johnporcaro: mktg@large

Your Kid Could Create the next Halo Game

Well, maybe not the next "Halo," but he or she could be well on their way to creating a fun PC or Xbox 360 game with Kodu, a free set of fun tools from Microsoft.  And for the competitive kids out there, there's real money up for grabs! 

From readwriteweb:

Microsoft is releasing a new version of its Kodu Game Lab today, and it's also kicking off its Kodu Cup Competition for students ages 9 to 17. The competition asks kids to design their own video game using Kodu, and the winners will compete for a $5000 prize for themselves, along with $5000 for their school and a trip to the worldwide finals of Microsoft's Imagine Cup competition.

Check out this short video with a brief introduction.  Then download the tools, and get playing!

 

Are Your Kids (almost) Ready for the Computer?

My kids are a bit older, but my youngest is just becoming curious about why her big sister and brothers are always "on the Internet."  She likes the time she spends on Spelling City.  Our older kids use IXL, and spend too much time watching The Annoying Orange or (the equally annoying) Fred on YouTube.  Could be worse, I guess.

Jenna Hatfield writes a weekly Technology Column for Mom Central, and offers a review of a site called Zoodles that might be the solution for your kids.  I'm going to set it up for mine, and see how they like it.

From the article Zoodles - fun, safe and educational gaming for kids

"The goal of Zoodles is to provide a safe place to play and learn online. They have created a kid-friendly browser that strips out things like URL bars and back buttons as well as the (accidental) ability to visit sites that aren't exactly kid appropriate. The browser then uses your parental settings and child's age information to pull interesting, educational and fun games from all over the net into what Zoodles calls a “playground” for your child. The games that are incorporated are based on your child's ability, whether they're advanced or behind for their age.

I recently made an account for my oldest son. I am pleased with the browser in a way I can't adequately describe. Previously I had installed bookmarks to his favorite (me-approved) sites on the top of his browser. The problem was that he could still go wherever he wanted, click on ads and occasionally mess up his own settings. I love that he can't do that with Zoodles. Furthermore, I'm enjoying the fact that I can make sure he's spending the majority of his time on reading-based games right now. We're working on reading skills right now and I love that we can use games to help us along. "

How do you make sure your kids are safe online?  What things should I watch out for with kids ages 8-14? 

Here’s What My Next Office Should Look Like

Mission Control, How PepsiCo tracks the Gatorade Community and Brand.  At Xbox, we had “the Cave.”  It almost was this cool. 

Xbox LIVE Announces $99 Family Pack Coming in November

Xbox LIVE announced today that they'll be rolling out a "Family Plan" for Xbox LIVE, starting in November.  Good new for families like mine with more than two of us with Xbox LIVE accounts. 

They're adding a few new features that make sense if you're a gamer.  According to Microsoft, an Xbox LIVE Gold Family Pack includes:

• Up to four individual Xbox LIVE Gold memberships for the price of two – (US) $99.99.
• Family Center – a single, easy to use, destination for Family Settings and account management, accessible on the Xbox dashboard and on Xbox.com.
• The primary account member has the ability to purchase and dispense Microsoft Points to other Xbox LIVE Gold Family Pack members.
• Activity monitoring reports viewable on Xbox.com to help encourage discussions about safer more balanced gaming and entertainment habits.
• Simplified billing that applies all purchase charges to the primary account holder’s billing account and the ability to authorize purchases, helping to manage the family’s entertainment budget.
• Exclusive family content and discounts.

Even though I don't work for Xbox currently, I do get discounted Xbox LIVE subscriptions as an Xbox alumni, through the Microsoft Company Store.  This family pack is still a good deal, can't wait to find out more about it, and give it a try this November. 

Did You Know? I Bet You Did...

Think we can keep up with our kids?  The world around us is changing.  Fast. The way we get information.  The way we share.  The way we stay in touch.  The way we define who we are.  What defines us in the first place. 

This video from The Economist says it all.  Are you drowning?  Surfing?  Or sailing?   

99 cent iPhone Games from EA, 48 hours only

You know that iPhone you carry around?  Ya, it's good for texting, browsing Facebook, keeping track of your kids, or finding your way around town.  But you KNOW you use it to play games.  And you are always handing it to one of your kids while you're driving around town or waiting in line at the hardware store. 

You know EA Mobile makes some of the best games.  My friend Andru Edwards from Gear Live tipped me off to a great sale going on from EA, for 48 hours only.  I just spent $17 on a bunch of great games...  :) 

 

From GearLive:

A note to all you iPhone and iPod touch gamers out there—Electronic Arts is currently running a massive sale on their most popular games for the iOS platform. Each title is selling for $0.99 for 48 hours only. We’ve got the full list of titles that are included in the sale below, but if you want a recommendation, Need for Speed Shift is one of the best driving games available, so 99 cents for that one is a no brainer. Here are all the rest—just click the links to see more info on each:

• COMMAND & CONQUER™ RED ALERT (was $6.99)
• FIFA 10 (was $4.99)
• MADDEN NFL 10 (was $6.99)
• Need for Speed Shift (was $6.99)
• Need For Speed Undercover (was $4.99)
• SimCity (was $2.99)
• Dragon’s Lair (was $4.99)
• JEWEL QUEST MYSTERIES: CURSE OF THE EMERALD TEAR (was $2.99)
• Trivial Pursuit (was $4.99)
• NBA Live (was $2.99)
• Tiger Woods PGA TOUR (was $2.99)
• BATTLESHIP (was $1.99)
• CONNECT 4 (was $2.99)
• Surviving High School (was $2.99)
• THE GAME OF LIFE Classic Edition (was $1.99)
• CLUE (was $1.99)
• YAHTZEE Adventures (was $2.99)

iCarly and Xbox Developer on Xbox 360 Kinect

I worked at Xbox until a few months ago, and got a chance to hear a lot about the development and marketing of Kinect, formerly called "Project Natal."  And I got a few chances to try it, though in a very raw form, and I was always excited to see how accurate--and fun--it is.  It's cool to see it getting closer to launch. 

My friend Kudo Tsunoda got to team up with iCarly (Miranda Cosgrove) and Jimmy Fallon to show off the current version, as they get ready for the release in November.  I can't wait to get hold of this for my kids!

Video Game Week: Microsoft Kinect Demo (6/21/2010).

I Upgraded my iPhone to iOS 4 Today

As a dad of four, my phone is my lifeline to the family.  And now that I’ve been using an iPhone 3Gs(for about six months), I’ve come to rely on being able to get text messages and calls all day.  While I was traveling, I found that I was using the RoadMate GPS on my phone a lot.  And every time a text came in, or I wanted to make a call, I had to quit out of the GPS app.  And a couple of times, I missed a turn in the wild maze-like roads of Boston.  And since I didn’t have a dash mount for it, it was really a pain to use both the GPS and the phone.  And I, uh, had to keep pulling over to use the device so I didn’t text and drive!

As a geeky dad, I knew that multi-tasking was coming to the iPhone, so a few weeks ago, I had to watch the Apple conference live, and couldn’t wait for the update to ship.  It’s June 21, and more than a few times since midnight last night, I checked for the update.  It finally appeared at about noon my time. 

Here’s my well-used iPhone 3Gs, complete with a Zaggskin I got as a review sample from Zagg.  They tell me this thing is made from scratch-proof patented film that delivers military grade invisibleSHIELD protection.  I like that it looks good, and doesn’t slip out of my hand.

So it turns out that iTunes wanted to take forever to download the file, maybe it’s because my PC isn’t a big fan of iTunes, maybe I just wasn’t patient enough and I quit about halfway twice, thinking iTunes was frozen (that happens a LOT).  Finally, on the third try, after 45-minutes or so, it reached 100% downloaded! 

I haven’t played with it too much, but overall, it was painless.  And multi-tasking is as simple as double-clicking the main button.  I can’t wait to play around with it more. 

I'm the DAD, THAT'S WHY

Dads get asked for a lot of things.  Allowance. Another bathroom break.  If they can sleep over, because mom said it's okay if you say it's okay, what the noise coming from the dryer is, what the noise coming from under the bed is, or why the sky is always grey in Seattle.  At least I do. 

So I thought it'd be interesting to start up a blog of recommendations, links, stories, suggestions, and experiences that I've being a dad of four fast-growing kids. 

I have the best kids there are.  Two daughters, ages eight and ten, and two sons, ages ten and 13.  And for those who are good at the "new math" they're teaching in elementary school, you're right, we have twins. 

Through these pages, you'll get to know them.  You'll get to know what they like.  You'll get to know what I like as a dad.  And you'll get a peek behind the curtain that divides guys like us with the people in companies trying to sell us stuff, as dads. 

Come along for the ride.  Let's help out each other.  And let's see if we can make it through the toughest job we have--no matter where we work--being a dad. 

Corporations and Web 2.0 Adoption

I just added CRM for Xbox and Games for Windows to my responsibilities (in addition to Online Community), so I'm in the mode of catching up--it's been a while!

Everyone I talk to about my new role as Director of Customer and Community Relationship Management (that's a mouthful, tell me if you think of something better!) is intrigued by the idea that social networking, blogging, influencer marketing, WOM can actually live side by side with CRM and "traditional" Marcom.  I've been describing it as the infusion of targeted content and the machine of CRM.  The biggest challenge in WOM is distribution and reach (especially when most corporations are using the toolkit of traditional advertising), and the biggest challenge of good customer messaging is targeted, relevant content.

One of the few newsletters I allow through my mile-wide firewall at work is the Harvard Business Publishing's email update.  Josh Bernoff published something I've been talking about with co-workers on our Global Marketing team--Why Web 2.0 Is No Bubble: Corporations Are Willing to Pay for It. 

I am talking about companies that serve corporate social application needs. ...in many of these companies, the technology itself is positively mundane. But the startups grow because they deliver value for which they can charge a premium and get customer loyalty. The customers of these companies don't defect when something shiny and new comes along, because they like the service they're getting."

Jeff also outlines a handful of companies that are building tools to help push-start efforts, and prove the ROI.  It includes my friend Sam Decker's company, Bazaarvoice, and others that are helping companies get their arms around making sense of this new space. 

Every company is--or should be--grappling with making sense of what this all means to their Integrated Marketing efforts.  Some will approach it using existing strategies and tools, with limited results.  Others will ignore it, to their peril.  Hopefully your company is going to stay ahead of the wave.  My prediction is that it's only going to be possible if you're paying attention to what's going on, hiring the right people, partnering with the right firms, and investing appropriately.