Nick.com, MeTv, and what the future holds
Posted by Izzy Neis on February 19, 2007
Continuing its lead in providing the most innovative entertainment content for today’s multiplatform generation of kids, Nickelodeon today launches the first-ever TV programming block featuring user-generated content provided by kids. Nickelodeon’s ME:TV integrates Nick.com and TurboNick, Nickelodeon’s broadband player, with Nickelodeon television to let kids help program the TV block themselves with their own original content uploaded online. The block airs live Monday through Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. ET/PT. Nickelodeon is a division of Viacom’s (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B) MTV Networks.
Having worked continuously on the concept “user generated content” for SF for a while now, it’s crazy to see Nick step up and tackle it head on, making it the jelly-filling in their usual after school block of cartoonage.
The general concept is amazing. KID EMPOWERMENT- YAHOO!! As for the premiere, I can see a lot of room for improvement. My guess is Nick will figure it out sooner or later, as this is a rocky first episode— lots of weird mistakes and missteps from the co-hosts (who more or less talk AT kids instead of to them).
But kids don’t generally notice such things right off the bat. They get it every where they go. (I sat next to this sweet girl after the Community Next Conference, and it was crazy to see how well she put up with the Flight Attendant cooing all over her. When she started talking to Joi and myself, listening to our schtick, her eyes totally opened up like… whoaaa, they’re like kids!! It was awesome.) I noticed it though, and I immediately didn’t like them. Side note: They just brought out Pick Boy from the latter renditions of “Slime Time Live” and I adore pick boy, so I was appeased.
Speaking of STL, they did a much better job when Slime Time Live first premiered. It was goofy, fun, and totally NICK, ya know? The host who started out with it was chill and just there to have a good time. The minute you try to act for kids, the lamer you get (re: these two hosts). I would have liked to see them bring an oldie back– like old “All That” or “Figure it Out” characters– like Danny Tamberelli, Josh Server, or Lori Beth Denberg (although on second thought, she always seemed a bit too negative). Kel Mitchell. He would have been great! Now that Kenan’s got that gig at SNL, Kel should stick to kids. You know what– why not even have a teen take over hosting? Some goofball like Josh Peck from Josh & Drake on Nick. That kid was a goof back in his All That days. Anyway, let kids lead the way.
I’m just uncomfortable with the “MTV TRL talks to little kids” vibe that ME:TV seems to be giving off.
The hosts of Me TV (I haven’t bothered to learn their names, yikes) mentioned talking about online forum questions. Their forum is a bit cold and not so friendly to navigate (not that I should talk, I’m suffering from the same problem). They’ll have to clean that up and perhaps make it more stylized– you know, more welcoming for returning forum members. Using online feedback to draw viewers to the site is BRILLIANCE. They’ve SUCH an opportunity to make a safe, awesome environment for their forum users that rocks the imagination and empowers them with the vibrance of television & 15 minutes of fame. Awesome concept.
The question for the future will be: is their community going to be a “one off for TV” or an actual thriving community? Time will tell. I lean towards the first, but would be happy to be proven wrong.
2nd Side note: MTV has a show on mondays that does the same thing: takes feedback from viewers in the forums and sticks it in a “catch up” program that looks a bit like a slumber party. Weird for MTv.
So far, looks pretty safe & simple for uploading content. They contact parents and so on. I can’t get too in depth without trying it myself, which, no doubt, i will do when I’m a little more in spirits (I’ve cold of evilness in my system). They also– VERY surprisingly, stick a phone number on their site. I have to laugh. When I was in college, my freshman year, I became OBSESSED with Nickelodeon (I wasn’t allowed cable growing up). I ate it up like chocolate chip cookies. And, strangely enough, I had it in my mind that I would get on “Figure It Out” with my rope made from pixie stick wrappers. I found their email off their site (it was the first page they ever put up with elements of their magazine, maybe a game, and a lot of marquee-nothingness). I emailed that damn address maybe thrice daily. When I got no reply, I forwarded them everything a college-student-in-the-late-nineties-when-forwarding-everything-was-totally-cool could possibily forward. So, now I can only guess how many phone calls they get a day. You can bet your sweet aunt betty that I will be calling them this week. Hot damn. 
As for the rest of the website, it’ll come together. They need more kid content on it, but that’ll come.
All in all, I’ll be interested to see if kids really enjoy this tv show after a while. Seems like using random kid-content could be a fad, and if the content isn’t integrated in a better way, it could get boring. Ex. “Oh look, so-and-so put a tomato on his head, that’s so funny”… It could get tiring. Now who knows, this IS their first episode, and perhaps I’m being too harsh. Give it time to nurture and grow. Which, I will do. I love Nick. Nick evangelist here. This is just my opinion from what I’ve seen today.
That’s my 2 cents.
Posted in Nickelodeon, entertainment, kid empowerment, kid entertainment, kid pop culture, learning, online community, pro-kid movement, responsibility, user generated content | 11 Comments »
