I talked to a few 12-year olds that have already popped “in-world,” to ask about navigation of chat and functionality, since this Time online article revealed “there is no age verification process and Zwinktopia does not filter sexually explicit comments.” (thank you, safety queen, Izzy Neis!)
My advertising, brandwashing and privacy bells are playing pinball here, “ka-ching, ding-ding,” prompting me to ponder data mining opportunists and multi-media “shopping experiences” from drooling profiteers seeking ‘fresh flesh’ on the $51 billion tween scene.
With 4.7 million unique users to open up their world, they have a built-in launchpad to take off…PLUS youth immersive worlds are booming AND their avatars are not just ‘in-world’ they can travel all over the web. A little TOO smart…Did they just get lucky or did they strategically plan this? Are you thinking what I’m thinking? 606Tech adds that Zwinky already has 20 million active members making it one of the largest launches ever. Kids have been creating customizable Zwinky identities to plop on their blogs, profiles, IM and chat sites representing themselves for quite some time…Now they have their own world to play in too.Īccording to TechCrunch, they’re launching at the peak of virtual world hype. Call it a marketing hook, tween baiting, or young teen branding brilliance, Zwinktopia, the online virtual world that just launched Monday has leveraged their growth substantially by familiarizing kids with their avatar site Zwinky, first.