Derek E. Baird :: Barking Robot

Trend Watch: Essential Facts About the Video Game Industry

Quick. Tell me the age of the average game player. 12? 15? 17? Nope.

According to a new report from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the average game player age is 37.

Even more surprising is the finding that in 2011, 29% of gamers were over the age of 50. In all, 72% of American households play computer of video games.

Here are some other interesting stats from the 2011 Essential Facts About the Computer & Video Game Industry report released by ESA  on the demographics of video game players.

You can read the full executive summary after the jump.

Parents & Games

"Kids play video games for fun with the goal of progressing to the next level and eventually conquering the oppoent, whether that's another player or the computer.

What's more, the social aspect--sharing tactics, experience and explanations--help cemet what they've learned." ~ James Paul Glee, author of What Video Games Have to Teach us About Learning and Literacy

• 91% of the time parents are present at the time games are purchased or rented

• 86% of the time kids receive their parents' permission before purchasing or renting a game

• 9 out of 10 parents pay attention to the content of the games their kids play

• 68% believe game play provides mental stimulation or education

Top Four Reasons Parents Play with Their Kids

• 85% Because they're asked to

• 84% It's fun for the entire family

• 81% It's a good opportunity to socialize with the kids

• 57% It's a good opportunity to monitor game content

Video Games and Parental Controls

• 98% of parents are confident in the ESRB ratings

• 86% of parents are aware of the ESRB rating system

• 75% of parents believe that the parental controls are useful

• 80% of parents place time limits on video game playing

• 74% of parents place limits on Internet usage

Gender & Gamer Demographics

"There are games now for pretty much every age, every demographic." ~ Jesse Schell, professor of entertainment technology at Carnegie Mellon University

• 58% Male 42% Female

• Women age 18 or older represent a significantly greater portion of the game-playing population (37%) than boys age 17 or younger (13%)

• 33% of gamers say that playing computer or video games is their favorite entertainment activity

How Gamers Play

"Gaming is productive. It produces positive emotion, stronger social relationships, a sense of accomplishment, and for players who are a part of a game community, a chance to build a sense of purpose."  ~ Jane McGonigal, PhD. author of Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World

• 55% of gamers play games on their phones or handheld device

• 65% of gamers play games with other gamers in person

• 47% play puzzle, board game, triva or card games

2011 Essential Facts: Video Game Industry

Warner Brothers Teams Up with Facebook to Launch Social TV Series 'Aim High'

An upcoming Warner Brothers series about a high-school spy, played by Twilight star Jackson Rathbone, will pull fans into the show through a clever Facebook integration that allows viewers to have their Facebook profile information, pictures and music incorporated in the show.

"Aim High," will debut on October 18 on Facebook and will run for six episodes.

Gimmick? Or brilliant? What do you think?

Related: USA's 'Psych' Social TV Campaign Scores With Fans

From 'We' to 'Me': The Rise of Fame in Kids TV Programming and Pop Culture

Researchers at UCLA Children’s Digital Media Center have conducted a study that looked at the most popular TV programming for kids 9 to twelve between 1967 and 2007 to look for changes in the values that the shows promote.

The results, for anyone who's watched TV lately, shouldn't be too shocking.

The authors conclusion? The study found that in the 1960's the the value of community and kindness were the primary message of programming for 9-11 year olds. In one decade, from 1997 to 2007, fame leapt from #15 to #1 in importance, out of a list of 16 values.

“Preteens are at the age when they want to be popular and liked just like the famous teenagers they see on TV and the Internet. With Internet celebrities and reality TV stars everywhere, the pathway for nearly anyone to become famous, without a connection to hard work and skill, may seem easier than ever.”

Before we start placing the blame at the feet of Hannah Montana, Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez or other tween stars, it should be noted that not a single tween was surveyed for this study. Instead, they interviewed adults who grew up during the particular decades included in the study.

Moreover, they also discuss--and this is important--how kids today are more attuned to values such as fame than kids in the 1970s and 1980s. The bottom line?

Parents need to do some co-watching of shows that are aimed at the pre-teen (and teen!) demographic to see what values are being conveyed. Talk to your kids. Ask them what they are thinking so you can help steer them toward more grounded and realistic outlook on life.

That's my two cents, what's yours?

You can read the entire study, The Rise of Fame: An Historical Content Analysis, in the Journal of CyberPsychology.

 

Sneak Leak: Is Pottermore a Social Network for Harry Potter Fans?

Looks like someone over on Team Pottermore forgot to lock down the assets for the widely anticipated website featuring the world of Harry Potter. This picture has been making the rounds on Twitter all morning.

The only hint from the official Pottermore.com page is: "Pottermore is a free website that builds an exciting online experience around the reading of the Harry Potter books."

So what do you think? What features do you hope the Pottermore site has? Is this something you're anxioius to join and participate? Do you think this screenshot is legit? Or a crafty plan to distract everyone until the launch in October?

Let me know in the comments!

View LARGE | via assets.pottermore.com

Boys, the Media & Body Image: An Open Letter to @TheEllenShow

Hi Ellen.

A few weeks ago I was watching a rerun of the Ellen DeGeneres Show and saw the episode with your wife Portia de Rossi talking about her book ‘Unbearable Lightness.” It was a powerful interview. Sadly Portia’s story--the pressure to look a certain way, to be a certain weight--is very typical of what happens to many young women both in Hollywood and across the country.

As I read Portia’s book, I reflected on the similarities between her experience with eating disorders and the many kids/teens/tween--both boys and girls-- who are also impacted by these “perfect” body images they see in the media, video game and entertainment industries.

As you know, these portrayals only reinforce and fuel those negative body image ideas. Ultimately they become a part of a vicious circle of self hatred, low self esteem and unrealistic goals.

While there has been lots of media coverage and press about young girls/women regarding body image & eating disorders, there has been very little devoted to how the media effects boys. In many cases, boys are an understudied group with regard to body issues (dysmorphia, bigorexia).

Even as the media continues its obsession (yes, Twilight I’m looking at you) for the almighty 'six pack', boys have been gaining on girls in eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia.

So all of this had me thinking about how your show frequently has shirtless, very buff dudes on during various segments. I know it’s all done in fun--and without malice on your part--however it seems like a bit like a double standard.

In one segment you are talking about how the media fuels negative body image issues for women/girls and then in the next segment you fawn over celebrity abs or have a segment with shirtless guys.

What message does that send to a young, tween boy who’s watching your show after school?

I hope that you won’t take this as a criticism. It’s not. You have been a champion of kids and so many other issues. I admire how you have really used your high profile status to support so many, many social issues.

I really appreciate, in particular, you taking a stand on bullying. I was bullied so much in 6th grade that I had to leave school. At one point, as I was walking home from school, a bunch of kids stuck their heads out of the bus and showered me with their saliva. I know all too well how that stuff sticks with you well into adulthood. But I digress.... ;-)

I also work in the youth media/marketing world and know that we all struggle with these issues. It’s a tricky thing to find a balance between providing entertainment, marketing to kids and making sure that we think about the messages--intended or not--that we send to these kids.

I also felt that it was important that I raise this issue with you since have launched a music label (congrats!) that so far has signed artists that are primarily marketed towards a youth demographic. In doing so you will have an even more direct impact on young kids, tweens & teens.

I hope that you will take all this into consideration as you move both your TV show and music business forward. If you have any feedback, questions or need anything else, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

Respectfully yours,

@derekeb

Additional Resources

• Boys and Body Image: Eating Disorders Don't Discriminate
• Packaging Boyhood
• Free eBook: The Perfect Gift for a Man: 30 Stories for Reinventing Manhood
• Buffed Boy Body Image and Teen Scene 'Hottie' Factor

The Survivors: YA Author Amanda Havard & Singer-Songwriter Chris Mann Team Up on 'Pretty Girl'

The Survivors is a new YA Fiction book series by Nashville-based author Amanda Havard set in Salem, Massachusetts during the peak of the Salem Witch Trials.

The Survivors is the first installment of the tantalizing tales of the fourteen ill-fated Survivors and their descendants, who have been content in hiding for over three centuries.

Isolated on a Montana mountainside, only Sadie, the rogue daughter, dares to abandon the family’s sacred hiding place. But no matter how far Sadie runs, something always pulls her back. On a muggy summer night in Tennessee, she witnesses a shocking scene that will change her life forever.

The Survivors Transmedia Campaign

Music plays a big part in Havard's creative process and over on her website she shares the soundtrack that kept her writing mojo going.

For the first book in her series, Amanda teamed up with indie singer-songwriter (and Warbler #6 on Glee!) Chris Mann to record an original song based on the book.

The end result is "Pretty Girl" an anthem written by Amanda and masterfully recorded by Chris Mann.

 

What makes this series really interesting is the way that Havard has woven social media into both her own creative process as well as the reader's experience.

She has an exciting and new vision for YA Fiction that incorporates all types of media to share the story of The Survivors.

I'm in the process of interviewing Amanda, so I don't want to give too much away. But stay tuned!

Update: Here's my interview with Amanda on Ypulse.com!

Related Resources

• Follow Amanda Havard on Twitter
• Read a Chapter from 'The Survivors'
• Follow Chris Mann on Twitter
• Listen to Chris Mann on YouTube

Military Government Using Facebook to Reach Out to Egyptian Youth

"I’m hearing that the temporary military government has begun using Facebook to reach out to Egyptian youth, even creating a Facebook Fan Page page (here).

The Ministry of Interior, in attempt to repair the image of the state police, has set up multiple pages. And while my guess is that being a locus of political uprisings wasn’t the original intent of the American college campus-based social network, somewhere Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has got to be secretly proud.

Click here for an excellent video of how young activists in Cairo documented the Egyptian protests despite the Internet blocks."

• Read the entire article on TechCrunch

via techcrunch.com

Infographic: Social Media By Demographic

This handy infographic breaks down the top social networking sites by gender, age, income, and education demographics.

We also discuss the affinity score of certain keywords for a few social networking sites. The sites included in this graphic are Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Digg, StumbleUpon and YouTube.

Key Points:

• MySpace has the greatest gender divide, with a 64% female and 36% male membership.
• Twitter has the largest division of wealthy users with 27% earning $75,000/year or more.
• Facebook has the largest division of older users with 37% being 45 years or older.
• Digg has the largest division of users with a graduate degree at 9%.
• Stumbleupon is very popular among graphic designers. You’re 14.2 times more likely to reach a graphic designer through Stumbleupon than if you were to cast your marketing message broadly across the internet.

View LARGE | via blog.kissmetrics.com

Trend Watch: Teen Girl Communication and Social Media Use

Kristen Purcell presents Pew Internet findings on teen communication trends and social network site use as part of a joint research project with the Girl Scout Research Institute.

The research report also features findings from the Girl Scout Research Institute's latest study of social network site use among teen girls.

Pew Internet/Girl Scout Joint Webinar on Social Media

View more presentations from Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project.

'Rio' Joins Forces with Angry Birds for Superbowl Sweepstakes

This Sunday, Twentieth Century Fox’s upcoming animated motion picture event RIO will make Super Bowl commercial history, when the 30-second RIO spot becomes the first-ever to air with an embedded code.

Super Bowl fans in the United States watching RIO’s new commercial spot are invited to find the frame with the embedded code that will in turn direct them to a special level on ANGRY BIRDS, Rovio’s blockbuster game, which recently entered into a first-of-its kind partnership with RIO.  That level will take you to a RIO sweepstakes.

 

The sweepstakes winner will attend RIO’s world premiere in Rio de Janeiro on March 22.  That same day, Fox and Rovio launch the highly anticipated “Angry Birds Rio” app.

The spot will be available across the web, including http://www.youtube.com/officialriomovie, after the Super Bowl.

How To Write A Hit Song: Think Like A Teenager (But Keep Parents In Mind) [PODCAST]

According to Jerkins, making hits depends on understanding how kids see themselves, right down to how they talk. "How can I make the kids say this [thing] they've never said before? That's very very important," he says.

But all three songwriters are aware that the young people who drive the culture are only half of the equation. To be successful, Riddick and Daniels must, after all, spin fantasies for consumers. But those fantasies have to remain in the realm of tweens and young teens.

They toss around ideas for a new song, bouncing from concepts like Facebook friend requests to first kisses, always trying to walk a line between risque and corny.

Ultimately, one of their goals as hitmakers in today's music economy is not only to create songs kids love, but ones that their parents will buy.

 

NPR How To Write A Hit Song

Listen to the NPR Podcast
via www.npr.org

 

 

Trend Watch: Social Gaming Market to Surpass $1 Billion

Nearly 62 million US internet users, or 27% of the online audience, will play at least one game on a social network monthly this year, up from 53 million in 2010. Their numbers will continue to grow and, along with them, money spent on virtual goods, lead-generation offers and advertising.

Revenues from virtual goods made up the majority of social gaming revenues in the past, and they will continue to bring in the biggest share of dollars through 2012.

Ad spending will grow more quickly; in 2011, marketers will spend $192 million to advertise on social games, nearly a 60% increase over 2010. eMarketer forecasts a further rise of 41% in ad spending next year.

Rapid growth in ad spending will help its share of total revenues grow from 14.1% in 2010 to 20.5% in 2012, when it will surpass lead-generation offers as a source of developer revenues.

Such offers have been a powerful force in the social gaming market but are losing favor as marketers use games for more branding-oriented efforts. Virtual goods will hold steadily onto a share of about 60% of the market.

via www.emarketer.com

100 Trends to Watch in 2011

JWT Intelligence has put together an insightful and simple presentation about our future - including social media, relationships, sustainability, sharing, new forms of currency and content.

It’s a wide-ranging compilation that in part reflects broader shifts they’ve been tracking over the past few years, notably the evolution of the mobile phone into an “everything hub,” a trend we’ll see play out in myriad ways next year.

Other items reflect counter-trends—for instance, to balance out our growing immersion in the digital world, people will increasingly embrace face-to-face gatherings and digital downtime.

Many of the Things to Watch are technology-centric, with smart infrastructure ramping up, the rise of tablets for tots and some truly futuristic-seeming developments (3D printing, virtual mirrors, electronic profiling).

Web-wise, Things to Watch will include a growth in Facebook commerce, apps beyond mobile and more social browsers. The people on the list—from pop culture, sports, architecture, fashion and other sectors—have the potential to drive or shape trends in the near future.

Check out the list, along with a little bit about what makes each trend worth watching.

JWT: 100 Things to Watch in 2011

View more presentations from JWTIntelligence.

Big thanks to Mandeep over at Togetherville for the heads up on this one!

LG Launches Text Ed with 'Glee' Star Jane Lynch

The LG Text Ed program, which was launched in early 2010, offers parents a number of articles, tips, videos and other content so they can educate themselves on the dangers of mobile phone misuse, employ strategies to help protect their children from potential problems, and discover how they might be modeling their children’s mobile phone behavior.

In a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, presented during the Federal Communication Commission’s recent Generation Mobile Forum, 40 percent of teens said they’ve been in a car when the driver used a cell phone in a way that put themselves or others in danger.

LG Text Ed with Jane Lynch

Bringing her trademark intensity and flair to the LG Text Ed campaign, award-winning actress Jane Lynch is working with LG Mobile Phones to raise awareness about risky mobile phone behavior.

In a series of comedic vignettes, which can be viewed on www.LGTextEd.com, Lynch tackles issues such as sexting, texting while driving, mobile bullying, and other questionable teen behaviors. 

At the end of each video, Lynch directs parents to LGTextEd.com where they can find professional advice and guidance to help promote safe and responsible mobile usage among their text- and tech-savvy families.

In the texting while driving video, Lynch confronts a classroom of parents about their own texting and driving bad habits and urges parents to model good behavior for their children.

Using humor to get to the heart of the issue, Lynch helps parents help themselves by putting the phone away in the car and encouraging their kids to do the same.

Parents can find additional information on the LG Text Ed initiative and mobile phone misuse (mobile bullying, sexting) by visiting www.lgtexted.com. You can also connect with LG Text Ed on Facebook.

 

Related: 'No Phone Zone' Lesson Plan: Teaching Teens the Dangers of Texting & Driving

Trend Watch: Gen Y Affluents

Digital media is trouncing traditional channels with Gen Y, the largest U.S. consumer group. Deft marketers are recognizing the value of investing in their own sites, social media platforms, and mobile apps.

“It’s the ‘end of the beginning’ of a dramatic shift in ad-spending from traditional formats to digital. Power will shift as brands cultivate authentic relationships via social media, creating cohorts whose size dwarfs media brands’ subscriber bases.” ~L2 Founder and NYU Professor Scott Galloway

L2 surveyed nearly 1000 high-achieving and high-earning Gen Y adults for this study. Refined to a panel of 535, on average this sample set is on a trajectory to earn more than $80,000 in the short-term and double their income within the next five years.

Gen Y Affluents: Media Survey

KEY FINDINGS:

• Facebook, hands down: 81 percent of millennial use Facebook every day—nearly twice as many as watch TV or read newspaper content.

• Blogs scale the gates of the fourth estate: 45 percent read blogs every day, as many as those reading newspaper content.

• News brands thrive—it’s paper that’s dying: Nearly half read a newspaper every day, but 79 percent access that content digitally on a daily basis.

• Digital killed the TV set: 42 percent watch TV shows online; 27 percent watch movies online.

• The upwardly mobile go mobile: 25 percent use mobile to access social media, and one in eight watched a video on mobile in the past 24 hours.

• Digital branding is paramount: 63 percent use social media to engage with brands, and more than 50 percent say that Facebook, blogs, and brand videos affect their opinions about products.

• Websites are flagships, too: Websites are as influential as physical stores in shaping Gen Y sentiment, second only to friends’ opinions.