Filed under: Design, Fun, Kids, Education
Storybird: cute web-based storybook publishing
I have to admit, I'm pretty envious of kids today, because they get to play with fun stuff like Storybird. Storybird is a place for kids and parents to read and create storybooks. It's completely kid-friendly and features a gallery of great artwork that you can use to get started. Just because Storybird is targeted at children doesn't mean it's dumbed-down, though. A lot of adults I know couldn't lay out a storybook in Pagemaker, but they'd have no problem creating something nice with this. Of course, kids can make their own Storybirds, but they can also read selections from the site's public collection. They're not all great, but the characters in the art gallery are cool enough to hold some interest (I know I would have loved the monsters, in particular, as a kid). Storybird is also looking at offering a print publishing platform, so you can use it to make real books, too. What kid wouldn't want a professionally printed version of his own book?
So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do.
Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game.
The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jonico said 9:02PM on 9-07-2009
Nice looking service, but I am little worried about the terms of service for this site. Specifically:
By contributing it to the Site you automatically grant to Storybird an irrevocable (except as set forth in this Section), perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully-paid, royalty-free, worldwide license to:
A. use, copy, publicly perform, publicly display, excerpt (in whole or in part) and distribute your User Content for any purpose on or in connection with the use, operation or promotion of the Site,
B. through the Site, reformat, translate, modify, revise, prepare derivative works of the User Content or incorporate the User Content into other works, and
C. grant sublicenses of this license to users of the Site in connection with the use, operation or promotion of the Site.
You also waive, in favour of us, users of the Site and any transferee of this license, any moral rights you have in the User Content, in connection with the use, operation or promotion of the Site.
Any modifications, revisions or derivative works of User Content permitted by this Agreement shall be the property of Storybird and you hereby irrevocably assign and transfer to us any interest you may have in such modifications, revisions or derivative works, effective upon their creation. We shall use such modifications, revisions or derivative works only in connection with the use, operation and promotion of the Site, and shall license them to users of the Site only for that purpose.
Reply
Mark Ury said 9:13PM on 9-10-2009
@Jay, thanks for the kind words about Storybird and the review. Like you, I'm envious about all the fun stuff kids get today. But of all the things I could give my kid, having fun with words, ideas, and narratives tops the list. That was certainly a driving force in why we designed the service and will continue to be our focus.
@jonico: Thanks for the compliment. And regarding the legalese: I agree. It always sounds intimidating. But when you parse it into human terms, all we do is ensure we have the rights to display or distribute people's work, not unlike a publisher and very much like UGC sites.
Best to you both.
Mark Ury, Cofounder, Storybird
Reply