Category: kids

Posted in marketing, online community, Safety/Privacy, tween, virtual worlds, web business

Facebook and livestreaming tragedies

Posted on by Joi

Great NPR Marketplace story on the conundrum of “free speech” and expression on social media during these tense times and how to moderate content for brands and different audience consumption.

http://www.marketplace.org/2016/07/07/life/facebook-and-livestreaming-tragedies

On the conversations happening at Facebook in the aftermath of Philando Castile’s death:

I imagine there are conversations around content moderation. You know, how do we treat events like this? Should they be subject to the normal rules surrounding violence or is there some kind of special dispensation that should be created for videos about news events, or videos that depict injustice. I think it’s a very tough line to straddle. –Deepa Seetharaman, reporter covering Facebook and other social media at the Wall Street Journal

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Posted in kids, trends, tween

Celebrate: Family Dance Party Style!

Posted on by Joi

As I prepare to unplug and enjoy the US Holiday weekend, I thought I would share my new fav internet rabbit hole – I love Love LOVE the new trend of parent/child dances.

With all the polarity in our news of late, what a great way to disconnect and have fun with your kids!

Enjoy a sample of some of my favs here:

Happy 4th!

Posted in kids, online community, z personal

Social Good FTW

Posted on by Joi

Lately, in an effort to engage with my new home in Salt Lake City, I have been volunteering on local projects that take those international and large-scale skill sets I have developed and try to apply them in hyper-local situations:

Working towards safe and engaging audience communities online can feel detached at times, especially when you are working in the thousands or millions of users ranges.  I haven’t lost my desire to work on online projects, of course, but it’s great to be able to see those digital skill sets translate so easily into the offline space.

It’s nice to see the direct impact via work on the local level. I have met and been inspired by so many people in my new city and I am excited about the potential I see here.

Posted in gaming, kids, online community, tween, virtual worlds

Top 3 online safety tips for parents

Posted on by Joi

A dear friend of mine asked me on Facebook if I could share with her my “top 3 safety tips” she needed to know, now that her oldest was 7 and her youngest was fast approaching internet age.  While I could talk for hours on this topic, I think I came up with the 3 things that parents of young digital natives should think about as they brace themselves for the years ahead.

1. I would start with thinking what you want your family rules about internet to be.
– Are they allowed to download things to the computer/device? If so what/when?
– Are they allowed to talk to other people on sites, games, etc? If so, who and when should you know about it?
– Who is in charge of passwords – you or them?
– Do they really get what privacy means and why we keep our personal info to ourselves?

2. Think about setting up a transparent dialogue about tech and digital activities.
Casually talk about different sites, games, devices, etc so that it’s known that those things are under your watch, just like other offline toys, games & relationships.

3. Think honestly about your kids naiveté and innocence.
Are they on the younger/more doe-eyed side of that spectrum? If so, make sure they know not to trust everything they see on the internet.
Are they more street smart? Make sure you are having the early conversations about bullying and how you expect them to treat others, even when they can’t see the other person’s face.

Just like with all parenting – there is no silver bullet, but the earlier you start taking the benevolent authority role with digital, the more they will see you as a resource rather than an adversary.

kids-multitasking-multiple-devices

Posted in gaming, kids, marketing, online advertising, tween, web business

How to do this “kids entertainment thing” right

Posted on by Joi

I was on a panel at GDC this year called “Monetization of teens in a safe and legal way.”  I was joking before the panel that it sounded like “How to make money off of kids.”  Then I found out that it was QUITE the controversial session pre-conference.  If only I would have known, folks, I would have spiced it up a bit more. 😉

But in reality, that’s what all of us in kids entertainment are doing – making our living from figuring out ways to get kids to like our stuff and have their parents/caregivers pay for it.  

Sounds insidious, but we ARE in a capitalist society.  If you are going to pick something to make money off of, kids entertainment is a pretty fun choice for your own work happiness levels.  And it IS possible to do it in a non-sinister way, with high integrity and keeping an eye on your ethics.  It’s easy – just make games/cartoons/toys that don’t suck.  

LOL right? But really – make products that kids will love AND their parents will love.  Parents will be more prone to not mind paying for your product for their kids if it’s beautiful, fun and their kids like it.  Add a layer of learning in there and you are good as gold.  Make any of those factors superficial or not focus on it at all, you are going to start to see that revenue/profit fall.

Of course, you will have to make it legally and safely too.  But these should be pretty “Duh!” statements, right?

Legal – It is not difficult to comply with the regulations.  You will get fined or shut down if you are doing things illegally, so figure out what features trigger what laws (or hire someone who can help you), then decide whether to comply or remove the feature.  Easy as that.

Safe –  It’s also not hard to make your game or toy safe, either.  Figure it out.  If you can’t, seriously, don’t make it at all.  If you aren’t safe, or don’t have that as a priority, why are you making things for children in the first place?  There are tons of other demographics you can work with who are less concerned with safety being a priority.  Go there and make your money.  Please.  Leave the kids space to those of us who care and will continue to bend over backwards to keep the kids safe – not because we have to, but because we want to and we feel it’s the right thing to do.  

Bonus advice: 
Stop busting the balls of the person(s) on your team who are fighting for these things.  Thank them for being that person and having that drive.  Don’t make it a hostile environment for someone to bring up those sorts of concerns.  If they are bringing it up, chances are one of your audience will too at some point, so consider it a fortuitous heads up, not annoying nuisance.  

And give that person a raise too while you are at it (or at least buy them lunch sometime).  Most of those people fighting for the underdog aren’t making the big bucks, so a little goes a long way.  🙂

Posted in gaming, kids, marketing, online community, tween, web business

GeekDad interview

Posted on by Joi

Image

My colleague, Bill Shribman over at WGBH, interviewed me for GeekDad.com recently.
Here’s a snippet:

You threw my daughter out of Animal Jam when she was making plans to meet a friend for lunch, which I thought was a pretty impressive catch. She thought she had mistyped “duck.” What other kinds of behaviors or activities have you interrupted?

Thanks – I always love it when we can turn a discipline from the game into a positive parent interaction. As far as other behaviors/activities, where do I start? Obviously, for COPPA compliance, players trying to give out personal information is a very high priority – that’s addresses, emails, and phone numbers – but even Skype and other instant messaging usernames, FaceTime handles, and any other methods where players would be communicating outside of the game and potentially sharing that personal info.

While there is no law around it (which most parents are surprised to learn) we are also very diligent regarding inappropriate behavior and conversations, including cyber dating, drugs/alcohol, violence, vulgar language, cyberbullying and anything else we have deemed inappropriate to be associated with our brand and within the younger demographic we attract.

Read more here: At Least 17 Reasons Why Your Kid May Be Playing Animal Jam

Posted in kids, online community, tween

Safer Internet day 2014

Posted on by Joi

My dear friend and awe-inspiring colleague, Anne Collier from ConnectSafely.org, recently spearheaded the US Safer Internet Day event.  Along with a fun campaign called One Good Thing, where people sent in their multimedia good deeds or promises to help make the Internet a better place, she helped host an event in DC to celebrate the initiative.

And they taped it (yay!).  Here’s one of the videos, but check out the whole days coverage at their site.

Yep, that’s my big blonde head in the foreground of the audience… grumble…

Posted in gaming, kids, web business

New AJ Parent Connection video

Posted on by Joi

Here’s our newest Animal Jam Parent Connection video, detailing some of the ways my staff works to makes sure we are keeping all of our players safe, while encouraging an in-game culture of appropriate behavior.

(Don’t you just love the thumbnails Youtube chooses for you? 😐 )

Posted in kids, virtual worlds, web business

My Commitment to Kids Online Safety & Privacy

Posted on by Joi

I have spent years working for various children’s brands trying to make sure that every community I oversee cultivates a culture that encourages and promotes appropriate behavior online for child audiences, while offering resources for their parents.

I am so lucky to currently work for a brand that supports me in this personal and professional mission.  I am proud to show off our new parents page.  We have a robust vision for our parent outreach and this is just one of our first steps toward that vision.  Check out my second video highlighting some of the many ways we work to do this at Animal Jam.

Screen Shot 2013-08-14 at 10.28.52 PM

Posted in kids, tween

Izzy’s letter to her future Digital Native

Posted on by Joi

About a decade ago, a previous CEO with tendencies toward tyranny forced me to have lunch with one of our interns.  I was slammed, but she said it was a favor to her, which I was, at the time, collecting as currency.

So I begrudgingly went to lunch with a muppet named Izzy Neis.  A muppet who through the course of our lunch, endeared herself to me.  I spent the next handful of years trying to help her become a force in the kids online scene.

She has long since become said force in our industry (and then some) and has also become one of my best friends.  Her blog post today for MMS really made me remember why on both counts.

Read and learn. Then pass on this info to your own current or future children.

AN OPEN LETTER TO MY FUTURE CHILD WHO DOESN’T EXIST

  1. Duck lips: Don’t do it. Whatever the future version of “Instagram” is when you’re digitally active – avoid the duck lips at all costs, UNLESS you’re dressed like a duck.  It’s not cute, sweet heart, I don’t care what your friends do or say.
  2. Nudey pics: There’s a time and a place, and it’s when you’re a baby in the bathtub – and I promise, I won’t post those online (I’ll only show them to your future fian–oh god, I’m getting ahead of myself – where has the time gone? You’re not even born yet! *sob*).  We’ve all had our parents take those nudey bathtub pics, yes.  But that’s where it should end.  Don’t take nudey pics.
  3. Potty language: Just because your friends think its fun to curse and say rude things on Twitter doesn’t mean that it’s going to be fun for you when I see it.  And if you think you can hide a Twitter or Facebook account from me? Think again – you don’t know who your momma is…. I will stalk you until the ends of your days. Not a threat – a promise.
  4. Your behavior online is a reflection of me.  Straight up. Your actions online affect me, our family, my livelihood, and future meals on the table.  Not enough people explain this to their children – but it is the truth.  Even when you’re 40 years old, and I’m aging beautifully in my Squatter’s apartment on Main Street in Disney World (long story), your actions will reflect who I am, your aunt & uncle, your grandparents, your best friends, and our family name.  Have pride in us.
  5. Empathy & Understanding.  It’s hard growing up these days (or in the future days, which I don’t understand yet), particularly online where you can see inner thoughts of developing minds splashed across profiles and smart phone applications.  If you mess up, I will understand – as long as you help me understand. And that goes for your friends – if they mess up, forgive them and find a way to move forward.  There’s no such thing as “black & white” – ask for meaning and context, be curious and loving.  It’s the Muppet way.
  6. “Because I said so.” -> if I say this, I am sorry.  I’m tired or frustrated, and I need a moment.  Take a breath, maybe gimme a wee hug, and say “Momma, I don’t understand.” You will win a legit response every time.
  7. Getting into spats with peers / trolls / friends / siblings: They’re going to happen.  Remind me to tell you about Sweet Brown.  She has this lovely message that I’ve really taken to my heart.  Because, at the end of the day, getting hurt by someone else?  Yeah: “Ain’t nobody got time for that.”  We can discuss further over dinner.
  8. The exception: Bullies.  Bullies are bored, bothered, sad creatures who are missing a piece of themselves.  They strive to be cruel because they are not-whole.  If you’re being bullied, it’s because they see that you have that piece they are missing, and they’re jealous.  Bullies will always exist.  Bullies try to make you weak, and they’re difficult to vanquish, but when you do, you will gain 2x the strength, as long as you do it with respect and understanding.  I will help you.  I will help your friends.  Together we will be clever, strong, and we will remove the bully, or we will help the bully find his/her missing piece.
  9. Please remember how special you are.  It’s because you’re special that I ask you to keep parts of your “truth” private.  Privacy will always be an asset and always be a challenge.  The idea of a “stranger” online is still being defined.  The digital world allows for so many new interactions, and I never want to stifle your curiosity in other people, cultures, or ideals.  I just need you to understand that YOU have a responsibility of keeping yourself safe, and that entails quite a bit of cleverness on your part.  We must be like Clark Kent, and protect our identities in order to protect our families, friends, and our personal safety.  I will explain to you what “private information” is a thousand times, and you (via osmosis) will become an expert about safety and online behavior.  Sometimes, though, it will be easy to let your guard down and share with someone – talk to me if this happens.
  10. I’m sorry that I’m a horrible mom and won’t let you charge your smart phone in your room after lights-out.  I know I “suck” for not allowing a TV or a computer or a tablet or a laptop to exist as a feature in your bedroom.  It just ain’t gonna happen, dumpling.  Maybe when you’re 16 and can drive a (flying?) car, we’ll talk about it.  Until then: “Yes, I am a terrible mommola, and no, it’s not going to happen.”

Slow Clap, Izzy.  Can’t wait to meet my future niece/nephew.