For decades, adults have been counseling teenagers that "high school is the best four years of your life." But most high schoolers would argue that adage is hopelessly out of date.

Each year, it seems as if annual shopping seasons come earlier and earlier, whether it's Halloween, Christmas, or back-to-school. Part of this is due to regular retail cycles- which generally run for one or two months prior to peak shopping periods-and then sharply drop off once the holiday or event has passed. Yet, it seems as if this year's back-to-school shopping season crept up much earlier than in past years, with many TV ads airing at the beginning of August (and some even debuting in late July). Meanwhile, digital ads and sales promotions began popping up even earlier, some appearing …

At the end of last week, we found out that the Olympic social media "debacle" may not have been a debacle at all. It may have actually helped the games. According to the ratings released on Friday, total viewership for the Olympics is substantially better than it was four years ago. Through the first five days, viewers were up nearly 30% higher than what NBC had originally expected.

There's no better place to learn about teen girls than the Miss Teen USA pageant. During the last weekend of July, I had the honor of serving on the judging panel for this year's competition in the Bahamas. The hardest part? Picking a winner among so many amazing young women. The best part? Getting to know these fun, talented teens better and picking up a few insights on what matters to them most.