Erica Hargreave

Bringing Stories to Life as a Speaker, & Digital & Immersive Media Strategist & Storyteller

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Pokemon Go: Teaching Your Kids to Use Pokemon Go Safely

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Pokemon spotted at the at Mei Foo Skatepark.
Pokemon spotted at the at Mei Foo Skatepark, by Warren RM Stuart.

Love it or hate it – if you have school age kids, you can’t simply ignore the Pokemon Go App, hope it goes away or hope that your kids don’t discover it.  The fact of the matter, even if your kids don’t have a smartphone or tablet, they’ve probably already been playing Pokemon Go with their friends on their devices.  So just like having that dreaded sex talk with your kids, I’d advice not hiding the smartphone or tablet, hoping that they don’t try it.  Have the Pokemon Go safety talk with them before it’s too late.

Pokemon Go hunter in Japan.
Photo of a Pokemon Go hunter in Japan, care of Nagi Usano.

If you think, “not my kid – they won’t play – I’ve told them not to”, think again. A friend and I were chatting about this the other day on the phone.  She’d told her teens the app was dangerous and had them delete it from their phones; then as we were talking, she saw them wandering up the road, staring into their phones, oblivious to the rest of their surroundings.  They are good kids and are smart, but friends had been playing it at the beach, earlier in the day, and they were hooked again – “what harm could it do?” So my friend hopped off the phone with me, to sit down with them and have ‘the talk’.

Pokemon spotted by by Charlie Boy Criscola.
Pokemon spotted by by Charlie Boy Criscola.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not against the Pokemon Go App – it kind of opens up a world of magic, which I love, but I’d love to see it kept in the realm of good magic, as oppose to opening up to tragedy and horrors, which often go hand in hand with good magic in the storybook realm.  In that bent, it is good to understand the potential dangers associated with the Pokeman Go App, so that you can advice your kids (and yourselves) on how to stay safe while you have fun playing. Here is a great video on just that, that the Miami PD recently shared: Social Media 101:Pokemon Go.  Do give it a watch.

Here are a few tips to keep your kids (and yourself) safe while playing Pokemon Go:

Hunting for Pokemon.
Photo care of Angie Six.
  • Stay aware of your surroundings.
    • Predators have been known to hangout at Pokemon Go hotspots, watching for the unsuspecting players.
    • Watch where you are going, so you don’t put yourself in harm’s way – like in traffic.
  •  Don’t meet up with strangers to hunt Pokemon, especially at night.

  • Hunt Pokemon with a friend (that you actually know from the real world – not just online), rather than on your own.
    • Watch out for each other’s safety.
    • Just because someone approaches you that is also playing the game, does not mean that they are safe. Listen to your spidey senses and use the usual cautions that you would with a stranger.
  • Put the game away while riding a bike, roller blades, a skateboard or driving a car.
  • Respect private property.
    • A virtual critter inside someone’s home or someone else’s land does not give you the right to enter, and by doing so you could put yourself in danger or at risk of criminal charges.

On the note of respect, also remind your kids to be respectful of the places they are in.  Just as you should respect other people’s property, it is also important to respect memorial sites.  They are plenty of other places to hunt Pokemon, without disturbing a sacred place and upsetting others.  (I suspect with how the app works, Pokemon are only showing up in those places, as they are geolocating where you are, and popping Pokemon up nearby. If you leave this area be, those Pokemon will pop up in more respectful place instead.)

A couple of kids making new Pokemon friends with their Dad.
A couple of kids making new Pokemon friends with their Dad. Photo by Andrés Alvarez.

Now go have fun hunting Pokemon with your kids, and teach them how to be safe and respectful about it in the process.

Digitally yours,

Erica

History & Technology Merge with the Fairmont Château Laurier’s History App

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I am a bit of a history buff!  One of my secret desires is to one day write a historic thriller.

For that reason, one of my favourite past times in a new place is actually taking a historic tour of the place I am staying in.  I can almost hear as I say this, the cringing of some of those I’ve travelled with, who find hotel tours to be a sales / marketing pitch, and while some can be, others can be the most magnificent journeys back in history.  As I write this, I am remembering a glorious afternoon in Memphis spent with the Assistant Duckmaster & Hotel Historian at the Peabody, Doug Weatherford. I really could not have asked for a more delightful way to have spent the afternoon, then walking back in Memphis history with Doug.  In fact, this visit was one of the highlights of trip to Memphis, better than my tour of Gibson Guitars, better than my visit to Stax Records, and WAY better than the circus that was Graceland. At any rate, I will write more about my adventure back in time with Doug another day on Roamancing. Today, I want to to put my tech specs on in combination with my historian hat, as I take you further North to the Fairmont Château Laurier.

Fairmont Château Laurier in Ottawa
Fairmont Château Laurier, an Ottawa hotel rich in history.

This past spring on a visit to Ottawa, I was fortunate enough to stay at the Fairmont Château Laurier, a hotel steeped in history, a history I wanted to learn more about. Rather than give me an actual tour, the hotel asked me if I could try out their new interactive history tour.  Being a bit of a tech nerd, and loving seeing and experiencing examples of technology being used to educate and tell story, I readily agreed.

Right now the Fairmont Château Laurier’s history tour is available on iPads and tablets, although I rather hope that it will at some point be available on other devices, like smart phones. Anybody with an iPad or tablet can take the tour for free, whether they are a guest or not, they just need to download the Fairmont Château Laurier History App (from the links I’ve provided in this paragraph).  If you don’t have an iPad or tablet, but are fortunate enough to be a guest of the Fairmont Château Laurier, you can borrow an iPad for the tour from the front desk.

Fairmont Château Laurier History App
Beginning my walk back in history at the Château Laurier.

Once begun this digital tour takes visitors to the Fairmont Château Laurier on a walking tour, starting in the hotel’s lobby. It provides an informative and interesting narrative, including historic photos, as it walks you through various rooms of the hotel, intertwining history with the current space visitors see before their eyes.

Fairmont Château Laurier History App
Discovering fascinating past visitors to the Château Laurier.
Fairmont Château Laurier History App
Wandering through the historic halls of the Château Laurier.

So my take on the experience?  I very much enjoyed it, as it gave me context to the space I was walking through (oh, if the walls could only talk), and snippets of history I’d been hearing about (like, did you now there is an historic connection between the Château Laurier and the Titanic?). It also got me to explore deeper into the hotel, right into the depths of the basement.  I only wish that I’d taken this tour at the beginning of our stay, rather than at the end, as it would have ensured that I made it down to the basement for a dip in that fabulous art deco pool, and would have enriched my stay so much more, with the stories of the history that surrounded me.

Now does this compare to the kind of tour that a Hotel Historian and Storyteller, like the Peabody’s Doug Weatherford gave me?  No, but afternoons such as that one are special, to be cherished, that cannot happen all the time due to scheduling and the likes. There are after all only so many Historians and Storytellers, like Doug Weatherford around, and they can’t be scheduled around the clock to suit visitor’s schedules. Catering to visitor’s schedules and the access to historic imagery are what made this technology driven digital walk back in time such a win in my mind. The weary traveller could even take the tour digitally from the awfully comfy Fairmont Château Laurier bed, as a form of a bed time story, or the uber organized traveller could watch in prep for their stay, even on-route to Ottawa on the plane or train. I, however, think it is enjoyed best as a leisurely stroll through the Fairmont Château Laurier’s historic halls.

Enjoy!