By Jove, I think THEY’VE got it!

I know that’s a famous quote, but it’s been used so many times… I think it was in Disney’s Alice In Wonderland… hmmm… ANYWAY, to the article!

The phenomenon of branded social networks was thrown into the spotlight back in January when Disney CEO Bob Iger unveiled the company’s revamped Web site complete with MySpace-like features (or kid-safe, Disneyfied versions thereof). And there’s been plenty of talk recently about how small is the new big (to use Seth Godin’s words) when it comes to social networks:

that sites centered around a specific niche or subculture will be the next major trend, as opposed to enormous, all-encompassing, and arguably cluttered sites like MySpace.

From what we’ve been seeing, this push toward niche social networking is getting some extra momentum thanks to brands that are seeing online community-building as an effective way to build brand loyalty and improve its marketing strategies.

Webware trends: Social networking to build brand loyalty | Webware : Cool web apps for everyone

It’s going to be a Walmart vs small store situation soon enough.  Where are you going to go for your one stop shop– the item specific or the super stores? 

I give props to Disney for what Iger did.  Why WOULD they need to link up to others?  They’re friggin‘ Disney, you know?  Disney isn’t a brand, it’s a lifestyle.  They’ve got evangelist families out the wazooo. 

I remember babysitting a family who had their TV permanently set to Disney… the girls didn’t have a choice of any other network. No Nickelodeon, no Nicktoons, no Cartoon Network.  Their clothes were Disney, their stars were Disney, their movies Disney, their CDs Disney, their plates, decor, jewelry, vacations…

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again: Disney eats, sleeps, breaths Disney: and that includes it’s fanbase.  I was a Disney kid growing up (over our dining table was a picture of all the Disney folks having turkey dinner– a Disneyfied replica of a famous painting), but a Nickelodeon college kid (hey, you keep those worried looks elsewhere). 

If there was anything Disney remains– it remains reliable.

I say: Good on Disney for protecting it’s members and keeping them in the fold. 

Media Responsibility, Myspace, and Preteens/kids

This morning I was surfing Cynthia Turner’s Cynopsis (CynKids 2/28/07) morning email (which I love by the way) and I came across a Great sounding new property called “Those Scurvy Rascals” –a CGI animated series that will premiere this spring (’07) on Nicktoons Network (our buddies who are also airing the Edgar & Ellen cartoon series this fall, and are currently airing the specials & shorts).

It’s UBER cute. Here’s what the site says:

Those Scurvy Rascals follows the adventures of three pant obsessed pirates – Sissy Le Poop, Smelly Pete and Shark Bait (plus Polly the Parrot)…. This bunch of seafaring scallywags appreciate all the things a good pirate should: a seaworthy ship, a badly sung shanty, a well worn plank… but they’re not interested in gold or treasure all they want is pants, pants and more pants! Pants to Those Scurvy Rascals are as gold is to regular pirates.

Content & art are very, very cute. Website is flashy, but not in a bad way. It’s young, so there isn’t too much added. You can draw your favorite pants (US: underwear) and post them in the gallery (The Mexican man’s face is borderline creepy, but worth a laugh).

They have a blog where you can write to the characters. From what I gather, they’re using the blog as a guest book for each character. Since the term “blog” is so “hot” these days, I don’t blame them. It will be interesting to see if they actually have the characters write back. I can’t really say anything about spinning blogs– why? Because our audience likes it so much, it’s turned into a message board (hey, whatever works and makes them happy & safe, right?).

ALL THIS ASIDE: My issue is their presence on myspace. Just like their website, it’s cute, fun, and goofy. But this raises an issue:

Is it Socially Responsible For Media Companies to Use the Marketing Benefit of Myspace.com For Children Under the Age of 13?

I say no. I understand it’s like another website, and that it’s considered “cool” — but to have that much RISK associated with your product. YIKES.

What do I mean by risk:

1.A. U13’s. By leading kids to your myspace page, it shows them what they can’t have (but know exists). That’s not cool. (Myspace is NOT for children. It is nearly ILLEGAL for kids to sign up for myspace, or even mess around with myspace thanks to COPPA & COPA)

1.B. U13’s. Okay fine– But you’re a kid and a BIG FAN of the associated show and you want to leave a comment. OOPS, can’t leave a comment without being a member. Why not lie and sign up anyway just to get what you want. –you think that’s not going to cross a kid’s mind? ssshyeah…

2. Staff. To have ANY control over comments said on your space you have to have someone monitoring the comments. Screening, reading, approving, etc. One kid leaves his name & number, name & email, etc and you’ve got UBER COPPA issues. Any identifiable content for an under 13 year old child WITHOUT contacting a parent… and you’re breaking the law.

3. Content. It’s generally easy to “friend” someone on myspace. At any point, that property could have 100 friends a day (whether they’re U13 or not) seeking acceptance to the inner friend circle. That’s 100 sketchy links a day that could easily be clicked - thus bringing the child elsewhere to an unsafe, inappropriate page. Does a socially responsible company want to be linked with inappropriate content? I certainly hope not. Good luck screening out all those kids, eyeing ALL of their spaces, ensuring that they make “suitable, legal, content-friendly” friends.

4. Advertising. Myspace has no problem advertising to the mature-ish set. If you’re a company that’s using myspace, I certainly hope you’ve got some jedi-mind trick that gets myspace workers to give you only “acceptable” advertising that coincides with your content.

It just seems like a HUGE sketchy risk to be using myspace for anything kid-related. Not only do I avoid such a mindframe, but it makes me sad when I see other properties that I genuinely like engage in such ploys. This brings me back to the Disney Fairies website– they took the myspace concept, made their own version, and uber-safeguarded it to the max. Others have taken to kid sites like Nictropolis, VMK, Neopets, and Club penguin… aiming towards the appropriate age level social networks.

Now here’s where it gets sticky. How do you market a non-network show (that appears on an networks but not created by) with low funding?

Guerilla marketing is “the thing” these days (although Adult Swim’s approach with “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” will go down in infamy). Markets like myspace & youtube are “easy targets” and so “hot right now” right? Their very existence makes certain eyes light up (eyes that do NOT belong to anyone in the online safety biz, that’s for certain).  But again– there are mega kid issues with using these “almost-free large-scale social network sites” that offer a built in audience of millions. Youtube, for example. Even we’ve got shorts on youtube (*grumble*). Luckily, we also have a screener/moderator staff that can manage the online PR & user experience. But that doesn’t stop the kids from linking to it. The best you can do is screen the comments or turn them off (which we’ve done), highly monitor the kids that add it to their list, and do NOT link it from your home site (leave it for pre-existing users to stumble upon). Ugh. Not the best practice, but it’s as close as we can get to protection– making both a User Experience Group and a low budg. Marketing Department happy.

What sayest thou readers? This seems like it could be a controversial topic.

"A child is a curly dimpled lunatic.”

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Here’s a Tuesday giggle for you (p.s. you wanna check out their site for the video):

ICYMI: Watch Out! The Emo’s Are Coming!!!Is there anything funnier than when the local news attempts to tackle “hip” and “now” issues like “blogs” or “emo” music? I don’t think so. Just check out this report on a dangerous new cultural trend: “It’s a fashion that has turned deadly. Emo. It started out as a type of music and has warped into a lifestyle.” Ahhh. I don’t know what’s funnier- the adults’ overreactions or the emo kids they ask to comment on it. I love the news.

Best Week Ever » Blog Archive » ICYMI: Watch Out! The Emo’s Are Coming!!!

BTW, I deal with “Premos” (Pretween + emo = Premo) every day. They’re glorious, and I adore them.

BBC’s Blue Peter VS Nickelodeon & Cartoon Network

UGC (User Generated Content) & Kid Empowerment could be SOOO dynamic. Truly.  Why the big kid-networks haven’t figured it out yet, i don’t know.  I’m not bringing Disney into this, simply because Disney tends to only promote Disney (That’s not a diss, just a valid observation)… haven’t seen them branch beyond their own Disneyness yet on programing, kid empowerment, etc. Anyway, check this out:

Teen Kids News is a dynamic television news program for teens and pre-teens-by teens. The half-hour weekly program provides information and news to students in a way that’s educational as well as entertaining. The focus of the program is young people, so all the stories are in their words. This program inserts the clear informed voice of students into the adult-dominated media and provides a unique perspective that is not currently available on network news program. 

Weekly Reader Classroom Magazines and Educational Supplements

This Teen Kid News sounds great. I’m in Chicago and haven’t seen it yet.  But the concept reminds me of a program in the UK.  BBC has a great show called “Blue Peter”

Blue Peter is a popular, long-running BBC television programme for children, and airs on Children’s BBC (CBBC) . It is named after the blue-and-white flag
hoisted by ships in port when they are ready to sail. The reasoning
behind the choice of title is that the programme is intended to be a
voyage of adventure and discovery for the viewers, constantly covering
new topics.

There are a handful of adult 20/30 somethings that present all-things-kid (and a few pets that roam the set).  They don’t talk “down” to kids, like babysitters or teachers, but instead talk TO kids as if they’re a respected audience, which they are.  They use vids made by kids, they interview various interesting kids, they interview kid celebrities, kid geniuses, kid authors, authors for kids, etc etc.  They talk about what life is like for kids across the world (ie Linda Ellerbee’s occasional reports on Nick, Sunday nights).  It’s all done with a flavor of NBC’s Today show.  Likeable hosts who joke around together, yet are incredibly interested in journalism, humanity, etc. 

It also, like Nick’s TeenNick (with J. Boogie) & ME:TV and Cartoon Network’s Fridays, acts as the before, middle, and ending of a cartoon block (aka, series of selected cartoons). 

Why hasn’t a “Blue Peter” concept been done in the US yet?  I’m baffled.  What kid doesn’t like adventures?  Plus, update the “Blue Peter” concept and be proactive about sticking more user generated materials.  Have kids interview using webcams, and dice it up in post production to make it “viewer friendly”  They can add a bit more goof to it with fun skits, slime, games, etc… but not make that the mega-uber-concept.

Instead of 20-something hosts, choose cool, funny, edgy teens with AMBITION (Did anyone see Oprah’s “Leadership Academy”? Those girls were inspirational).  It’s OKAY for teens to get too old for hosting the program, you can always recruit from your audience… kids respect hierarchy (even though they complain it’s not fair).  Anything is better than the hosts on Nick’s Me:Tv. Ugh. They stand side-by-side like they’re worried about seperating… the “savages” in the audience might get them.  Not to mention they’re not funny and have NO repoire.  They would NOT have made it as camp counselors, that’s for certain. (Do they even LIKE they’re jobs?  I’d KILL for that job.)

Anyway… programming these days seems so self-centered.  “Look at me, look at me.”  Very “myspace.”  What about mixing up that UGC with a bit of purpose– especially showing kids that there is a bigger world out there & that they can interact with adventures, life, news, cool happenings, etc– then add a large helping of Online Community Acknowledgement & Support. 

Let’s move beyond this concept of “only cartoon blocks & webcams”.  Give a bit more empowerment back to the tween/teen set… then cover them in slime. Slime seems to make everything better.

Ten Tips for Your Forums X 3

I Just stumbled upon this blo, SEORefugee. It has some really great information for young forums, especially those moderating young forums. Check out the lists below. I thought they were REALLY informative (and gratifying to know how right I am– that ALONE is an amazing thought, lol!)

*10 Mistakes that Will KILL a Forum : - Search Engine Optimization - SEO Refugee Blog

*Top Ten Lessons I’ve Learned About Managering an Online Forum

*Ten Tips for Promoting Your Forum

CommunityNext: The Awesomeness of Threadless!

Time Vs. Awesomeness = Threadless‘ success.

Don’t believe me?

Watch Jake and Jeffrey talk about it themselves:

http://communitynext.com/threadless-video-notes

(Link stolen… ahem BORROWED, from Noah’s OkDork)

Power Trio: User Generated Content & TV & Jack Black (Acceptable.tv)

The folks behind the site Channel101.com are teaming up with VH1 and Jack Black for an innovative video show called Acceptable.TV (watch the hilarious promo). In a nutshell, users upload their own three-minute mini-shows. The user shows are combined with “professional” shows produced by the Acceptable.TV team. Users then vote for the shows they want to cancel or let live for another week. The “acceptable” shows air on TV, and all of the shows (including clips that are too edgy for TV) will be online. But here’s the kicker: Acceptable.TV’s video will be powered by Revver, and users who submit shows will get a cut of ad revenue each time their clip is viewed on the web. The more popular the clip, the more money they make. Add all these components together — a blend of user-created and professional video, uncensored clips, a hilarious host, an interactive experience and revenue sharing — and it all adds up to a very promising idea. The website goes live on Monday, and the show premieres on March 23rd.Acceptable.TV’s first promo features Jack Black and others ripping TV for being “too slow” and “not interactive enough.” The second spot features a woman who falls asleep watching TV and leaves “him” for the internet.

VH1’s new ‘Acceptable.TV’ combines TV, web - Lost Remote TV Blog

Okay, my only Oscar comment on this blog: the best part of the 79th Oscars was JACK BLACK, WILL FERRELL, AND JOHN C. RILEY… they made me weep with delight (now if only Robin Williams, and his Oscar, had popped up for a moment in the song, as he’s Stand-up Comedian & an Oscar winner).

Anyway, this is a great way to make User Generated Content work, and for adults nonetheless!! See, this is the route Nickelodeon’s Me:TV should have gone. Fun audience (as VH1 has really aimed for that goofy angle *cough*ILoveNewYork*cough*) fun mind (Jack Black is uber fun), and a trendy “fun for now” concept (User Generated insanity). Plus they’ve devised a way to make money on the site too. So smart.

Wow. I can’t help but wonder how big this User Generated “Schhhtuff” is going to get, not to mention, how long it lasts. Everyone wants their 15 minutes of fame, but do they want to wait around for everyone else to get theirs too?

(p.s. I was trying to link a vid to this page and it wasn’t working. Their site is officially open, simple, and GLORIOUS. They have three vids-o-explanation to choose from. I dig the third. Shame i couldn’t post it here. )

Dear Jack Black,

Nickelodeon was right to give you a Blimp (aka Kids Choice Award). Why? Because you are brilliant.

Thank you,

Izzy

Virtual Life, The Sims, and Teaching the Future

The Sims Life Stories Exhibition will explore and celebrate some of the iconic art and storylines that gave us advice over and above what teenagers learned behind the bike sheds.
The subjects explored are:
1. Friendship – Dealing with jealousy and arguing
2. Love - Exploring everything from boyfriends to broken hearts via flirting and cheating’
3. Appearance / Fashion– dressing up, weight loss and gain and general self esteem
4. School to Jobs – Growing up and taking on responsibility’
5. Family – sibling rivalry and parents
“The art of teen advice has evolved through the decades and the exhibition will give a unique insight into wider social awareness around the identity, image, aspirations and social constructs as teen life has grown,” says EA.
The Sims Life Stories Exhibition will culminate in exploring how dilemmas are resolved in the virtual era following the romantic plot and issues faced by Riley Harlow, star of the new game The Sims Life Stories, as she moves through each of the exhibition’s themes. Visitors to the exhibition will be able to trial what they have learned from the exhibition on Riley via laptops and see whether they have more of a sober 1950s outlook, wild 1980s viewpoint or liberated ‘noughties’ approach.

Gameplanet - News - Teen angst art exhibition alongside Sims Life Stories launch

Hey, this is actually a really interesting approach to tween/teen issues that generally get filed under the “live and learn” category in life (you know, the ones kids are expected to figure out themselves… usually ending in some sort of needed therapy).

We seem to going through that “everything you need to know, you learn from the media” phase as a culture. Parents expect teachers to instill ethics and a moral compass in their child (I’m sorry, but parents should feel responsible for their kid if he/she is a cyberbully…, stop blaming the schools!). Granted, teachers should present ideas of morality & ethics within their teachings (or at least I hope they would).

It’s like this: We expect teachers to give the facts about religion. Right? This is what Buddhism is, this is Christianity, this is Islam– all like history lessons & facts. But do we expect teachers to actually TEACH Buddhism to their students– “Today, class, you MUST adhere to these particular beliefs.” No. If you want your student to learn about Catholics, you send them to a Catholic school… otherwise, religion remains unbiased, a historical perpsective of community choices, etc.

Ethics should be the same. Teachers should teach ethics as facts, and expect that parents are seeding their offspring with the heart of morality from home. Of course there are always rules & regulations within the class that expect a student to adhere to some sort of morality level. Teachers teach “why” and parents teach “because”– Because this is who we are as a family, because this is who you are for being of our blood, etc.

Anyway, now i’ve rambled off topic. Basically, if we’re going to expect media to take on a heavy load of responsibility these days for the youth of our culture, then to see the Sims tackle such tween/teen-specific life lessons is a nod in the right direction.

Teen angst will never go away. It shouldn’t go away– it’s the wretched inner turmoil that sorts out a person’s knowledge of who they are, why they do things, and what it means to have feelings/emotions/and a voice. HOWEVER, to have a media outlit that reminds them that it’s “Okay” that they’re feeling angsty, AND have storylines play out… that’s pretty darn cool.

Now, as always, the question is: will they take the bait and listen/watch/play/allow media to respond to their lonely/insecure angst?

More: Kids Social Networking

In fact, most of these sites are remarkably safe. For example, at sites like Webkinz, members can only chat by choosing from a list of the site’s preexisting conversational snippets—safe but a bit stifling. Language and profanity filters at Club Penguin are so strict that one user complained of being blocked from the site for 24 hours after misspelling the breed of puppy his family had just bought—it was a Shih Tzu. Parents, after doing their due diligence, can generally rest easy: it may not be very difficult for adults to join many of these sites, but their online interaction with people they don’t know in the offline world is severely curtailed.

Tech: Social Networking for 9-Year Olds - Newsweek Technology - MSNBC.com

I think Anne/Larry from blogsafety based their article (which I linked from in the last post) on this piece from MSNBC.com.

I dig the fact they called out the “Members ca only chat by choosing from a list of the site’s preexisting conveersational snippets–safe but a bit stifling.” PREACH ON! That’s why we’re doing our best to keep our tiny, but AWESOME community happy with fully moderated everything– as close to live as possible.

"To find a friend one must close one eye; To keep him, two.”

-Norman Douglas

Social-Networking Traing Wheels
Actually, I think these sites may be teen-social-networking training wheels as much for parents as for their users (parents who don’t already have MySpace profiles, anyway). Newsweek leads with how Club Penguin (4 million visitors/month) kept a child, who was in the hospital for five months, connected with his then-distant friends. But this site for 8-to-14-year-olds, Newsweek says, is just the “tip of the iceberg” in the category targeting tween socializers. Some, such as ClubPenguin.com, Whyville.net, Nicktropolis.com, Habbo Hotel, and Disney’s VMK are more like a kid version of Second Life, others – such as Tweenland.com and Imbee.com – are more in the MySpace or Xanga category (profile or blog creation + IM). “Most of these sites are remarkably safe,” Newsweek reports. “Still, experts warn against growing too complacent,” because site moderators probably can’t tell, for example, if a group of peers has decided to give a friend the cold shoulder offline and online - a form of social harassment or bullying.

BlogSafety Community: Social-networking training wheels …

Tis a shame that Tweenland.com bids us adieu today. Anthony Zinnanti, the rockstar who created tweenland, had really great intentions and worked hard for his communtiy. Best of luck, Tony!

I’ve got particular thoughts about most of these “teen socializing sites” they’ve mentioned. But I think I’ll hold my tongue for most (*cough* Whyville.com *cough*) :|. Nicktropolis could be fun, but it’s young and it-the-works. Imbee is an interesting place too. Very-family-friendly. Reminds me of facebook more than myspace. Strangely enough– I have a faux-credit card from Imbee and I get mail from them to my apartment. …ooookay?

I’d love to do some research with kids about their interest in the virtual worlds. VMK & Nicktropolis & Club Penguin have so many rules and barriers… and they’re not always well hidden. In Nictropolis, I couldn’t write the words “El Tigre“, which is their newest cartoon (the website is cute, fun, but very flash-heavy… prepare for stalling, just like the rest of nick.com). They use a predictive text dictionary which would continuously change “El Tigre” to “Elbow Tiger.” Frustrating. Although, I did have a GREAT conversation with a snowman. One-sided, naturally. I think next week I might do thorough run-downs on most of these kid social networking sites.

Stay tuned.

(Or check out my run-down of Disney’s Fairies website relaunch)