Ok so first things first, I am not a Barbie fan and don't subscribe to her blog to pick up the latest happenings with her and Ken, this popped up on Mashable this morning.
Barbie joins Foursquare - A recipe for a marketing disaster?
Sounds like a great promo idea. The 'real' barbie will be travelling across the US on a tour to promote the new video recording and editing version of the doll, which is aimed at getting young girls (and any interested boys) into the whole media world.
So what have they done to check out with Foursquare about the T's and C's of the social media giant? As stated "The Service is available only to individuals who are at least 13 years old" in it's published terms.
Unless my perception of the 'toy' is wrong, is the potential market for a Barbie doll, under 13? Can you really see teenagers using a doll for recording video, over their mobile phone, web cam or parents camcorder?
I think that Mattel should really have thought this one through, unless of course those that want to follow Barbie on Foursquare wont get any kind of age verification.
Encouraging younger kids to be using a geo-location tagging social media platform in my eyes is the worst thing that comes out of this. Does this not open the floodgates for those looking for locations of children to be searching the platform for those following or friends with Barbie?
...or am I just worrying over nothing?
