Disney Clickables with Guest Blogger Wendy Smolen

Our Guest Blogger today is Wendy Smolen, Editorial Director of Toy Wishes Magazine.  Each year, Toys Wishes puts out the Hot Dozen Toys List, the list of toys they believe will be the hottest in the industry.  Today, Wendy blogs about one toy from the list, Disney Clickables Fairy Charms. -- ECM

I’ve been playing around in a lot of virtual worlds lately, furnishing my igloo, dressing my avatars, and having some pretty sweet conversations. But one of the new ones I’ve been playing in has some interesting twists. PixieHollow.com is where girls create Fairy avatars. They can then extend the play on or off-line with Clickables Fairy Collections.  By clicking their Clickables Fairy Friendship Bracelets together in the real world, girls and their avatars become friends. However, even if they’ve “clicked” in person, both girls must confirm their online friendship on their computers. This, according to Techno Source Interactive Director Ginny McCormick, is so that they don’t have to feel pressured to befriend everyone when they’re in a group.  “The Clickables friendships were designed to be as dynamic as seven-year-old friendships can be.” If one fairy chooses not to be friends with another, the fairy very politely says, “I’m sorry but I can’t be friends right now.  Have fun in Pixie Hollow!”

The bracelets also give parents a sense of comfort as to whom their daughters are playing with in online worlds.  Their Clickables friends in the virtual world are probably the same girls they play with in the real world.

One of the other nice aspects of this line is that girls can easily share the charms’ online gifts for their Fairies. For example, if one girl really wants a certain accessory for her Fairy and doesn’t have the charm that unlocks it, her friend can “give it to her” by touching her charm to the other girl’s Clickables Jewelry Box or Fairy Friendship Bracelet.  There is no need to keep buying, buying, buying, when friends can share, share, share. This is social networking at its best. -- Wendy Smolen