Webkinz
This past Christmas, I have borne witness to a fascinating phenomenon. It shouldn't seem strange to me because, as messiah has mentioned, today's children are natives of the digital age. If you've got a kid who is 16 or younger, then they never lived in a world where the Internet was not a commercially available service. The oldest of these kids were probably not entirely aware that the Internet was once the denizen of geeks and nerds, the social pariahs who found they communicated better via keyboards than speaking face-to-face. Now the Internet has become the popular hangout. The communication tools that were once the pride of the social outcast are now in the hands of those who cast him or her out.
It was meant to be. Al Gore did not invent the Internet, but he did have a vision of the power behind it. He coined the term "Information Superhighway". He pushed the politics to turn a military and academic project that connected four western U.S. universities in 1969 as a means to allow communication to survive a nuclear war into a means for commercial and personal transactions to occur in such a way that transcend borders and have created cultures unto themselves. Anyone can send e-mail, share videos, play games, spread information using this wonderful technology. And the demand to bring it to the masses has created a demand to make it easy to use.
If you haven't heard of Webkinz, allow me to describe them. Webkinz are stuffed animals intended for small children. Each Webkinz animal comes with a tag. On the tag is a code. If you go to the Webkinz website, create an account, and enter the code, your stuffed animal has an avatar on the website. You can play games and earn points for your animal to dress him or her up in cute accessories, or purchase things for its room. You can communicate with other Webkinz owners. A child as young as 4 (that I've seen) can easily log in to the site and play with the digital representations of their toys. It was amazing. Especially that wonderful behavior of the Internet subculture: paranoia. It's a toy and I didn't see an exchange of any personal information, but they still took all of the steps: don't share your Webkinz code with anyone. This code can only be used once. Please enter the letters you see on the screen to finalize the "adoption" of your Webkinz "pet". It had word verification running! Are gangs of pre-teen script-kiddies signing up random Webkinz code values to "steal" the avatars from the legit Webkinz owners? If so ... why!?
But that's a matter of business practices. There is, of course, a problem with being a technology native, as messiah has pointed out. I witnessed these children attempting to play with their new toys on the Internet. On Christmas Day. When hundreds of thousands of other children probably had their hands on their own new Webkinz toys. If you know a thing or two about technology and servers, you can imagine that this may put a strain on the Webkinz site. Sure enough, the tykes would get messages saying that they couldn't log in. Once in, they experienced lag and getting logged off. It was very frustrating for them. Are all of these children, these digital age natives who are so adept at working the mysterious boxes called computers, truly capable? Or have the immigrants worked to make the digital world a better place for their children and, in doing so, hidden so much of the inner workings that they don't truly know what happens?
I'll admit that 4 years old is a bit young to take into consideration the idea that servers can only handle so much of a load and that a company like Webkinz cannot possibly operate a real-time test environment for such a load. However, I know that digital age natives of all ages will click on the "Play Now!" button and say "why is it taking so long? I want it now!" Meanwhile, they will ask the digital immigrants to help them with their "Internet troubles."
I'm getting old and crotchety.
It was meant to be. Al Gore did not invent the Internet, but he did have a vision of the power behind it. He coined the term "Information Superhighway". He pushed the politics to turn a military and academic project that connected four western U.S. universities in 1969 as a means to allow communication to survive a nuclear war into a means for commercial and personal transactions to occur in such a way that transcend borders and have created cultures unto themselves. Anyone can send e-mail, share videos, play games, spread information using this wonderful technology. And the demand to bring it to the masses has created a demand to make it easy to use.
If you haven't heard of Webkinz, allow me to describe them. Webkinz are stuffed animals intended for small children. Each Webkinz animal comes with a tag. On the tag is a code. If you go to the Webkinz website, create an account, and enter the code, your stuffed animal has an avatar on the website. You can play games and earn points for your animal to dress him or her up in cute accessories, or purchase things for its room. You can communicate with other Webkinz owners. A child as young as 4 (that I've seen) can easily log in to the site and play with the digital representations of their toys. It was amazing. Especially that wonderful behavior of the Internet subculture: paranoia. It's a toy and I didn't see an exchange of any personal information, but they still took all of the steps: don't share your Webkinz code with anyone. This code can only be used once. Please enter the letters you see on the screen to finalize the "adoption" of your Webkinz "pet". It had word verification running! Are gangs of pre-teen script-kiddies signing up random Webkinz code values to "steal" the avatars from the legit Webkinz owners? If so ... why!?
But that's a matter of business practices. There is, of course, a problem with being a technology native, as messiah has pointed out. I witnessed these children attempting to play with their new toys on the Internet. On Christmas Day. When hundreds of thousands of other children probably had their hands on their own new Webkinz toys. If you know a thing or two about technology and servers, you can imagine that this may put a strain on the Webkinz site. Sure enough, the tykes would get messages saying that they couldn't log in. Once in, they experienced lag and getting logged off. It was very frustrating for them. Are all of these children, these digital age natives who are so adept at working the mysterious boxes called computers, truly capable? Or have the immigrants worked to make the digital world a better place for their children and, in doing so, hidden so much of the inner workings that they don't truly know what happens?
I'll admit that 4 years old is a bit young to take into consideration the idea that servers can only handle so much of a load and that a company like Webkinz cannot possibly operate a real-time test environment for such a load. However, I know that digital age natives of all ages will click on the "Play Now!" button and say "why is it taking so long? I want it now!" Meanwhile, they will ask the digital immigrants to help them with their "Internet troubles."
I'm getting old and crotchety.
posted by Doug Murata at 5:34 PM
9 Comments:
If ever anyone has been sold a bill of goods, it's people who pay real money for a toy that exists in theory and streams of code on the internet.
But it just goes to show that if you come up with one good idea, you can show it to everyone in the world with this medium. And they just might throw scads of cash at you. And you don't even have to produce something. It's electrons given a sequence. I love that part of it.
First time commenter, but I see we both love FF music. My cellphone alarm wakes me up every day to the tune of "Battle with Zeromus". Those rising trumpet notes will wake you up in a hurry, let me tell you. My Christmas day post has a little echo of the game, too, "and grieve that no other way exists". Brilliant stuff, those games.
eric1313: I almost entirely agree with you. The most extreme point I can think about would be the MMORPG moneychangers. Using money to buy "gold" or "gil" or whatever instead of "earning" it in the game seems to be an absurdity that defies logic. To literally kill someone because you've lost some virtual item in a video game is almost unthinkable. And yet these things do happen.
However, you did say "And you don't even have to produce something." As an IT employee, it is my solemn duty to take offense to that! I have deadlines, dammit! :Þ
And yet, you're right. I only have to make one, and the computer can copy as many as I need. With distribution moving more and more towards digital delivery, we technically don't need CDs or DVDs for the installation of applications anymore. (I know this is what you were really saying!)
Battle with Zeromus... Yes, I can see how that would wake you in a hurry! I have a tendency to listen to the battle theme for FF VII while driving, and Celtic Moon from FF IV when I want to relax. My wife can tell when I come home because she can hear someone whistling Orgel of Water from FF CC! They're good games that tend to run the gamut of emotions.
I realize that I am too stupid to read your blogs!!!! You are so smart and informative.
Thanks,
SSC
SSC: Smart and informative!? Moi? Surely you jest! I wouldn't deign to say that anyone is truly too stupid for anything. Perhaps ... "Not interested in the subject matter."
What can I say? We're human. We have likes and dislikes. As fascinating as political science can be to some people, I just don't see the attraction. Likewise, I think that operating system design and database theory are interesting topics, but to other people it's utter gibberish.
Are we stupid just because we don't care to waste our mental capacity for things that don't interest us? I don't think so. People that don't have a head for math may prefer to seek out the culture of the arts, or perhaps influence the world of fashion. Those of us who are fashionably challanged may think that the rules of sports are more important. If sports aren't your thing, perhaps it's physics. All of these realms have contributions to society. They help to improve our way of life, our understanding of the world, and our cultural definition.
Please don't claim to be too stupid to read my blog. You have much to contribute to the world, and I don't like to think of those contributors as being stupid!
ooohhh...
Sorry to step on your toes there.
Yes, the programing part... I guess that laymen like myself will always take that side for granted. Definitely did not mean to offend on that part.
Me? I'm lucky I can copy and paste a URL!
My friend Fred did almost kill someone for logging onto his Evercrack II game and stealing some uber-powerful magic vestment made just for a dark elf chosen lich--such as Fred's character was. The other guy just wanted it because it was one of the most expensive things in the game. He was a knight with no use for it.
I love the whole FF series. I have a snes emulator just so I can play them. And occasionally, I still do. I also dig Chronotrigger. That was a sweet game. Chrono Cross, not so much, but still it was fun.
Yes, Lunar Splendor and the main theme of FFIII are both relaxing to me. I have a copy of a symphony orchestra doing seventy minutes of FF music. And as a poet, I think the Mysidian Legend is one of my favorite pieces of art, definitely the best poem in a video game.
eric1313: I can see how it's easy to forget the programming part. Also, in the grand scheme of things, much less is produced in the arena of software than most other sold goods. I just write it once and it gets produced thousands of times over! If I were to make a chair, I couldn't easily distribute it to hundreds of people. There is a difference. I wouldn't worry about my toes if I were you!
Nowadays, I suppose I could snipe at the written word as being just as easily "mass produced" as software. However, that wasn't always the case, (software being a creature that began its existance within the digital world, while writing has moved in and taken up residence,) and I feel it takes a truly creative mind to write something inspiring (yes, I have read your blog. I find your's to be a very creative mind!)
For years I wanted to have a fast enough internet connection to play MMORPGs, but now that I have one, I've found that I've lost interest. I must admit that I'm happy to discover that that's the case. To see that people get so worked up over them and have devoted so much of their lives into them, I've lost my desire to taste it. Your friend's experience, as well as stories of similar experiences have taught me that I want no part in it.
I think the reason is that I don't think you experience the same quality of story as those told in FF. People are there for the social aspect and not for the role playing. As a result, you have a bunch of "noobs" grinding through their levels without appreciating the gameplay. I must say that I much prefer the storytelling, the music, the writing of the FF series.
I must have acquired Chrono Trigger three times over! The original SNES game, then I downloaded it for ZSNES, then I purchased the PS version! Such a wonderful game!
Holy mother of god.
I was playing with toy cars at 4 years old. The thought of operating any kind of machine terrified me - even meccano
Ultra: Yeah. I think I was eagerly choking down Lego at that tender young age. (OK, maybe not Lego. Perhaps Lincoln Logs. Those were much bigger and more difficult to put into one's mouth. I don't suppose there's a market for log cabin based building blocks in the United Kingdom?)
All electronic equipment was the domain of my father until I was 15 and got my first PC. (I'm not counting video game systems because I never knew how to hook them up!)
Lincoln log? Log cabin based assembly? Why did this not take off in the U.K.?
We had stickle bricks. These were bigger than lego bricks too, but they had a lots of very thin, closely packed plastic rods as an adjoining mechanism rather than the lego circular mounts.
Post a Comment
<< Home