Express your ‘Zelf’
If you're looking for fun this summer, try ZooKazoo (www.zookazoo.com). This online adventure destination just launched in April. It encourages social and creative girls and boys ages 6-12 to express themselves and receive recognition for it, while helping to make the world a better place. Its reliance on user-generated content makes ZooKazoo unique among other online worlds designed and inhabited by kids.
ZooKazoo is all about freedom of choice and expression for kids. Once kids join the ZooKazoo world, they select and customize their avatar/virtual "Zelf" — though they can change their Zelf at any time. They can meet and chat with friends and exchange inworld Zmails. Members play games to earn "Kazoobits" that can be used to customize their avatars and decorate their homes within various worlds. Kids are encouraged to "donate" Kazoobits to selected charities and become advocates for causes — both online in ZooKazoo and offline in the real world. They can also submit ideas and voice opinions about how the ZooKazoo world develops and how it should evolve. Soon they will be able to create and share their own art, music and videos.
While offering an in-depth and engaging experience for kids, ZooKazoo has taken significant measures to provide safety features including: 24/7 monitoring, smart text filters that are designed to learn over time, and easy to use, no bullying features. Most importantly, ZooKazoo promotes responsible community membership by allowing kids to help police their own world.
ZooKazoo.com currently features two very diverse worlds — Jungaloo and Hiphopolis. Jungaloo is a lush rain forest environment brimming with jungle-river rides, joking tikis, customizable huts and games populated by exotic animals. Kids can hang out with friends in The Funky Tiki Lounge, feed a panda, dance with monkeys or decorate their tree-house. In Hiphopolis, kids experience bright lights and hip hop beats in an urban landscape. They can dance in the Club Stylus, show off their funny bone on the stand-up stage, get creative with neon and graffiti, or chill in their personalized penthouse high in the sky.
As entertainment this summer, ZooKazoo is hosting a concert series held inside Club Stylus, a DJ-hosted dance hall within ZooKazoo's animated urban world of Hiphopolis. This virtual concert series features the music of yet-to-be-discovered artists, many of whom are under the age of 18. ZooKazoo's hunt for age-appropriate, original music is an ongoing endeavor. Unsigned artists of all ages are encouraged to submit their recorded music for review by visiting www.ZooKazoo.com/artists. If selected, the artists receive compensation in exchange for permission to showcase the songs on ZooKazoo.com.
Rock on with Aly & AJ
Aly & AJ, the hot teen pop duo, have partnered with Performance Designed Products (PDP) to create a signature line of guitar controllers for the Wii and PlayStation. The controllers, which will launch in September, will be compatible with “Guitar Hero” and designed to appeal to female gamers. The sisters are both actresses, singer-songwriters and guitarists.
“We are very excited to have personally designed our own guitars for use with Guitar Hero,” said AJ. “Most video games and game accessories are designed for boys. PDP is a forward-thinking company by recognizing that females can rock too.”
Music video games are increasingly popular and PDP stated that females make up nearly half of the current players. To meet the demand for more stylish accessories, two guitar controllers have been created in vibrant colors, with bold designs. Both guitars are wireless and will be priced at $69.99 each.
If you don’t know them, Aly & AJ are sisters Alyson Renae and Amanda Joy Michalka. Their 2005 debut album “Into the Rush” went platinum. Their second album, “Insomniatic,” was released in July 2007 on the Hollywood Records label. The album features the single “Potential Breakup Song,” which was noted in Time Magazine as one of the Top 10 Songs of the Year for 2007. In addition to music, the sisters have also acted in a variety of TV shows and movies. The coming year will bring new theatrical releases for each sister: Aly in the starring role of Charlotte in “Rock On,” and AJ in the role of Clarissa in “The Lovely Bones.” The sisters are planning on releasing their third album in 2009.
They’ve had a MySpace page for a while at www.myspace.com/alyandaj and their website at www.alyandaj.com has just gone live.
