Following the as-of-late penguin craze, Club Penguin (www.clubpenguin.com) offers social networking for kids. A place that is a “kid-friendly virtual world where children can play games, have fun and interact with each other.”
Free accounts are available, but if you want to dress up your penguin, decorate your igloo or be the first to discover new areas… then you are going to have to pay the membership monthly fee.
Why should I care, I’m not 6?
Safe, Niche Sites can Generate Big Revenues
There’s a very interesting aspect to Club Penguin - child safety. Currently, a number of online social networking sites are facing lawsuits and complaints about their safety. Has this niche site found a solution?
Club Penguin states, “The Club Penguin team got to work, consulting with educators, law enforcement representatives and other parents, doing extensive research into online safety, and conducting widespread testing. Eight whirlwind months later, in October 2005, Club Penguin opened to the public with about 25,000 users.”
By the summer of 2007, Club Penguin had grown to 700,000 paid subscribers and 12 million activated users. At $4.83 (annual fee divided by 12) per month, does that mean this site is generating over $3 million each month? This also led to Club Penguin becoming part of the Disney family.
How did Club Penguin make their site safe?
- They only collect the necessary information to play - email and username.
- No personal or contact details are used
- Provides two chat options, one being “Ultimate Safe Chat” (see below)
What is Ultimate Safe Chat?
According to the Club Penguin site, “Ultimate Safe Chat is the perfect solution for parents seeking the ultimate in online safety. This option limits what users can say to a predefined menu of greetings, questions, and statements, as well as emotes, actions and greeting cards. When it comes to chatting, these users can only see other Ultimate Safe Chat messages.”
What about regular chat options?
Club Penguin offers, “Standard Safe Chat allows players to type their own messages to other users. Every message that is typed first goes through a sophisticated filter which blocks inappropriate words and phrases. Club Penguin’s filter also breaks up words and phrases phonetically in order to decipher and catch codes or other methods players might use in an attempt to get past the system. This added component allows the filter to block attempts to communicate a phone number or other personal information.
Although the filter is continuously updated, comments that could be offensive to some players may occasionally get through. In order to limit that and further protect the security of Standard Safe Chat participants, moderators monitor what’s going on and receive player reports of misconduct. An “M” icon on the upper, right-hand portion of the screen reminds participants a moderator is available to help. Players who engage in inappropriate behavior can be silenced or banned.”
Did these safety features combined with a specific niche market make Club Penguin the success that it is? Leave a comment…
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