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Thursday Aug 27, 2009

Show us the dancing money

It's taken me most of my life to get a stable relationship with my finances going. Up until about three years ago I had two monetary states of mind - mild depression and blind panic. I didn't check my bank balance very often and basically hoped for the best.

The ensuing financial chaos and knock-on hysteria just wasn't a good look and I discovered, once you get down to it, giving yourself an economic over-haul isn't quite as daunting as it might seem. I used the online advice from the Citizen's Advice Bureau and now, barring the occasional fashion-based hiccup, I've got a much better grasp on my budget (it was about time I started acting like a grown-up.) To see two young people who've worked through financial dramas of their own with help from CAB, take a look at these two videos (complete with dancing money and some pretty cool animation.)

 

Posted by Anna ( 9:31 AM ) Link to this post  |  Comments[0]

Wednesday Aug 26, 2009

Radiorama

Listening to the radio is a more intimate experience than watching TV, surfing online or reading a magazine. The voices and the music are right there in the room with you. But have you ever wondered what it’s like being one of those voices? Or perhaps you’ve wondered how all these sounds reach you in the first place?

The UK has lots of schemes which allow young people to get involved in radio. One of these is Fresh FM, run entirely by 13 – 19 year-olds in the south east London borough of Greenwich. Fresh start a three-day FM broadcast across London on 106.8 FM from tomorrow (August 27^th) and you can listen online too.

Remember Fresh was created by people just like you, so if you like what you hear, why not look for a similar project in your area?

Posted by Anna ( 3:36 PM ) Link to this post  |  Comments[0]

Friday Aug 21, 2009

Some A Grade experiences

Posted by me on behalf of Seyi Soleye:

It can't believe I'm almost half way through my two week work experience placement here at TheSite. It only feels like five minutes ago when I waddled into the YouthNet offices, nervous about what was to come.  Miraculously I've been entrusted with the task of updating the poll every day and I've been introduced to the technical ins-and-outs of the back end of TheSite. Computer tech isn't exactly my forte, so if the website suddenly dies for some reason over the next week, you know who to blame! Since I have journalistic interests (you don't say?), spending some time in the morning doing press watch hasn't exactly seemed like work. Funnily enough, the work part of work experience hasn't reared its head!

Of course, during press watch I would have been blind if I didn't notice that many of this week's headlines have concerned A-Level results. Having managed to suppress most of my apprehension this week, I ventured to college to get my AS grades, with pointless erratic fears whirring in my head.  Why? Goodness knows. I couldn't change anything. The mind's a funny thing.

I continued up into the building and passed a girl crying into her mum's shoulders. Were those tears of joy or tears of misery? Please be tears of joy I kept on thinking, fishing for a scrap of an illogical reason to feel more confident. Once grades were in hand I still wasn't totally sure of my overall grades. I had to add up the unit marks to see what grade my overall score came out as. I simply couldn't trust my overheated mind so I whipped out my phone to use the calculator facility. After double checking, then triple checking, then quad...checking a fourth time, just to make sure I wasn't getting delusional I finally realised that the result was actually AAA. Maybe not so much need for pointless panic after all!

 

Posted by Anna ( 4:19 PM ) Link to this post  |  Comments[0]

Friday Aug 14, 2009

Whose afraid of the big, bad hoodie?

A quick little update this week - a new rant and factsheet for your enjoyment

Little Red Riding Hood wouldn’t be so welcome these days -

http://tinyurl.com/kmbva5

Exams not go as well as you’d like? – check out our new article on clearing

http://tinyurl.com/labun4

And don't forget, if you'd like to get involved in writing a rant, or with any of our volunteering opportunities just check out our Get Involved page.

Posted by Jim ( 1:57 PM ) Link to this post  |  Comments[0]

Wednesday Aug 12, 2009

Work experience: a live debate

Anna here, posting on behalf on Aarti (that's her on the far left!)

 

Hello I'm Aarti and I'm about halfway through my work experience at TheSite.org, so I thought an update would be in order.  I have been given so many great opportunities in the last week, but I thought I'd highlight just a few of my favourites.

I have had the chance to sit in on an editorial meeting, which was a bit intimidating on my first day when I was still settling in! Still, it helped to show me how the staff behind TheSite come up with their ideas for content. I've also written a comment piece – really a one-sided argument– always fun to write.

Best of all, I was given the opportunity to be a part of a video debate about this country's education system, unfairness on the career ladder and the all important worry of the recession and its effects. I was  a little out of my depth, but I gave it my best shot!

Everyone else debating had passed the age of A-Levels and university degrees and had all tried getting a job. To be honest, at 16, I really felt a little too young to be discussing this with them, but in the end the age difference really helped to bring a new perspective to the table and hopefully I didn't seem too naive in my young-minded views.

Being the age that I am, our discussion on how A-Levels compared to vocational courses really had me thinking, is the traditional route really the best option? The first hand experiences of the contributors brought home the idea that a textbook course without practical work can't really be all that useful when you start searching for a job. But then I suppose people have managed so far by putting in the extra effort to balance knowledge and experience.

Talking about the obstacles for young people in the world of work was a little overwhelming, but it was interesting that everyone agreed gender and income still held some candidates back, as unfair as it seems.

Our talk on the recession, I have to admit, made me feel even younger. Their stories of the direct effect on their lives made me realise how lucky I was that my parents were coping well. And if that wasn't enough, their fears of joblessness were met by my possibly slightly naive weapon – hope. But then I really do think that's all I can do, besides working my socks off.

I had a great time and I not only learnt a lot form their views and experiences but I came away with a greater awareness of the struggles young people are facing everywhere.  I can't complain at all – everyone made me feel really welcome and an important part of the team. I am just grateful I was given the opportunity to sit in, despite my earlier worries!

Posted by Anna ( 11:37 AM ) Link to this post  |  Comments[1]

Friday Aug 07, 2009

Money, money, money

Here's our latest grab bag full of new content on TheSite.org.

It's been a while since we posted a weekly update, but hopefully we'll keep this up on a more regular basis from now on. So don't forget to check back on Fridays to find out what we've all been up to

Video

How to make money -expert tips on how to make money

 

Rants

Daily health scares - the joys of newspaper health sections

Information and advice

Clearing 

Finding a plastic surgeon

Weird days out in Britain

The Best UK Beach Holidays

Diaries

End of an era - as her exams finish, Lily looks forward to the future

First year freedom - the first post of our new student diarist

Posted by Jim ( 2:04 PM ) Link to this post  |  Comments[0]

Thursday Aug 06, 2009

Goodbye Olly, hello Lifetracks

Hello…again

Thought I’d just pop my head in and say hi before I start posting my thoughts and reflections on all things site-y.

Big thanks to Olly for covering my maternity leave and doing such a superb job at standing in as the Editorial Manager for the past year. TheSite.org is really going to miss him, but luckily here at YouthNet we don’t have to as he’s only headed a few feet away to the other side of the office to take on a new role on do-it!

Although I’ve only just officially taken back over my role on TheSite.org I’ve been back at YouthNet since February working on YouthNet’s latest big project – a new website called Lifetracks.

Not heard of it yet? The idea is simple – there isn’t enough good information and help out there for young people to further their studies and careers. For a long time here at YouthNet we’ve been moaning about how so many of the websites on this subject just look like sites made by the government. They’re text heavy, design light and do nothing to get you inspired to do anything with your life.

After one moan too many we decided it was time to take the plunge and do something about it. So we put a plan together, found some lovely partners to do all the work ‘on the ground’ (i.e. not online) and were awarded the funds to put the plan into action.

So, thanks to our fab funders (Vodafone and v) we now have to put our money where our mouth is and prove that we can inspire young people to find out what they want to do with their lives and help them get there.

It’s a big ask and we haven’t quite cracked it yet, but we’re getting there. Our test version of the Lifetracks website went live at the end of June and we’ve got a group of young people involved in an online consultation so we can hear how they want us to develop it. It’s early days (the website currently has lots of content but is lacking lots of functionality) but we’re constantly developing and adding new, exciting features.

We’d love to hear what you think, so head over to see where we’ve got to so far. Post a comment on this blog, on the discussion boards – or if you’re keen to really help us shape it into something good then join the consultation. It’s the only way we can make sure we make it exactly what you want it to be.

Posted by Hannah ( 2:03 PM ) Link to this post  |  Comments[1]

Wednesday Aug 05, 2009

Surviving the pig pox

It's depressingly ironic. Just over three months ago I shimmied into the YouthNet offices to start my new job as a journalist. The very first piece I wrote for TheSite.org was this one here on swine flu. Two months later, I was the very first person at YouthNet to come down with it. If I'd known that was the deal, I'd have made my debut with an article on coping with sudden and unexpected wealth.

Still, swine flu. I've had it and yet I live and breathe and walk amongst you. Because it is just flu, despite the near apocalyptic tone some branches of the media have taken. Influenza in any form is a nasty little bug, but the buzz on this particular viral is out of proportion to the average person's swine flu experience.

My own case started at around 3am one Tuesday morning, when I woke up, started being violently sick and carried on until eight in the morning, pausing only to fall into semi-sleep on a towel on the bathroom floor. My head pounded; I had a weird, diffuse red light in the corners of my eyes; every muscle in my body felt as though it had been roughly pulled out and pushed back into the wrong place. All that carried on for two days, two days where I couldn't stay awake for more than an hour and remained the same temperature as downtown Mumbai in the summertime. Then followed three days where my legs didn't really work, my voice failed and I was infectious.  I've never been so grateful to Facebook and Twitter for providing social contact at a distance.

I've had better weeks, obviously, but I didn't die. Flu is always going to be vile, but it's a fairly everyday disease. Swine flu, however, made my week of manky illness really interesting to everyone else. I was news. It was sort of like being famous, with everyone clamouring to know "what was it like? What was it like?" Well, it was like having flu. Don't believe the hype.

Posted by Anna ( 1:48 PM ) Link to this post  |  Comments[1]