Posts filed under ‘PlumbBrain’
iPhone Mom Reviews PlumbBrain Guardian
Heather Leister, better known as the iPhone Mom, reviews iPhone apps for other moms. She is also an expert contributor on Momtastic.com, a site that provides answers, support, ideas and inspiration for moms. Her 2010 Top 50 iPhone Apps for Mom’s was a hit on Babble.com, a website for the new generation parent.
Needless to say, we were ecstatic when the iPhone Mom chose to review PlumbBrain Guardian last week.
In her review, she stated that she was impressed with PlumbBrain Guardian’s key features of storing information about your child in their profile and simplifying the process of alerting emergency personnel should your child go missing.
But, she went on to say…..”This is all extremely helpful and important but the next feature is what made me think PlumbBrain Guardian is really onto something. If you’re like me you would install this app on your phone, add the photographs and then forget about it. Hoping I’d never need to use it and so never going back to update the information. Should something happen years later the only picture I would have of my fifteen year old daughter would be a photo from when she was eleven.”
“PlumbBrain has thought about people like me and they have built alerts into their app. When you setup your account you may schedule alerts that will remind you to update your children’s photos. Reminders can be set as frequently as weekdays, weekly, monthly or annually. This is a fantastic feature!”
How could we have asked for more than to be in the IPhone Mom’s “Hope I Never Have To Use Them” category??!! “I have several apps on my iPhone that fall into the category of “Hope I NEVER have to use them but I’m VERY glad I have them” and PlumbBrain Guardian is solidly in that category. This is a free and useful app you should definitely get your hands on.”
Learn more about the PlumbBrain Guardian and download a free copy in the iTunes Store.
PlumbBrain Guardian: First iOS Mobile Application Launched
Ok, I know I’m a little late sharing my excitement but I just had to share anyway how much fun it is to continue to learn new things and explore new frontiers.
On April 29, 2011, we launched a new child safety mobile application for the iPod, iPad and iPhone! PlumbBrain Guardian was created by parents for parents. The app helps you keep a current photo of your child or grandchild (or a child in your care) in case they wander off unexpectedly.
One of our advisors with AMBER Alert™ says one of the key features of the PlumbBrain Guardian app is it’s reminder feature telling you to update your child’s photo. A current photo is critical to finding a lost child quickly. The AMBER Alert™ Program is a voluntary partnership between law-enforcement agencies, broadcasters, transportation agencies, and the wireless industry, to activate an urgent bulletin in the most serious child-abduction cases.
Please check it out for yourself. Maybe you don’t have children in the 2-13 age range but I bet you know someone who does (OK, we’re assuming once our children reach 13 they won’t wander off!). Click here to download the app from the App Store in iTunes to your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad – it’s free!
Please leave us your feedback in the comments section or contact us at mobile [at] oneseventeenmedia.com or twitter @bcarls.
Tweens = $43 Billion in Spending Power
This tidbit stuck out to me from The Washington Times article, “Retailers lure parents of powerful tweens:”
“Tweens wield $43 billion in spending power annually and influence the spending of billions more on everything from cell phones to vacations to automobiles,” New York consumer behavior and marketing firm EPM Communications Inc. said in a 2008 report.”
That’s a-whole-lot-of money, and the figure doesn’t even include teen spending power. As we seek out responsible advertisers and sponsors for PlumbBrain, this study is a great reminder of the missed opportunity for retailers who do not to engage the tween market.
(Image found here)
Mobile Integration Key as Wireless Net Usage Surges
In a study released by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, they share wireless internet usage has “increased sharply in 2009″ with more than half of the adult population having accessed wireless internet via laptop or mobile device. Mobile device usage has grown “73% in the 16 month interval between surveys.” Implementing a strong mobile integration strategy has always been part of our plan for PlumbBrain, and Pew’s study reinforces that increasingly youth and adults will be accessing content via mobile devices.
Research Affirms the Right Direction
Two different research studies from the last few weeks have shared data useful to OneSeventeen Media. MEDIAWEEK reports that kids are “living online.”
Time spent among kids has soared by 63 percent over the past five years, as kids are increasingly drawn to watching videos and playing games—and even more so than adults, visiting virtual worlds
According to Nielsen, kids 2-11 spent nearly seven hours online per month five years ago, versus 11 hours a month in 2009, with boys spending slightly more time on average than girls (seven percent more this past May). That usage disparity is perhaps most evident in online video viewing, as boys accounted for 61 percent of video streams among kids on the Web and 57 percent of kids time spent viewing videos.
Nielsen’s study includes the youngest part of our target audience, and their increased internet usage supports our belief that quality online content, even for younger tweens, will continue to be a critical resource in their development. [While we're not looking to engage kids as young as the precious exploring baby above, I do predict they'll be growth in online activites for the youngest of kids in the next years.]
While this comes as a no-brainer to our team, ReadWriteWeb shared, “a new study released by enterprise wiki provider Wetpaint and the Altimeter Group shows that the brands most engaged in social media are also experiencing higher financial success rates than those of their non-engaged peers.” Having hard data supporting the success of social media campaigns is useful as we continue to engage potential partners, sponsors and advertisers for PlumbBrain.
Leading Educational Innovation in 1:1 Classrooms
Last week, I had the pleasure of attending Leading Innovation: Implementing Effective 1:1 Technology Programs at The Friday Institute at North Carolina State University. I was able to participate as both a vendor and attendee and gained fantastic insight from the experience. It’s inspiring to hear from leaders across North Carolina who are connecting with technology to do right by kids in school.
David Warlick keynoted the event, and it’s incredibly encouraging to see so many school leaders engaged in making flat classrooms a reality in their districts. There were valuable connections to make with the other attendees – superintendents, principals and classroom teachers. Educators I spoke with were particularly excited about participating in the Young Minds Digital Times Film Competition and pioneering PlumbBrain Micro-Communities in their classrooms. I’ve been in touch with many of my new acquaintances since the event ended on Friday.
The Friday Institute (FI) provided a paperless institute – the first I’ve been to! Not only is this a fantastic was to conserve paper and money, but they’ve also made all of the resources available to you! Both the institute wiki and Ning are “on-growing” communities where educators and laypeople alike are invited to join the conversation about 1:1 computing environments. You’ll also find all the handouts from the different presenters available through the wiki. Please check them out, enjoy, then invite any like-minds you know!
A large thanks to the FI for including KidThrive.org + OneSeventeen Media in the event!
(Pictured from top to bottom: teachers collaborating during an immersive project-based learning simulation and David Warlick looking on as one district makes their comprehensive plan for 1:1 connectivity in their schools. Photos by Amy Strecker)
Queen Rania Embraces the Power of Social Media
There are many incredible opportunities through social media, but what excites me most is its power to break down barriers, promote understanding and generate meaningful dialogue. Queen Rania of Jordan agrees, as she shares on her her YouTube Channel’s spoof of Dave Letterman’s top ten list.
“…I wanted to kick start a conversation in the world’s largest community, because we’re stronger when we listen, and smarter when we share…”
Kudos to Queen Rania for choosing to be a leader in the fight against intolerance and engaging her subjects, and the world, through social media. I’m inspired by her message, and I look forward to hearing more from her.
She’s a great role model for PlumbBrain kids as they experience the same incredible power of conversation by engaging in PlumbBrain’s social media tools to improve their relationships and communications with parents, peers and mentors.
(Thanks to Roger Clague for sharing Queen Rania’s message with me and sending this great post!)
Building a Tribe of True Believers
Found via Ypulse, Dan Pankraz’s thoughts on tribal marketing for youth audiences spoke directly to what OneSeventeen Media knows motivates kids to engage. These principles will be put into application in PlumbBrain’s launch. To summarize at a high level, Pankraz calls on brands to understand the value of:
- Agitating and disrupting the status quo
- Connected collective
- Power people
- True believers
- Lead them
- Create culture
- Tribal identification
- Constant content creation and ongoing storytelling platform
Be sure to read the full post to understand the power of Pankraz’s strategy.
(Image found here)
Making Social Media Relevant to Learning
From ReadWriteWeb:
“Teachers are always trying to combat student apathy and University of Texas at Dallas History Professor, Monica Rankin, has found an interesting way to do it using Twitter in the classroom. Rankin uses a weekly hashtag to organize comments, questions and feedback posted by students to Twitter during class.”
(Be sure to watch the video to get a feel for how this works.)
I applaud Rankin for her visionary thinking and willingness to dive into social media! Her experiment exemplifies not only her willingness to innovate, but her understanding that lesson delivery must be relevant and engaging for 21st century kids. Twitter is a tool that many educators wrestle with to make useful in classroom settings, and Rankin has worked out a way to make Twitter applicable to academic life.
Through our PlumbBrain Micro-Communities we’re excited about the many ways we can social networking and other social media tools relevant and useful to schools — students, teachers and parents.
Teens Eager for Better Parental Relationships
“GENESEE COUNTY, Michigan – Asia Johnson is an academic achiever, star athlete and a social butterfly.
On the surface, it looks like she has it all.
In reality, there’s nothing the 13-year-old wants more than a relationship with her father.
She says so in a new book, “Listen To Me,” which she co-wrote with a dozen other Flint-area students. In touching and heartfelt prose, the young people offer insight into the most personal experiences, along with their hopes, dreams and problems. It’s aimed at getting their parents to better understand them.”
This poetry project, organized by Recco Richardson, is an excellent example that kids are hungry to share more about their lives to improve relationships with their parents, but they often need tools and guidance to get their messages across. Written prose is one of the many ways PlumbBrain can help facilitate communication between kids and parents, improving their relationships and interactions.
(Image found here)
