Wii & Virtual World = perfect partners

It looks like it might happen. Edge magazine is reporting that the Wiiversion of Animal Crossing will have massively multiplayer functionality: “A Japanese source has confirmed to Edge that the upcoming Wii iteration of Animal Crossing is set to be a social networking MMO.” If you haven’t played Animal Crossing on the Gamecube or the Nintendo DS, it’s an addictively twee little game where you collect acorns, go fishing, and run errands for the animal townsfolk to build up your house and belongings. Previous versions allowed users to trade items over memory cards or the DS’ wireless connection, already giving it multiplayer element. [Via CVG]

Most are treating this as a rumor, but Next-gen.biz is certain that this is the direction the game will take, explaining that Nintendo already refers to the sequel as a “‘communications game’ rather than a videogame, and playing already depends on real-world timekeeping, weather patterns, social conventions, and above all else economic interactions.”

For the Wii version of Animal Crossing, project director Katsuya Eguchi said in 2006 that he was already looking at ways to expand connections between players.

“Another application might be someone could send a letter from their cellphone or from an email address on a PC to the Wii, and then the player living in the town in Animal Crossing could receive that letter,” he explained.

He later explained to IGN that WiiConnect24, a feature that connects to the Internet while the Wii is in standby mode, could be used to connect more players.

“With regard to WiiConnect24,” he said, “you could have someone visit your town even when you weren’t actively playing and maybe leave you a letter or a gift. Also, through Wi-Fi Connection, players could play simultaneously.”

Not many products on the Wii have managed to get much use out of its Internet connection, though. So if Animal Crossing does manage to create a virtual world and use the network, it’ll come as two major steps for Nintendo.

Virtual Worlds News: Is the Wii Getting a Virtual World?

This is just one of those things that makes sense. In fact– I’ll go as far to say “WATCH OUT” web virtual worlds… the Wii could do uber-high quality worlds and take on ALL online/web properties, leaving the poor souls without Wii’s to “deal” with the free(ish) web worlds. And they won’t necessarily make you have to jump into the “micro-buys” hassle. Hmmm. This should be interesting to watch, if some sort of VW competition arises between the two mediums (they’re almost like fraternal twins these days– video game systems & the web).

I, myself, will always be quite partial to the web worlds. Viva Virtual Worlds!

Speaking of games meet world-ish topics, here’s who I am going as for Halloween:

PRINCESS PEACH (from Mario Kart, to be specific)

Woo Hoo! Okay– back to packing– T-Minus FIVE DAYS till I’m winging my way to Los Angeles (Marina Del Rey area). So excited, so nervous, so… unpacked (ga-oo!)

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MIA and Life Changes

Just a quick note:

For the next week and a half I will be posting very irregularly, and I send my apologies. I am currently in the process of moving to LOS ANGELES!! Yes, Los Angeles. Fear me, oh mecca to pop culture!! Muwaha-ha-ha!

Indeed.

Today (big deep breath) is my last day with Star Farm Productions– and I’ve enjoyed my time here immensely. You watch out for these peeps at Star Farm— they are the stout-hearted David taking on the overbearing Goliaths of the biz, armed with a satchel of sharp tipped stars… and I’m honored to know every one of these brightly shining stars.

As for me? I’ve taken an EXCITING(!) new job in Marina Del Rey with a new NEW company of amazing dreams and opportunities, and together we’ll conquer the world. I will most likely be speaking of it very soon and with great enthusiasm– ’cause what we’ll be doing?  Briz-illiant.

It’s all tears and joy today– so I’m making this brief as I sob in my desk, standing only long enough to give 20 minute bear hugs to the wonderful people here at Star Farm (and an occasional jig, since I was the honorable jig-ster of the office).

Goes to show– you never completely grow up. Life cycles are like constant reminders that new phases are on their way….

Advertising in Virtual Worlds

Are kids ready for ads in virtual worlds? | CNET News.com
By Stefanie Olsen
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

At a recent conference on virtual worlds in San Jose, Calif., executives from some of the industry’s biggest sites touted growing audiences of kids, who spend hours a month playing games and socializing. Some of those communities boasted of successful experiments with marketing. For example, preteens are driving virtual Toyota Scions on sites such as Whyville.net and Gaia Online, and they’re wearing the latest digital fashions from DKNY at Stardoll.com. Nickelodeon also talked about coming plans to run “immersive” ads in its 3D environment for kids ages 7 to 14.

Executives at these companies, and their investors, agree that virtual worlds are engaging enough to children to provide an unprecedented opportunity for marketing. But in a nascent industry with relatively no standards for advertising, media watchdogs, educators and even some gamemakers are worried.

“This kind of marketing is designed to operate at a subconscious level. And kids don’t know how to think critically about how someone’s trying to get them to be loyal to a brand or buy their products,” said Kathryn Montgomery, a professor in the School of Communication at American University and author of Generation Digital: Politics, Commerce and Childhood in the Age of the Internet.

Montgomery said the purpose of ads in 3D worlds is often to blur the lines between content and product marketing, and that that’s not a new concept. Product companies creating branded content to appeal to kids is as old as the first days of television. But Montgomery and others say virtual worlds and related games change the equation for brand marketers because a child’s interaction and emotional engagement is so high.

(Head over to the article by clicking the link below: it’s worth a gander for more context…)
Are kids ready for ads in virtual worlds? | CNET News.com

I’m sorry I’ve been such a butt about not posting thoroughly lately. And yes, I just called myself a butt. I’ve got an EXCITING new announcement coming my way (or at least, in MY world its exciting) and it’s taken like 82.7% of my available brain space.

Basically, I’ll say this– September was a wacky month for Virtual Worlds & kids online. Why? Because it was conference crazy– with the general EYE OF MORDOR smacked directly on the virtual worlds & youth participation. Indeed.

I’m feeling a bit ahead of the curve lately, and that’s given me personal issues with talking to people about the current state of this particular market. As everyone is buzzing about WEB BASED THEME PARKS, I’ve been dealing with the nitty gritty of web worlds– how are they defined, differing, successful, etc.

But more than anything, when it comes to advertising & online adventures in so called “Virtual Worlds” (depending on the type of VW and the truth of what it actually is) — it is something to pay attention to, but (In my opinion) not get all “up in arms” about. I’d much rather have the main focus of peeps remain on education & understanding of the web (in general) with youth & their parents. And maybe toss some of that attention on “WHO IS MODERATING MY CHILD?” thought processes.

In my opinion (and a rather blunt one it is at the moment… my apologies to anyone who thinks I’m bonkers about this) is that– advertising & virtual worlds go hand in hand… and they HAVE to.

Why? Because:

a) Theme parks of any nature have been subconsciously pimping their product for AGES. What do you think Disney World is? Talk about EVANGELISTS!! My family went EVERY YEAR for 17 years. We drove the 21 hours every Christmas day to spend our winter holiday in the cool 60 temp of Orlando, so my sister and I could continue our never-ending FEAST of all things Disney. Disney World/Land, etc, are MECCAs to the brand. Places to get emotionally invested to the point of living, breathing, sleeping, eating Disney.

Think about it– if they weren’t so “all about their product” perhaps Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride would still be around– instead of Pooh’s Adventure (or whatever they changed it to). Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride was creeptastic and weird… and legendary. HOWEVER, its not a hot product now, and it doesn’t support any of the books, cartoons, movies, etc that currently have shelving space in the popular market.

And– has everyone forgotten Bugs Bunny’s stint as Great America Theme Park’s ambassador? Warner Bros stuff could be “won” at any of the basketball challenges or weight guessing areas. And the Batman roller coaster was a TOTALLY publicity attraction for Burton’s Batman.

Legoland, people, LEGO… LAND.

These theme parks are IRL versions of the awesomeness you can now find in Virtual Worlds.

b) My dad is awesome. He’s my hero. He always have this one liners he shares for nearly everything in life. I one day want to create a book called, Tom’s One-liners Of Awesomeness. It will include such wonders as “Table for one”, “PMA: Positive Mental Attitude”, “Have a party and invite those pants up”, and his favorite saying for me while I was in my teen years: “What, do you think money grows on trees?”

After years of wishing money did indeed grow on trees, I came to understand his saying in a more contemporary quote “NOTHING IN LIFE IS FREE” except air– and sooner or later you’ll have to buy a gas mask for that one (thanks, Mr. Pollution).

But seriously. When I first took on the role of community manager– I wanted to do all these wonderful things for the audience. BUILD A VIRTUAL WORLD, I shouted merrily. Of course, this was about two years ago when there were three birds in the bush. Joi Podgorny, my then Director, said “But Izzy, Virtual Worlds aren’t free, and we have only so much man power.” And damn me if she wasn’t right. It takes an army of people to do it right. An army of people to build. An army of people to keep it floating. Pretty things just don’t pop out of people’s brains fully formed (I know about 3 people who completely disagree with me on that… bless them).

Wouldn’t it rock if fans– like the ones for Harry Potter– sprouted out of every single property, no matter the size? Fans willing to give up their personal time & effort to build kick-butt apps & designs for a community. Well-trained moderators springing from every nook, pumped to help 24-hour moderate & protect the virtual world for U13s? Well… those are my pipe dreams. Dear, sweet, chocolate covered pipe dreams.

We always try to say kids are REALLY clever. Yes, they are. But its more of a 1/3 clever. You see, they are also 1/3 livin’ in the moment, and 1/3 blissfully unaware. And above all– they just wanna have a good time. No more boredom. No more “you’re a kid” mentality. They want to feel important without actually being important (or carrying the responsibility of it). And they want to be a part of something without carrying the burden. They just wanna enjoy. And who doesn’t?

If that means they have to be subjected to some advertising– sure, they might complain, but if they ultimately get what they want– which is enjoy an activity that they personally find appealing… they’ll do what it takes to get there.

Kids will be evangelists. It’s what they do. Tweens enjoy brands because they’re common to all with a hint of coolness. They can hide their insecurities and misunderstandings and worries and all their person thoughts behind the knowledge that IF THEY enjoy this property/brand/etc and they know their friends already enjoy it too– that they’re on common ground. They’re safe.

It’s the whole “collage” theory I’ve been spouting for ages. 10-13 year olds love showing the world who they are… as long as it’s based upon common ideas: sports, books, actors, games, …properties… POP CULTURE. (No one… ESPECIALLY a mid-pubescent tween… wants to be alienated or an outcast or completely alone in their uniqueness… NOT EVEN GONZO– I mean, have you SEEN “Muppets From Space”? LOLz)

entertainment (if done right)= pop culture (ultimately) = one consistent advertisement. Think about it!

Ultimately it goes like this: If you can’t charge to get into the site (ie. Club Penguin & it’s guaranteed safety for parents relief membership model), then you have to find a way to bring in $$ off it– gotta pay the staff, and the bills, and fund future en devours of awesomeness for the site.

Kids will get that idea, or not ask at all. And if they don’t like it? They can execute their personal choice and NOT go there. NOT buy the product. And if the kids don’t do that– then what’re their parents up to?

Thoughts at the beep.

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Tags: virtualworlds, online communities, advertising, disney, club penguin, marketing, youth, kids

An Interesting Conversation Unfolds: Parents, Safety, and Filters

wesleysng Says:

Would like to know what you think about how the internet affects the young generations? The Internet has allowed the world to share large amount of information in a short time. But how does this directly or indirectly affect the youths? Please share your views.

Support Forums: Impact of the internet on youths …

Click the above link and head over to the Safetyblog (one of my person favorites) to check out this rolling debate/smack down/poignant conversation about teens, kids, safety, online filters, and parents.  It’s worth the read if only to get a glimpse of various opinions regarding this issue!!!!

technorati tags:safety, youth, online, media, social, networks

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Panwapa: Sesame Workshop takes on the WORLD

Sesame Street’s parent company Sesame Workshop has launched its newest initiative for 4- to 7-year olds: Panwapa. The project aims to foster the foundation of global citizenship and community participation, and consists of a DVD, print materials, and an incredibly complex interactive website akin to social networking in a completely safe and anonymous environment for young users.All materials are available in five languages (English, Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin, and Japanese) and feature an entirely new crop of Muppets, including Azibo the Monster (you know, like Elmo, but green), KoKo, a cute penguin, and Athina the smart and culturally savvy Owl.

Although the filmed aspects of Panwapa — which means “here on this earth” in Tshiluba, a Bantu language spoken in the Democratic Republic of Congo — are colorful, funny, and superbly produced, the really exciting and most central aspect of this project is the website’s social networking and community interactivity.

How does it work?

(….Click the link below to continue reading this great review…)

» Blog Archive » Get Out Your Passports, It’s Time to Sail to Panwapa Island Get Out Your Passports, It’s Time to Sail to Panwapa Island

Thanks, Ashley from Children’s Media Consultant for a rockin’ review. I played with the site about two weeks ago and thought it was a great initiative– safe, challenging, cute. It had some bugs, as most beta sites do, but over all it should be an interesting adventure. Totally reminded me of “Its a Small World” ride at Disney World. Seriously.

But I dig that you can make your home be a tree house or an apartment, and that you can choose traditional clothing or a lizard suit (I love the lizard suit). They’ll have a LOT of room to do some interesting educational support with that site (of anyone to work with the MacArthur Foundation, I certainly hope it’s Panwapa & Sesame).

Here’s my avatars (if you hadn’t already spotted them in my avatar page):

technorati tags:Henson, Sesame, Street, Panwapa, Safety, Nations, Education, Avatars

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Disney slowly courts idea of UGC and their properties

Disney walks line with digital kids, parents

Posted by
Stefanie Olsen

SAN JOSE, Calif.–Can a legacy company known for polished storytelling stay relevant to a generation of kids growing used to telling their own stories?

That’s the tough question for Paul Yanover, executive vice president and managing director of Disney Online, which runs Disney.com and the newly acquired virtual world Club Penguin. Yanover spoke here Wednesday at the Virtual Worlds conference and admitted that growing Disney’s Internet properties is a work in progress. After all, one of the world’s most popular brands for children ended up buying newcomer virtual world Club Penguin for $350 million this summer.

“It’s a new space for us to figure out,” Yanover said.

On the Internet, the company is focused on three things: fun, safety and integrity, Yanover said. That means that Disney’s sites must be engaging and safe for kids, but they also must hold to an established story line consistent with the company’s brand and delivering on parents’ expectations. For example, Yanover joked that he’d have a hard time putting up a digital billboard in Disney’s upcoming Pirates of the Carribean virtual world.

That’s why Disney Online veers toward structured environments built around a story or game, and the company will continue on that path, he said. But down the road it plans to explore offerings that give kids more control over their experience. It’s already dabbled in that area. In January, Disney Online allowed kids to create their own fairy, and run a Web site around the animation. Three million kids participated.

Still, a parent in the audience asked that Disney offer tools to kid members of Club Penguin so that they could build things in the virtual world. Yanover said he liked the idea, but hinted later that it might take some time to bring in that functionality.

“We’re a polished content company. But we’re moving down the spectrum of participation and user-created additions,” he said.

Disney walks line with digital kids, parents | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

Unlike many who are happy to tackle the empowerment & possibility of UGC (User Generated Content) with the audience and their brands– the biggest pony in the stable has opted to slow things down a bit.

Disney - a lockbox in more ways than one - sits quite nicely on the pinacle point of its pyramid of safety & parental approval. Hey, I don’t have a problem with that. It shows that they KNOW what they are! In the past they were uber excited and pumped full of energy to join the race in the online media world– creating environments for user control. DXD, for example– was edgy & interesting, allowing a more personalized feel for the user’s home hub…. kinda like the interior of the locker at school. Wanna smear Zac Effron or Corbin Bleu all over your DXD page? Go for it. I’m not sure how successful it was (I get mixed reviews from the peeps I often chat with), and we have hopefully all been warned about the DXD searching issues (watch out for the porn people– unforch, googling DXD doesn’t bring up the Disney every time).

Disney has the opportunity to “sit pretty” and continue exploring their properties their own way– making the best digital atmospheres as possible, while the rest of us error and perfect the ways of UGC & it’s place within media.

They tried UGC with the whole “High School Musical” UGC voting thing: “What does Corbin Bleu’s shirt say?” It turned out less cool and more “one in a billion voted for this saying”, which is nice in “theory” but kinda misses the whole audience gets a piece of the fame element that a lot of people enjoy within generating content– affecting their entertainment. So, in my opinion, after reading this comment by Disney– I agree, I much rather them sit pretty, exploring ways for us to play with their properties their way (Fairies), safely & justly, instead of getting the whole thing wrong (or lame) from the start.

Agree? Disagree? Agree to disagree?

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Kindersay, so you don’t have to.

Dear Parents: Save Some Money, Use Kindersay.

Michael Arrington

One thing that amazes me when I visit friends who have young children is the stunning amount of cash they lay out on educational toys and videos. Parents will pay literally anything if they think their kids will learn something and get a head start over the competition. Companies take advantage of that need people have to be perfect parents and sell them every conceivable type of educational toy and video, at ridiculous prices.But you can stop the vicious cycle of spending with…the Internet. Once your child has mastered Elmo’s Potty Time
(let me know how it ends if you watch it all the way through, I stopped
at Earl the fruit guy because he quite frankly creeped me out), give Kindersay
a whirl. It shows pictures of things or letters and an actress
(Christine Ghawi, who stars as Céline Dion in the CBC Canadian show
Céline) says the words. It’s free and has no advertising. If you want
to add in your own family pictures to customize the show, they charge
$6/month.

The next time you’re too busy to actually spend time with your kid,
just plop them down in front of the computer, fire up Kindersay and let
them do their thing. They’ll grow up to be smart, considerate, well
adjusted kids. I’m sure of it.

Dear Parents: Save Some Money, Use Kindersay.

Kindersay… hmm… Design = beautifully simplistic, idea = nice, narrator = intriguing (I found myself watching her say “pencils” with complete awe– like the awe I had when I stared at Billy Ray Cyrus’s hair on Dancing with the Stars last season… intriguing, fascinating, addicting, confusing…).

It’s the last part of Michael’s review that I am siding with the most (the sarcasm at least)– why are we sooo dependent on others to educate our children? Spending time with kids, showing them the world, experiencing everything through their young eyes, marveling at the details of life we tend to over look– that’s what a pleasure only a parent gets!!

Plopping your baby in front of a computer for some strange (yet fascinating) woman to say “paint”? What a cop out.

Why do people keep limiting the bonding between themselves and their children? And then to use the term “education” to make it “all right”? Tch. Come on.

It’s great that Kindersay created a free program for parents who clearly can’t take the time to lift up a book and say “book” to their child. It just makes me sad that such a tool might be needed.

HOWEVER– for children learning other languages? This ain’t so bad. If this stuff was in Scottish Gaelic, I’d be ALL over it. Seriously.

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Parents Proudly Baffled By the Wonder Of Their College Kids Online

You Virtually Had to Be There

By Michelle Slatalla

Published: October 11, 2007
EVER since she went off to college I’ve come to think of my daughter as Virtual Zoe. In many ways, there’s not that much difference between my glimpses of her now and the brief physical sightings in the years after she earned her driver’s license. But these days, I never know where she will turn up. It could be in the form of an e-mail message — “Check out this sweet car I saw for sale on Craigslist” — or when I’m trying to work and an instant message pops up: Oh, come on, it’s sooooo cheappppp (for a car). Or she might
write a blog post about her most recent purchase, a long-handled “claw” that extends her arm reach by nearly three feet so she can grab her phone without getting off her bed or (if later than noon) the
common-room couch.

She still exhibits the same sense of humor, the same late-night hours and presumably the same baggy gray sweat pants.

Or does she? It’s the last part — wondering about what I can’t see — that has been the hardest for me since she went away. I try to ignore the longing, but sometimes it sneaks up when I’m doing the most ordinary thing like folding laundry. I begin to wonder: Is that all I get? I put 18 years of hard work into this person, and now she disappears?

As her mother, I needed to lay eyes on her. It was still a long time until Thanksgiving break. Last week I asked her in an e-mail message, “Can we video chat tonight?”

It was a big step, because I’ve always thought of video chats as something enjoyed mainly
by connoisseurs of pornography and my husband (not to my knowledge a connoisseur of pornography). More than a decade ago, he brought home a program called CU-SeeMe, and we crowded around his Powerbook as if it were the first color television in town, transmitting herky-jerky images.

(…continue reading! It’s a great piece from a parent to modern-teen perspective! Loads of “look what kids can do” gems about the web & connecting families & independence & viral-support… click below for rest of article)

You Virtually Had to Be There - New York Times

I loved this. Chalk full fo sweet sentiments and interesting perspectives as the adult/parent’s world grows based on need & info from their college bound child.

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Sustaining a Healthy Online Community

I’ve talked about this topic in a couple of places, but I don’t think I’ve actually posted what we ended up kind of coming up with as pretty decent measurements of the health of a community. But, perhaps I should first define what I mean by community health:

The health of a community is the gauge of where
various qualitative and quantitative metrics lie in relation to the
goals you set.

Heh. Right. So, what this really means is that you need to first set your goals (with an emphasis on qualitative), and next
define your metrics. Of course, after all of that is set out, you can
figure out how to achieve that (which is just as convoluted).

Metrics for Healthy Communities | ::HorsePigCow:: marketing uncommon

So it was recently brought to my attention that perhaps I’m indulging my virtual world appreciation a little too much these days.  Well– there are person/professional reasons for it (change is healthy). 

I thought I’d post Tara’s fab article instead of my typicaly VW rambles. 

Tara Hunt over at HorsePigCow has a great write up about the health of a community.  The article above is totally worth checking out for anyone in communities.  She covers a) setting goals, b) defining metrics, c) Qualitative measurements, and d) important thoughts on metrics. 

The bipolar chicago weather today has forced a “brain cloud” upon me… I’d love to explain further about the importance of the elements Tara explained in regards to kids/youth/tweens/teens… but that darn brain cloud is hiding the sunshine of thought.  Ugh.  (It was 90 degrees two days ago, it’s 50ish today - fall is coming in hard!)

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Joi Podgorny on Virtual Worlds

Joi Podgomy is Vice President of Interactive Development at Ludorum. She specialises in online communities for children aged between 8 to 12 years of age and has been working in this area for the last eight years.

Lizzie: What do you think draws children towards immersive environments and virtual worlds?

Joi: I think role playing, that playset, that play house thing and that play pattern has always been there. And I think what’s happening now is that technology is just allowing that experience to be played out in a different way…Allowing them to go into those virtual worlds and actually be that character, be the doll, be whoever they were going to be as opposed to just holding the dolls and playing so….

Lizzie: This is a natural extension?

Joi: I would say so…I think virtual worlds are very much at the beginning and of course kids are always right there in all the stuff. Kids are always right there, right at the beginning when something
comes out. I don’t think the virtual worlds that are out right now have really figured it out. I think there’s a lot of room for improvement.

Lizzie: What needs to be there to get children going?

Joi: I definitely think games…I think the video games right now, especially the first person, real time, strategy type of things? Those ones are really hitting it…If you need that complete immersion you
definitely have to have game play, you definitely have to have interaction between the users, they have to communicate with each other and not be hindered by a specific list of words or pre-defined chat.

Lizzie: Should businesses launch their own virtual worlds?

Joi: Is your audience, you know, screaming they want to get to that next level or is it just because it’s in the news right now? I think there’s a lot of those really basic questions that people have skipped
over. Do you need a virtual world? How are you going to justify the costs? These are questions…I don’t see people having those kinds of conversations. I think the hype is making people skip some basic strategy questions.

Interviewed in London, 24th September, 2007

Virtual Worlds Forum Blog » Blog Archive » Interview with Joi Podgomy

Mwahahahahaha! Well done, Joi!

technorati tags:tweens, youth, virtual, worlds, online, communities, future, joi, podgorny

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