Archive for March, 2011

Twitter Party Wrap-Up: Apps and Going Green

Posted by ruckusholly on March 30th, 2011

by Holly Fink, Ruckus Media Staff Marketing Consultant

3/30/11

 

Earth DayWith Earth Day coming up on April 22nd, we decided that it was important to gather our friends and followers and talk about what we’re all doing to live a greener lifestyle.  After all, as app creators, we’re always thinking GREEN.  We don’t use paper to produce our stories, we don’t ship our books or store them in warehouses, saving energy and creating space in the environment.

So, we wanted to celebrate the power of going green and hear how people are encouraging their own children at home, and find out if schools are following through with some of the green initiatives being promoted so avidly by green proponents.  This past Monday night, we gathered the troops and had a wonderful, informative discussion about the topic.  Not only did we talk about methods and tactics for a greener lifestyle, but we also talked about digital media’s impact on our initiatives.  Many hadn’t thought of apps as specifically green yet and felt enlightened.  We also heard from our partners at Stepping Stones Museum and RainForest Alliance.  Together, we are bringing a new app designed to challenge and educate children about the lure and fascinating interconnections between plants, animals and insects in the Amazonian Rainforest.  As the launch date nears, we thought it would be exciting to have them join in and share their thoughts on going green and some of their initiatives.

You can read the transcript on Twitter at #Ruckusgreenapps.  Meanwhile, here are some of the highlights:

 

Q1:  What have you done to encourage a greener lifestyle at home?

mnikpat: Encourage recycling their everyday products.

ostmega: We’ve switched to only cloth napkins/towels, no paper. We turn off lights & use reusable shopping bags.

elivya:  We have a special shredder+recycle box for all of our junk mail.

NewKidsApps: Seems so simple, but so easy to have two separate trash bins: one for garbage, one for recycling. Easy.

coollegumes: My toddler loves to sort the recycling; cans, bottles, and glass.  We don’t talk about my Diet Coke habit though!

mom4everandever: Unplug, reduce..don’t waste.

ostmega: We’re trying to switch to ereaders and apps here. My 3-year-old is great with it, but 8 year old likes paper.

peekababy: One thing is to try to pack my preschooler’s lunches waste free and in reusable containers.

MamaSarahJane: We switched to green cleaning products and try to reuse our drinking glasses throughout the day!

natgreenhome: Cut up paper for messages from the phone.

steppingstones: We also recently completed a major renovation and expansion and our new building is green.

 

Q2: As a parent, do you use digital devices for green reasons(paper-free), as well as entertainment reasons?

mnikpat: We homeschool.. My 11 yr old’s entire curriculum is on the computer… NO PAPER!

ostmega: Honestly, I use the Kindle to cut down on clutter (books) more than I do for the green aspect.

bcherry82: We do! My son loves my nook, & as long as it’ssupervised, I think tech. has alot to offer and teach.

ostmega: My son took the John Henry app to school on the iPad as a source for a presentation!

coollegumes: Our library collects used books and does a book sale in the summer. We’re donating this year and loading our e-readers.

 

Q3: How do you talk to your kids about the environment? Will you do anything special with them on Earth Day?

mnikpat: My girls and I are going to clean up the road we live off of on Earth Day this year. We are so excited!

MamaSarahJane: My son is only 2 so we can’t really talk to him about it yet, just set an example!

bcherry82: I always make sure to let my son know why we take all the extra steps we take to help the environment.

mnikpat: I want to make cloth napkins to replace papertowels and napkins.

coollegumes: My DD is 2 & she might not understand WHY she’s doing things like turning off lights, but it’s good practice

MamaSarahJane: I think for Earth Day we’re going to finger paint some flower pots & plant seeds for our veggie garden!

coollegumes: I make homemade baby food for my 5 mo old. I just wrote a post about it! It might be small, but it makes me feel better.

 

Q4: What are some examples of resources, i.e books, CDs, web sites, apps that teach children about going green?

mnikpat: Living by example is the best way to teach your kids.

steppingstones: Our Rainforest Adventures exhibit is all about preserving and protecting our precious resources.

DSloanandco: Guinea pigs! They eat salad scraps right up.

MariaFerGhiso: Check out the Rainforest Alliance Learning Site for lots of free resources for parents, teachers and kids.

MamaSarahJane: Nick Jr. has a lot of little skits about going green!

ostmega: We like the song Reduce, Reuse, Recycle by Jack Johnson.

ADL_Kane: My daughter loves books about animals – we read about Sea Turtles and Manatees and talk about saving them.

SavvyMomNYC: Love singing “It’s not easy being green” by Kermit the Frog with a different meaning.

MariaFerGhiso: I have been having so much fun helping to design theRainforest Survival Challenge!

CaseKidsLikeIke: “Kids like ike” has short videos & songs teaching kids to love their planet!

SavvyMomNYC: The Lorax was way before it’s time – and the message is more important than ever.

MariaFerGhiso: I love the Lorax. There are also great books for urban kids – one of my favorites is Urban Roosts.

 

Q5: Have your schools or communities taken on any specific initiatives that helped make kids aware of going green?

ostmega: Our public school is slow to do this, but Montessori preschool was on top of recycling/reusing.

coollegumes: Our daycare/preschool is really good about recycling and keeping “green” overall. I hope the primary school is 2.

ostmega: A lot of things like that are parent led or initiated at our schools. Maybe a good project for a class?

steppingstones: Our Rainforest Adventures exhibit very popular and will be traveling.

MariaFerGhiso: One of the great things about rainforests is their biodiversity & the unique species were perfect for the app.

MariaFerGhiso: Check out the RA Learning Site-5&6th grade units are about how sustainable coffee helps migratory birds.

Stay tuned for our next Twitter Party next month, featuring our partners from steppingstones and RnfrstAlliance.  Details coming soon.  Meanwhile, join us on Twitter for all the latest Ruckus Media updates!

Another Award for “A Present for Milo”!

Posted by ruckusholly on March 25th, 2011

by Holly Rosen Fink, Ruckus Media Staff Marketing Consultant

03/25/2011

Mom's Choice

Last week we were thrilled to bits when our very own A Present for Milo won the About.com Reader’s Choice Award.  We beat some of the best apps for kids on the market, and it was a very intense competition from the start to the finish.  How could it get any better than that?

Well, it did.  Only a few days later, we were alerted to the fact that our beloved app won the Mom’s Choice Award® for Best In Family-Friendly Products (or Services).

The Mom’s Choice Awards®(MCA) is an awards program that recognizes authors, inventors,

companies, parents and others for their efforts in creating quality family-friendly media, products and

services.  Parents, educators, librarians and retailers rely on MCA evaluations when selecting quality materials forchildren and families.  The Mom’s Choice Awards® seal helps families and educators navigate the vast

array of products and services and make informed decisions.

We knew that we had a terrific app in Milo, but it’s nice to know that everyone else agrees.  With more than 80 tap-interactive objects that initiate more than 125 animations just right for active young fingers and minds, this interactive exciting cat-chases-mouse story is ideal for pre-readers and young readers alike. With simple vocabulary and sound-out words, this original app provides a fun, engaging read-to or read-aloud experience at a terrific value.  Toddlers and pre-schoolers can’t get enough of Milo, we have seen them in action!

So, head over to the iTunes store to pick up a copy of our award-winning A Present for Milo!

Finding Family-Friendly Apps

Posted by ruckusholly on March 24th, 2011

by Holly Rosen Fink, Ruckus Media Staff Marketing Consultant

03/24/2011

Moms with Apps We are thrilled to be teaming up with the gang at Moms With Apps, a collaborative group of family-friendly developers seeking to promote quality apps for kids and families, on a brand new app found in iTunes.  To help parents make the best choices for their kids, they’ve created a catalog of great children’s and family-friendly apps, and Ruckus Media is included as one of the featured developers.  Over 600 developers apps have carefully cataloged and categorized their apps by educational value and appropriate age group. The result is a comprehensive catalog of apps, representing the most innovative educational app developers, that simplifies the app discovery process.

Every month, you’ll also find a list of the top kid’s apps that our CEO, Rick Richter, recommends.  We call it the “Ruckus 5.”  Who better to hear from on the best kid’s apps on the market than an expert like Rick?  Look for his lists to go live soon.  To keep up with his monthly selections, so you can make better choices for your own children, download the app by Moms with Apps today.

Join Us for a Twitter Party to Talk @ Apps and Going Green on March 28th, 9-10pm EST

Posted by ruckusholly on March 21st, 2011

by Holly Rosen Fink, Ruckus Media Staff Marketing Consultant

03/22/2011

A few months ago, our apps were featured on GreenLivingOnline as a “new, green way to read with your kids.”  The author also coined our apps as “a green choice for entertainment,” and we were truly honored.

With Earth Day coming up on April 22nd, we want to celebrate the power of going green, and find out how you’re teaching your children to live a green lifestyle.  Many of us have changed bits of our lifestyles to become more environmentally friendly. One of the many favors we can pass on to the next generation is to teach them ways to be green so that’s it’s second nature to them to care for the world around them.

What have you done to encourage a greener lifestyle at home?  Little things, like using a colorful cloth bag, or tossing potato peels and eggshells into the compost bin – can help the environment. And if your child develops good habits now, they’ll endure as they grow.  We want to hear from you.Ruckus Media Survival Challenge

We’ve also got a new app coming out in April that will appeal to everyone with a green sensibility.  It’s called Rain Forest Challenge, and we’re partnering up with the folks at Rain Forest Alliance and Stepping Stones Museum for Children.  You’ll find out more about it during our Twitter party and you may even meet some of our partners.

So, come hang out with us on Monday, March 28th from 9-1011pm EST at hashtag #ruckusgreenapps on Twitter (or on TweetGrid, TweetDeck or TweetChat, whichever platform you prefer) for this discussion   As usual, we’ll have great giveaways.

If you’re not already following us, we’re on Twitter at @RuckusMediaand please RSVP for the Twitter party by email.

While you are at it, please join us on Facebook for the latest and greatest Ruckus updates, check out our videos on You Tube, sign up for our RSS feed, join our mailing list and pick up our apps in iTunes.  Let’s all raise a ruckus over apps for kids!

Wrap-Up: Brooklyn Baby Expo

Posted by ruckusholly on March 17th, 2011

by Holly Rosen Fink, Ruckus Media Staff Marketing Consultant

03/17/2011

Brooklyn Baby ExpoThis past weekend we ventured to Brooklyn for the first ever Baby Expo. Hosted by the Brooklyn parenting blog, A Child Grows, the event was filled with expecting and new parents holding little ones and pushing strollers from room to room to check out some of Brooklyn’s finest baby gear.  We were glad to be a part of this special event and really enjoyed showing our wares to everyone there, young and old.  We loved watching kids as they first approached our apps and then experienced them for the first time.

With  Andrew Answers, the older kids laughed as they tilted the iPad to help Andrew find his way to the principal’s house….and finally to the White House.  The younger kids got much pleasure from the cat-mouse chase in A Present for Milo.  The looks on their faces were priceless and were great reminders of why we are in the business of bringing quality family programming to life in digital form.  Many expecting parents oggled over our Rabbit Ears apps, like The Velveteen Rabbit and Goldilocks told by Meg Ryan, and were anxious to play them for their soon-to-be newborns.

The event was held at the very modern and lovely Toren building in downtown Brooklyn.  We joined other exhibitors such as Mabel’s Labels, PBS Kids, Gaggle of Chicks, Kinderwagon, the Brooklyn Public Library and dozens of other great brands.  We shared our space with Hank & Jojo, a company who believes in developing eco-friendly products just as much as we do.

We’re grateful to Karen, Melissa and the rest of the gang at the expo for making sure we were a part of it.  Please take a look at some of the photos taken during the event of the many children in attendance who were eager to play with our apps.

And We Present the Winner of the About.com’s Reader’s Choice Award, Best App for Kids: A Present for Milo

Posted by ruckusholly on March 16th, 2011

by Holly Rosen Fink, Ruckus Media Staff Marketing Consultant

03/15/2011

Reader's Choice 2011 Awards

Our very own A Present for Milo triumphed in a heated battle for About.com's Readers' Choice Award, Best App for Kids.  After thousands voiced their opinions through nominations and votes, Milo walked away with the prize.  You can view the gallery of award winners here.

We beat some of the best apps for kids on the market, and it was indeed a fierce battle until the end.  Our competition included Angry Birds, Monkey Preschool Lunchbox, Super Why! and Disney's Toy Story III Read-Along.  We were so honored just to be nominated, but to win…we are speechless.

We want to thank everyone who voted.  This award means a great deal to us, and to the people behind the making of the app including writer/illustrator Mike Austin, literary agent Rubin Pfeffer, developer Sequel Digital and of course, all of us at Ruckus.  Bravo!

Where You Can Find Us: Brooklyn Baby Expo

Posted by ruckusholly on March 3rd, 2011

by Holly Rosen Fink, Ruckus Media Staff Marketing Consultant

03/03/2011

Brooklyn Baby ExpoIf you are a new or expecting parent, this is an event you’ll want to put in your diary: A Child Grows in Brooklyn Baby Expo. This event will have mini demos and mini seminars on everything from setting good sleeping habits to learning CPR and making baby food, product testing of carriers, strollers, organic mattresses and more, and demonstrations.   Moms will be pampered with mini-manicures, blow-outs and yummy food from Brooklyn Fare.  Children will have their share of fun, too: baby yoga, first lock cuts, or playing in a fully stocked play room.  All activities are free with admission ($35 per ticket or $60 for two tickets. Tickets at the door are $45 each.)  The first 250 to register get a special swag bag with a value of $120, so register now.

And another positive detail: Ruckus Media Group will have a booth at the Brooklyn Baby Expo!  Bring your kids over to play on our iPads and spend some time getting to know the folks behind Ruckus Media.

Here are the event’s details:

Sunday, March 13 from 11am to 4pm

Location: Downtown Brooklyn’s LEED building, Toren, (150 Myrtle Ave).

We can’t wait to meet you!

Submit a photo of your child playing with one of our apps and win a pre-loaded iTouch!

Posted by ruckusholly on March 1st, 2011

by Holly Rosen Fink, Ruckus Media Staff Marketing Consultant

03/01/2011

Child playing Ruckus app

What mom or dad wouldn’t want to see their child featured on a web site?  Now you have the opportunity.  Enter the Ruckus Media photo contest featuring your own children!  We’ll put your photo directly on our web site as part of a slide show where it will be placed amongst the other winners.

All entries automatically qualified to win the Grand Prize:  a a pre-loaded iTouch  featuring 15 apps from the Ruckus library, including our critically acclaimed A Present for Milo, Andrew Answersand all the Rabbit Ears titles, including The Velveteen Rabbit told by Meryl Streep and Goldilocks told by Meg Ryan, among others.

We‘ll be posting the photos on our web site as the photos are received.  Submit your entry from March 1st, 2011 through March 15th, 2011 at midnight.  The grand prize winner will be chosen randomly.

You must read the following rules, terms and conditions before submitting any photos:

  • The contest is open to participants in the U.S. only.
  • You must be at least 18 years-old to enter.
  • Photo captions must accompany all submissions, and should include the subject of the image and the name of the child.
  • You grant Ruckus Media a nonexclusive right, in perpetuity, to:

 

-          Publish the images on the Ruckus Media web site (www.ruckusmediagroup.com).

-          Use, in connection with the Photo Contest, your full name promotions.

-          Keep the files provided, and to archive the images on CD or in other electronic                    forms, so that your photos can be properly credited.

-          Use in all social media that Ruckus Media utilizes.

So how do you qualify for the grand prize? To be included in the drawing for a new pre-loaded iTouch, you must do the following:

  • Sign up for the RSS feed on ruckusmediagroup.com and submit a photo of your child using one of our apps (on an I.O.S. device such as iTouch, iPhone or iPad).
  • Send it to us directly atphotocontest@ruckusmediagroup.com.
  • Include  photo, name, email address and contact phone number with your entry.
  • You may enter more than once.
  • In addition to emailing, leave a comment below, telling us who will be getting the iTouch should you win.
  • For a second entry, you may follow us on Twitter and then tweet about this contest with a link back to this page. Or, you can copy and tweet the followin “Enter to win a pre-loaded iTouch with Ruckus apps from @Ruckusmedia http://bit.ly/gmNEBk”.
  • Make sure to leave a second comment with a link to your tweet, or it won’t count.
  • Join our Facebook page and let us know in the comments below.

 

So, there are a number of ways you can win!  This contest will close at midnight on Tuesday, March 15th and the winner will be chosen randomly.  The winner will have 24 hours to accept the prize.

So, good luck and get your camera out!  We can’t wait to see what pictures come!