Why Is Kids’ Software So Boring?

Published: May, 2004

Stay Tuned as the Next Generation Brings Excitement …if They’re Smart.

I’ve been writing about the kid’s software business for nearly 25 years, but not much has changed in the last 20 of those. Once upon a time software CDs held the promise of a new way to help kids learn. Today the software fits into two basic unchanging categories.

For the little kids there are those “cute-but-annoying” basic skills software. In this genre rabbits, birds and all sorts of Darwinian permutations present glorified interactive workbooks. Each time they do something correctly like match a shape, a letter or a number, they get a pep talk or digital prize.

Older kids get hormone-triggering games. At their tamest, these games have a sports theme. At the other end of the spectrum lie the games of death, mayhem and destruction. There are a few other genres for both ages: interactive books, creative software for making scrapbooks etc., but you get the idea. There’s not exactly an excess of riches.

The simple reason for this? Well, there’s an economic reason because it costs lots of money to try to develop great kids’ software — and a lot of trial and error. But a simpler reason is that so far software hasn’t tapped into the kinds of things kids really like to do. Kids haven’t changed. They like the same things that kids have always liked, and up until now, the technology platform wasn’t too good at giving them those things.

What’s the killer application for kids today? If you ask me, it’s Instant Messaging. Why? Because kids love to talk — on the phone, on email, and now, mixing the best of both worlds: the immediacy of the phone with the archivability of email.

What do kids like? They like to play in groups and meet up with each other — the idea of the lone gamer is only appealing to only a small subsection of kids. They like to stand up and be counted — that’s why websites, TV and other kids medium that use polls and votes have been fairly successful. They like taking tests (except for tests they give you in school). They like mystery. They like gadgets. They like role playing and make believe.

Let’s look at some of the ways these likes translate into new technology.

AN IMMERSIVE WORLD OF FUN WITH HELP FROM THEIR FAVORITE ADVERTISERS

Neopets.com (www.neopets.com) is home to 70 million — I kid you not, 70 million virtual pets that are the creations of kids all over the world. Kids design their these alien looking pets, with names like Mootix and Aisha, and select a few choice characteristics like their sex, and how they interact with strangers. A few others traits get dealt out by the random hand of the computer.

Then you’re off into Neoworlds, where you can play games, view stories, and build worlds that interact with other’s worlds. Most important, you earn shopping points.

Redemption of points is where Neopets gets interesting, if not downright alarming. NeoPoints are gained in all sorts of capitalistic ways — from building a store and selling things, to auctions, to signing up for advertising samples. Some shops are sponsored by other Neopet community members but others are sponsored by kid-favorites like McDonalds or Cocoa Puffs.

The creators call it Immersive Advertising — where the advertisers become part of the story– but some parents may find this an offensive violation of all the unwritten rules about blatant advertising to kids. Whether you like the advertising/capitalist tool component or not, this is what they call a sticky site — kids never want to leave it. They build their worlds and happily interact for hours.

INSTANT MESSAGING ON STEROIDS

If you’ve never seen instant messaging in the hands of a preteen or teen it’s time you took a look. If you haven’t looked at Instant Messaging recently, look again.

IM is primed to tap into a whole other level of communications — where talking to each other becomes a natural part of working and playing with each other.

MSN Messenger (messenger.msn.com) takes the basic functionality of Instant Messaging — where you can have a conversation with another IM’er in real time — and adds things like the ability to play games like Checkers or Bejeweled together. This may actually begin to wean kids from the mindless banter of messaging and foster new kinds of interactive communication.

Another element of MSN Messenger that’s appealing? It’s easy to create a personalized environment with your own photos, backgrounds, fonts and emoticons. Kids can share a controlled view of their lives with each other.

Then, there are all sorts of new ways to communicate with using IM, freed from the shackles of text-typing. Use a web cam for a video chat, use a microphone for a voice chat, send videos, photos or music files and do it all with the immediacy of instant messaging.

And you know that kids have already latched on to the idea of “away messages” — a little “out to lunch” message that tells their friends when and why they are unavailable. Best of all, whether they use AIM (AOL’s Instant Messaging , MSN’s Instant Messenger, or another, for the moment this is free. Every parent should try their hand and see how compelling this real time communication can be. Every educator should be thinking about compelling applications that take advantage of kids’ love for IMs.