Tween Social Networking Takes Off
FEBRUARY 27, 2007
Even preteens have social networks now.
Sites like Club Penguin, Whyville.net, Habbo Hotel, Imbee.com and Nickelodeon's Nicktropolis offer tweens a MySpace of their own. The sites offer either fantasy worlds (members at Club Penguin have tuxedoed birds as avatars) or more standard fare like blogging and music sharing.
Club Penguin had four million unique visitors in January 2007, according to comScore Media Metrix.
Parents like the sites' security (no random chat offers here), but they are still cautioned to monitor for cyber-bullying and the amount of time their childen spend playing online.
There's also the question of ads. Ad-free sites make money strictly through membership subscriptions and promotional tie-ins. Whyville and Disney Xtreme Digital (DXD) have plenty of third-party advertising, and DXD also has Disney branding in spades.
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