Next Great Thing

The “Next Great Things” on the web are popping up faster than pimples at puberty. But teens don’t fear change, they embrace it. This is what Michael Wood from TRU, the teen research firm, calls “Obsolessence” (= obsolete + essence??). Teens want a new cell every year, new kicks every 3 – 6 months, and a new gaming console or jeans whenever. Nowadays, “brands are born to die,” he says. The upside is, they can be resurrected—just look at Keds. But odds are they’ll be over again as fast as Misha’s Barton’s 15 minutes, which was so 30 seconds ago.

With this in mind, here’s a round up of some sites and services that have caught on with youth. Yes, some may be over by the time this is posted. But others are indicative of major trends that are shaping the web as a whole.

1. Boys have long dominated the online gaming arena, but online doll sites like Stardoll and Cartoon Doll Emporium have changed all that. Girls of all ages, even their moms, are logging on to dress everyone from Barack to Britney (guess someone has to make sure she’s covered). Mattel has since launched its version, BarbieGirls.

2. Hypemachine, NonStopRiot, and Critical Metrics are hyperaggregators that make it a lot easier to discover and stream niche music that’s getting buzz. Never heard of The Loose Salute by The Mutineer? Listen now. While lots of blogs feed into the sites, Flavorpill music editor Colin Nagy tipped us off to a couple that stand on their own: Paper Thin Walls and Stylus Magazine.

3. Video sharing sites keep surging in popularity—they are a place where high school loners, prom queens, and drama dorks unite. Vimeo, created by the college humor guys, has truly developed into a more intimate, youth-focused alternative to YouTube. Kyte.tv, Stickam, and Splashcast all have video chat rooms that let youth connect in real time. With Kyte you can even embed your own channel in your SNS page.

4. Black20, a young-blooded start-up based in Brooklyn, produces online comedy shorts to rival anything on cable. Check out their first YouTube hit, The Easter Bunny Hates You, and their new virals like Star Wars PSAs and Sheffield Quigley, the official MySpace photographer.

5. Mashups are a creative outlet for anyone on the web–tech developers, new media artists, time-killing teens. Create psychedelic API Mashups on We Feel Fine and Tagnautica or star in a documentary for your Girl Talk Remix on Eyespot.

6. Second Life, Kaneva, Entropia, HiPiHi … yes, avatar-based games are all the rage, but 3B.net takes these virtual worlds and brings them back to reality. The site lets you turn your 2D social network page into a 3-dimensional space where your profile, pictures and friends are rendered into a gallery setting. The web will be 3D in 5 years, will you be ready?

7. The web provides lots of easy ways to monetize your personal content–or just personal opinion. With MyNuMo you create and sell your own ringtones, wallpapers and videos while FavoriteThingz lets you cash in on your own WOM. Sure beats babysitting.

8. MySpace’s music star Lily Allen turned into a YouTube success with this Simlish Smile video. Other artists that have recorded in the language of the Sims game: Depeche Mode, Black-Eyed Peas, Barenaked Ladies, the Flaming Lips and the Pussycat Dolls. Is Simlish the one true universal language?

9. Eventful harnesses the “crowd clout” of fans; their demands can bring a band, a politician, a comic to their city. (So hot right now on college campuses: Republican Presidential Candidate Ron Paul.)

10. While teens are becoming champion texters (literally), they still love to talk. Jaxtr lets them link their phones to their SNS pages by adding a click-to-call option. Given the popularity of Skype in Asia and their deal with Bebo, look for VoIP apps in the future.