yay~ i was hoping to be assigned this app after the lesson today. it looks cute.
UI:
I do agree that the UI is rather messy due to the inconsistent shapes of the buttons. but its rather engaging due to the animations, which is good for children because of their short attention span.
while building the storybook(on facebook), the app seems rather cluttered as well. but given the number of functionalities it provides, I dont see how that can be avoided. manipulation of the objects are prompted with symbols, which seem rather intuitive. they also support layers. I'm not sure whether really young children can grasp the idea of layers quickly though. I had problems grasping this concept when i first started with photoshop. then again, perhaps its because i am too conditioned by my use of physical media. do kids these days even use coloring books?
Functionality:
I think an app that helps people make a story book is a rather novel idea. I think it would be very attractive to people whom enjoying writing. (be it blogging, fanfic, comic strips) Plus, its very fuss-free, which is great for lazy people. It has lots of books for people to browse through as well. Personally, something like this would be my preferred mode of entertainment online as opposed to games.
Does it really help kids develop their imagination? im not sure. but then again i wouldnt know.
Platform:
I would agree that facebook may not be the best platform to reach out to children. the option to share your work throught social media is attractive though. Perhaps pekay should try targeting adults. i can imagine people using it for politcal satires haha.
Revenue model:
I'm not very business savvy but their revenue model makes sense to me. I can imagine kids bugging their parents to pay so that they can use the bear or the rainbow in their story books. reminds me of toys that come free with mcdonalds happy meals.
I think it would be quite awesome for pekay to have some collaboration with san-x or sanrio. more cute characters. yay.
and Prof. Ben, with regards to my last post, thanks for the kind offer but i think that episode hasn't impacted the project much. so not need for extension. theres assignment 2 anyway.
with regards to my last post, thanks for the kind offer but i think that episode hasn't impacted the project much. so not need for extension. theres assignment 2 anyway.
ReplyDeleteOK! Glad to know that you recovered in good time. :-)
Ok finally can comment
ReplyDeleteI feel that for such application to be really appealing to people, it has to reach out to many more kids. This application needs to understand which platform the majority of kids is spending time on everyday. I feel till date, it is still the television. I do not see any kids having online activities too much. So probably pekay can try to hit te market from TV and slowly branch out to various platform. One excellent example is pokemon.
good point there jun hong. but TV is not interactive though.. not yet anyway haha. and perhaps, kids are not spending alot of time online because there's not enough kid-friendly activities as of now?
ReplyDeleteThanks for reviewing the app :)
ReplyDeleteNot sure if you have since this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-cFOH1tBEs&feature=player_embedded
Happy little author looks so happy after printing out her own storybook!
I guess this sense of satisfaction and achievement is what keeps PeKay's Little Author app going. I agree that children are learning through many IT tools. Probably they don like colouring books as much as we did :( Ultimately, looks like kids still like their self-made storybooks to be printed out. It's good that the app gives them printing option.
Follow up to Tey's comment, maybe TV can be a channel for marketing efforts. Advertise about storybook-making competition on TV to attract more children to sign up!