I was very much torn by whether to blog about the new site, Miss Bimbo, that got so much attention in the UK media over the holiday weekend and from several social media watchers yesterday. After all, it's attention that the creators crave, not to mention the search engine benefit from lots of inbound links, even condemnations.
But add my condemnation to the pile anyway.
The object of the game -- which is targeted at girls ages 9 to 16 -- is to become the "hottest, coolest, most famous bimbo in the whole world." Players begin with a naked "bimbo" avatar which they are charged with improving. Tactics for success in the game include plastic surgery and diet pills.
Players pay for the services, as well as fancy outfits for nights of virtual clubbing, with "bimbo dollars" which they purchase by sending text messages costing £1.50 (about $3.00) each.
Creator Nicolas Jacquart of southwest London says that it's "harmless fun" and that the game "simply mirrors real life in a tongue-in-cheek way." But when it comes to honesty, authenticity and transparency, his comments ought to earn him an EPIC FAIL stamp.
There's nothing harmless about the site. It's misogynistic and foul. And the message it sends to participants couldn't be clearer or more inappropriate. Parents are understandably in an uproar. But what are they to do?
No matter how many condemnations the site receives, there's no way to simply stamp it out. And it's worth remembering that in spite of the phenomenal growth of social networking sites like Facebook, Bebo and MySpace, porn sites are still among the most significant on the Web. So there's no way around it: Parents simply must monitor their children's' online activity.
The UK version of Miss Bimbo already has more than 200,000 players. A version previously launched in France has more than 1.2 million. The site hasn't been marketed in the U.S. as yet, but it certainly seems like it's only a matter of time.
UPDATE: I corrected a typo in the second to last paragraph that resulted in a substantive mistake.
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Comments (1)
Bebo's safety officer said today that social networks are taking their responsibility to project children and young people more seriously: http://tinyurl.com/2nxr65
Personally I'd like to see the industry be more prepared to step up and take responsibility for the influence it has on consumers, whether they are young or old.
In the past, innovators have tended to use the excuse that they're too busy innovating to think about the implications of their inventions. That's some else's job. Trouble is, I don't think that stands up anymore, particularly as brands want to build *relationships* with their customers. Something needs to be given back.
Posted by Tim Callington | April 2, 2008 9:01 AM
Posted on April 2, 2008 09:01