. Engadget - The official Twitter account of Engadget, a web magazine covering gadgets and consumer electronics.

5. A Googler @google- News and updates from Google, from Google's help center.

6.  Robert Scoble @Scobleizer - Technology news, videos, opinions from an enthusiastic Rackspace employee, blogger (Scobleizer), author and former technology evangelist at Microsoft.

7. ReadWriteWeb @RWW - The latest news, analysis and conversation in all things web, tech and social media from the ReadWriteWeb team.

8. David Pogue @Pogue- Tech columnist for the NY Times and tech commentator for CBS and CNBC, he also launched the Missing Manual series of how-to tech books. Follow the father of 3 on his website Pogue's Pages.

9. Veronica Belmont @Veronica - Host of Tekzilla on Revision3, Qore on the Playstation Network and SwordandLaser. Obsessive Game of Thrones fan.

10. Gizmodo - Gizmodo Writes and tweets about technologies that change the way we live, work, love, play, think and feel.10

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MTV has created a new original comedy series, Awkward, about high school teens, that debuts this Tuesday night, July 19 at 11/10c. It stars Ashley Rickards as Jenna Hamilton, the awkward teen and is reminiscent of both Sixteen Candles and My So Called Life.

Awkward is narrated in the first person of Jenna's blog posts. Jenna has always considered herself invisible, however after an accident leads to a misunderstanding of epic proportions, she realizes that the stigma she is experiencing could lead to social visibility.

Compared to most shows about teens, Awkward is funnier, without sacrificing realism, except when dealing with the adults.

Ashley Rickards, who stars as Jenna, is most known for her role on One Tree Hill. She will also be starring in the upcoming film, Sassy Pants. Two of the many costars  in Awkward are Beau Mirchoff, as Jenna's obsession, Matty McKibben, (Desperate Housewives, The Secret Lives of Dorks) and Jillian Rose Reed as Jenna's best friend Tamara (Zoey 101, Weeds, Community).

If you absolutely can't wait to see the Awkward pilot episode, which premieres, Tuesday night on MTV at 11/10c, you can actually watch it now right on the MTV Awkward website. If you watch it online before Tuesday, please come back and let us know how you liked it in the comments. I think that teens will love it, and parents should enjoy it also, if they don't mind seeing adults depicted as idiots. It is a teen comedy worth checking out.

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If you are an iPad or iPad2 owner and want to keep up on the latest news or find great apps, the 5 blogs below will keep you thoroughly informed. Prospective iPad buyers may also find these blogs helpful.

1. PadGadget - iPad news, app reviews, gear reviews, tech tips and apps tracker.

2. iLounge - All things ipod, iPhone, iPad and beyond, news, reviews and accessories, articles, forums, photos, software and more.

3. iPad Insight - News, reviews and insight on all things iPad related (previously known as Just Another iPad Blog).

4. iPad Forum - A forum and fan site for the iPad and iPad2, which also include a news section and discussions of apps, accessories/cases and hacking, unlocking and jailbreaking the iPad. There is also a free wallpaper gallery and an iPad accessories store.

5. The iPad Guide  Features iPad news, forums, faq, accessory and How-to guides and rumors.

Of course, don't forget about the articles I have written here about the iPad, including: 

• 22 iPad Apps for New iPad Owners
• Using and Adding Media to your iPad and iPad2
• 10 iPad Benefits

Enjoy your iPad. I love mine. But if you don't keep up with all the new apps coming out and all the wonderful things you can do with it, you aren't getting the full bang for your buck. Take advantage of all you can get from this amazing Apple creation.
  
See also: 
Cool New Apps!
8 Back to School apps for College Students

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Below are recommendations of Young Adult books from publishers and authors during a webinar held by Booklist Online, part of the American Library Association. Some of the books are already available, most go on sale during the fall of 2011.

Sourcebooks, Inc. - Fresh Voices for Teen Readers

1. Stupid Fast  Geoff Herbach  (6/1/11)  12+
2. Reasons to Be Happy  Katrina Kittle  (10/1/11)  12-14
3. Beautiful Dead: Phoenix  Eden Maguire  (10/1/11)  13-17
4. If I Tell  Janet Gurtler  (10/1/11)  13+
5. The Predicteds  Christine Seifert  (9/1/11) 13-17  What if your boyfriend was destined to commit murder?
6. Catching Jordan  Miranda Kenneally  (12/1/11)  13+
7. Darker Still  Leanna Renee Hieber  (11/1/11)  12+

Orca - 2011 New and Noteworthy YA Titles Reaching More Readers

8. What Is Real  Karen Rivers  (5/1/11)
9. She Said / She Saw  Norah McClintock  (4/1/11)  Fast paced mystery, tragic and believable.
10. The Book of Trees  Leanne Lieberman  (11/1/10)
11. The Elephant Mountains  Scott Ely  (10/1/11)
12. All Good Children  Catherine Austin  (10/1/11)
13. Miracleville  Monique Polak  (4/1/11)
14. What World Is Left  Monique Polak  (10/6/08)  Heartbreaking Holocaust book.
15. The Middle of Everywhere  Monique Polak  (10/1/09)
The Salt Series  Maurice Gee
  16. Salt    (10/1/09)
  17. Gool  (9/1/10)
  18. Limping Man  (3/1/11)

I hope you have found a few books that your teens will enjoy. Better yet, hopefully some of these young adult novels will appeal to both you and your teens so that you can share and discuss them.

See also:  
Best Books for Teens for Holiday Gifts 2011
YA Authors and Musicians Take On Bullying

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Justin Wagner w/ ArtRage Studio Pro

Are any of your teenagers budding artists? If so, you should definitely look into buying ArtRage, a painting and drawing package available for the computer or the iPad. The results are so realistic you will swear you are looking at an actual painting or drawing.

There are three different versions of ArtRage, at different prices and skill levels:

1. ArtRage Studio Pro - ($80) This version is available for the PC or Mac and is for fairly skilled artists. The main difference between this version and ArtRage Studio is that Pro offers a great deal more editing, supporting Photoshop compatible filters, real world color blending and more.

2. ArtRage Studio - ($40) Also available for the PC of Mac and can be used by anyone regardless of skill level. It is intuitive and easy to use.

3. ArtRage for iPad  ($6.99) - Create original art programs on your iPad, import photos for painting and send results by email. You still get most of the features of ArtRage Studio at a fraction of the price.

ArtRage Features - The features available in all versions of ArtRage include: (The Studio versions have additional features such as special effects, stickers, stencils, etc.)

• Natural Painting Tools - oil brush, paint roller, palette knife, paint tube, watercolor brush, airbrush
• Sketching and Drawing Tools - pencil tool, chalk and crayon, inking pen, felt pen , flood fill
• Presets & Settings
• Colors - color picker, paint tube, palette knife, color samples, metallic tinting
• Canvas/Paper
• Tracing and Reference Images
• Layers and Blend Modes

The ArtRage website also has many helpful features, as well as a store to buy the products. There is a full page of Studio and Studio Pro tutorials on creating various types of art projects such as caricatures, blending phots, painting flowers and more. There is also a page of links to ArtRage resources, communities and art sites. The forum page allows ArtRage users to discuss, share and critique each other's projects.

This is an amazing product at a reasonable price. Most art is being created on computers these days. It is nice to know that some of it can still look like the real thing.

Full disclosure: I was given a digital version of ArtRage Studio Pro to review. My son, an art major, tried it out and loved it and created the picture above. I bought the iPad app myself and have been having great fun with it.

See also: 3D Art Software Review

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The end of the Harry Potter series is once again here. Fans of the books already said goodbye to Harry Potter four years ago. And now we must say goodbye again, this time to the movie characters we've come to know and love. This will be the last time we will see Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint grow older as Harry, Hermione and Ron.

Before you say goodbye to the Harry Potter characters, you have the chance to see the actors, director and J.K. Rowling arrive at both the London and NYC premieres of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. The London opening will take place in London's Trafalgar Square and Leicester Square tomorrow, Thursday, July 7, 11am EST/4pm BST/8am PT. Watch the London premiere here:

Watch live streaming video from hp7part2 at livestream.com

The NYC opening will take place at Lincoln Center on Monday, July 11 at 5pm ET / 2pm PT. Watch the NYC premiere here:

Watch live streaming video from summerblockbusters at livestream.com

Enjoy. Don't forget that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 will be released nationwide on July 15, 2011. I can't wait.

See also:   
Watch Cowboys & Aliens Premiere Live Streaming Tonight
J.K. Rowling Bio Lifetime Movie Review 
J.K. Rowling to Sell Harry Potter E-Books on Pottermore

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