• How Hot Topic is keeping its retail sizzle (Fast Company)
• Real world dollars to come from virtual goods (eMarketer)
• Toys stir up brain activity in babies: study (MSNBC)
• US retail in July sees slight decline (Bloomberg)
• Music video games’ popularity tops sports titles (New York Times)
• Sesame Workshop employs Muppet Diplomacy in Palestinian territories (CNN)
• Facebook’s growth accelerates twice as fast as Twitter in July (TechCrunch)
• July UK retail sales see a slight spike (New York Times)
• Target ending e-commerce deal with Amazon (Wall Street Journal)
• What keywords are kids plugging into search engines these days? (CNet News)
• Toy industry picks up in India (The Economic Times)
• Are video games as recession-proof as we originally thought? (L.A. Times)
• Who needs The Force when you have lightsaber chopsticks? (Wired/GeekDad)
• The impact of internet tech on the family’s daily routine (The New York Times)
• G.I. Joe draws US$100 million globally on opening weekend, but will it last? (L.A. Times)
• When stylish vampires attack: Twilight sweeps Fox’s Teen Choice Awards (BBC)
• Mugging it up, Star Wars style (Geek Dad)
• First there was Augmented Reality, now there’s Augmented ID? (YouTube)
• High-end kids clothing sales suffering (Wall Street Journal)
• At least somebody in TV’s making money right now – cableco Comcast profits up 53% (New York Times)
• Masher Media, another kids virtual world hopeful enters the scene, raises US$300,000 in first-round funding (paidcontent.org)
• Reviews on new G.I. Joe flick start rolling in (Time)
• Production on Spider-Man the Musical halted? (Variety)
• May he rest in peace: Five great John Hughes moments (NPR)
• Watch out for the camera robot! (Wired)
• Target’s same-store sales fall by 6.5% (Forbes)
• Activision expects repeat of holiday 2008 vidgame shopping patterns for this fall (L.A. Times)
• Top 10 global retail trends to watch (The Age)
• Looking to jazz up your kids promo efforts? Consider virtual graffiti (Springwise)
• A look at the trailer for Ponyo from Hayao Miyazaki (MTV/Movies Blog)
• Who knew microbial diseases could be so cute and cuddly as plush? (Giant Microbes)
• Paid media getting more of consumers’ time than ad supported? (PaidContent.org)
• Retailers lure teens with the biker look (Bloomberg)
• The Sims 3 sees big sales, but EA’s Q1 report takes a dip (CNet News)
• Teens aren’t all a-Twitter (Business Insider)
• The business and success of online widget makers (Total Telecom via Wall Street Journal)
• Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games gets major marketing push (MCV UK)
• Facebook now the fourth-largest site in the world (TechCrunch)
• A look at Disney’s Q3 report (Seeking Alpha)
• Mattel permitted to oversee its own toy inspections: CPSC (ConsumerReports.org)
• GameStop launches casual digital store (Gamasutra)
• June retail sales take a slight dip in Australia (Bloomberg)
• Twilight saga tops USA Today’s bestseller list (USA Today)
• What does Nintendo have in the works for its Wii Vitality Sensor, anyway? (Ars Technica)
• Sesame Street to parody Mad Men (TV Squad)
• Interview with an animator on Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (Wired/GeekDad)
• American Eagle’s 77kids launches first back-to-school line (Yahoo! Finance)
• Kids apparel holds up well, as Carter’s posts Q2 growth (Star Tribune)
• Ezra Dabah to purchase 50% stake in The Children’s Place (Yahoo! Finance)
• Vidgames boost revenue for DreamWorks (L.A. Times)
• Sony takes a US$350.5 million hit (New York Times)
• Spending on in-game ads to increase by the millions (AdWeek)
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