As Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu continue to expand their streaming services, other players are getting involved too. Walmart’s pumping up Vudu to compete and even Vizio has launched a streaming service of their own. But where, oh where, is Disney’s?

The official word has been that Disney will launch their streaming service sometime next year.

In the meantime, other forces—ahem—other streaming companies are allowed to expand and amass subscribers. Moreover, Disney is still working on getting entertainment assets from Fox. Add to this the fact their Star Wars spin-offs came to a grinding halt following the flop-better-known-as-Solo.

Will we ever get to see a streaming service put on by Disney?

This slow reaction is vaguely reminiscent of history.

General George McClellan

On April 12, 1861, Fort Sumter was fired upon.

Historians have set this as the official date the Civil War started in the United States.

Abraham Lincoln, the president at the time, called up Union forces to head south and quell the rebellion. Unfortunately, most of the generals at the top of his list decided to fight for the newly-formed Confederacy.

Lincoln found himself with few options.

Though not the first one he chose, General George McClellan was put in charge of the Army of Northern Virginia. McClellan assumed command after the previous two commanders either performed poorly in battle or retired.

McClellan, who saw himself as a “Young Napoleon,” took his time to train and organize his men. He also complained that he didn’t have enough weapons and ammunition to supply his troops with.

While he waited for the extra supplied, he drilled and trained his men.

Training men for battle was a good idea, but the Confederates weren’t going to sit around and wait for someone to come to them.

It would take an executive order from Lincoln himself to get McClellan to move.

Kind of sounds like what Disney’s doing now.

History Repeating Itself?

The Empire that is Walt Disney seems to be moving slowly.

Sure, they’re creating movies, TV shows, and other content. Don’t forget their parks, cruises, and merchandise.

However, it doesn’t seem to be moving quickly.

Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu, however, are putting out new content almost daily.

Walmart, through subsidiary Vudu, is getting into the streaming game as well.

Moreover, now Visio has a new streaming service too.

It’s not anywhere near Hulu or Amazon, but it is a start. Vizio has taken a selection of OTT (over-the-top) channels and made them free through their TVs. A bold move. Sooner rather than later, they’ll probably have a channel with original content on it.

Yet, Disney has done nothing.

Much like McClellan, they’re sitting there doing the same thing day in and day out. While McClellan drilled and trained, Disney is rebooting movies and turning movies into shows.

A good plan, no doubt, but it’s not groundbreaking. At. All.

It appears they think they’ll be able to ride their name brand until the sun dies out.

But history proves that to be a foolish idea.

Disney’s Late to the Party

Netflix does have a lot of Disney content, as well as Disney-owned properties available.

Moreover, that seems to be working for them.

Rumors were circulating years ago that Disney would launch a streaming service. Those rumors have been proven correct. However, it’s still been years.

Had Disney committed to the new streaming service even two years ago, it would have happened by now. Instead, they seem content with trying to get most of Fox’s entertainment assets and create Star Wars spin-offs.

 While I can’t speak with much authority on the first item, I can speak about the second.

The Dark Side

When I first saw Star Wars, I thought it was awesome. And what seven-year-old, growing up in the early nineties, wouldn’t love Star Wars?

Then the special editions came out, and I thought those were cool. Episode I was next, and I was sure we were on the cusp of a new era in movies.

It turned out that we weren’t.

The prequels didn’t do too well, and even in my young age, I got a feeling that these movies weren’t all that they could be. Looking back now, maybe I was too harsh.

Think about it for a minute.

A young man, going through the awkward years of his life, looks to the heroes of yesteryear to inspire him. That inspiration doesn't come.

Instead, we got a whiny Anakin, and Jar Jar Binks.

It was as if Hollywood reached down from their stacks of money and slapped me across the face. “The force is not going to be with you, ever!”

Well, you learn to live with it and move on.

When Disney bought Star Wars, I had a little hope.

Then they hired JJ Abrams.

All hope was lost again.

When they started producing spin-offs, I thought they might have some merit to them. By that time I had kids to take care of and going to the movies wasn’t high on my priority list.

When Solo debuted, I was curious…then I saw the headlines. I couldn't help myself when I read what they had to say, and I laughed.

The film didn’t perform as expected. As a result, the future spin-offs found themselves on pause.

I guess the force wasn’t strong with them?

What Disney Can Do

Derek Thompson of the Atlantic Monthly pointed out how Disney could rise up and become the dominant entertainment company once again.

In his article, “Disneyflix is Coming. And Netflix Should Be Scared.” Thompson detailed how the behemoth could indeed show its size.

Instead of launching just another streaming service, Disney could pull all of its content off of the other streaming services, as well as it’s cable channels, and put it all onto one big streaming service. Add in their original movies and the Star Wars, and they’d have a unique offering.

Netflix and Amazon might lose about 10% each from their subscriber base, but both companies don’t seem to be worried about this.

Thompson takes it a step further.

Make merchandise available through the streaming service. Do you want tickets to a Disney park or a cruise? Put that on the streaming service as well.

Now Disney wouldn’t have just another streaming service. It would be everything under one roof.

Thompson has dubbed it “Disneyflix.” I call it “Disney on Steroids.”

While such an endeavor would be a boon for the company, there could still be problems. Putting everything under one roof may work for Netflix, but Disney hasn’t operated like that.

To pull their content off other streaming services would mean consolidating. To make it work, Disney would have to market it as they’ve never marketed before.

However, what am I saying? Disney’s a huge company, they should be able to pull off a move like this and make it work.

That is if they decide to do it.

The streaming service has been set to launch in “late 2019.” A lot can happen between now and then. People could change their minds, and Disney may decide not to go through with the plan.

Whether Disney launches a streaming service or not, you at least have the option of finding the best internet and cable bundles. This way you save some cash and cut down on the number of bills you have.

Eventually, just like McClellan, Disney will be forced to move.

By then, hopefully, they’ll have a solid plan in place.

Digital technology is a fantastic thing, but not without its dangers. Which is why we need digital literacy.

Digital literacy provides a means to see through technology for what it is.

Look at it this way, you’ve traveled to a new city. It could be Chicago, New York, or even somewhere a little less glamorous, like Dallas, TX. These new cities can be filled with amazing things to see, terrifying in scale, or both.

And they’re not without their dangers either.

As you walk down a crowded street, a man is inviting you to play a game.

“It’s easy, just watch the ball,” he says as he places a ball under one of three cups. He proceeds to move the cups. You follow the cup you know has the ball. He moves the cups around but not too fast that you lose sight of the right container. When he’s finished, he lifts it to reveal that, indeed, the ball is still under the right cup.

“Want to play?” He asks. “You win, you get double your money back.”

To play, you need to pay five bucks.

You hand over your five-dollar bill, he pockets it and places the ball under a cup.

The cups move a little faster this time. Not too fast though.

You follow the cup until he stops.

You point to the right cup.

He lifts it to reveal there’s nothing there.

Seeing Through the Con

It’s a standard street con. The method behind it has been modified many times to use different elements for different situations.

You could say it’s a magic trick, but magicians do this to entertain, not take your money.

On the internet, there are many cons. Some of which are blatantly obvious. Has anyone gotten an email from a deposed prince of a foreign nation?

Others are a little cleverer. I once got a bill in my inbox claiming I’ve purchased an expensive program. Of course, I didn’t. But I wanted to make sure my bank account wasn’t hacked. So I check my bank account and no money is gone. This is good.

I sigh in relief and go back to the email.

There’s a convenient link at the bottom to confirm the billing information.

I deleted the email right then and there.

And then there are the cons that don’t involve money at all. These are the more nefarious ones as they want you to believe something that’s not true. Or take information from you.

Digital literacy is a means to see through the cons out there on the internet and protect yourself. It’s a field of instruction that’s growing. But not enough people are aware of it yet.

In response to some inauthentic profiles and growing concerns with protecting subscriber data, Facebook has launched their Digital Literacy Library. This accessible online repository is full of lessons, activities, and articles to help subscribers become more digitally literate. The Facebook Digital Literacy Library, however, can’t teach you how to detect CRAP.

This isn’t to say Facebook’s Digital Literacy Library IS crap. It’s a useful tool. And it’s an excellent place to start. But it’s lacking information on discerning fake news from real news and more.

For that, you’d need a comprehensive curriculum.

Cyber Civics

In 2010, Diana Graber taught her first digital citizenship class.

The school had just witnessed its first ever incident of cyberbullying. Graber, having earned a Masters in Media Psychology and Social Change, offered her academic knowledge to prevent similar incidents from happening again. The goal was to teach students the life skills needed to be wise and competent digital citizens.

And since the subject matter involved technology, Graber brought in technology to help teach the concepts to her students.

It began as one class once a week class for only the 6th grade. The class grew in popularity and became a full three-year curriculum for middle school students.

The coursework begins with a foundation of understanding digital citizenship. Upon that foundation, students learn about cyberbullying, sexting, researching, and of course CRAP.

CRAP is the acronym used to teach students how to tell if an article or post is fake news.

Is it Credible?

Is the source Reputable?

Who’s the Author?

And what’s the Purpose of their Point-of-View?

Now, Graber admits with a smile, students look forward to the class where they get to learn about CRAP.

Students have also expressed more significant interest in this class over other subjects. One went as far as to say “Why do we have algebra five times a week and only come here once? We’re going to use this way more than algebra!”

Options

Cyber Civics has expanded from a pilot school in California to 41 states and four countries.

For students, and parents, who attend a school where Cyber Civics curriculum isn’t taught, there is a homeschool option available. If there’s just not enough time in the school day to cover the entire curriculum, Cyber Civics offers a condensed version of their Level 1 material.

There is also a family option. This curriculum isn’t restricted to students who attend a school where Cyber Civics is taught. It’s available on their website for download. Any family can order it to learn more about digital citizenship within their own home.

Diana Graber also has written a book full of information gleaned from her first eight years building and teaching Cyber Civics; Raising Humans in a Digital World: Helping Kids Build a Healthy Relationship with Technology.

The book details the fundamentals of Cyber Civics, lessons to do at home, and more information. It’s a great supplemental resource or introductory course to Cyber Civics.

Why Become Digitally Literate?

Anyone and everyone who goes online is a digital citizen. To survive in a digital world, and to not let it control us, we need to become digitally literate.

And much like Chicago, New York, or even Dallas, the internet is a place with both people who want to help and people who want to hurt.

Everywhere we go on the internet there is someone who can see what we’ve been doing. Some may think what they’re doing won’t matter to the larger crowd. But what if someone decides to look at the digital footprints you’ve been leaving?

A scammer would know where to look.

And much like the street con, these scammers can either get your information out of you directly or by seeing where you’ve been. Once they have it, then they can use it against you.

Then there are those who aren’t scammers but are trying to gather people to their cause. It may be a noble cause, it may not be. Or worse, they’re trying to spread false information.

With a program like Cyber Civics, you’ll at least be able to discern if there’s CRAP.

Why is it Important?

Digital literacy programs aren’t meant to restrict students from getting on their phones. Instead, it’s intended to equip them to handle the technology properly.

Kids today spend up to 11 hours per day on their phone. That’s half of the day just on their smartphones. That’s a lot of time being exposed to a whole world of information.

It’s not easy to monitor.

Kids are also very perceptive and can pick up things quickly, especially when they’re interested in it. Smartphones will hold sway over kids, even adults, for a long time. Wouldn’t it be better to build a mindset that prevents the technology from controlling them?

Facebook’s Digital Literacy Library, though not sufficiently comprehensive, is a good place to start. For the good stuff, check out Cyber Civics. They even have a few free lessons you can work through.

As you learn how to become digitally literate, you’ll learn how to avoid being conned.

Avoid other cons by keeping your browser open to On The Download.

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