Raccoon by Wattpad
By Neilie Johnson,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Simple vlog-maker OK, offers limited entertainment.
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Raccoon by Wattpad
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What’s It About?
RACCOON BY WATTPAD hopes to appeal to the selfie generation by giving them one-touch, short-form video blogging. After you sign up with either an email or a Facebook account, you can create a basic profile with a username, location, description, and photo. Teens can choose not to use a real name, and they don't need to include a picture, location, or description. Videos can be made about any subject, and developer Wattpad Corp. also offers weekly topics for discussion. Videos can be saved under your profile or shared via social media, and a Follow function lets you track your favorite video creators. Users can search for topics, and you can "like" videos but otherwise cannot comment on them.
Is It Any Good?
With the release of this simple video blog tool, developer Wattpad attempts to build on the success of its clever fiction writing app, Tap, but it falls a bit short. Raccoon by Wattpad makes video recording as easy as can be, and the personal, visual storytelling does offer more connection than just text, but the content is often pretty mundane, and as of this writing, also quite limited. Topic searches bring up only a handful of related videos per topic -- mostly by the same people -- and while it's good that videos are limited to one or two minutes, few users have mastered the art of the quick, entertaining anecdote. Videos can't even be spiced up with graphics or text, since the app's bare-bones presentation doesn't have any of those tools. Limited content, few features, and tiny user base makes for an app that's just OK.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about video blog content in apps like Raccoon by Wattpad. What kinds of topics are appropriate to share online? What personal information should you avoid sharing online?
Think about good storytelling. What makes for an interesting, worthwhile story?
Discuss how shared online experiences help build a sense of community. What sorts of stories do you like best? Why? Do you feel connected to the storyteller?
App Details
- Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android
- Pricing structure: Free
- Release date: August 25, 2017
- Category: Social Networking
- Publisher: Wattpad Corp
- Version: 1.14.0
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 9.0 or later; Android 4.4 and up
- Last updated: August 10, 2021
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