Monthly Archives: May 2012

cc courtesy of deryckh on Flickr

What are your kids doing online, anyway?

. Kids & Tweens . , ,

My tech-savvy 12-year-old niece, Alice, lives across the ocean from her best friend, Lena, who moved to Hawaii last year. Alice and Lena use email and Skype to stay in touch in spite of the distance and an 8-hour time difference. 15 years ago they may have remained pen pals, exchanging letters every month or so, but now technology allows them to communicate faster, more often, and with more friends.

Today, most kids lead active online lives. Eighty-one percent of teenagers between 16 and 17 have a social networking account, and they use these sites to do more than just post pictures and status updates. For children like Alice, online activities impact friendships, education, and even future career prospects.

Continue reading →

cc image courtesy of woodleywonderworks on Flickr

Digital Charm School: Teaching your child netiquette

. Kids & Tweens, Opinion, Social Media, Uncategorized .

Name-calling. Hurt Feelings. These are some of the heartaches of childhood that we all experienced at some point. These days, with more kids online, these kinds of behaviors aren’t relegated to the schoolyard anymore. Heck, even some adults haven’t figured out how to be polite online yet! Here at PixyKids, we realize how important it is for you to have the tools to help your kids navigate this online world with the best etiquette — or netiquette — possible.


The Basics of Netiquette

The combination of the words “social network etiquette” form what we call “netiquette”, and it helps set some rules and boundaries for how we behave in our online world. While netiquette undergoes sometimes subtle — and sometimes less than subtle — changes along with each new incarnation of technology, there are some fundamental acceptable behaviors. Unsurprisingly, they are a lot of the same values and ideas our parents taught us, but in a new and more complicated context.
Your kids will find better social footing  by understanding some of the basic ways to stay sensitized to other people’s feelings online – a place that seems to be moving away from that concept more all the time. The potential to lose sight of the human factor in social media can be easy enough for adults, so it’s no wonder kids can fall prey to the same pitfalls involved with nearly instant communication.

Continue reading →

PixyKids

PixyKids Reveals 3D Avatar Plans, Announces Development Deal With Gaming Powerhouse, Frima Studio

. Press Releases . , ,


Will Unveil 3D Avatar App at Digital Kids Conference 2012

First Realistic Animation On Social Media Platform To Represent Kids’ Styles, Personalities, & Interests 

MENLO PARK, CA, April 25, 2012 – PixyKids (www.pixykids.com), an interactive and immersive social media platform where kids 6-12 can create, share, learn, and have fun through their personalized digital space, today announce their animation plans, including a partnership with Frima Studio, a world renowned and award-winning digital design, development and gaming company, and one of the fastest-growing companies in Canada.  Both companies will exhibit at the 6th annual Digital Kids Conference on April 25-26, 2012 in Los Angeles, CA, where they will unveil the PixyKids 3D Avatar App, offering the first realistic animation of kids’ authentic styles, personalities, and interests on a kids social media platform.
“We are thrilled about our partnership with Frima Studio and are excited to introduce the PixyKids 3D Avatar App for the first time,” said Rajul Kadakia, CEO and Co-Founder of PixyKids.  “We have been admirers of Frima’s work with leading digital, gaming, and entertainment brands.  The partnership pairs our vision to enable personalization as a digital expression of kids’ personalities, individual styles, and interests with Frima’s originality and expertise in creating engaging and realistic digital experiences. Our identifiable and customizable 3D avatars offer kids an animated way to express themselves on a digital canvas that evolves over time as they grow and their interests change.”  Continue reading →
cc image courtesy of smith on Flickr

Texting Grandma – How Connections Have Changed as Grandparents Have Become More Tech-Savvy

. Families, Kids & Tweens . , ,

At PixyKids, we love when kids use technology and their creativity to connect with others. Some of our favorite stories come from grandparents who are integral to their grandchildren’s lives, in part enabled by technology. Grandparents may be nervous about using digital technology as it changes so quickly, but more grandparents are becoming tech-savvy because chances to develop stronger relationships with the grandchildren are too good to pass up.

Changing World

Until recently, children who lived far from their grandparents might only get to see them during summer vacation or holiday celebrations. The rest of the year, a monthly phone call was normal. A recent study by AARP has shown how much this has changed. Today, over a quarter of grandparents use electronic forms of technology to communicate with at least one of their grandchildren every week. More than 50% of grandparents indicated that their furthest grandchild lives over one hundred miles away, and 61% of grandparents reported they feel they do not see their furthest grandchildren enough. Distance can be shortened with the world’s ever-advancing technologies: increasingly today, grandparents are finding new ways to connect with their grandchildren, through video chat or texting. Kids’ lives move so quickly that frequent contact keeps grandparents up-to-date on school, their friends, and sports games. Continue reading →