Posts Tagged ‘Facebook’

Twitter Party Wrap Up: Moms and Tech

Posted by ruckusholly on March 2nd, 2012

Did you know that in 2010, 88% of women purchased tech products as compared to 83% percent of men?  Yep, it’s a proven stat.

With this stat in mind, last night we gathered with dozens of amazing women on Twitter to talk about MOMS and TECH.  We were curious about the gadgets they’re using, how they’re using tech and how they’re balancing their usage, as well as their kids.

We also gathered four tech bloggers to moderate and guide us as we talk about two topics close to their hearts and professional lives.  They were:  Beckie Mostello from Tech Talk for Moms, Heidi Leder from Coast 2 Coast Mom, Jacqueline Cromwell from Nerd Family Blogs and Grace Duffy from Formerly Gracie.

What did we find out?  That moms are tech geeks.  They’re using iPads, iPhones, Mac Computers, Androids, Roku, HP Laptops, Apple TV, nooks and more.  When asked what gadgets they’re currently using, they had a lot to say:

Tracyparral: I use my desktop, laptop, iPad, and Samsung tablet, and on occasion my phone.

Graceduffy: I have an obscene number of tablets in my house.

CoziFamily:  I’m such an Apple geek: Macbook, iPad, iPhone are my main gadgets.

These tech savvy moms are online often but they balance their time when the kids are around.

C2C Mom: We’re always connected!

hippie_mom: Phones are to easy for mulit-tasking so always.

nikki2kids: too many hours, but I”m always connected to the internet.

techtalkformoms: most of the day, I try to turn off when kids get home from school.

ophelan83: My kid is a techbaby. I dont ever stop him from using it because its just part of his generation

There are lots of social media moms.  Women use it to connect to other moms, they use it for work, as well as pleasure, but are definitely more careful of their use of venting on social media.  There is also a clear love for Pinterest among women, as most at our party last night expressed their love for the new, extremely popular tool.

lilstylefile: Social Media is a creative outlet for us! We use Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram on a daily basis!

IrishRed02: Yes! Its a sounding board for many facets of life: advice, questions, rants.

Women choose gadgets for functionality, not design.  They use apps to manage their busy lives, particularly calling out to Google Calendar, Cozi, Stickie Notes, Drop Box and Evernote.

And moms love educational apps. They had a lot to say about their importance:

secretskri_jail: educational apps are very important. that is what we try and find. educational yet fun

techtalkformoms: ebooks are another mode to help a struggling reader learn to read

CoziFamily:  Agree! Book apps, educational apps. I’ll let my kids spend way more time on that than just games

techtalkformoms: I think book apps r great, what ever it takes to get children reading!

@iPad_storytime: if I focus on the quality of tech use by my kid, it’s easier 2 set limits on quantity.

ophelan83: Super important! Education is our first priority in my home.

We couldn’t have enjoyed our discussion more and thank everyone for coming to our Moms & Tech Twitter Party.  We also send our congratulations to all the prize winners and thanks to our wonderful prize sponsors: Cozi, FashionPlaytes, The Digital Mom Handbook,Blue Sky Planners, Discovery Bay Games and My Little Pony.

It’s a wrap!

“LIKE” Ruckus Media Group on Facebook to Benefit the Children of St. Jude

Posted by ruckusholly on December 6th, 2011

facebook

This holiday season, we’re making it really easy for you to help us raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®.

First we put our entire library on sale during the week of Thanksgiving and we donated 100% of all net proceeds to the cause ($1.39 per app).  The Rabbit Ears apps continue to be priced at $1.99 until the end of the month, and all proceeds are going toward this important cause, so don’t forget to stock up on these great stocking stuffers and Hanukkah gifts.

Now, we’ve come up with another way to donate funds to the lifesaving work of St. Jude.  All you have to do is “Like us” on Facebook and we’ll donate .25 cents to St. Jude.  If we reach 1,000 fans by December 31st, we will donate 100% of the total donation.*

Please invite your friends to like us on Facebook today so we can make our goal!

*Maximum donation amount from the Facebook campaign is $250.

 

 

 

 

Calling All Bronies! My Little Pony Tee Shirt Giveaway

Posted by ruckusholly on November 3rd, 2011

Bronies shirtTo continue our celebration of the launch of My Little Pony: Twilight Sparkle, Teacher for a Day, we have two official Bronies tee-shirts to give away.  We have a ”Friendship Is Magic” tee-shirt with a shout to Bronies – it’s a size medium and is tight-fitting.  We also have the tee-shirt pictured on the left of this post in a size medium that is more loosely fitted and reads “This Shirt Just Got 20 Percent Cooler”.

To enter, comment in the comment section below, Friend us on Facebook  and let us know which shirt you want. Open to everyone everywhere, who enter by Thursday, November 10th at 11:59 AM EST.  Winners will have 24 hours to claim their prize, or we will have to offer it to the runner-up.  There will be two winners, one for each shirt.

BONUS ENTRIES: Earn a bonus entry for each of the following that you do or have done. Leave a separate comment for each-

  • Subscribe to Ruckus Media Group feed in a reader or by email, leave a comment telling us which way you subscribed.
  • Stumble the post, submit to Digg, delicious, Mixx, Reddit, Propellor, or other social bookmarking sites. Leave the URL in your comment.
  • Blog about the giveaway with a link back to this post. Leave a comment with the URL.
  • Follow The Ruckus Media on Twitter  and tweet this link: Win a Bronies Tee-Shirt from @RuckusMedia http://bit.ly/vJm4xc #giveaway

Good luck and happy entering!

 

 

My Little Pony: Sharing the Social Media Love

Posted by ruckusholly on October 6th, 2011

Our new co-branded with Hasbro My Little Pony: Twilight Sparkle, Teacher for a Day  has been available in the iTunes store for about weeks now and it’s reached #1 in iTunes, and we’ve been loving all the buzz filling our Twitter and Facebook streams.  We thought we’d share some of the great comments we’ve been getting and we’d love for you to put any new ones in the comment section below.

 

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And over on Facebook, where there’s never a dull moment, supporters have been submitting the cutest photos of their children playing the app.  Check this one out:

And listen to what some have to say over there:

my little pony tweet

my little pony tweet

 

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We’ve also been mentioned on a wide variety of blogs including The iPhone Mom, Classy Mommy, Best Apps for Kids, Saving for Someday, 7 on a Shoestring, Moms Take On Things, The Chatty Momma, Fun Educational Apps, Dad of Divas, Apps 4 Moms,  About.com toy section, HipMamaB and many others.  We are so grateful for all the support.

So, head on over to our Twitter handle and share the My Little Pony: Twilight Sparkle, Teacher for a Day  love with us there, or on our Facebook page.  Also, check out our FREE lite version, available in iTunes.  Sign up for newsletter updates. Lastly, check out our new sizzling video all about the app and watch it come to life on You Tube.   And one last thing: My Little Pony is .99 cents for one more week.  It will go back up its regular price at midnight on October 12th. Go get your copy now!

Join Us for a Twitter Party to Talk about Chuck & Friends, as well as Play Dates on June 28th, 10-11pm EST

Posted by ruckusholly on June 21st, 2011

by Holly Rosen Fink, Ruckus Media Staff Marketing Consultant

June 23rd, 2011

Chuck and Friends

Our new app, Chuck & Friends: Friends for the Long Haul, is one big play date: Chuck, Handy, Rowdy and Boomer are chasing bad guys, making noise, playing in the mud and having four-alarm fun.

The ongoing story of Chuck & Friends is all about friendship. Whenever Chuck and his pals get together, they always wind up having a whirlwind of adventure and fun while trying to stay out of trouble with their parents.

How important are your child’s friendships to you?   Do you nurture their relationships and set up play dates?  During these play dates, do you set up activities and make sure they have particular toys to play with?  Come discuss your play date issues and more with us and panel of bloggers (to be announced).

Come hang out with us on Tuesday, June 28th from 10-11pm EST at hashtag #RuckusPlayDate on Twitter (or on TweetGrid, TweetDeck or TweetChat, whichever platform you prefer) for a discussion on play dates.  We’ll have great giveaways provided by our friends at Playskool, including a few sets of both Chuck & Friends Big Air Dare DVDs and Chuck & Friends Tumble Towers.  We’ll also have plenty of  Chuck & Friends: Friends for the Long Haul apps on hand to give away, as well.

If you’re not already following us, we’re on Twitter at @RuckusMedia. RSVP for the Twitter party here and while you are at it, please join us on Facebook for the latest and greatest on Ruckus. Be sure to check out our videos on You Tube, sign up for our RSS feed and pick up our apps on iTunes.

Look forward to “seeing” you then!

Join Us for a Twitter Party to Talk with David A. Carter, Pop Up Master Extraodinaire on June 8th, 9-10pm EST (NOTE NEW DATE)

Posted by ruckusholly on June 2nd, 2011

by Holly Rosen Fink, Ruckus Media Staff Marketing Consultant

 

June 2nd, 2011

 

David A. CarterEver wanted to hang out with the creator of one of your favorite apps for an hour and find out about its creative process?  We’ve teamed up with pop-up master and NY Times best-selling children’s book author David A. Carter to adapt his creative genius to his very first app, Spot the Dot.  You may know him from his best-selling books, perhaps it was One Red Dot that got you and your family hooked?  Or his BUGS IN A BOX series?  David gets kids and families and how to share key childhood concepts – colors, counting, colors, and more – in a simple yet absolutely mesmerizing way.  He’s agreed to help moderate our next Twitter party where he’ll answer all kinds of questions about the app, his work and inspiration.

Come hang out with us on Wednesday, June 8th from 9-10pm EST at hashtag #ruckusspotdot 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 @RuckusMedia and please RSVP for the Twitter party here.  While you are at it, please join us on Facebook for the latest and greatest Ruckus updates, check out our videos on You Tube (including one of David on the app process and the creation of Spot the Dot), sign up for our RSS feed, join our mailing list and pick up our apps in iTunes.

A Conversation with David A. Carter, Creator of Spot the Dot

Posted by ruckusholly on May 26th, 2011

by Holly Rosen Fink

05/26/2011

David A. CarterDavid A. Carter is one of the modern masters of the pop-up book, whose work has surprised and delighted children around the world.  He’s best-known for the Bugs in a Box series, which has sold more than 6.5 million copies in 12 countries.  One Red Dot, the first of his innovative books featuring abstract, Calder-like paper sculptures, pushed the boundaries of what a pop-up book can be.  The sequels, 600 Black Spots and White Noise, were both named New York Times Best Illustrated Books.  Originally from Utah,  he lives in northern (Auburn) California with his family.  When he’s not cutting, scoring, bending, or gluing paper or designing apps, he loves to ski.

As the creator and master behind our new app along with Unicorn Labs, Spot the Dot, David has more than just one story to tell.  We sat down with him to talk to him about his work, his inspirations and, of course, Spot the Dot.

Ruckus Media: Of all the things in this app, creative, technological, etc., what excited you the most?

David:  First I am very happy with the richness of colors that we see on the iPad, and I am very excited about the addition of interactive sound and animation in my work. In the app, there are two places where the child can experiment with sound, I find myself “playing” the black dot playspace over and over.

Ruckus Media: Could you compare the pop-up creative process with the app-making creative process?

David: The creative process was very similar yet completely different. It is similar because we started theSpot the Dot app with a concept, as I do with a pop-up book, but the medium is very different and a medium that is quite new to me. With pop-ups I do the entire project myself, I solve the design problems using my own personal experience and knowledge of art and paper engineering. With the app I have absolutely no experience programming software so we went into the project blind and with the help of the programmer learned what is possible, what is not possible and what might be possible in the future.

Ruckus Media: Clearly Spot the Dot is an ideal app to help toddlers and preschoolers learn colors.  Did you design it specifically for that audience or did it just come to be that way?

David: We designed this app for young children and learning colors by reading, seeing and touching the colors is the concept that we started with. The age old game of hide & seek, or Freud’s concept of fort da, is the method we employed to make learning colors pleasurable and fun.

Spot the DotRuckus Media: What do you want kids to get out of Spot the Dot?

David: First I hope the app is entertaining and fun. In addition to color identification, the child will use visual tracking and eye hand coordination. There are also a couple of surprises for the child and parent to discover.

Ruckus Media: So, more apps from David Carter?  More Spot the Dot type apps from David Carter?

David: Yes, I have new ideas for apps jotted down in my Moleskine note books. Some of the ideas are similar to Spot the Dot and others are very different, we’ll see where it all goes. I am certain that I will always make pop-up books but I am also intrigued with new mediums such as the app.

Ruckus Media: Anything else you care to share?

David: I always like to say that I hope my art tickles your mind and please touch the art!

Please pick up your copy of Spot the Dot on iTunes today.  Also, join our dedicated Spot the Dot Facebook page, and while you’re at it, please join us over on Twitter for conversation, giveaways and the latest information on all our apps.

 

 

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!