Carl Tyler's Blog

1 - I had a conversation with some parents of "webkinz kids". Webkinz is even more than "Facebook for little kids". It is a complete business model.

Kids want webkinz for the same reason they want lots of other toys. But That is about the extent of the similarity. A webkinz has a name and a profile and that is all done on-line. Kids want their webkinz's online persona to have a place to live, and cool stuff - ala SecondLife. To "buy" these things, kids play games - many have some amount of educational value. Thus far, parents are totally on board. Now the business begins. "online webkinz" can die. That is horrific to a child. Next, access to the webkinz site and your particular webkinz persona is only free for a year. So, assuming you have not killed your webkinz with lack of food, sleep, or other mismanagement, at the end of the year, you are locked out unless you parents pay to let you back in. You spend a whole year making you webkinz virtual life perfect only to have the door locked in your face. Kids have very powerful manipulation tools to wield against their parents - that is how they got their webkinz in the first place.

So you see, webkinz is a business model where the corporation pulls at the puppet stings of children who in turn pull at the purse strings of parents.

2 - Hey Carl,

I agree 100%. My daughter, who is 10, and all of her friends are on that site almost everyday. If we parents would let them they would be on even more. :)

Jack

3 - Ok, which vendor is going to give these away at Lotusphere 2009...