– Peter Griffin (Family Guy)

The advert that takes 30 seconds out of your precious gaming experience even before loading time, is it really important? Why can’t the game start right away like the good old days? These are a few questions that came in to my head a few years before I really understood the importance of in-game advertising. It’s true that it frustrates a casual gamer sitting in front of a screen eagerly waiting to play a new exciting game. ­­­If the gamers actually knew and understood the formula “Ad + waiting = money + gaming” it would all seems so simple. Money is the backbone of any industry, as well as the gaming industry.

(Photo courtesy of Microsoft Office)

A study commissioned by Blue Noodle Network (Formerly known as NeoEdge Networks) say that advertising within online games is more effective that TV advertising. [http://techcrunch.com/2009/03/24/study-in-game-video-advertising-trumps-tv-advertising-in-effectiveness/] One might say that studies such as this one may be favorably altered to suit the electronic games industry, but if you open your eyes to the world around you, it is evident that there is a rapid increase in advertising on games. Compared to the ad revenue of broadcasters this increase might not be much for a game developer. However, knowing that digital media is starting to make an impact on the big players in the product and services market, any developer would be happy about the future.

What I found most interesting was how digital marketing companies actually make an effort to not irritate their users by using innovative means to bring their brand into the limelight. Kiip Inc is a company moving away from the traditional banner ads and balancing advertising and gaming by providing a positive experience to gamers. When a player on a game that uses Kiip (pronounced “keep”), a message pops up saying that the person can also get a real-world reward—like a six-pack of soda free or a coupon for flowers on Mother’s Day. The person can redeem the reward then or later, or email it to someone else.

[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304231204576403403508609600.html] This is a novel idea which allows gamers to overcome their frustration of waiting for the adverts to conclude. We all like to see the light at the end of the tunnel, therefore if more developers include a couple of random freebies a day (from their sponsors) to random gamers, it will be a much pleasurable experience for many users. A “killing time” gamer or a recreational gamer might disagree with this novel concept. They might prefer the traditional branding which can be found within the game itself which lessens the probability of tarnishing the gaming experience. How does that relate to a new game developer who has to reprogram elements of his game to add a brand name to an already developed game?

A study by Nielsen Entertainment found that 69% of gamers could “recall the sponsor of instruction window. Further the gamers, unlike TV audiences, largely embraced in-game placements, finding that they increased the realism of the experience.” [http://www.imediaconnection.com/news/7467.asp]

You cannot please everybody. As long as the gameanity (gaming species-a new word which I created and draws inspiration from humanity) heads in a direction where developers receive enough funding to bring their blood sweat and tears to life; I’ll die a happy man.

The series features supposed best friends Kenny Hotz and Spencer Rice and chronicles their endeavours as they vie for victory in various challenges. The competitions they engage in are always ridiculous, such as “Who Can Lift More Weights With Their Genitals?” or “Who Do Black Guys Like More?”

In each episode, Spenny attempts to abide by the rules and morally do the right thing, however he becomes pretentious and arrogant in his self-righteousness. Meanwhile Kenny seeks discrepancies in the rules that will allow him to cheat yet is always a pleasant source of comic relief in contrast to the sometimes conceited Spenny.

Discounting moral codes and perceiving the show through the paradigm of ethics, one can ascertain conclusively that the tone Kenny adopts is in fact the more appropriate of the two, resulting in the audience’s revelation regarding a re-evaluation of one’s own morals while perhaps resolving to adhere more conscientiously to an established ethical frame.

Ian, kids' panellist

Ian’s bio

Age: 17
Role Model: Pauly D.
Subject: Music
Favourite Technology: Stereo systems
Favourite Website: Wikipedia
Favourite Movie: Apocalypse Now
Favourite Artist: Grateful Dead
Favourite TV Show: Kenny vs. Spenny

(Photo courtesy of Michelle Cain)

As an early childhood educator, I often find myself defending my love for kid’s media and my belief in its educational potential.  While I
have read about the negative impact that too much or poor quality programming can have on the developing child, I have also witnessed children learning through television and digital games. I have also read about the positive influence that media can have when time, knowledge and care are given to its development. Identifying quality educational media can be quite the challenge, especially with the amount of content that continues to flood the market. A search for “kids educational” in the iTunes store alone can leave you overwhelmed with the 10,000+ apps available. For those who are committed to the identification and development of quality educational media, understanding the important role that applied and evaluative research can play is an invaluable tool.

Research as a Tool

 1. Laying a Foundation

Before an idea is even born you can prime the development of quality educational media by having a knowledge base of existing research and an understanding of how it has informed what already exists in the children’s media space. The Children’s Television Community edited by J. Alison Bryant and the Handbook of Children’s Media edited by Dorothy and Jerome Singer are just two of the great books available. Foundations like the Joan Ganz Cooney Center and Fred Rogers Center, and broadcasters like TVOKids and PBSKids can also be extremely useful in gaining understanding as well as in helping you keep abreast of ongoing developments.

2. Informing Development

The majority of research conducted on children’s media is formative research and occurs during the development stage, sometimes even before any game code is written or television production for a series has even begun. While the term focus group often comes to mind when thinking about formative research – all types of methodologies can be used including: group and individual interviews; phone, online and written surveys; clinical interviews; and observations – conducted in either a research or natural environment (home, childcare, school, playground, etc.).

(Photo courtesy of Microsoft Images)

3. Reflecting and Evaluating

As digital media continues to find its way into formal education and as parents, educators and media advocates continue to speak out – there is no doubt that the body of existing research will continue to grow – providing much needed evidence to the argument about the wonderful learning potential of digital media.

Bryant, A. J., ed. The Children’s Television Community.  New York, NY: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2010.

 Singer, D. G. and Singer, J. L. eds. Handbook of Children and the Media. California, USA: Sage Publications Inc., 2012.

 TPecora, N., Murray, J. P., and Wartella, E. A., eds. Children and Television: Fifty Years of Research. New Jersey, USA: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2007.

The Tween Demographic   

(Photo courtesy of Getty Images)

The definition of a “tween” market (ages 8 to 12) has changed the advertising landscape as we know it. Danielle Hulan, in her study of branding and tween identity, writes that this vulnerable generation has been “raised by a commodity culture from the cradle [… their] dependably fragile self-images and their need to belong to groups are perfect qualities for advertisers to exploit” (Quart, cited in Hulan, 2007). In fact, many corporations hire the expertise of market research companies like Look-Look to hunt for the next “cool thing.” The marketing of “cool” forces tweens to grow up quickly. Industry research reveals that children 11 and older don’t consider themselves children anymore. The Toy Manufacturers of America has changed their target market from birth to 14, to birth to ten years of age. By treating tweens as independent, mature consumers, marketers are essentially erasing the parents from the picture.

Empowerment or Imprisonment?

            Erika Shaker says we might be missing the positive side of marketing with excessive concerns in policing kids’ preferences. Could we be potentially limiting their choices and depriving them of the chance to decide freely? Shaker argues that kids know what they want.  It is the duty of advertisers to listen, to give kids what they want and what they will buy. She adds: “This is a $1.8 billion a year market…That’s not small potatoes.”

(Photo courtesy of Getty Images)

We are told that young people are cool, that they are savvy and aware. While this may be true, the reality is when you take the parents out of the equation, you leave tweens vulnerable to unhealthy messages about body image, sexuality and relationships. Corporations capitalize on the insecurities and self-doubts of tweens by making them believe that to be considered cool, you need their products. It’s even more pronounced nowadays when marketing to tweens extends beyond television and the Internet into what Chester and Montgomery label as an expanding digital media culture. They believe the new “marketing ecosystem” involving cellphones, mobile music devices, instant messaging, and videogames is fundamentally transforming how corporations sell to young people, by its sheer ubiquity.

With marketing pressures continually growing, who acts as gatekeepers to help ensure that the youth is protected? Parents/guardians, advertisers, policy makers and other stakeholders all have the   responsibility to protect children from being brainwashed into by the hype that goes into the advertising and marketing of consumer products. We need to educate our youth to be discerning consumers of media. Parents must be actively involved in discussing these issues with their children. They must challenge the materialistic values promoted in the media.  Through education comes empowerment.

(Photo courtesy of The Age

I sit at my computer, in my living room. The TV is on, Facebook is open, messages are chiming and a bouncing icon is telling me I have unread mail. I would love nothing better than to sit here uninterrupted and write this blog, but the realities of digital media are allowing me to fall victim to the media multitasking phenomenon.

Mixed messages

 I am a full-time student and the full-time Mom of two young boys. My daily juggle includes multiple demands for my attention. So, I multitask. I cook dinner, answer emails, and help

with homework. What is this teaching my kids? That it’s okay to do three things at the same time? If my son were playing his Nintendo DS while doing his homework, I would be scolding him to focus on the most important task. So why don’t I practice what I preach? Am I one of those, “do what I say, not what I do, moms?”

The rapid evolution of digital media and its’ portability is the driving force behind media multitasking. The era of the mono-media environment is over. We get current information instantly, at the touch of a brightly coloured, beautifully designed icon.

So what is this constant online, always available status teaching our kids? That we don’t need time to be alone, to think, or wonder? What about our ability to really communicate?   
An article by Stacey Hanke points out how insulated and protected we have become by these devices, “If you become overly dependent on e-mail or text messages, you focus on the object, but not the person. As a result, you become uncomfortable communicating face to face. Tweets, text messages, email, and Facebook posts all transmit words over distances so they can be received without the sender’s presence. The human element and context are absent.”

No mental break for your brain

An article in ScienceDaily claims that when placed in a room containing a television and a computer and given a half hour to use either device, people on average switched their eyes back and forth between TV and computer a staggering 120 times — nearly once every 14 seconds. With so much digital stimuli surrounding youth today, it seems nearly impossible for them not to multitask. Kids need moments of peace and quiet. They don’t need every moment of the day to be filled. In fact, some parenting experts argue that we do our kids a disservice by not giving them the “gift of boredom.” An excerpt from Simplicity Parenting says, “Think of boredom as a ‘gift.’ … boredom is often the precursor to creativity. We need to give our kids the gift of down time and yes, even boredom. When we give our kids those seemingly “empty” spaces of time, creativity and imagination have room to grow and flourish.”

(Photo courtesy of Microsoft Office)

How not to raise a multitasker junkie

 Master the skill and harness the power! I think we need effective strategies for kids today. Kids are smart, but let’s make them smarter! They need us to help them organize and manage information so they can improve their productivity and develop more intentional media use. I think we should either make it a priority to teach kids how not to media multitask in a learning situation, or make it a part of their learning environment. Teach them how and when to use it. Schools may have to leverage media multitasking technology to achieve a better mix between direct instruction and media-rich, student-driven learning. Then, make it part of the curriculum and assessment.. ..No doubt we could all use a little help leveraging media.

Did you multitask while reading this blog? Share your thoughts.

1. Stacey Hanke, Owner, 1st Impression Consulting, Inc.

http://trainingmag.com/article/lost-art-face-face-communication

2. ScienceDaily: News Media Multitasking Is Really Multi-Distracting

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110502084444.htm

3. Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids By Kim John Payne, Lisa M. Ross

Why it isn’t cool:
First of all, it’s not going to be called PlayStation 4 or PS4. The name they are giving the system is ORBIS. I think it is a bad decision since they’re breaking a long line of traditional names that all have PlayStation (PS) in it: PS1, PS2, PSP, PS3, PSPGO, PS VITA. So as you can see, calling this new device ORBIS doesn’t make sense.

But he technical stuff in the new system is even worse. First, it can’t play PS3 games, which means it won’t be backwards compatible. This is a big issue because consumers really like to play old games and have something to play before their next favorite game comes out on the new system. Secondly, they made a huge mistake with the new ORBIS system because it can’t play used games. In my family my parents are a little stingy when it comes to buying games. My dad is not going to buy a $70 game when he could get a used one for half the price on Kijiji. It’s also unfair to kids who are the biggest game consumers — and it means we will be buying fewer games. This is going to be a big problem for me if I decide to get the system.

Sony plans to release this item at holiday time in 2013.

Is it entertaining, educational or a little of both?
I think it is mostly entertaining because it is a gaming system, but I think it can be a little educational too because you could have some educational games on it.

I think it is going to have a whole new look and it is going to have many new features. Also a feature that I hope they will bring in the ORBIS is something like the XBOX Kinect because that was one of the bestselling items ever and if it can combine with one of the bestselling systems it could be phenomenal.

Bilal’s bio

Bilal, kids' panellist

Age: 14
Role Model: Steve Jobs
Favourite School Subject: Science and Gym
Media Interests:

• iPhone applications (N.O.V.A 2, Angry Birds , Fruit Ninja, Jet Pack, Ninjump)
• Websites (Mangastream, IGN, Youtube, y8, miniclip, Yahoo! mail)
• Computer applications (Photoshop, Sony Vegas, Windows Movie Maker, Prism)
• Books (The Inheritance Cycle, The Percy Jackson Series, The Kane Chronicles, The Heroes of Olympus)
• Movies (Warrior, the Bourne series, Green Zone, Gulliver’s Travels, Marvel movies, action movies)
• TV (Naruto, Bleach, cartoons, YTV, Family, Teletoon, CBC)
• Video games (MW3, MW2, MW, Black Ops, God of War series, Gears of War series, Batman Arkham City, Need For Speed, shooting games, PS3)

(Photo courtesy of Dueling Analogs)

Girl gamers carry a stigma in society; they’re girls who like ‘boy things’ (video games and sports). The genre needs to be revamped into a place where girls can play games designed *shock* FOR GIRLS. It’s time to revolutionize the market. So why is the market this way? And what can we do to start changing it?

Why are games this way?

The most obvious reason? The first generation of video games was developed by men! At that time, a girl who played video games was a figment of a nerd’s imagination. To be fair, the original games, such as Donkey Kong and Pacman, were not open to a lot of narratives and well-developed characters. When games did start to become story-based, they were designed by the same people. Frequently, they drew on the oldest story in the book; The Princess in the castle – Save the Princess! The female characters were written based on social constructionism; the idea that society generates our concepts of gender roles.

Why is it important to have games for girls?

The men who developed those video games created icons for boys to look up to. They were often friends, and even role models. They allowed their demographic, which they created in their own image, *AHEM*, to identify with the characters. It didn’t mean that every boy wanted to be a hefty, Italian plumber, but they could be a HERO.

It’s time for girls to be treated the same way. Girls don’t want to be Princess Peach anymore. Yes it’s easier to make a game for young girls, instead of young women, and many games geared towards a female audience tend to be childish. But that’s got to change

What kind of games do girls play?

There are games dedicated to a female demographic. There are games with female protagonists. However, these female protagonists either fall into stereotypical gender roles (Cooking Mama and Diner Dash) or are overblown sex symbols (Lara Croft). The last type of ‘girl game’ takes existing properties (Barbie) and creates a new world for them.

(Photo courtesy of Microsoft Office)

So what happens if girls don’t want to be Princess Peach – girls end up playing the same games as boys! Girls who want to play more serious video games play the “boy’s” games anyways. The problem is, something needs to make the market more inviting to other girls, to encourage girls from outside the gaming genre to join in. The above mentioned games allow girls to test the waters of the video game world, but many are not stimulating enough to encourage them to jump into the genre headfirst.

Back to Barbie

The first step we’ve seen towards approaching the girl’s market – [which is a whopping 46% of game purchasers[1]] – is taking what already exists and putting a spin on it; putting a female avatar on a male property, or a masculine twist on a female property. The first one that comes to mind is [Zombie Killing Barbie[2]] designed by [Sarah Anne Langton[3]]. It’s not a real product, but it’s creating quite a stir in the online community.

Most importantly, game developers make male-targeted games because they will always be the top sellers. “If girls want to be recognized as an intelligent audience, instead of just a demographic they need to start speaking in a voice that the capitalist market can understand – with their wallets.” For the source of this quote and more information about gaming and girls visit [“Girls and Video Games: A Feminist Look at the Video Game Industry”[4]] by [Daigo787[5]].

Why it’s cool!
All of my friends and cousins, young and old, are playing Temple Run!

It is a very addictive game and everyone can enjoy the adventure by running, jumping, turning and even lying down.

The sound effects are exciting, but the monkeys can get a bit annoying.

The object of the game is to collect as many coins as possible by outrunning the monkeys and not dying.

Is it entertaining, educational or a little of both?
Temple Run is both educational and entertaining.

It is educational because you have to think quickly and make decisions so that you don’t fall into the water, avoid the burping monkey, crash into the walls or run into the trees.

It is entertaining because it keeps you interested and you want to continue to beat your high score. Also, you get to buy power-ups, lives and other cool stuff by collecting coins while playing Temple Run.

I like it because you can also change characters in the game. The girl with the red hair is my favourite character.

Salmah’s bio

Salmah, kids' panellist

Age: 7
Role Model: Grade 1 Teacher, Andria Lepcha
Favourite School Subject: Art and Gym
Media Interests:

• iPhone applications (Monopoly Hotels, Jetpack, Fruit Ninja, Angry Birds, Cut the Rope)
• Websites (Bitstrips, Starfall, Club Penguin, Crayola, Moshi Monsters, WeeWorld, Pixie Hollow, Barbie.com, Steve Spangler’s science videos on YouTube)
• Computer applications (Tux Paint)
• Books (The Missing Piece, The Missing Piece Meets the Big O, Green Eggs & Ham, Pinkalicious, Robert Munsch books, Flat Stanley series, Thea Stilton series)
• Movies (The Tooth Fairy, Tangled, Alvin & the Chipmunks, Despicable Me, Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue, Garfield 1 & 2)
• TV (Treehouse/YTV, Sponge Bob, Mister Maker, Amazing Race, Project Runway, Raptors TV, NFL, Disney Junior, Phineas & Ferb)

Profile

Q&A

Profile

Q&A