CARU strikes again: My Most Wanted site

In its ongoing campaign to encourage sites to voluntarily comply with federal privacy law, the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) has asked the operator of yet another website aimed at kids to revise its practices and policies.

CARU reviewed the My Most Wanted site, which features updates and info on pop stars such as Miley Cyrus (who plays the wildly popular Hannah Montana character on a Disney show by the same name). Following its review, CARU asked the site operator to make a number of fixes to comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), as well as CARU’s guidelines on online privacy protection, which are designed to implement COPPA.

At the time of its review, CARU noted that My Most Wanted did not have an age-screening mechanism to determine the age of visitors, and did not require parental contact information or consent requested during the sign-up process. Further, the site’s privacy policy did not contain contact information for the site operator, and the site appeared to contain hyperlinks to sites that did not comply with COPPA, said CARU.

The site operator agreed to make necessary changes to comply with COPPA, including implementing a neutral age screening process-i.e., a query that requires users to state their age rather than verify that they are over 13. The operator also pledged to require parental consent for registration of users under the age of 13. In addition, the site operator said it was revising its privacy policy to provide the required contact information and explain the types of information collected.

Self-Regulation

Did you hear that? It was the sound of a cracking whip. WAAAAAAAAAACHICK.

People. Please. If you are dealing with content appropriate, desired, or geared toward ANYONE under the age of 14… PLEASE DO YOUR RESEARCH. Otherwise, prepare or a pricey reaction.

P.s. If you want to know the steps I use to determine safety & appropriateness of a site?  Check this out.

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Disney hearts Fairytales

The highlights:

• “Up,” set for release May 29, 2009, will be Pixar’s first 3-D title, and thereafter every Pixar toon will be produced in 3-D. Disney has been an early proponent of the format, starting with 2005’s “Chicken Little,” and all its own toons going forward will use the format as well. Lasseter noted he is such a fan that his wedding pictures were done in 3-D. Along with its new pics, Disney is also releasing Pixar classics “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2″ in digital 3-D in 2009 and 2010, respectively.
• Larry the Cable Guy, who voiced Mater in “Cars,” took the stage to announce that “Cars 2″ is going into production, with a planned release date of summer 2012. It’s being directed by “Ratatouille” producer Brad Lewis and is the first sequel for Pixar outside the “Toy Story” franchise. Though “Cars” didn’t do as well at the box office as some other Pixar titles, it has been a licensing bonanza for the Mouse House.
• Miley Cyrus will be a lead voice opposite John Travolta in Thanksgiving’s “Bolt,” formerly titled “American Dog.” About 15 minutes of footage of the pic screened to some of the heartiest applause of the day.
• “Toy Story 3″ will be released June 18, 2010. Plot details for the third part remain under wraps, though the filmmakers said it begins with Andy (owner of Woody and Buzz) about to head off to college. A Ken doll will be the franchise’s newest toy.
• Anchoring the Disney side of things is the hand-drawn musical “The Princess and the Frog,” from “Aladdin” and “Little Mermaid” helmers John Musker and Ron Clements, who were lured back to Disney by Lasseter. It’s set for a Christmas 2009 release. Stills were shown, and star Anika Noni Rose performed a song live, as did Randy Newman and his eight-piece New Orleans combo.
• Disney’s long-in-development CG version of “Rapunzel” finally has a release date: Christmas 2010. It’s directed by studio vet Glen Keane and Dean Wellins.
• Pixar will have two original films in 2011: “Newt,” a romantic comedy directed by Oscar-winning sound designer Gary Rydstrom, and “The Bear and the Bow,” a magical tale set in Scotland and helmed by Brenda Chapman, who previously directed “The Prince of Egypt” for DreamWorks. The first Pixar feature from a femme helmer will star the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Billy Connolly and Emma Thompson.

“I love sincere fairy tales,” Lasseter said.

• Last release on the slate for Disney Animation Studios is Christmas 2012’s “King of the Elves,” directed by Aaron Blaise and Robert Walker, based on the short story by sci-fi scribe Dick.

Disney unveils animation slate - Entertainment News, Front Page, Media - Variety

I LOVE SINCERE FAIRY TELLS TOO!!!!!!!!  I’ve said time and time again– I miss the Disney fairy tales.  I know, I know, there’s a certain connotation of “damsel in distress” from such films, but look at Enchanted, she had a bit of damsel in distress, but also a lot of empowerment.  And she saved her love, after he saved her, after she saved him, etc.  See?  Heroism is a shared event, and can work on both sides. 

I CANNOT WAIT for “The Bear and The Bow” - Scotland?  Le dreamy sigh. 

And I’m uber-eager to hear more about King of the Elves.  As for “Rapunzel” - it feels a bit, I dunno… Barbie CGI direct to home video.  Oh wait.  That’s cos it WAS.  It would have rocked to see an adaptation of “Rupelstiltskin” yeah?  And I have a strong feeling that good ole Rapuny won’t have any blinding or birthing of illegitimate twins, or however the original tale will go.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy there isn’t any necrophilia in Disney’s Sleeping Beauty (as was in the original tale) or foot mutilation in Cinderella, but I do know that it’s caused some discrepancies in the way we interpret fairy tales (the Disney versions seem to overcast the traditional). 

Then again - a friend of mine who is a teacher for second grade was appalled to find out that her class doesn’t really know what traditional fairy tales were (she asked, “Anyone know any fairy tales they would like to share?”).  Instead members of her class contributed show titles like “Hannah Montana” and “Back to the Barn Yard”, and yes, even “Shrek” (which is partially right, or at least on the correct path, just not traditional, or folklore-correct).

BTW, you know what is a GREAT but underrated movie for girls who like fairies and stories of possibilities?  Fairy Tale: A True Story.  It’s a couple years old now, but timeless. 

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Club Penguin gets some props

The Webby Awards are a big deal in the internet industry, having got more or less glitzy according to the fortunes of the industry during their 11 years of operation. This year’s nominations have just been announced, and Disney’s Club Penguin virtual world has scooped a nomination.

It’s in the ‘Youth’ category, and will face competition from ChannelOne.com, National Geographic Kids, Nick.com, and Scholastic. However, I’m wondering if next year, the Webby awards couldn’t expand to include a dedicated virtual worlds category, such is the growth in this space (yes, many of them would be aimed at young people).

Club Penguin up for a Webby award… but why no virtual worlds category | VWF blog | Virtual Economic Forum Content Library

Props penguins!!! And It’s awesome to see National Geographic kdis & Scholastic in the mix too. Nick.com has done some much needed improvements to their site - which couldn’t have been easy considering all the content they have battling for first tier attention. Granted, they still have that darn Neopets trailer thing that turns on when i arrive at nick.com, and trailers with loud music/voice overs, etc? Booo. Not a fan.

I’ve got my fingers crossed for the Penguins. They’ve done a rock star job making a thorough, deep environment for tater tots.

I do agree– there should be a couple virtual worlds categories, since the expansion over the year has been great (mmo, vp, etc).

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For the Luv of Bloggering.

does work/life balance exist?

Reading the NYTimes over my Puffins (yes, I failed at staving off that addiction), I noticed this article: In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Till They Drop. The article is painfully sensationalist and fails to really highlight the core issue regarding blog culture: bloggers do it cuz they wanna and cuz they lurve it. By and large, blogging is part of geek culture. Just like those who code, bloggers go late into the night doing their thing out of passion. Personally, my health improved when I switched from coding to blogging. I no longer down 2 2-liter bottles of Mt. Dew every day. I now have a gym membership and visit semi-often. And if you think that I’m pale now…

Underneath the sensationalism, there’s a core point here: those who are passionate about what they do do it to extremes. And when there’s the perception of a race (even if it’s self-imposed), it’s far too easy to take the extremes over the edge. I certainly spent my 20s running around like a chicken with my head cut off, trying not to miss a single thing. It wasn’t for my blog per say - it was for “research.” I had to know everything the moment that it happened and I followed web developments like a hawk. My blog turned into the space where I spewed all of my pent-up energy out.

apophenia: does work/life balance exist?

Sweet Jimney Christmas, batman ~ Danah sounds a bit like the voice in my head.

Today my co-worker Joe (who is wearing shimmering gold pants fyi) asked me if I ever just blog about anything other than virtual worlds and stuff. My reply: “Yeah, sometimes cartoons and books and education.” And he laughed. “No, Iz. Do you ever just blog about yourself. Like ‘I read a nice book today. It was the color blue.’” And my first intention was to scoff and say “Pfft. No.” Why? Because blogging has transcended for me. It’s not just some live journally thing with uber-choices. It’s this place to keep thoughts, earmark articles, and rant/ramble about “The World for Youth according to Izzy-in-the-moment.”

It was nice to see Danah’s post today. Balance is important.

I’ve been feeling ever-so-slightly guilty for not putting forth the highest quality of rambles in logicville lately. As I mentioned last week ~ been a bit tired. And you know what? That’s okay. I do this blog because I love the industry, and it’s nice to have a place to exude some of that professional passion towards the market. Burning out = no fun. Pace, pace, pace.

Anyway ~ in honor of balance, blogging, and gold shimmer pants, here’s an izzy non professional rant:

1. I think the guy at the Smog place broke my car today. What I wouldn’t give to have a proper “emissions test” place like back home in IL instead of slightly delabidated smog check joint that breaks 4×4 escapes.

2. My birthday is this weekend and it will be the strangest of all birthdays since neither my friends or family will be around. What I wouldn’t GIVE to have cheap air tickets to Chi this weekend (475$ to fly to O’Hare for a night? BS!).

3. I’m really excited about “Beyond the Cork” - the tween fantastic adventure - I’m currently writing. I’m half way through, and everything seems to be falling seamlessly into its freakishly kooky place. My friend Heather likes it enough she’s even offered to illustrate for it (which is HUGE because she’s a brazilliant artist!)

4. Every office has its ups and downs, I’m sure. But it’s really dawned on me lately how much I dig my co-workers. Granted, they’re all guys, and sometimes the conversations we have = pushing water up a hill… but overall they’re freakin’ awesome. (Gold freakin’ pants, people. GOLD PANTS HE IS WEARING).

5. I’m thinking of adopting a dog (since my Willa is with her grandparents in Chicago, and absolutely exstatic about her living arrangement, much to my broken heart). The dog in question has no eyes. She was hit by a car, and miraculously survived– walking away with only the problem of no-vision. The doctors took her eyes out because they were that bad. I want to help her. Yesterday I saw a duck get hit by a car that didn’t even try (at 6.30 am) to dodge it– despite 4 lanes and no traffic. It too survived, but with a crushed leg. I had been running at the time, and stood at the side of the road crying. 3 ducks flew in and helps pester and nudge the duck to safety, and it went begrudgingly, feathers everywhere. I don’t know if it survived, but wherever it is now, it’s not alone. It breaks my heart to know this eye-less dog is somewhere without anyone to nudge it along safely.

6. Etsy & threadless = best sites for shopping ever.

Okay you faithful RSS readers (whether it be to my blog, or anothers), I invite you to take a moment and post any “care to share” comments about you… YES YOU. If you don’t, at least think about yourself for the next moment– and NOT in the context of work.

Whether or not I know you, it’d be a nice moment, i think, to share some simple daily thoughts.

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