How Much is That (fake) Doggy in the (fake) Window

I hate to admit that I'm old enough to have had a stuffed animal that didn't do anything. It didn't move around with a remote control. It didn't have an embedded voice system. It didn't do flips spontaneously. No, it just sat there, mocking me. If I wanted to, for example, pretend that we were all having a tea party, I had to physically carry the thing over to a chair and then supply all the voices.

Thank goodness today's children don't have to suffer with such passive toys. An article in today's Washington Post ("Teddy Bear, Version 2.0") tells us about Webkinz, a new concept in kid's toys from Ganz toys. Basically, these toys combine old-fashion "brick and mortar" style toys with the Internet. A cuddly webkinz stuffed animal comes both with the standard fluffy fur as well as a whole online persona. Kids use the special code that comes with their animal to logon to the Webkinz site -- and a whole new world. Here, their animals can frolic with others, buy clothes, attend parties -- even participate in chats.

Perhaps what's most interesting about this concept is the audience being targeted. This site and its highly interactive, social networking features are for the 6 year old crowd. While some argue this reliance on techology is starting just a little too young, it is clear that this trend isn't going away. People are starting from a younger and younger age to use technology to engage in whole new ways. We adults need to understand what's going on here -- or get out of their way when they turn 12!