Are you in Dumbledore’s Army

Attention any/all HP-devotees out there, Warner Bros launched a new site about a week ago for any/all “Hogwarts students” dedicated to destroying “He Who Must Not be Named”

Harrypotter.warnerbros.com has been around for quite a while. With each new movie, the site gets a face lift. Sadly, the older cooler elements of the site tend to get glitchy after the newest facelift. That’s the problem with uber-flashy sites like that… they need constant attention.

Join Dumbledore’s Army (the website) is a funny mix of mini-community, marketing, and a sprinkling of user generated comments. There’s no chat, forum, or blog (there i, however, a very vibrant forum on the official hp page). Once you join, you give a few personal gems about yourself (user name, gender, house– no email) and pick one of 7 slightly-freaky Hogwarts student faces (they’re multicultural, which is very nice, although they’re still kinda creepy). And that’s about the extent of the community. You can sift through to see other DA members, but there’s no communication. Your name DOES have to be screened (very good). And there is an opportunity to write the entire Army a message that appears for a few seconds on the main DA page. Kid quotes. Nice. I’m guessing they’re screened/filtered too. Very nice.

The main reason I call attention to this is because I found it strange… like some sort of teaser community. Communities are pricey– moderators/screeners/filters = large overhead. However, they could have linked that site up to their vibrant forum buried deep in the main HP page.

They already have a teaser page for the next movie– Voldey-poo is front and center in all his creeptastic glory.

So then why a teaser community too? It’s a bit of a thrown bone. I’m not really complaining, I signed up and gladly. Someone had to pay for that bone to be thrown, right? Could there have been better use of that cashola? Perhaps not. Not my call. I just wanted to bring it to your attention. It’s Monday. Happy Year of the Potter. DA All the Way!

Zwinktopia stomps into Tweenish Virtual Worlds

The timing couldn’t be much better for InterActiveCorp to launch Zwinktopia, a new virtual world for young teens. Other virtual worlds, such as Gaia, Habbo Hotel, Cyworld, Neopets, Club Penguin, Webkinz and others, are exploding in terms of unique monthly visitors and total time spent at the sites.Until today, IAC’s Zwinky was a site to make customized avatars, choosing from 10,000 different outfits, accesories and other items, and embed them onto other websites such as MySpace. Users could also become friends with other users and enage in basic social networking activities. See Stardoll as well in this space.

Most of the functionality at Zwinky is accessed via a non-mandatory browser toolbar that users install. Zwinky says that they have 20 million active toolbars that were used in March 2007. Part of Zwinky’s business model is to collect search advertising revenues from toolbar usage.

Today Zwinky will add a virtual world to the site called Zwinktopia - users can use their avatars to roam around the world, chat with other users and engage in activities to earn Zbucks, the virtual currency of Zwinktopia. Zbucks can be used to buy virtual clothing and other goods.

Thanks Joi Podgorny, for the heads up

IAC Launches Zwinktopia At Peak of Virtual World Hype

If you’ve ever played on Neopets before– you know it’s a hugely popular, extremely expansive world that is able to sell plushies & toys IRL (not too many virtual brands can rock that).

Zwinktopia is going to BLOW THAT OUT OF THE WATER for the older tater tots. Check out the article, it’s worth the read!!

I’m looking forward to see how they handle safety & community elements. Fingers crossed that they rock it.  It’s a shame that it’s so tween-aesthetic.  There’s something in the design that could appeal to the U13.  “Want what you can’t have” online  tone (tweenish design, tweenish concept, but without allowing the tweenish set?) is just begging for tweenish problems.  Same thing  with Gaia (as uber-god Anastasia at ypulse pointed out).  What’s up with the target audience?

Which leads me to my youtube moment of the day (or of the weekend).  Friday there was a VERY informative 10 year old boy in the office.  He was rockin’ (rocking as a verb is apparently my word of the day) the Club Penguin (says he’s a member and even his little sister who is 6 plays).  One minute he’s giving me a tour of the CP, and the next he’s surfed right into youtube to show me some video he and his friends always talk about.  He has an account and subscribes to some of those youtube channels.  It seemed SO ODD to me that this kid was in a VIRTUAL LOCK BOX COMMUNITY, like Club Penguin, where his parents even shelled out money to keep him safe– and the next minute he was shamelessly showing me Comedy Central-esque programming on the sketchville that is youtube.  It was such an easy transition for him… he might as have just pointed to his shoes and said “check these out.”

I’m not so naive as to believe that kids don’t do this everyday, every minute, etc.  I was just momentarily shocked by this lock-box kid whose parents are uber-concerned with his safety mindlessly leaping into non U13 content.  It was Friday, today is Monday, apparently I’m on the slow track these days. Lol.  Anyway, thought I would share. I’m nice like that.

Worthy Tween/Kid Communities

With the web being as broad and expansive as the universe these days, I thought I might lay out some wicked webpages (communities, etc) for kids/tweens/teens.

• Foster’s Big Fat Awesome House Party*: Safe, original, and never boring… This online community
  is one of my personal favorites. It’s got goofy smeared all over it (if you’ve ever seen Cartoon Network’s TV show “Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends” then you’ll understand). I’m not distracted by the safety features, and I’m not disappointed by the inability to connect more with my friends. There are new elements/games every day. I think one of my favorite features is that– you can only do so much in one day. Kids can’t spend their eternity wandering Foster’s halls. But it leaves the gamer with enough of a happy taste that they’re excited to come back for more the next day!
• Sparktop.org: This web-venture is GREAT! They mix education with entertainment and are VERY safe. I’ve actually met some of the people who work at Sparktop and they’re wonderfully dedicated to their audience– wanting them to learn, explore, and grow in a safe environment (yahoooo!). I do know they are great with LD kids (as I was an ADD kid growing up). Sparktop has games, forums, and all sorts of activities on the site. They also are quick to pass any collected information along to the parent (as always, parental permission is needed). This is a great site for parents to recommend to their kids.
• Club Penguin: Uber-safe, parent-approved (big time), and kid approved. I’ve heard A LOT about the awesomeness of Club Penguin. I’ve been through it a handful of times. Despite the cuddley name, Club Penguin is gender-neutral. It tends to appeal to the pre-tween set (roughly ages 6/7 - 11/12). Club Penguin challenges it’s members and does a great job of keeping strangers away. Kids CAN talk to their IRL friends, but they have to be checked & approved. Keep an eye on your tater tots & their wish to find “cheats”. Since I’ve written about CP in the past, search engines point people to my blog when they google things like “Club Penguin Cheats to Win” and so on. Thanks to wordpress admin I can see such things. Silly kids. For unlimited access to member services, there is a fee. But kids can create a free account and engage themselves in the world. Parents can get transcripts of their child’s activities (paying members only). To be honest– I hear the most about Club Penguin from kids & parents alike.
• Whyville: If your kids are too old for Club Penguin, they might like Whyville. Whyville has a large following of members. There are chat options, and it takes some time to gain access. They’re very concious of keeping a safe site. The “virtual” aspects of this community aren’t the same as say “Foster’s” or “Nicktropolis”, but they’re unique to everything else out there, and that can be very refreshing. Whyville also provides Transcripts for parents. Also, Whyville does a great job in empowering their community to take ownership. Whyvillians can write for the Whyville newspaper and engage in character building exercises (educational games too).
• Disney’s Toontown: There is a short window of time for FREE Trial access to Toontown. It is very much a virtual world (not just a community). Predictive text & pre-written sentences help communication as kids explore Toontown with their Disney character. This also has the parent’s transcript option. Very safe, and great for Disney-a-holics.
  • UPDATE: Rumor has it that Disney is looking for Toontown to be offered free on the basis of product/marketing involvement (like Nicktropolis & Neopets). Others buy into sponsoring areas of Toontown for free. Fingers Crossed!!!
• VMK (Virtual Magic Kingdom): Like Disney’s Toontown, there is a short window of time to enjoy free access to VMK. Make your own virtual “you”, play games, and wander through the gobs of Disney marketing. But Disney is– if anything– always family friendly and safe. That’s their mantra (besides ‘buy Disney’). I grew up a Disney kid and I would have loved both this and Disney’s Toontown (probably Toontown a little better because you can roleplay your Disney character instead of your mini-virtual-you).
• Imbee: A GREAT social networking spot is “Imbee”! This is like the young’in’s starter kid to Myspace & Facebook. Parents & kids sign up together. Parents get a page. Kids get a page. Its all very safe and very easy (big buttons for navagation, simple design). Kids can say hi to their friends and make new friends– and all under the eye of parents (who, from their page, can see everything their child says & does). And I believe (correct me if I’m wrong) that schools can opt into the program as well (teachers & classrooms). Again, this is a great site to help kids understand the fun in social networking.
• Nick.com: Safe, loud, fun, totally Nickelodeon’s site. Kids can get emails, chat in forums, chats, and interact with games & favorite shows. Also worthy of notice: turbonick.com
  • Update: Nick just released a new front page– less orange insanity. It’s more streamlined & I dig it! Yay!
• Nicktropolis: Nickelodeon’s new entry to the virtual world. Like all of the sites I’ve listed, very parent friendly. Your child signs up through their nick.com account, but cannot talk to anyone in the community until it’s parent approved. There’s a lot of roaming, and a lot of Nickelodeon marketing & games (which is to be expected). They’ve special events now and then too. Parents have the opportunity to gadge the level at which they feel comfortable allowing their children to communicate with others. At the most– kids get to use predictive text to communicate openly with others. They can also befriend people they know IRL.
  • Update: You can also grow your own “fish” now on Nicktopolis.
• Leakylounge.com: The forum attached to the Harry Potter fan site: The-Leaky-Cauldron.org (or leakynews.com) is a great place for tweens/teens to assert their Harry Potter knowledge on a caring and controlled atmosphere. The staff is made up of teachers, librarians, and kids themselves– everyone with the best interests of the community & Harry Potter nation at heart. **I would suggest that parents check the site out for themselves first. (Also worthy of noting: the community at Mugglenet.com, as this is FAN site meant for kids, and very popular, it’s worth your time. However, again, I suggest that parents check it out first.)
• Edgarandellen.com: A great website for fans of the Edgar & Ellen books & cartoons. They give fans the opportunity to give inspiring ideas that will affect the television show premiering this fall.
• Webkinz.com: A safe, fun interactive area for any kid that loves the plushies. In other words, webkinz are toys/plushies. You cannot log into the site without a code provided by your ‘adopted’ webkinz plushie. The art/animations feel VERY young to me (a bit carebears, a bit mother goose, a bit Hasbro’s Littlest Pet Shop), but I’ve got it on great advice from the tater tots at CLPD that it’s a fun site (as well as from guru Jake Mckee, thanks btw!). The registration is easy and easy to navigate.
• Neopets.com: This is a BIG hitter for kids (and some adults). Like “Webkinz” there is an adoption process, and the entire world hinges on taking care of your Neopet (not your typical standard animals). There is literally a WORLD of fun to navigate. Neopets (now owned by Viacom) appeals to many types of kids: the gamer, the social butterfly, the town member (running your own store), the treasue hunter, the explorer, the home-maker, and the future-animal-obsessed-vet. The games are expansive as well– MMORG wannabe games to addicting games (like blocks, I love blocks). There are sections of the world for pirate-enthusiasts, fairy-lovers, cave-dwellers, etc. Newsletters and guilds allow for individual empowerment. I’m not completely sold on the safety of this site yet. They’ve got attentive moderators, but in my past explorations of neopets I’ve seen a few yellow flag events. This site is huge and very fun for kids… I only suggest parents check it out and make sure they’re just as comfortable with it. In otherwords, it’s not a lock-down like Nicktropolis or VMK, but that’s not always a bad thing. At least it’s free!
  • UPDATE: Unfortunately Neopets isn’t “all free” now with the addition of a Neopets Central Mall– which requires users to pay for items with tokens BOUGHT with real cash. Ugh. For parents who don’t like this kind of Virtual World Marketing, heads up.
• Trollz.com: I’m not a big trollz fan (I miss the ugly, naked, uni-gender Trollz of the good ole days). However, Trollz (as a product) are a lot better than Bratz (which also has a social network, but I am not a fan of encouraging little girls to grow up hoochie). Anyway, so the community is fun and light. You can befriend your friends, and that’s cool. It’s vibrant and colorful and safe. It’s also free. If your child is into Trollz, then they’ll dig this site (you get to make your own version of yourself as a Troll(z)). There are parental permissions and safety guidelines, which I dig.
• Disney Fairies: I love this website. I love it. In the pattern of IMBEE, this is a “my first social network.” Make a virtual fairy & virtual fairy home, choose from HUNDREDS of design variations, choose from HUNDREDS of pre-written slogans, quizes, polls, etc to decorate your fairy page (much like a myspace page, but pretty and fun and safe). Find your IRL friends, who leave prewritten comments on someone else’s page. Everyone’s personal page is marked by an address (7816 Pixiewillow Lane- not an exact example, but you get the point). It’s beautiful and exceptionally done– uber safe to a T. I drool when I think of this site. It’s something to be proud of! Well done, Disney.
• Disney’s DXD: Otherwise known as Disney’s Xtreme Digital (oooooo, feel the extremity of it when the “e” is dropped!) It’s a social networking PLATFORM– which means it gives portals to content like chat programs (like aim, but disney’s version) and multiplayer games and so on. It both notifies parents and needs parental permissions for free-chat (real life friends without predictive text). It’s brand spankin’ new, and it’s Disney, so you know it’s gotta be good if your a Disney fan (be ready for the marketing machine).
• Lego.com: This site is GREAT for any lego-maniacs (thanks for reminding me, Jake! My godson LOVES this site). They don’t collect much information (no emails or real names), and EVERYTHING is eyeballed by moderators (yahoooo!). Their message board is uber-successful. If you dig legos, if your kids dig legos, I would recommend this site with a big grin.
  • Update: Word on the street is that Lego is building a virtual world. Keep your eyes sharp.
• Tygirls.com: I’ve not really seen “Tygirls” before (Ty– as in the Beanie Babies Ty company). I’m not overly excited about the design or characters (they’re not as unique/original as some of the other brands/communities out there). HOWEVER! It is a safe website. And it seems to have a fully monitored forum. So if your child wants a ultra-pink site to visit and have a little elbow room (instead of some of these virtual worlds/flash-heavy communities that are lagging & stalling do to high numbers), this might be the place to send her.
• Girlsense.com: COPPA compliant and safe, this site is great for 12+ year old girls. It’s got a funky feel with some avatar coolness (i love my avatar) and the ability to chat with friends that you KNOW. These chats are not monitored, so that’s something to take note of… but the site over all is cool for girly teens (older tweens) chock full of fashion, cutesy-advice. They notify parents with all kid-information, so parents can keep an eye on their tater tots. There are games and other fun stuff.
• Allykatzz.com: Another rockin’ site for tweens is Allykatzz.com– it’s quite a bit different from the previous communities. UBER-safe (completely moderated), it has this close-knit feeling… organic and honest. Girls can write blog topics, have others write back, and get advice from the older kids. Pictures can be uploaded– but there’s a catch. You can’t upload any dangerous pics (identifiably dangerous, that is), and if you wanna upload yourself you need your hands over your face– which seems like a fair trade, and actually a funny catch. The site offers clubs, ecards, downloadables, etc. My favorite part is the three-strikes-you’re-out “mean girls” catch. This is a family created/originated site and NOT a branded/conglomerate property site (v. cool). A team of moderators work hard to keep a healthy, organic community… Can’t ask for anything better than that.
• PBS’s Backyard jungle: You and your child can log into this eco-friendly site, give very little info (likes/dislikes, all very vague), build a backyard, explore other’s backyards, etc. It’s fun, educational, nature-y, and safe! Check it out. It’s one of my parent-friendly educationally-friend favorites.
• Yomod: Yomod (from Yomod LLC) is a great new community for the tweenie boppers– fully moderated with a strong entry barrier for safety. It is a stage for UGC videos (a much better option then youtube for the tater tots) and kid blogs. The sign in process is a parent-needed process as the good ole credit card check is in play (making it difficult for kiddies to sneak through). It’s a great site for kids of the multi-media talent online.
• kidzbop: It’s like a Karaoke Youtube site for kids– fully moderated, and very VERY little room for personal information. Parents need to give their thumbs-up for their child to join. It’s a fun site with info on tours, some easy games, kid videos (upload your own, or highlight someone else’s), contests, and parents section. You can make friends with random other kids on the site, but you can’t really talk to them… so it’s a nice little lock box.
• MokiTown: It’s a “safety initiative” and worldly (I think there are some German mods on there). But over all– it has a Bob the Builder meets Lego feel to it. Kids are encouraged to be active. Parents are offered LOADS of information. It’s worth checking out!
• Webbliworld: A great new site for the younger kids– great for ages 6 - 10!! It’s heavily moderated and they’ve gone to extra lengths to stay FIRM and SOLID on that fact. Right now there is only the opportunity for kids to create a profile based on their likes/dislikes and their cool little tinker-toy-esque avatar. Soon, however, there is supposedly a Virtual World/platform planned.
• Galaxyseeds: This is a GREAT MMOG for kids looking for gaming, community, and a unique virtual world to explore. The aesthetics are bright and fun– and completely appropriate for 9/10/11/12 year boys AND girls who have interests in the futuristic/Space fantasy. Everything is uber-safe: canned messages (pre-written words, etc), and pre-moderated forums. They are COPPA compliant, and do a great job at making the sign-in registration process clear through explanations. Plus– it’s FREE. Nice.
• Millsberry: Like the MILLS products (cereals and such?). If you do– you’ll like this colorful, safe, and engaging site. So, yes, Millsberry is a great place for a parents to send their child to play. They only collected identifiable information from kids under thirteen– due to seeking parental permission. They use canned (pre-created) messages, moderation, and filters to keep the site safe. Their privacy policy is VERY thorough, so make sure you check it out if you’re concerned. Games, Polls, Contents, Dress UP, create-a-house, become-a-music-artistic, a bit of virtual roaming (point and click map worlds) etc. I’d say, personally, that this site would probably be enjoyed best by 7 - 11 year olds.
• Cartoon Doll Emporium: Anime-lovers be happy! Finally we have a great website (with community elements) for you (mainly girls) fans who love anime & fantasy. The site offers games, doll-avatars, contest, forums, etc. And it is VERY COPPA compliant (rock on). It’s pink and happy and filled with fantastical imagination (in anime form).
• iCarly: Nickelodeon kids cheer! Breaking free from it’s Nickelodeon-foundation (usually Nick only wants its shows on its Nick.com site, understandably). Kids can upload various UGC elements and they can be featured on TV!! Having played with the UGC function myself– it is pretty safe/sound. Every element uploaded on the computer has to go through the parent before getting viewed by icarly staff– VERY smart (no second guessing on credit there). The blog entries are pretty good… personally I LOVE the entries by Carly’s big bro– he’s hilarious. There are a few games on the site, and it’s relatively goofy– and not uber-forward/flashy/gaudy/etc like some of the sites are these days. It almost feels a bit fischer price, but I still dig it and your kids will too if they’re fans of the show.
• Barbiegirls: Oh, the Barbie brand lives on!! It’s safe and mostly free. Parents have to approve the level at which their children can communicate with IRL friends– but VW friends are all safe/predictive text. The avatar system is fun and totally lends itself to the dress up play pattern of the Barbie brand. To get the “extended” features, the user must purchase the MP3 player, amongst other Barbie goodies. In the war of dress up virtual worlds/dolls– this one gets my top vote.
• Be-bratz: Safe, doll play virtual world based on the Bratz doll craze. Not a big fan of the brand at all (hoochie mentality), but the site is fine. Kids can’t get in without buying the 40$ bratz doll. Oh well.
• Myepets: Little bro to the Bratz brand is Myepets– a pet care based virtual world. You must buy a Myepet doll and get the code (ala Webkinz) to play. It’s safe and parents dictate the level at which kids can chat.
• Littlest Pet Shop: Not quite a community world yet (still in beta), this will be a great world for pet care play in the virtual set. I’d pick this brand over myepets every day– if only for the longevity & originality of the overall brand. The pets are cute and it does promote good eating and good behavior. Must by the stuffed animal to join (and they’re hard to get your hands on these days).
• Beacon Street Girls: The Beacon Street Girls have JUST relaunched their site with community features– allowing fans of the Beacon Street Girls books an opportunity to feel a part of the story! The registration process is great and straight forward, and BSC does a great job of being completely COPPA friendly & safe. They’ve contests on the site and some games that correlate to the stories. The part I dig??? THE CHARACTERS TAKE THE TIME TO RESPOND TO FAN COMMENTS. I’m telling you– for uber-fans? That means a lot. There’s a lot of places Beacon Street Girls’ site and go, and I’m sure it’s just the beginning for the digital aspect of the story and no doubt will continue to grow over time!
• Shining Stars: LIKE WEBKINZ, Shining Stars is another “buy product, get code, enter world” Virtual Experience. Instead of chat– it’s more of a profile builder & doll experience. The cool addition is the ability to “make” videos (pre-created installments to plug into a program & create “own” story?).
• Lola’s World: It’s a companion community with vw-elements for tween girls based on the Lola, Think Pink, books. It launches in April 08.
• WePlay: A sports community for youth, couches, and parents.
• Ourworld: A tween community for socializing, clothes, and games. Has unique user interface, and they’ve safely retracted youtube videos into their site (better to watch them here than at youtube). And the environment is interesting. It’s safe, although I’m not a fan of using an email (one time collection) as login. They do seek parents verification consistently.
• Tikatok: a community for young writers who want to see their stories published.

I CONTINUOUSLY ADD MORE SITES AS THEY MOVE OUT OF BETA
(OR BECOME SOMEWHAT BETA-ESTABLISHED)!

So check back. And if you have community sites that I’ve not mentioned PLEASE add them in the comments –And remember, I’m looking for sites appropriate for kids under the age of 13.
**FYI, Here are TWO more links you might be interested in:

1. Future/Pre-Beta Virtual World < this is a list of Virtual Worlds currently in development. Worthy of a glance!
2. Communties NOT for Tweens/Kids < a list of communities that are NOT FOR KIDS (despite the look/feel)

Acceptable.tv really lays it out for you…

TUTORIAL #1: How to Structure Your Acceptable.TV Story

Before we get a chance to be hung up on anything else, most of us get hung up on our story. In this first tutorial, we meet new Acceptable.TV contributors Dan and Justin, who are doing just that when they receive a special guest.

Acceptable.tv isn’t tween/teen/or kid, but it does do something very, very unique.

A while back we here at SF were kickin’ around some more UGC-based project for our tweenies, HOWEVER, we were very concerned about the level of UGC we would get– would it have a quality storyline acceptable to be shown on television? And if not… how do we fix that? Do we have to manipulate the purity of the UGC to our own goals/agendas? If so, that’s not very cool. Yadda yadda, etc etc.

Acceptable.tv has a different, older, more mature (although you wouldn’t be able to tell by the humor- lol!) audience that has been around long enough to understand the elements of storytelling.

HOWEVER! It is a young project, and they do have to answer to the demands of entertaining television every week (high demand for new worthwhile content). So what do they do? Make HILARIOUSLY AWESOME videos, starring Jack Black, giving future Acceptable.tv-fans a “how to” guide for creating stellar videos.

There are quite a few of them, and they cover various elements of Writing 101 & Filming 101, etc.

I’m bringing attention to these things because it’s a great way (albeit expensive and time-heavy process project) to show future UGC-creators how to make acceptable entertainment. Awesome.

UGC & The Use of the Internet = Confused Students

Study: Students Don’t Understand Copyright Rules

By John Eggerton — Broadcasting & Cable, 4/10/2007 10:34:00 AM

The majority of students (87%) who upload copyrighted material to user-generated video sites like YouTube, Facebook or MySpace don’t get permission from copyright owners, even though most (74%) believe it is fair to pay people for their use.That’s according to a new, albeit limited, study of college students who upload video to Web sites conducted by a pair of professors at American University and the Washington College of Law.

The study concluded that students were, “universally underinformed and misinformed about the law.” While they were generally concerned with staying on the “good side” of the law, they were “making up rules themselves” about what and how to use intellectual property.

The study is meant to be a discussion-prompter for a “confidential” meeting of user-generated content companies on April 10-11. The issue of copyright control and content management have become increasingly important issues as major media companies begin to team up with user-generated sites to reach that audience.

Study: Students Don’t Understand Copyright Rules - 4/10/2007 10:34:00 AM - Broadcasting & Cable

Check out that article for stats and names of the companies involved in the UGC copyright control meeting.

A little off topic, but along the same lines– I have a lecturer friend who has had a lot of problems with students & wikipedia. MASTERS students (yes, post-collegiate) have been using Wikipedia as a VALID source of information & research. Sad, sad, sad.

Online Rules & Understandings (Copyright, Academics, Etc): What is truth? What is real? What is valid? Apparently students have no idea. Zoinks.

technorati tags:education, wikipedia, youtube

Kajeet’s new buddy, Whyville: Tween Networking Beyond

Whyville, the tween/teen targeted online social network, has partnered with kajeet, the new tween-aimed pay-as-you-go mobile phone service, to offer its members the ability to use customizable chats functions through kajeet Chat Factory. Additionally, kajeet is offering an online Friend Finder service that Whyville members can use to contact one another with a personal invitation to meet and hang out at a destination within Whyville.

Cynthia Turner’s Cynopsis - Cyn Kids 4/26/07

What a funny/ideal partnership between whyville (tween social network) and Kajeet (tween phone/service).  Kajeet has offered new functions to the whyville chat arena to spice up the tweens chatting life (visually)– S.S. Marketing ahoy!  Good idea.

Here is a definition of Kajeet from a Whyville worker.

Here is a review by a Whyvillian based on the Kajeet Chat Factory found on Whyville (giving both good/bad reviews). 

Now on to my ramble about accessing social networks via a cell phone (as sparked by the idea of Kajeet– a tween phone company, and Whyville– a social networking company linking up.  I’m not saying they’re doing this now, it just seems like a natural progression based on such a deal):

Do tweens really need to have their fingertips in online social networking at any given moment, like they would if a phone service provided easy access to particular social networks??

I fear this. Instead of hanging out with the family at Grandma’s and listening to her stories, BobbyJoe will be talking to his friends on his tween cell phone. Instead of watching & supporting her teammates play soccer on the pitch, DarlaJane is sitting on the bench surfing her friends in some online community. <— Yes those are silly instances that probably won’t (fingers crossed) happen for some time… but we need to at least ACKNOWLEDGE that these are possibilities. The only people who can really put limitations & controls over kids are parents.

Too much of a good thing is never good. But don’t tell a kid that. There’s nothing wrong with a little desire for kids… gives them something to work toward.

My Grandfather wasn’t really one of those “cuddlemuffin” Grandpa’s my friends had. When we went to his place in Chicago, there wasn’t anything fun for kids/tweens to do. He didn’t really have TV– just three black & white channels. Every time, we would end up coloring newspapers with pens & pencils while Mom, Dad, Gramps, etc sat around the table talking. We may not have been participating in the conversations, and were probably quite bored, but MAN– am I glad I was there. My ears were open– I heard stories that gave me some sort of subconcious identity to my family. Understanding WHY my grumpy grandpa was so different than the cuddlemuffin grandpas– and somehow I learned how to appreciate that. Today, the man is my hero. I can’t help but wonder if I would still feel that way if I had been physically present but mentally elsewhere (i.e. the web).

The weird thing about this is– yes, I’m an online community manager who supports the exciting world of imagination and multicultural friendships that is gained through online communities for kids/tweens/teens. And as I try to build this career, enjoying all the amazing new opportunities popping up for kids… I can’t help but notice the power– not empowerment– that kids are wielding. I look forward to the day that parents truly understand what’s available to their children on the web– both bad and good. Because that would mean that I can concentrate on my job–building & sustaining awesome communities & safety & imagination empowerment through communication and brand evangelism.

In the world of secret structure for kids (we work in the shadows to ensure everlasting daylight for youth):
Moderation = parents. Moderators = online communities.

What sayest thou? Agree? Disagree? Cookie?

technorati tags:Kajeet, whyville, tweens, mobile

Hanging with the Tater Tots: A quick Q&A with Kids

Yesterday I took the day off (yay!) and was able to visit the extended day program run by the park district that I used to work at.  I miss the kids and the people who work there (one of my best friends from High School runs it).

During particularly heated games of “Skippo” and “Baloney Sandwich” (aka B.S.), we started talking about kid pop culture.  Here’s what was said:

1. Emily, 10, LOVES “VMK” and “webkinz“  All her friends have a pet on webkinz and she plays for free on vmk (you can pay a fee and have more abilities/tokens/etc).  She knows OF Club Penguin (and talks about it like it’s a common topic of interest at lunch table convos) but doesn’t go on it because she’s happy on VMK.  She doesn’t go on Nick.com that much either.  She doesn’t like Nicktropolis because she thinks its boring– “What are you supposed to do all day?”  Her cousin and two friends from her class are on her safe list at VMK.  She hasn’t hooked up with anyone’s pets on webkinz (she treats it like a Tomagotchi).

She doesn’t watch Disney anymore (she called it “baby girl” which I thought was odd considering its three powerhouse tween shows– “That’s So Raven,” “The Suite Life of Zach and Cody,” and “Hannah Montana“) and she never watches Cartoon Network (”that thing only shows boy cartoons”).  She loves Nickelodeon and thinks Nicktoons Network is cool (although she admitted that she didn’t watch that “goth” show, which I will leave anonymous for now, grumble).  Zoey101 is her favorite. She “LOOOOOVES” it.  She “loooooves” Chase (Zoey’s pseudo-boyfriend).  She also really likes “Ned’s Declassified” a lot (yay, so do I).

Emily does NOT look at Nicktoons Network as being any different than Nickelodeon. In fact, none of the kids did. They think it’s all the same.   Instead of a being similar to a younger sibling channel (similar goals, same family, its own entity), they each seemed to regard Nicktoons as Nickelodeon’s twin channel.  Some expressed frustration at not having Nicktoons (it’s a premium channel).

2. Chandra, 11, only gets to play on the computer at school.  Sometimes she gets to play on Disney.com and Nick.com and that’s really exciting for her.  She’s been on Discovery’s website too (for school projects).  She seemed to only understand the kid internet as far as cable channel websites.  She didn’t know of Club Penguin or VMK.  Her parents aren’t really “hands on” sadly…

As for books… she’s “slowly” (and slowly is being stuck on page 90 for about 45 minutes of daydreaming, I can relate, I was the same kind of child) reading the Levine’s “Fairy” books (Tink and so on– a Disney series) and the Hannah Montana book series.  She likes “Pony Club” (which I think she means the Saddle Club, or whatever that WB show is) and the Bratz series on Saturday mornings.  She also likes “Viva Pinata” and “The Suite Life of Zach and Cody” on ABC, Saturday Mornings.

3. Hammerhead (yes, that’s a nickname that he insists is his real name… it was given to him about two years ago thanks to a headbutting incident), 9,  says that he plays on Nick.com but would rather blow it up.  Nice.  He also informed us that his mother had him at 17, he is the “best kind of mistake” and that I look as old as his grandma.  Deep sigh.  His friends are on Club Penguin, but again, he would rather “blow it up with a really cool lazer” (as he then demonstrated through his Lincoln Log construction that looked more like a lawn mower than a weapon).

He loves Lincoln Logs, loves Army guys, loves Dominoes (and destroying other’s domino constructions), finds hitting to be a “girls thing” while headbutting is a “boy thing.”  His favorite shows are “Yu Gi Oh” “Pokemon” and “TMNT: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” cartoon.  He also likes “Ben 10,” “Naruto,” and “Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends.”  Even though he says he doesn’t watch “The Suite Life of Zach and Cody” he sure does know a LOT about it.  Oh… an apparently Charzard from Pokemon would “so eat” me.  Nice.

He did admit that his older sister cruises the web a lot more than he does.  (His older sister is 13, I used to be her camp counselor).  “She goes on that myspace my mom hates cos thats where the boys are.”  (At this point in our conversation over “Skippo” he shoots me with his Lincoln Log Lawn Mower and runs back to the other boys building an empire out of dominos and Lincoln Logs)

Katelyn, 10.  Oh, Katelyn.  I’ve known this child for a long time.  Cute as a button, germy as a used tissue.  Forgive me for that bluntness… but the truth is, we keep a hand sanitzer around whenever she’s wanting to play cards or Mancala (oh, those darn mancala beads are like a haven of disease). Seriously.  Anyway… Katelyn is one of those darlings that always has the latest to show off.  She showed us her new gameboy, which she then dumped in her backpack after empting her automatic pencil sharpener shavings into the same backpack (instead of the trash).  We make a little fuss about her treatment of her things and she shrugs and sweetly smiles, “Mom will get me a new one.”  Nice.

She loves all things Disney.  She listed off all the shows she watches (which is basically the entire day’s programming).  At FIRST she pretended like she didn’t know what was on Nick.  “What’s on it besides Spongebob?”  However, once Emily started talking about TeenNick, she changed her tune.  She got excited when Emily brought up Zoey101.  She has Tivo in her own room and gets to watch everything when she wants– like HBO, Comedy Central, and Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim.  Zoinks.  She also found it fun to tell me that her mother is two years younger than I am…

This past weekend, Katelyn went to the Christina Agulera concert.  She’s also been to two Britney Spears concerts.  They (meaning Katelyn and Chandra) still love Britney, but concede that they’ve heard bad things about them. Emily, however, was disgusted by Britney, which started a very mature conversation between the three oft them (like I wasn’t even there) about the mistakes Britney has made (as soon as Emily expressed her views, both Katelyn and Chandra folded, saying Britney was sad and gross).  They never really said anything more about Britney than “she smokes” and “she cut her hair off” and (in a very motherly voice) “she’s made bad decisions”.

I  love it when kids hear what their parents say and repeat it as if it was their own thought. 

Anyway… I thought I would share some of the fun things I heard yesterday.  I’m going to try and get some kids in the office to do some web testing.  Learning never stops.

Tweens, shopping, and adulthood

Tweens ‘R’ Shoppers

IT is 11:15 a.m. The kids have the day off from school and I’m mall crawling The Westchester in White Plains, with my posse: my 11-year-old daughter, Lake, and two of her friends, Annabelle K, 11, and Eve W, 12.Shortly after we enter the mall, my perfectly coiffed and lip-glossed group of girls step into Louis Vuitton and gaze at a white mink stole covered with colorful logos in a plastic case. “I have to have this!” exclaims Lake.

Tweens ‘R’ Shoppers - New York Times

Okay… this article is both enlightening and freakishly scary (to me, once-a-tween who enjoyed mud pies, smudged cheeks, and ratty hair– like some little wood nymph). It’s power-packed with insights from these three tween-tots-of-shoppindom.

When we pull up in front of Abercrombie, the preteen version of Abercrombie & Fitch, silence falls over my crowd. With its cloying overspritzed air, loud thumping music, blowup posters of young girls and boys, this is ground zero for tween fashion worship: collared shirts in sorbet colors, tanks so thin they often come with holes already in them and skin-tight jeans that curvier teenagers can’t
squeeze into.

GAK! Straight up opinion here, and I’m sorry if you disagree but… for this trend I blame: Paris Hilton, Bratz Dolls, and Parents. Skin-tight jeans? Dear lord. Let’s not exploit sexuality for tweens who’ve barely even entered the suckiness of puberty!

What was surprising about watching these girls move around the mall was their depth of knowledge of even the most sophisticated brands and their brand loyalty.

Told you:

COMBINE this new emphasis on consumerism with the influence of celebrities, like Paris Hilton, and you can see where the younger set is getting its notions of fashion, style and culture. There is also TV, with its fashion shows aimed at younger viewers, from “America’s Next
Top Model” to “Project Runway.”

Curses and drat! It makes you worry about the kids who really DO look up to Paris, Lindsay (oh, how horrible), and (dare I say it) Britney “walking train wreck” Spears– these are the celebumorons who have been peddling themselves for YEARS to the younger audiences with their books, their movies, they catch phrases, their music, their websites, their brand names, and their brand stupidity. I can’t WAIT for the wave of psuedo-normal celebrity kid-turned-adult actors (like Shia Lebeouf). Better role models please. If we’re going to peddle off actor/celeb brands… let’s have some brains behind it, eh? Sheesh.

It also describes perfectly the way my posse ricochets between childlike abandon and adult composure — by the minute. As we walked past the Brookstone store, they threw themselves onto the massage chairs and jumped up and down, just like children. They are caught between two worlds and that is perhaps why stores like the Limited Too, which my group no longer considers “cool,” carry such a schizophrenic mix of bubblegum and bras.

….

“It’s not really about clothes,” Ms. Conrad said. “At this age it’s important for them to feel like they’re part of a larger club. And this does it.”

Daniel T. Cook, an associate professor of advertising at the University of Illinois, said that clothes shopping gives tweens a safe place in which to do some of the heavy lifting of adolescence.

“They get to select and survey a world of identities and selves that are presented out there,” he said. “It almost has a sense of ritualistic or magical  timeout.”

Wow. “ritualistic or magical timeout”? That’s an interesting insight I hadn’t thought of. Noted and noted.

The sociological move away from authoritarian parents to parents-as-friends has given rise to a generation of children that was born to shop. The result?

“We have this incredibly sophisticated, thoughtful, opinionated consumer,” Ms. Liebmann said. “And parents have created it.”

…

Sharon Zukin, a sociology professor at Brooklyn College and author of “Point of Purchase” (Routledge), does not deride tweens for wanting to shop because she claims it is the modern form of hunting
and gathering.

While interviewing people for her book, Ms. Zukin asked people whether they remembered their first shopping experience. “They all did,” she said. “Shopping on your own is a rite of passage.”

Damn! I’ve been foiled. This is a VERY good point. How many of us cruised the mall in junior high while Mom was off in some lamer department store picking out creepy underwear? Or having coffee in the mall cafeteria with her shopping buddy. I was always adventuring off to Spencers and Claires or some toy store, happy to feel independent… thinking “is this what it’s like to be a teen? I can’t wait to drive.” Yeah– i voiced such thoughts… a lot. “Is this what it feels like” was and still is a slogan. Aspiring older. Aspiring cooler. Wanting to FEEL more and acknowledge such an accomplishment as it comes. Can’t beat that.

Best/Worst internet laws

Over the past dozen years, the lure of regulating the Internet has proven irresistible to legislators. For example, in the 109th Congress, almost 1,100 introduced bills referenced the word “Internet.” Although this legislative activity doesn’t always come to fruition, hundreds of Internet laws have been passed by Congress and the states. This body of work is now large enough that we can identify some winners and losers. So in the spirit of good fun, I offer an opinionated list of my personal votes for the best and worst Internet statutes in the United States.

Articles

I would suggest that anyone interested in the wild world of internet law check this site out.

Here’s the “3rd worst” internet law (in that site’s opinion):

#3:
Dot Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act of 2002

As we saw with the Utah Digital Signatures Act, legislators can’t stimulate market demand simply by legislating the market into existence. In my opinion, no legislative act better illustrates this principle than the Dot Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act of 2002. In the name of providing a safe online haven for kids, Congress co-opted the .kids.us domain and decreed that only kid-safe content could reside there. In theory, parents would feel safe letting their kids loose there, and content publishers would have a good place
to reach kids. Ultimately, Internet filters could simply enable .kids.us websites and shut off the rest of the Internet to kids.

The problem? Not many content publishers saw the value of creating kid-safe websites and housing them under the restrictive rules of the law. As a result, .kids.us is a virtual wasteland, housing fewer than 20 websites—almost all of which have less-than-compelling content. (You mean to tell me you’ve never been
there? Check it out yourself.) Not exactly the most enticing destination for Junior. So .kids.us is a ghost-town-like reminder that legislators should stay out of the business of trying to manufacture markets.

I thought that was an interesting choice… and, no matter how often I shout about media responsibility & internet safety with kids… I can see the uselessness of this law. There’s nothing kids like less than being reminded of the government-issued sterile room with padded walls the “man” tries to create for them. LOL.

Would you rather hang out at Willy Wanka’s factory (it’s just as clean, remember– those Oompa Loompa’s work hard to make sure no human hands have touched the choco-river) where he makes his own crazy (yet oddly sensible) rules… or hang out at a candy factory maintained by candy-clueless bureaucrats, ya know?

Noteworthy: Barbiegirls.com

Welcome to BarbieGirls.com℠ ! The Barbie Girls™ world is designed to be
a safe, fun, and exciting place for girls to play online. Once a girl
has registered with the site, she can create a virtual character,
design her own room, shop with B Bucks (virtual “money”) she earns,
play games, watch videos featuring her favorite Barbie™ movies and
products, and have real-time chats with other registered users. Our
sophisticated word filter keeps this chat appropriate for girls and
prevents personal information — such as your child’s name, phone
number, and address — from being given out to anyone unknown to you.

Barbie Girls

It’s in Beta now, and they have a great informational video on the mainpage.  Last week a large handful of people tossed this site my way.  I stay positively excited until it’s open publically and I can get a solid impression.  So far, so great. :) 

I’m disappointed at their use of “word filters”– but that seems to be the way of it these days.  Predictive text & predictive dictionaries are a bit frustrating, but alas… moderation teams = large overhead.  Maybe if Barbiegirl.com gets a great following they can open up the site to hands-on moderation, thus allowing for more freedom of words– what do I mean by this?  Nicktropolis uses the same technique and I found it wretched– words like “see” and “donut” were not available to use.  Uber lame.

Anyway, I always did love my barbies (I was a sad sap that played with ‘em until I was 14– privately, of course… nothing like being pegged as the “weird barbie girl” in hell– aka Junior High.  Barbies = a great way to creatively express stories & imagination.  That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it).