Virtually socializing everyone
So it seems now, that the introduction of the basics of social networking, web 2.0, and virtual play is occurring to younger and younger children. The advent of Webkinz, and now Myepets has seen legions of adults and some children marching off to the stores to buy plush stuffed animals, which come with an online access code to get into their respective virtual worlds. In fact I know of many kids that have several duplicate (identical) stuffed pets and don’t care because in the virtual world where they play each pet has its own identity. These toys are most popular in the 5-9 year old crowd.
It is also a truly brilliant marketing product. The margins are huge. The toys codes cost $9.99 - $29 each. It is an ideal way to begin to program children’s expectations. They learn about virtual worlds, and about spending real money for virtual things, and most importantly with the limited P2P communication, it is an introduction to web 2.0 in a safe manner. The implications of this on our market are huge as well. These children will be ‘moving up’ in the social networking world in the next 5 -7 years, and will expect extremely sophisticated and dynamic platforms to work with.
21 Aug
Comment by Richard Derks at 2:12 am, August 22nd, 2007