Excuse Me, But That's my Privacy You're Stepping On.

UPDATE: In just a few hours after I posted this, I found the photographer on Twitter and asked him to remove the photo. He did and apologized and promised never to take a photo of me again. My faith in people has resumed. Thank you all for your support - even you "Anonymous" commenter.


Dear Readers,

One of the things I do in order to let Savvy Aunties know about all the coolest new toys they can consider giving their nieces and nephews is attend various toy showcase events. This morning I attended the Time to Play event in New York City. It was a fantastic event and I will be spending a good part of the week sharing my favorite toys from the show with Savvy Aunties on SavvyAuntie.com/Gifts.

The only disturbing part of the event was the gentleman who took a photo of me while I was looking at some toys. I told him that I didn't want to be in his photo. He shrugged me off. I said: "Excuse me, but you don't have my permission to use my image in your print publication or post it on your site." He shrugged me off again as if to say "Oh well, tough luck" and continued to walk away.

I pressed on.

"Excuse me sir, but you do not have my permission to use my image." He told me it was for internal purposes and I left it at that. I shouldn't have. I should have gotten his credentials and notified his company. But he was walking away and I didn't want to create a scene. I think I made a mistake.

I was steaming mad.

I am fresh off of being notified by a friend late last night that there is a photo of me on Flickr that I had never seen before. It was taken last summer while I sat at an outdoor cafe working on my laptop and on my cell. I remember what I was working on that day and how happy I was to be getting so much work done at my neighborhood cafe on a lovely summer day.

The photographer boasted on Flickr that the photo has been used in numerous blogs and poked fun at me stating how he had taken a number of photos of me from just a few feet away but I was too busy on my phone to notice him (like I'm in the wrong for not being aware some creepy guy is taking pictures of me while I worked.)

Here's what he wrote on Flickr:

"I took several pictures of her, from different angles, and from only a few feet away. Amazingly, she never seemed to notice me at all; I guess she was concentrating too hard on her cellphone conversation and whatever was on her laptop (which, I'm guessing from its physical appearance, was probably an IBM Thinkpad, running Windows - so she was probably forced to pay close attention to it). "

I wont tell you his name or post the photo page link because he doesn't know who I am and I'd like to keep it that way.

But I'm creeped out.

Just like I was when I noticed that the Huffington Post shared what articles I was reading "with my friends."

Just like I was when I found out that anyone can see what I "liked" on Facebook.

And don't get my started on FourSquare, Gowalla and other "Here I am! Come take photos of me without my persmission" geolocation technologies.

By the way, this Flickr guy didn't need to use geolocation technology to tell everyone where I was. He just posted the address of a cafe I frequent often to the world. Oh well, looks like I won't be going there anymore.

Here's the thing. I'm a public person. I am on TV and have photos of me all over the Web.

But these appearances are my choice. They are me in my professional status as Savvy Auntie. And it's not like this guy took photos of my because I'm Savvy Auntie. He took them because I was a vulnerable to his camera, sitting minding my own business. It was a violation of my privacy.

Do we really have to shrug it off like the photographer at Time to Play and say: "But this is the world now, get used to it?" Was George Orwell just 26 years too early?

Privacy should not be owned by those who violate it.

Is becoming free subjects of stock photography just the coolest new toy of the season? Because man, I feel played.

XOXO,
Auntie Melanie

Savvy Auntie Coolest Toy Award Widget!

Dear Readers,

As you many know, a couple of weeks ago, we announced the first annual Savvy Auntie Coolest Toy Awards!

Now you can share your Coolest Toy Savvy with all your friends, Auntie! You can embed the Savvy Auntie Coolest Toy Award widget in your blog or other online network!

Simply visit this page for your embed code and you're set!

I appreciate your sharing the Savvy Auntie Coolest Toy Awards with your network!

XOXO,
Auntie Melanie

PS - for the entire list of winners, visit http://savvyauntie.com/CoolestToyAwards

Savvy Auntie Coolest Toy Awards!

Child Lifestyle Expert and Premier SAVVY AUNTIE, Melanie Notkin Honors the Most Trendsetting, the Most Luxurious, and the Most Notable Toys for the 2009 Holiday Season 

New York, NY – October 29, 2009 – Melanie Notkin, the founder and CEO of the multi-platform lifestyle brand for kid-friendly women who are aunts by relation, aunts by choice, and godmothers, Savvy Auntie®, is sharing her favorite gifts for nephews and nieces available this holiday season by awarding 12 toys with the “Coolest” title, 6 toys with the “Lux” title (costing $100 and over), and 8 toys will receive honorable mentions. Notkin has identified and stepped to the forefront for the underrepresented 50% of American women whom she refers to as PANKs (Professional Aunts No Kids). This underserved demographic has strong, untapped, consumer power. In order to offer these child-loving women a resource to aid in their holiday gift shopping, Notkin has created the Savvy Auntie Coolest Toy Awards. In order to compile a list of the most coveted and exciting gifts for nieces and nephews, the first toy awards designed for Savvy Aunties, Notkin selected her lists based on the most coveted toys of the season that she found to also be the most innovative. “These toys certainly have that “cool” factor that aunts want when her nieces, nephews and children in her life open their gifts this holiday season,” says Notkin. “From modern twists on the classics to toys that entered the market just this year, we’ve identified the ones we think will encourage play, imagination, as well as learning and role-play. 

SAVVY AUNTIE’S TOY AWARDS

Coolest:

Crayola Beginnings: Color Me a Song, ages 2-4, $24.99 (Crayola)

Leapfrog Tag Junior Book Pal Reading System, ages 2-4 $39.99 (Leapfrog)

Matchbox Rocky The Robot Truck, ages 3-6, $59.99 (Mattel)

Playskool Kota and Pals Hatchlings – Triceratops, ages 3-8, $14,99 (Hasbro)

Harumika Super Style Accents, ages 6-14, $9.99 (Bandai)

Disney Princess and The Frog Tiana Doll ages 3-6, $10.99 (Mattel)

Liv Fashion Dolls, ages 3-8, $19.99 (Spin Master)

zhu zhu Pets Hamsters and assorted play sets, ages 4-8, $9.99-$21.99 (Cepia)

Dr. Seuss Super Stretchy ABCs Active Game, ages 3-6, $19.99 (I Can Do That Games)

Printies Pet Design Studio, ages 6-12, $19.99 (Techno Source)

Bakugan New Vestroia 7 in 1 Maxus Dragonoid, ages 5-12, $39.99 (Spin Master)

Transformers 2 Revenge of the Fallen Roleplay Helmet – Bumblebee, ages 5-9, $39.99 (Hasbro)

Lux:

Fisher-Price Handy Manny's Repair Shop, ages 3-5 $100, (Fisher-Price)

Corolle 17" Lila Interactive Baby Doll, ages 3-8, $100 (Corolle)

Corolle Navy and Pink Baby Doll Carriage Stroller, ages 3-8 (Corolle)

Steiff Selection – Lying Lamb, ages newborn -2, $135.00 (Steiff)

Barbie Pink World 3-Story Dream Townhouse, ages 3-8, $159.99 (Mattel)

LEGO Star Wars: The Clone Wars Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser, ages 9-14, $129.99

Honorable Mentions:

Leapfrog My Puppy Pal Scout, ages 6 months -3, $19.99 (Leapfrog)

Vtech Kidizoom Plus Pre-School 2.0MP Digital Camera, ages 3-9, $59.99 (Vtech)

Barbie Fashion Fever Fashionista Doll, ages 3-8, $11.99 (Mattel)

Moxie Girlz Doll, ages 4-8, $9.99 (MGA Entertainment)

Best Friends Club Dolls, ages 6-10, $39.99 (MGA Entertainment)

LEGO Bionicle Baramus, ages 9-16, $41.00, (LEGO)

Nerf N-Strike Raider Rapid Fire CS-35 Blaster with 35 Darts, ages 6-11, $34.99 (Hasbro)

Dell Inspiron Mini 10V, Nickelodeon Edition, ages 8-12, $329.00 (Dell)

Each winning toy will be listed on Savvy Auntie and will link to an online retailer.  Winners will also receive an award winning seal to post on their site, further attracting the PANK demographic with Notkin’s stamp of approval.  “Kids know that the cool aunt, godmother, or best friend always gives the coolest gifts during the holidays.  The Savvy Auntie Toy Awards support all the cool aunts out there,” says Notkin.

Notkin is a regular on FOX News and has appeared on NBC, CBS and Better TV as taste-maker for children’s trends. She’s been published in The New York Times and writes a blog about her experience as the founder of Savvy Auntie. Additionally, she is the Editor in Chief of SavvyAuntie.com and ensures all content is aunt-friendly and newsworthy to child development as well as the Savvy Auntie lifestyle.  SavvyAuntie.com’s integrity earned a Webby Award nomination in 2009 for Best Parenting/Family site.

For additional information, follow Melanie Notkin on Twitter @savvyauntie!  For interviews with Melanie Notkin as well as additional information on the Savvy Auntie Toy Awards and on the Savvy Auntie platform, please contact agcrisci@gmail.com.

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About Savvy Auntie

SavvyAuntie.com, Webby Award nominee, is the first resource and online community for aunts – Aunts by Relation (ABR), Aunts by Choice (ABC) and all fabulous kid-friendly women. The website offers advice and expertise developed just for aunts, along with activities and gift ideas for their nieces and nephews. Moreover, the Savvy Auntie community enables aunts to connect and share the best and most challenging parts of aunt-hood with their Savvy Auntie friends. Dubbed “the first parenting site for non-parents,” and earning praise from the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, More Magazine and others, Savvy Auntie empowers and engages aunts with whatever they need celebrate aunt-hood. The site can be found at www.SavvyAuntie.com

Going to Toy Fair!

Dear Readers,

I'm going to be at Toy Fair tomorrow at the Jacob Javits Center in New York. This is the annual event where toy manufacturers, big and small, gather to showcase their upcoming toys for the year. It's really exciting to be in on the action and I will be filming our favorites (and perhaps a few strange things we find) along the way.

What am I filming for? Well, I am excited to announce that we will soon be launching Savvy Auntie TV. Online video is becoming more and more important in digital media. If it's good, it can be incredibly viral - which means people will share it often. It's like having SavvyAuntie.com on wheels!

I'll post more on Savvy Auntie TV soon, but rest assured it will be along the sophisticated lines of the Savvy Auntie brand. It's professionally produced and I have to say, looking good. I'm thrilled! I cannot wait to share it with you!

In the meantime, I am getting ready for two incredible days at Toy Fair.... including wearing comfortable shoes and making a sandwich.

Want to follow me at Toy Fair? I'll be live Tweeting all day: Twitter.com/savvyauntie.

XOXO,
Auntie Melanie

The Beauty of Toys

Dear Readers,

There's a pile of toys sitting in my living room. A couple of Fancy Nancys, an Elmo, a Tumbles, a cow and a moose (they're a couple) and some night vision goggles. They're not mine. Well, they're mine but I don't really play with them. Other than the Elmo and the Tumbles on rare occasion.

These toys came my way via various PR and brand managers who sent them upon request. Most of these toys appeared with me on a TV or web show. Some, like cow and moose, just found their way to me somehow.

The amazing thing about all this is that a year ago, I didn't know much about toys. Now, I have become an official toy expert. Not only am I a contributing editor for Toy Wishes Magazine, but I often appear on TV or online talking about the hottest toys for nieces and nephews of all ages. And I feel confident I know my stuff. Or at least I try.

Of course, there's that incredible Gifts section on SavvyAuntie.com that lists the best toys we've seen this year. Yes, it's nearing 2009 and we're already scouting for the best of the new year. And by we I mean me. Because I'm still a one-woman show. (Although after the new year, I am welcoming @savvychrista and @savvydebi as part-time interns and they are going to be a tremendous help!)

My point about my becoming a toy expert in less than a year is that if you set your mind out to do something, to be something, and if you work hard enough, you might just be able to achieve it.

I learned that when I began working at L'Oreal in 2002. The beauty industry is pretty incestuous. When I thought about getting into the industry just a few years before I landed the job at L'Oreal, a woman who had been in the industry forever told me that if you weren't 'born' into the beauty industry, it was almost impossible to get in. Beauty execs move from one company to another, or are lifers at their first. Rarely do people enter the industry after entry-level.

But I got in at a senior level.... and knew little about cosmetics other than my own passion for them. But I learned. I studied. I inquired. I went to makeup counters and watched. I read research data. I scanned the internet for cosmetics news. I dove right in. And became a beauty expert.

The toy industry reminds me a little of the beauty industry. There are a few independent brands with some winning products, but mostly there are just a few larger companies that own a significant number of toy brands - just like in the beauty industry. And just like the beauty industry, it's tough to get into the toy industry if you weren't born into it.

Both industries thrive on innovation - but true innovation is rare and fleeting. A truly innovative product has never been done before, and it often takes either a small, nimble company, or a rich mega-company, to produce and launch it. And as technology gets easier to replicate, an innovative product doesn't own a category for too long before a copy-cat comes along to steal part if its thunder.

Finally, technologies are often replicated between brands of a larger company. Just like you'll find similar technologies in mascaras across mass and prestige makeup brands, you'll notice similar technologies sweep across toy brands. For example, this year it was hard to find a toy that wasn't motorized in one way or another.

Elmo Live! by Fisher Price is the latest incarnation of our ticklish furry friend, and is really life-like. Or toddler monster-like. While a few steps above the original Tickle-Me Elmo, Elmo Live! is still a motorized plush.

Playskool, a division of Hasbro, and a wonderful Savvy Auntie sponsor, launched Kota the Triceratops, the motorized dino that little kids just love. And Playskool's Tumbles, Biscuit and Butterscotch were also favorites of kids for whom the basic plush is no longer the only option. And Tonka, another brand associated with Hasbro, has a real winner with the Tonka Bounce Back Racer which sold out quickly.

Non-tech toys also made it big this year. Bakugan, a trading card/marbles/action figure game based on the anime series of the same name, caused quite a stir among school-aged boys. And the hackysack-like Myachi, took ten years to become and over-night success.

Alex Toys, a leading crafts brand, launched it's Alex Jr baby plush baby products and I instantly fell in love with the gorgeous colors and designs. Somewhere between pastels and prime colors, the toys are really a delight to look at.

Of course, there are smaller, independant companies that I see a lot of promise for as well. Tedde - the 'un-mass' produced teddy bear company, really has an opportunity to reach an audience that is looking for a different toy to give a unique child.

Finally, companies are making great strides in developing toys specifically for Special Needs kids, or realizing that their traditional products are developmental for those kids as well.

I am eager to see what 2009 will bring for toy innovation and how the economy will shape the industry. What will be this year's Webkindz, Guitar Hero or Wii Fit? Will technology play an even greater role, or will consumers lean toward basic toys as the economy brings them back to basics at home?

I'll be attending the Toy Fair in New York in February and will have a better idea then. I'll share all the new innovations with you as I learn about them myself, here and at SavvyAuntie.com. Plus, this year I'm launching a still hush-hush way of telling you about all the latest, hottest gifts for kids. It's coming soon and I can't wait for the reveal!

In the meantime, I have Elmo and Tumbles to keep me company. And yes - having great toys does make me a very cool Savvy Auntie. Just ask my nephew and nieces. They're coming to play this week.



XOXO,
Auntie Melanie

PS Please join our Facebook Fan Page! There's more there!

My Toy Wishes

Dear Readers,

About a year ago, I went to my first event as "press." I was very secretive about Savvy Auntie at that point, but I was somehow able to convince the good people at Toy Wishes to invite me to their toy event at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

The Toy Wishes event was great for me. I got to learn about new brands and toys, as well as hear what the classics were up to. I was amazed at the innovation in toys. When I was growing up, it was all My Simon and Light Bright. And my favorite toy was the Easy Bake Oven. And I had a doll named Pebbles. She wasn't from the Flintstones - I guess I just liked the name. She blinked.

I also met a lot of cool people from the toy brands who were nice enough to help me learn about their latest and greatest toy trends. And I met some of the toy inventors, like Jacobe Chrisman from I Can Do That Toys. He's so creative!

So you can imagine my incredible surprise and honor when Toy Wishes' publisher, Gareb Shamus, asked me (ME!) to be their consumer spokesperson this year. And I was right there last Tuesday, October 7th, when Gareb announced the Hot Dozen toys for this Holiday Season. And while I was at the event, I got to to interview some of the brands about their new innovations, and even got to ask a few questions to tween stars Aly and AJ.

If all goes well, I'll be doing a lot of press over the next couple of months, helping Toy Wishes get the word out about their Hot Dozen. In the meantime, you can see them here on SavvyAuntie.com/ToyWishes. They are among the dozens of Savvy Holiday Gift Ideas I have handpicked for Savvy Aunties, uncles, grandparents and even parents!

In just a year, I immersed myself in the toy and gift industry so that I could help Aunties be more Savvy about gift giving. It's no small task. There are so many amazing toys out there. In fact, if you're on Twitter, I am Tweeting a Savvy Holiday Gift Idea of the Day everyday from now until Christmas. I hope that's useful and helpful.

Thomas Jefferson once said: "I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it."

I am very lucky. But make no mistake - I am working very hard at it - for all the Aunties out there so that they can feel more Savvy about giving the best and most wanted toys to their nieces and nephews this holiday season - and rankly any time she feels like it.

At least, that is my wish.

XOXO,
Auntie Melanie