If you have read this blog for any length of time you know that paper dolls are not dead, they’ve just traded pulp for electrons. A few months ago I wrote about a site in the GoFish! Network called Cartoon Doll Emporium with a manically loyal user base and a variety of revenue streams.
Today I want to talk about Stardoll, a site that adds real celebs to the mix by offering users the opportunity to dress up and interact with virtual Mary Kates, Avril LaVignes, etc.
Here’s how they describe themselves:
Stardoll is a virtual paper doll community site for everyone who enjoys fashion, design and making friends. At Stardoll you can create your own MeDoll or choose from our ever growing collection of celebrity dolls and dress them up in our wide selection of fashions. Every celebrity doll has a wardrobe full of unique clothes and there are new dolls released every week. The membership is completely FREE and most of our members are girls between the ages of 7 and 17. Stardoll is one of few places on the Internet developed with an emphasis on girls' self-expression through fantasy and fashion play. Stardoll is a great place to spend time with friends and to meet other kids from all over the world. We are committed to Stardoll as an inspiring, safe and creative environment.
With a broad range of advertising and sponsorship models, this site may be just the thing for your brand if you are aiming at connecting at fashion forward girls 7-17.
I have been intrigued by the world of kid’s social media since it debuted. In my view, a number of companies have done a good job of it, particularly in the virtual world’s space. I speak in particular of the Barbie site, Cartoon Doll Emporium, and Disney’s Club Penguin. But beyond that segment, real innovators are harder to find. I liked the “ecircles” model of Jitterfingers and others, though one would have to be prepared for a somewhat slower traffic build when by design a site only lets so many people connect.
But when I saw Kidzui, I have to say that I was quite impressed. Kidzui is essentially a kid safe browser that gives kids a broad range of content and the liberty to pursue lots of types and sources of content, but without taking serious risk online.
Here’s how they describe themselves to parents on their site:
KidZui is a kid’s browser with access to over a million websites, pictures and videos reviewed by teachers and parents like you.
KidZui has all the sites and games kids love and tons more. It’s a fun, safe and engaging environment that rewards curiosity and builds independence.
KidZui does not create content. It comes from all over the Internet – over a million kid-friendly websites, videos and pictures and it’s growing every day. KidZui is built by real people who care about kids. Over 200 trained teachers and parents have reviewed and approved sites, videos and pictures using a rigorous content selection process. And our reviewers don’t just approve content, they categorize it for age-appropriateness and by topic. As a parent, you will receive weekly e-mails that will keep you up-to-date with what your kids are searching for and looking at on KidZui.
Use the Parent Account on KidZui.com, accessed from any browser to tune in to what your kids think is cool and to plan family activities around their evolving interests. KidZui is free for all kids to use. We do, however, offer a membership option which provides kids and parents with many additional features.
KidZui is a customizable Internet for Kids built from the ground up. We have trained teachers and parents on staff reviewing content around the clock so the Internet for Kids never stops growing. And KidZui is ad-free.
Within its prescreened world are over 1 million pieces of content – games, web pages, YouTube videos, and more.
How do they pre-screen? Well, I was very impressed by their multistep process, including both technological and human culling:
STEP 1 Content, including websites, pictures, games, and videos, is brought in for editorial review because computer algorithms have determined it is likely to be appropriate for kids. The algorithms immediately eliminate any items that include content KidZui would never allow—profanity, for example.
STEP 2 A reviewer thoroughly investigates the content to be sure no unsatisfactory elements exist, and essentially catches anything an algorithm cannot. This ensures that reviewed content is consistent with our content guidelines.
STEP 3 The content is labeled if it includes any of the topics that KidZui has identified as sensitive. The labels are used because KidZui wants to let parents choose whether or not this type of content is ok for their kids. Every topic has been defined for each age group, and parents can see what those definitions are when deciding whether the content will be available to their children.
STEP 4 The content is now assigned to the proper age range. Editors work from developmental checklists when assigning age. They always select a minimum, but they do not necessarily have to enter a maximum. For example, content might be marked as appropriate for kids 8 years and older, or it could be marked as best for children ages 5-7. The goal is to provide “just right” content that will never frustrate a child for being too hard or too "babyish".
STEP 5 The content is given a name. Key words that match the content are entered, so that a child searching for the topic of the content will see it on demand. The content is also added to a “category”, and placed with other content that is similar, thus ensuring that a child searching for something particular can see all pictures, videos, and web sites in his or her age range on that topic.
THE RESULTS The content is now available in the KidZui browser. We know it is appropriate. We know what age child will see it. We have even categorized it so that kids can find it easily.
The topic of kid safety is a very big deal. Here’s a vid of a Today Show segment that discusses the topic and Kidzui:
Because of the many safety features of this environment, I can see some parents availing themselves of the option to “set it and forget it.” But Kidzui also offers some excellent features for involved parents to keep track of everything their kids are doing. Kidzui can see weekly emails outlining the activities in which their kids participate, and they can also access a dashboard that provides real time info on the things their kids are doing online.
A basic level of service is free, while $8 a month premium membership enables the user a broader set of features and levels of customization. Additionally, parents can add individual sites that the Kidzui site hasn’t reviewed yet – for example, the site of the local school or church.
As you can tell I really like Kidzui. It definitely meets a need without giving kids the sense that they are being shut off from the world. Check it out yourself!
