MUMBAI: In a bid to boost its online presence, kids brand Nickelodeon in the US will later this week debut NickMail Maker on its site Nick.com.
This is an animated messaging product for kids. A hybrid of email, instant messenger and animation applications, NickMail Maker allows kids to communicate with one another imaginatively with messaging technology that enables them to make their own animation.
Nickelodeon Online senior VP and GM Mike Skagerlind says, "We wanted to provide kids with a safe messaging system that allows them to communicate and express themselves in a creative way. NickMail Maker offers kids a sense of community by connecting with each other in the Nick.com community, and a chance to explore their creativity by becoming 'animators' in their own right."
To create these unique messages, NickMail Maker includes a kid-friendly dictionary, offering more than 7,500 words. Kids can also pick from a variety of pictures including characters from The Fairly OddParents and other Nick shows, sounds, and backgrounds -- some static and some animated -- to add more visual elements to their messages. Sounds from shows, musical fanfares and audio FX are also included. These components will be refreshed on a weekly basis. The animation comes alive with the option to time specific effects and motions in the messages. Several pre-made messages are also available to send. Kids can also add onto existing messages and forward them to other users.
Kids can visit Nick.com to see a demonstration of NickMail Maker, but in order to send a message they must be logged on the site. Users can communicate via their "Nick Names" and icons that they use on Nick.com. Nick
Messages can only be sent to those who are registered on the Nick website. When a user logs on to the Nick.com site, they will have a message bug alerting them if a Nick Message is waiting for them.
A teaser for NickMail Maker will be located on the Nick.com homepage, near the "My Nick" feature. A help section will also be located on Nick.com so kids can easily navigate the animation process. NickMail Maker relies entirely on the anonymous registration system that already exists on Nick.com, and it does not allow kids to unwittingly divulge
personal, identifiable information.
