Is it the Barbiepod? She has just as many outfits as the Barbie your mom knew and loved, but she's probably more appealing to the little female digital natives running around your house. Because she's a music player, and when her feet are plugged into the docking station, "she unlocks pages and pages of games, virtual shops and online chatting functions on the BarbieGirls.com Web site," the New … [Read more...] about MP3 Barbie
kids
Recommended kid communities
Izzy Neis has done parents a real service in publishing her list of about two dozen "Worthy Kid/Tween Communities" (emphasis on "community," she posted in our forum, ConnectSafely.org). "Community" is important because tweens and lots of kids like socializing online as much teens do, but they're too young for places like Facebook, Bebo, and MySpace. So it's good to know what the age-appropriate … [Read more...] about Recommended kid communities
Kids’ ed sites back in vogue?
I feel like I’m back in Web 1.0, the downloadable, professionally-produced-content Web, when I read about educational sites for kids in the tech news media. They’ve been around for a long time, but they certainly haven’t been in the news. I guess what’s new is that the focus really is now shifting from textbooks and educational software to educational Web sites kids can interact with. For example, … [Read more...] about Kids’ ed sites back in vogue?
Outfitting their penguins
Some kids and tweens are obsessed with the virtual care, feeding, outfitting of their penguins, Webkinz, Neopets, etc. – not to mention furnishing their igloos and other spaces. In many cases, kids just have to amass points by playing lots of games in these sites, in which case the “cost” is screen time, a lack of healthy, active outdoor time, and something marketers aim for: serious brand loyalty … [Read more...] about Outfitting their penguins
‘Growing up in public’
Interest in youth’s limited interest in privacy (except where parents are concerned) is growing, and commentaries are multiplying. “The future belongs to the uninhibited,” suggested New York magazine (see this in NetFamilyNews). Across the pond, The Telegraph reported that, for today’s online youth, closeness, intimacy, the sharing of secrets is distributed rather than individual and private (see … [Read more...] about ‘Growing up in public’