That's a Wrap! Digital Kids New York 2013
- By Sean Bryant
- Conferences
- February 26, 2013
If you blinked, you might have missed a little of the 7th Annual Digital Kids Conference. With Joi Podgorny and Richard Gottlieb running a tight ship, leading voices for online safety, digital marketing media directors and licensing professionals waited anxiously to speak and share their expertise over a quick but detailed two and half days. It is no wonder there is only one page left for notes in my binder.
Blogger Breakfast
Hosts of the Digital Kids Blogger Breakfast, Nancy Friedman and Rebecca Levey of KidzVuz started the week off with a bang. COPPA (pronounced KOHP/pah) was resonating in everyones ears. Laying the foundation, Inversoft’s CEO Brian Pontarelli shared his expertise on what exactly ‘Online Kids Safety’ entails. Denise Tayloe of PRIVO informed the unfamiliar on COPPA regulations for online providers, parents and most importantly, kids. A sound foundation to begin the week of events and panels.
Kids Safety Summit
kidSAFE Seal Founder and President Shai Samet presented multiple panels covering COPPA 2.0 changes and what that means for virtual worlds, social networks, online games and mobile apps. For those of you who missed it, one panel in particular, ‘Mobile Privacy Policy or Lawsuit’ started a crossfire of questions. If COPPA wants to prevent third parties from collecting information and advertising to kids 13 and below, what does that mean for push notifications? You could hear a pin drop.
Mark it on the calendar! COPPA 2.0 regulations take effect July 1, 2013.
Setting the Tone
You would think the kick-starter panelist, VP of Digital Brand Marketing for Hasbro, Victor Lee had his fair share of caffeine, but alas, not a drop. With high energy and years of marketing experience, Lee awoke the audience with a wealth of knowledge. What reason is there to pigeon hole a brand’s marketing effort in this fast paced, palm of the hand, data collecting consumer world? If you’re lucky, this consumer might give you 3 to 5 seconds of their time.“Quick, multifaceted, multitasking marketing platforms are necessary to stay up to speed and ahead of the competition these days.” ~ Lee
Bring in the Kids
Who really knows more about what kids want than kids themselves? Jori Clarke of KidsCom.com delighted the crowd by introducing a Q&A with leading minds within the industry: kids. With questions like: How many digital devices do you own? (One child said six!) What makes you want to buy rather than download free games? What issues do you have when playing with other user’s online? It was especially entertaining to find out that one child waited for her parent to file taxes before asking for additional allowance. Wish I would thought of that.
Words of Wisdom
Leading voice and community manager Izzy Neis brought a spark of passion to the stage. What does it mean to be a community manager? Kid community specialist, Calvin Ng of Apple Toon, Stacy Coleman of Fashion Playtes and our own CEO Brian Pontarelli shared their experiences and what they find necessary to engage, protect and drive online communities. A trend and key point on the tip of everyone’s tongue: engagement. Creating a community takes responsibility. Watching, learning, and growing with the online community is of the highest importance. Brands that wish to create more business need to engage and follow the user/consumer. Listen and learn.
“If you want to know what kids want, than eat lunch with them, join them on the playground and listen.”
~ Brad Powers of Cupcake Digital
Thank you to Christopher Sherman, Tim Williams, Tonda Seller and Bailey Bounds of Engage Digital for all their hard work and support for bringing Digital Kids New York together.
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