Digital Photo Collages

I've been having fun with a new app called "Pic Collage" for the iPhone. You can arrange your photos into different collage templates, and add text and other embellishments. It creates a nice keepsake to send on to others. It's free to download on iTunes.

iMom Says: "Unsmart Your Phone"

These are the days of the iMom. Mothers of all shapes and sizes are toting networked devices, feeling connected and efficient. But I'm beginning to feel that connectivity and efficiency are getting in the way of my relationship with the kids. Instead of being weighed down with a constant string of incoming messages, maybe I should strive for a clearer and more focused state of mind.

After several hectic months immersed in email clutter and too many projects, I decided to put my iPhone back in its place: I dumbed it down.

So far, it been a liberating move. Interested in taking the plunge? Let's lay it out...

1) Ban your charging station (where you plug in your iPhone or iPad or iWhatever) from your bedroom. I was beginning to question that my first instinct was to wake up and check messages. What about waking up and saying "good morning" to everyone?

2) Try to reserve email correspondence for desk-based computer time. On-the-go email can interrupt what you are doing when you are on the go. Is your mind on your messages, or is your mind on the moment? Now, I can enjoy my computer time more because I "relax into" my correspondence, instead of constantly checking throughout the day.

3) Consider deleting your email account/s from your iPhone.  In your Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendar, your phone can be void of email accounts, and look just like this screenshot.

Give yourself a few days to get used to it. But as you start to drive more safely, interact with fellow parents at school pick ups, or tuck a book under your arm as you leave the house, you'll wonder what was so interesting about your palm in the first place.

To Steve and all of the talented folks at Apple - don't take any of this the wrong way. We love what you created. It's just that in the end, our children's questions are more important that our latest emails.

Snow Wonder - Build A Snowman: Kids App for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch

Welcome to Snow Wonder, our latest virtual playground for young explorers

Choose what you want your snowman to wear



Discover your snowman upon arriving in a winter wonderland

Build your snowman and make it snow by tapping the sky

Play again with new combinations

The team at My Busy Kit is excited to announce their latest project: Snow Wonder - Build A Snowman  for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Inspired by the "snow trip" in My Little Suitcase, Snow Wonder optimizes our virtual snow playground for the iPad, where little fingers can choose their own snowman, build it, and play in the snow. Developed by three parents, we strive for experiences that promote open-ended and creative play. Now available on iTunes!

Launching a Season of Thanks

As part of the upcoming Moms With Apps one year anniversary, I'm kicking off a Season of Thanks to the community of parent app developers I've connected with over the past year.


Our updated 125 x 125 button by Dad developer Robert Meier

Specifically, thanks to:

• The co-founders (Lynette from PicPocket Books and Jill/Alesha from MomMaps) and early members who spearheaded the group along with me. Remember our first group post on this blog? Classic!
• Duck Duck Moose for setting a gold-standard example on eye-popping and kid-friendly graphics that stand out on the iPhone and iPad, and for steering me in the right direction when my team was learning vector graphics.
• Weiner Family Studios for putting in place our New Forum for knowledge-exchange on the mobile app industry
• Pi'ikea Street for coming out with an iPad app that set a bar for well designed and beautiful sounding apps
• Lullatone for making the melodies I love so much, and am now incorporating into our own apps for My Busy Kit.
• The MWA active membership for providing ongoing participation and dedication for making great apps for kids and families
• The MWA blog readers, Twitter followers, and Facebook fans who have re-posted, shared, and re-tweeted all of the amazing accomplishments with family-friendly apps.

To participate, construct a blog post that outlines why you are thankful for the past year. Anyone can contribute (mwa member or anyone who uses mobile apps), but topics should be relevant to how moms with apps helped your app development, or how apps help in your daily life. Once you have your post constructed, look out for the Moms With Apps blog on App Friday Nov. 19th. We'll set up a link exchange for you to share your "Season of Thanks" post.

Happy 1 Year Anniversary Moms With Apps!

Leaf Jam Version 1.0

 
Our latest project from My Busy Kit is now complete! Come celebrate autumn with Leaf Jam, an open-ended musical playground of fall leaves, seasonal colors, and warm melodies. Tap the screen to make the leaves fall. See orange, yellow, purple and red illuminate the landscape. Tap it lightly, or use all of your fingertips to cover the ground - the choice is up to you.

Most popular uses:

• Intrigue a curious toddler with the vivid colors
• Count how many leaves it takes to cover the ground
• Tip leaves in a kaleidoscopic North, South, East, West rotation
• Sooth a crying baby with the happy melody
• Make it *rain* leaves
• Cheer up your workspace by jammin' to the tune

Developed by three parents (me, Mike and Alicia), Leaf Jam is the second app from My Busy Kit with an emphasis on discovery, exploration and imaginary play. Custom melody created by Shawn at Lullatone. We hope you enjoy it - check it out now on iTunes!

Discussion Topic: What Makes an App "Educational"?

After spending much of the past year interacting with over 100 moms (and dads) with apps, I find myself thinking a lot about apps, and what they mean to our children as technology advances further into our lives and our classrooms. Recently, the developers in our Moms With Apps group posed a question...

What makes an app “educational”?

We first agreed that “educational” is a relative term based on an individual’s particular needs, capabilities, and goals, and realize this is a difficult question to address. We also noted that deeming an app "educational" may be best left up to professional teachers and educators. However, should that stop the conversation?

For parents seeking educational content for children, here are some snippets from our discussion. Coming from a diverse set of individuals (parents, graduate students, research organizations, homeschooling parents, special needs families) we hope you’ll find these insights helpful when evaluating apps for your household:

Does the app…

Help reinforce academic principles or develop individual skill sets?

• Does the app help develop confidence in a particular area?
• Does it encourage the user to rethink their current understanding of a topic?
• Are there academic learning objective or goals, and are they mapped to core curriculum standards?
• Is the app of a particular, unique value to the end-user? 
• Does it encourage and prepare for higher learning?
• What is the ratio of "learning" to "entertainment"?

Help encourage creativity? (see link to the article on Creativity Crisis)

• Can you create, imagine, or pretend with the app?
• Is there one right answer, or is the app open-ended?
• Does the material leave space for users to fill with their own imagination?
• Is there room for problem solving, trial and error, and experimenting with solutions?
• Does it prompt further discovery, engaging the user to learn more?

Help broaden awareness of the world and how it works?

• Can you learn about people, places or things in your environment?
• Can you spark an interest in new subjects to study or activities to try?

Help promote interactivity and socialization?

• Does it start a new conversation, introduce a new concept, or propose a new idea?
• Is it active rather than passive? (i.e., being engaged is different than being entertained)

As I peer over my computer at Webster's College Dictionary, it's comforting to ground myself in a traditional definition of educate/education/educational as a form of validation on the above: to impart knowledge; to provide with information; to develop powers of reason or judgement.

If we believe that technology can have positive outcomes on the future of education, we certainly owe it to ourselves and our kids to dive deeper into these questions and continue the discussion on their behalf.

The Art of the Springboard

The experience of launching My Little Suitcase has been a fun case study in app creation and development. What's crazy is how much of it, marketing-wise, boils down to having a bold and bright springboard icon to catch the buyer's attention.

When we launched My Little Suitcase last year, we had a brown suitcase with a red background. Trying to spice up the background, we added a window for some depth.

While working on our latest release, version 1.4, we knew we could improve it. We spent time pouring over apps on the app store, and looking at highly ranked kids apps, like Itsy Bitsy Spider, Save the Day, AniMatch, Sneezies, (and most recently) Pocket Zoo. There were a few qualities that stood out:

1. Bold, bright colors
2. Clean lines without too much clutter or detail (too much detail tends to get lost)
3. Contrasting colors
4. Eyes - have you noticed how many cool kids apps have big fun eyes staring out at you?

While we couldn't put eyes on a suitcase (well, hold that thought) we COULD play with the background colors, add some depth, and contrast. After a long week working through drafts, we finally came up with this:

And we like it. And we hope you do too!

If you are wondering where many of the apps on my phone come from, check out Moms With Apps - a developer group we started last year that has over 80 parent developers, with pages full of family-friendly apps.

A Special App for Special Kids

This past weekend, unlike other weekends, my priority was to visit a dear friend who had a recurrence of cancer. Making a trip to the hospital to see someone facing such major challenges isn't the lightest weekend activity around. At the very least, it quickly puts life into perspective. Unfortunately, cancer does not discriminate based on age. Even the youngest troopers have to put up a fight.

Last month, a new app for kids was released to help children understand the battle. It's uplifting and informative story might hopefully spread some cheer to those on the front lines. All proceeds of the app go to the Children's Cancer Foundation. If you have a moment, please check out The Nurse With The Red Clown Nose, by StoryBoy, on the iTunes App Store. Above I've posted some of my favorite screenshots and messages.

Our Digital Responsibility

Usually I write about travel and places to go. But lately I've been working on a project related to our new iPhone app, and have some commentary to share. When we are out and about, I can't help but notice how many people are walking around staring at their smartphones. Could these technological advances be too much of a good thing? How does this constant access to information affect our children, and their behavior?

As a mother of two young girls, I feel it’s my duty to keep current with digital media so I can be aware of what’s coming their way. But my worst fear is that the world will turn into a land of electrified zombies, deriving self-worth from the number of text messages sent or received, or the accumulation of virtual goods. What is my responsibility, as a parent, to keep enough media in our lives to be useful without creating addictive habits?

I’m paying attention to two forces behind the kids and technology debate:

1) Potential consequences of spending too much time online

2) Potential benefits of new technologies for educational, developmental and creative uses

Many of us seem to be aware of #1 or have heard the buzz in the press about the negative effects of too much screen time. So as a parent, what are my options? Do I cut all of the cords? What I’m hoping we do is channel the technology adoption towards #2. But this will be an active process, not a passive one.

Together with other parent developers from Moms With Apps, we are working on key principles of healthy media habits that work within our own families:

• PLAY should be open-ended, MEDIA should not be. Practice moderation by setting the right example. If you don’t want your kids to zone out in front of the screen, then stop constantly checking your own devices. Recognize that technology can be addictive. Set boundaries and limits that work for your family, and enforce the rules. Don’t be afraid to TURN IT OFF.

• Stay current. Now is not the time to hide your head in the sand. Technology has reached new levels of rapid fire development. Companies that are only two years old, are OLD. We move on to new things more quickly than we can blink. Keep your eyes open and your skills agile. Knowing how to work the latest communication platforms will keep doors open in the longer run for communicating with your kids.

• Keep it public. Computers and devices should be kept on the main living level so parents can monitor online behavior. Should technology be a tool or a lifestyle? The only way to manage an appropriate balance is to be aware of what’s going on behind the screen.

• Choose good content. You have twenty bazillion choices of where to go or what to download online. Choose the good stuff.

How do you know what is good? The barometer we use is this – does the technology we are engaging with help us live our lives more fully, or is it merely consuming our lives? Is it interactive, or passive? Is the technology starting more conversations, or limiting them? We realize that each family will need to strike its own unique balance. But overall, we want to make sure that number #2 comes out on top, and that as new technologies emerge, that they encourage more life experiences, not fewer.

Marketing My iPhone App (What I Wish I Knew Last Year)

While I am pleased with the progress of My Little Suitcase, I wish I had gone out of the starting gates a little differently. Marketing your app in a store with hundreds of thousands of apps is tricky. If you are thinking of creating your own app, here are some points to consider:

1. QUERY THE EXPERTS. I recently read Crazy Mike's iPhone App Marketing eBook. For someone who is new to app marketing, I found the book and the case studies insightful and genuine. They share real information on how top apps like Pocket God and Paper Toss cultivated a following. The book also covers topics like effective iTunes store descriptions, email marketing, PR, social media, etc. Required reading for anyone who wants to have a shot at getting noticed on the App Store. In addition, I've started following an industry blog from AppsMarketing.Mobi. They feature interviews with developers, and write columns on industry trends. By digging in with experts, you can acquire marketing knowlege in advance of launching your app, which ultimately may result in a more successful app.

2. KNOW THY APP STORE. Whether you are launching on the iTunes App Store, on Blackberry's App World, or some other Google Android platform, learn how customers search for apps, and how the apps get listed on the store. Try and find out what drives the "What's Hot List" or "Staff Picks". Understand how you can be seen amidst 100,000 other apps. What are your categories and how have you listed yourself? You can make changes along the way, so don't hesitate to run experiments to find out what works.

3. INCLUDE SOME EDUCATIONAL APPEAL. From the perspective of family-friendly apps, if I'm downloading anything for my kids, I want it to be good for them. Highlight the educational value of your app. There is a growing market for kids apps - it's very hot - but it needs to be good for you too.

4. MAKE IT LOOK PRETTY. Have great graphics. There is too much competition to have crappy graphics. Making it look polished and professional is a minimum requirement.

5. LAUNCH IN ADVANCE. You don't need the app to be complete before you start your marketing efforts. Build buzz with social media in advance of your launch. Apps like @Arithmeroo and @Tales2Go are doing an excellent job of this.

6. REVIEWERS ARE YOUR FRIENDS. Read the app review blogs. When it's time to go live, these folks have the audience you need. Without them you are pretty much dead. Keep track of their posts, submit comments, find them on Twitter, and when it is finally your turn to submit your app, follow their instructions carefully. They are busy people.

7. NETWORK WITH OTHER DEVELOPERS. The most significant benefit of this past quarter has been connecting with other parent iPhone developers. From them, I've recognized benchmarks for successful apps and marketing practices. Kudos to our forum at Moms With Apps.

8. GET PROFESSIONAL WITH YOUR WEB AND SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE. Apps are their own little marketing engines. An appealing springboard icon that can double on your Facebook and Twitter profiles provides an integrated digital portfolio (@MomMaps is a great example). Having this all organized on a homepage with links to your blog, YouTube demos, and customer testimonials is a nice touch.

9. DON'T UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF YOUTUBE. Video is powerful. Video reviewers are probably more powerful. Getting a handle on this universal channel should be tops in terms of my 2010 priorities.

More ideas? Fire them up! Let's make some great apps in 2010!

Finding a Developer for Your App

I'm coming across more people who want to make an app, but who don't know where to start in terms of finding developers. (I was LUCKY, I found a local Dad over Facebook who collaborated with me on My Little Suitcase.) But if I wasn't so lucky, here is some information I pulled together for those still searching...

THE FRIENDS & FAMILY WAY
Poll your personal networks by posting your criteria on Facebook or other sites you use. You might actually know someone (who knows someone) who dabbles in programming.

THE STUDIOUS WAY
Look up the apps you like on the App Store to get contact information on the developer, and inquire to see if they are taking contract work.

THE IN-PERSON WAY
Go to Meetup.com and search for iPhone + your zip code. Chances are there is a developer meet up near you. These are ripe opportunities for matching developers with work.

THE ON-THEIR-OWN-TURF WAY
Find developers in their own zone by posting on developer forums. Here is an example at iphonedevsdk.com.

THE SOCIAL-NETWORKING-FOR-APPS WAY
There are services that operate as social networking platforms just for mobile apps. The two I know of are Appolicious and App Boy. There is a Developer Directory on Appolicious, and an idea generation tool on App Boy, and both work to match ideas with developers. Very cool!

THE SPECIFIC WAY
There is a site, dedicated to this exact need called New App Idea. You submit your idea, and they match you up with bids from developers. Sounds like a good idea! Has anyone tried this?

THE STANDARD WAY
Craigslist.

THE DO-IT-YOURSELF WAY
App Building Engines are sprouting up so that more and more people will have the tools to drag and drop their apps into place, on their own. App Inventor for Android by Google (of course) is an example. I'm sure by now there are about 100 more.

Good luck on your endeavors, and holler if you have more ideas to add to this list!

My Favorite Apps for Family Travel

I've made a widget of five family travel apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch that we enjoy. They include My Little Suitcase, MomMaps, PopGeo, PicPocketBooks, and Family Matters. Check them out if are traveling anytime soon.

MomMaps: Because Family Travel Requires That Nearest Playground

You know the drill. You're traveling with the kids, and all you need to make the day go smoothly is the right eatery and the right outdoor space to let them run around. When you find the playground, it feels like you've just struck gold. If coffee is nearby, nirvana.

MomMaps is the iPhone app that gets you there. With over 13,000 kid-friendly locations in the U.S. and beyond, it will take you to parks, playgrounds, restaurants, museums and indoor playareas to keep everyone smiling (for real!). The content is generated by parents for parents, so it's like having mom-word-of-mouth in one convenient little app.

But what really excites me about MomMaps are the creators, Jill and Alesha, who helped kick off Moms With Apps. They seem to be dominating the social media marketing frenzy. By using Facebook and Twitter for outreach and feedback, and a website that features MomMappers, they have already been noticed on Mashable and Apple. I don't know about you, but I'm taking notes, literally.

To find out what they are up to, check out the @mommaps on Twitter. But before you do, maybe you should grab your notebook too. It's more than just kid-friendly spots, it's Mom Biz 101.

PicPocket Books: A Travel Tool of Choice

As a parent, so much of my energy is spent addressing what is the right amount of media for my children. On one hand, I limit screentime and encourage play. On the other hand, I want my kids to be aware of modern technology and how it can be used productively. When I experienced PicPocket Books on my iPhone, it was the first time I had a clear conscience about handing a device over to my kids. Finally, no devil on my shoulder murmuring about brains and mush. With a digital library of PicPocket Books on my phone, I just increased reading opportunities. For us, these little apps will turn out to be an ultimate travel tool. I hope it will for you as well. Curious? Take a look:



So far I have two titles downloaded on my phone, but we plan on downloading all 16 (and that number is increasing by the week as more publishers come into the mix). Browsing their titles, you will find books about trucks, sisters, sea creatures and more. Kids can listen along, read along, or read at their own pace.

So before you board your next airplane trip, what would you rather do? Download videos, or download books? Now, at least, you have options.

The Little App That Could

Once upon a time, the founders of My Busy Kit bought iPhones for themselves for the holidays. Then they had an idea. How about making an application for kids where they can pack their own suitcase in hopes of inspiring adventure? After many months of hard work, My Little Suitcase was born! In My Little Suitcase, you can make it snow...


Play at the beach...


Fly a kite (or your clothes)...


And find stuff in the dark!



We believe in open-ended, creative play, and are working hard to make all of our products stir the imagination. Curious? Give it a whirl - we'd love your feedback!