Disney's Pixie Hollow and Clickables
Pixie Hollow is Disney's latest virtual world for kids, based on their fairies and the fairy-builder they discussed at ETech 07. Virtual World News says,
Disney's fairy-themed world, Pixie Hollow, comes with a line of physical toys called Clickables. Bracelets and jewelry boxes allow users to trade virtual goods and add online friends by coming together in the real world.
.. for safety reasons, according to the Disney spokesperson, who points out that swapping toys in real life means less of a risk of swapping data with strangers. Fascinating paragraph pulled out by VWN on how the Disney machine went about brainstorming such a thing:
We knew that online worlds were going to be a big deal and so we got about 50 of our smartest people together from different divisions and of different job types - marketing people, technology people, designers, even finance people and lawyers - and we had a big brainstorm. [...] We came up with probably a few hundred ideas but narrowed it down to 75 really good ones from the two days. Then we narrowed it down to our top 10 and top 5 and in there was the nugget of the Clickables concept. Then we decided that this was such an important area that we would create a dedicated team around it, called our Toymorrow team that would be a little swat team focused on technology in the toy space.
"Toymorrow". Very clever. The Clickables themselves sound pretty novel, too:
...a new technology called Clickables that we are launching in connection to our new Disney Fairies virtual world. It's a way for kids to take their online world experience into the real world. The core of it is a magical bracelet. By simply clicking their [real] bracelets together, girls become friends in the online environment. And it's safer too because if you had to physically click with your friend that means they were in physical proximity to you, you saw them, and you know who they are.
That is indeed pretty magical - and requires the purchase of plenty of realworld objects. Ka-ching. What about boy fairies, though? There's a missed opportunity..
>swapping toys in real life means less of a risk of swapping data with strangers
This is the primary security mechanism used for friends (gating canned chat vs open) in BarbieGirls. See more here:
"Ready or not, Barbie is an identity provider"
http://www.identityblog.com/?p=891
Posted by: Kim | March 14, 2008 at 00:24
Stupid me, thinking Tinker Bell was absolutely forbidden from speaking in Disney projects. Guess they're using the original Barrie Tink and not the Disney Tink. :)
Cool that someone's actually had the guts to do the bracelets.
Posted by: Sulka | March 17, 2008 at 19:51
I dont like the idea of the braclets. Why not just make virtual friends? I know its safer, but why?
Some people dont have many friends(like me,1)
Posted by: Morgan | March 30, 2008 at 21:08
bspuqvzyn cethd mfegrya uavfw owazyjl bgfierna nvdal
Posted by: tirjk lzugrm | April 13, 2008 at 10:05
Well the Disney Tink is actually copyright another company in the UK so we will see how this goes.
And on top of that, there is now a fansite for Pixie Hollow at http://www.pixiehollowforums.com/
Posted by: Nick | June 08, 2008 at 03:15
"By simply clicking their [real] bracelets together, girls become friends in the online environment. And it's safer too because if you had to physically click with your friend that means they were in physical proximity to you, you saw them, and you know who they are."
This would only be safe if you couldn't make virtual friends in pixie hollow (without the clickables items)...but you can.
Posted by: Mandy | November 09, 2008 at 04:08
Hello can't wait
Posted by: Jaclyn Firmani | January 07, 2009 at 18:21
Oops... My Bad... Can't wait to start Pixie Hollow adventures... I keep seeing it on TV and I'm dying to try it myself... anymore 9 year olds on board?
Posted by: Jaclyn | January 07, 2009 at 18:23
how do you get in?
Posted by: | January 09, 2009 at 22:22
Hey, this is the coolest!
Posted by: emi0311 | January 10, 2009 at 16:12
i love pixie
Posted by: | January 11, 2009 at 15:37
i love faries
Posted by: lexi | January 13, 2009 at 00:16
Can I play
Posted by: Janelle Smith | February 08, 2009 at 00:59
HOW CAN I GET IN PIXIE HOLLOW.
Posted by: CHERISH | April 07, 2009 at 21:10
Cherish, you just go to www.pixiehollow.com, I think it is, or google pixiehollow, if I'm wrong. Then explore the site. Click "Create a fairy" to start playing. I LOVE it, and am 31 years old!!! But, be careful, its addicting. Need to set limits so that you don't stop playing in the real world, and spending time with real nature and friends!
Posted by: Joy Nava | April 18, 2009 at 21:16
uh no what u have to do is go to pixie hollow.com and hit play. then u press new fairies to register. an then u make your fairy and welll there u go your all done
Posted by: kyoko | June 07, 2009 at 15:48
how can indians become members???????i want membership
Posted by: uroosa | June 24, 2009 at 16:58
how can i do this
Posted by: kaitlin | July 08, 2009 at 00:27
you guys don't do this i can't do this i am 9 years old for crying out loud this is making me mad
Posted by: kaitlin | July 08, 2009 at 00:30