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Barnes and Noble, Tikatok Turn Kids into Authors

Real Books by Real Kids is a Nook Color -specific ebook creation and publication platform that lets young writers create ebooks to be shared via Nook’s free downloadable app, Tikatok . While the company has been helping children create print versions of their stories for several years via their interactive website, the downloadable app is strictly Nook-worthy and the resulting ebooks only available on Nook (not iPad or Kindle), its Android-powered status may make it compatible with other Android devices.

Youngsters can write a very basic book using the app’s fill-in-blank story prompted template, or more advanced users can get even more creative with pages and illustrations. Once the ebook is created, sorry Mom and Dad, the royalties aren’t going to pad Junior’s college account; the ebooks are free to create and publish, and then become available free to any Nook reader via the Tikatok bookshelves. However, printed and bound editions of the ebooks are available for purchase by the parents, no doubt solving the ever-troubling dilemma of what to get Grandma for Christmas this year.

The educational applications abound, especially since Barnes and Noble—in yet another brilliant move—is offering a discounted rate on the printed books for their classrooms. This will encourage schools with limited technology budgets to pursue Nook Color devices for the e-reader needs, since multiple design projects can be incorporated into the curriculum with the Tikatok app. Note to teachers: by taking advantage of the discounted rate but offering the children’s books to the parents for the regular consumer rate, schools could potentially benefit from the fundraising aspect of a project such as this, and turn that meager profit around into purchased professional ebooks for the classroom Nooks.

By creating a program that no other e-reader or platform is offering, reaching out to parents of creative children and to teachers look for another innovative way to incorporate reading and writing, Barnes and Noble is proving that it is proactive about not fading away with too many other brick-and-mortar book stores.

Barnes & Noble Use Angry Birds To Drive Customers to Stores - Free ...

Nook Color owners have one more reason to run into their local Barnes & Noble store these days thanks to the inclusion of a real world element in the latest Angry Birds app which rewards users with a free Mighty Eagle character.

In addition to the free hour of reading that Barnes & Noble gives Nook owners, they will now be handing out virtual goods as part of an Angry Birds Magical Places promo. Starting today, if you take your Nook Color into one of 700 Barnes & Noble stores you can unlock the “Mighty Eagle” character in your Nook Color version of Angry Birds for free. You will need to won the Angry Birds app for the Nook Color which is $2.99.

The Mighty Eagle character is a super-player in the world of Angry birds which can help you get past hard to beat levels or help you beef up your “Eagle Score”. The Mighty Eagle normally costs $.99, but Nook Color owners can unlock the character for free when they visit a store. The character only needs to be unlocked once to be used throughout the game, though you will need to wait for the Mighty Eagle to recharge in between use.

Offering another free service is an interesting way for Barnes & Noble to try to draw users into their retail locations and attract more Nook Color purchases. I’m not sure a 99 cent unlockable is that big of a deal in the long run, but Angry Birds addicts will enjoy this treat if they are close enough to a local store.

Personally I would rather see Barnes & Noble offer a book of the month promotion which delivered a half price book deal if purchased in store or some other type of pricing promotion. These types of promotions would also be more appealing if they included Barnes & Noble owned stores like Books-a-Million, which would expand the reach greatly.

Is a free Mighty Eagle enough to get you off your couch and into a Barnes & Noble?

Josh is technology enthusiast who enjoys pushing new gadgets to their limits and helping the average user make informed choices about technology. Josh has had technology articles appear on WalletPop and MSNBC as well as coverage from CNN.

Josh also teaches business technology courses and is the Editor at Notebooks.com. His phone is a ThunderBolt and his Tablet is an iPad 2.

Follow Josh on Twitter @Josh_Smith or email him Josh@Notebooks.com.

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