Free Realms: All that and the kitchen sink?

For most of the last decade the online gaming market has been
clearly divided between deep diversions for game-savvy adults like
World of Warcraft — which generally cost $15 a month — and cloying,
cutesy fare aimed at prepubescent children, especially girls, like Club
Penguin and Hello Kitty Online.
The sophistication in Free Realms
lies in how carefully it has been [...]

Hey Random Parents, Your kid WANTS to join!

The way BillMyParents works is that kids shop around for goods they want online and then click on the BillMyParents icon on the page to send payment requests to a participating parent. Then the parent decides whether to complete or deny the transaction. Kids can write little notes along with requests explaining why they want [...]

OMG YES! Cosbys re-uniting on the Today Show

Once upon a more active-bloggin’-time I wrote about my adoration for a certain TV family that (still) feels as close to me as my own…
THE COSBYS.
I’m so psyched they’re all going to be together. GUESS WHO IS DVR-ING next week?  Lolzers.
If you’d like to ask the Cosby family a question The Today Show (@todayshow) has [...]

Noteworthy: Virtual World Play

When toy companies talk about new toy products, there’s often a lot of discussion around a toy’s play patterns. What is it about the toy that resonates with a child? What play patterns will the toy tap into? Will the play pattern extend across age and gender differences?
Sometimes answering play pattern questions like these are [...]