Marching On!
Hello Kidogo Friends!
Another month has flown by and I have missed you guys! This blog will cover: a grant win, survey/interns, A “The Marketing Seminar” tidbit, reels, recent interviews, brand sponsors, summer activities, recent additions to kidogo.tv, and my thoughts.
GRANT WINNER:
The ParentPreneur Foundation awarded Kidogo Productions a $1,000 grant! So exciting! So grateful! I will use these funds to increase our interactive content. Thank you James Oliver (Founder of PPF)!!
SURVEY:
Thanks to those who filled out Kidogo’s recent survey. It is helpful to see what you guys like on Kidogo.tv and what you would like to see added. Of those surveyed, a majority consume the curated videos the most. Many, like 88.8% of you want to see either posters or presentations in the future. Shoutout to interns Leyla and Victoria of Babson College for taking the lead on that survey! They’ll also be working with me on pricing, customer development, and social media. Exciting!
THE MARKETING SEMINAR:
The seminar on marketing with Seth Godin continues. The seminar is an asynchronous online forum fueled by video prompts, which pop up every few days. Seth explains a concept and then we are to apply the concept to our business in answers we post. Cohort members then respond to each other’s posts. The entire cohort is on question #28, while I’m a liiiitle behind, on #21. I was keeping up until the Kidogo Live at the end of February and my recent not-COVID-cold did not help. One of the questions required me to dig and to keep digging to find the REAL reason why people would become a Kidogo customer. Here is what I wrote:
1. Parents, educators and creators want a one-stop platform to contribute, engage and consume Black-centered content for kids.
2. They want to see Black joy and Black excellence all in one place.
3. They want their children to see Black joy and Black excellence all in one place.
4. They want this content, in high concentrated doses, to counteract the harm from societal failures to their children (racism not only harms the subject, but also the perpetrator).
5. They want this counteraction to reduce their own worry about their children.
6. They want to reduce their worry so that they can celebrate their children’s affirmed joy and excellence.
7. They want to celebrate these affirmations because they understand that an affirmed child succeeds in school and in life.
8. They want their children to succeed so that it begins to eradicate the effects of racism on communities.
9. They want the effects of racism to eradicated on a community level so that the vestiges (ever-present evidence) of slavery, oppression, and systematic violence no longer holds Black people back from success and no longer give non-Black people weapons to do harm.
10. They want community-level eradication of violence so that all can be truly free.
11. They want true freedom so that the world will be a better place for ALL.
One of the course leaders then asked why ##2 and 3 were so important to customers. Here’s my response:
Thanks, Linda! Perhaps “all” is an exaggeration, lol! However, I realize that the spirit of what I am saying is rooted in something. There are at least three major points in history when Black people scattered:
1. When we were stolen/sold from Africa;
2. During the great migration from the South to the North of the U.S. as we fled from lynchings and other oppressive tactics; and
3. As an unintended consequence of the civil rights movement. Black people (who could) left the cities in search of “greener grass” in the suburbs.
I would argue that at each of those points, our sense of community was put into jeopardy. I am certainly not saying that the civil rights movement or the great migration were wrong by any means, but we should also recognize that our communities allowed us to see the barber, the short order cook, the nurse, the student, the doctor, the banker, and the CEO, etc. all in one neighborhood. This was representation personified.
I am essentially trying to recreate this sense and breath of community on this platform. I want children (of any race) to see a full array of possibilities all within a few clicks.
That’s the deep reason. More practically speaking, it takes parents and educators too long to find a variety of good quality content. I’d love for this platform to be a go-to, one-stop shop for my audience.
It felt like I was digging down to the center of the earth with these answers. This Kidogo Community, correct me if I’m wrong, has several deep-seated reasons why we need Black-centered content. If I have missed anything, please let me know! I’d love to continue this conversation.
REELS
Instagram intimidates me. Never mind TikTok (sigh). I’ve recently gotten out of my comfort zone, though, by doing reels. Not to assume everyone is immersed in IG-- Reels are very short video clips, which sometime involve you using someone else’s audio. You then deliberately appropriate this audio to your life or business. The reel I showed in my last blog post didn't show me lip synching to the audio, but now I have done a few of them like this one. I thank my Spelman sister and business mentor, Sommer Vega of Pocket PR for showing me the mechanics.
This creative license spawns hundreds of thousands of different videos using the same audio clip. It’s fascinating to create and mind numbing to consume. Most of my reels have highlighted the problem with children’s media today. I realize that, for some people, there is a distinct lack of awareness that mainstream children’s media, overall, lacks authentic diversity. I will also do reels that do more to show the problem and our solution. This means showing more media clips.
RECENT INTERVIEWS
I have had such fun lately interviewing content creators like Sonjoria Sydnor of Our Family’s Doing Yoga, Shannon Jenkins of Black Children’s Books Read Aloud, Javoris Hollingsworth of Gracie’s Corner, P.J. Bass of Children Reading Books for Success, Carlotta Penn, children’s book author, and Keesa McKoy of the Black Bookworms. While conducting these interviews is fun for me, editing them is not. I WILL get these interviews out as soon as I am done.
BRAND SPONSORS
I just wrapped up a 3-day brand sponsorship challenge with Mario Armstrong. I am new to this potential revenue stream. This blog, our live events, and even the platform, itself can be supported by other brands who align with Kidogo's. I While I am NOT interested in Kidogo’s site looking like a NASCAR vehicle, I am interested in providing an opportunity for our efforts to be monetarily supported by other companies who align with Kidogo’s mission. Please note the italics, two times over. More on this as I learn!
SUMMER ACTIVITIES
As the days warm, Kidogo wants to get out there and see kids. We are brainstorming activities, but we would love to hear from you, too. Any suggestions?
RECENT ADDITION TO KIDOGO FAMILY
I had a heartwarming meeting with two moms of kidpreneurs, John and Eva. Stay tuned for more to come from these two powerhouse kids, but for now, please warmly welcome Eva to the Kidogo family! You will find her videos like the one below on the Family life channel! Eva's effervescent and bright personality will pull you in and make you smile.
Also, please welcome Keesa McKoy and her daughter to the family as well! They love to read! Here's their latest video. Stay tuned for more from them!
MY THOUGHTS
My daughter and I were getting ready to go out to eat at a fancy restaurant. Marc had gone to pick up his mom. Amara and I got ready with time to spare. We decided to kill some time by watching "Finding Nemo." Amara had never seen it and, for me, it had been a long while. As we settled in, I was pleasantly excited about introducing Amara to a new animation when….
Dang it!! Moments like that happen so quickly! Sometimes you can’t explain it or process it or even notice it at first. To be honest, I didn’t notice it at first. During dinner, I was telling Marc about this scene and how scary it was and how children’s movies depict moments that should be for more mature audiences. He quipped, “Yeah, and I bet the predator was Black." O.M.G…. it was. Within 30 seconds, a young child learns the following:
1. Black beings do bad things.
2. When Black beings do bad things, it causes pain to the people you love.
3. Black beings are to be feared.
4. Stay away from Black things.
5. If you encounter a Black being, flight, fight, fawn, freeze-- those are all acceptable responses.
Dang it! How do I protect my child from that? How do I extract those terrible lessons from her mind? How come I must be so vigilant all the time? Why am I now forced to have a difficult conversation with her at such an earlier age? THIS IS NOT FAIR. I wish this scene was an isolated incident, but it isn’t. It happens too consistently. File this under “dis tew much.”
But this is why Kidogo exists. This is why I am ringing the bell to anyone who will listen. This is why I need your help.
Thanks for your support, prayers, and wisdom.
For the Kids, for the Culture,
Keeana