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Social Networking - Friday, March 16, 2007

ClubPenguin Is The Hot Social Network, For The Age 8-14 Set

Way up there in a small British Columbia town, some folks got the bright idea in October 2005 to launch a social network for tweens. The site is called ClubPenguin.com, and its a virtual world for youths between the ages of 8 and 14. The Kelowna, BC startup allows kids to sign up for free, but also charges monthly subscription fees of $5.95. The Internet club had 4M visitors in January, up from 2.6M in September.

You can guess what they do at Club Penguin. They create penguin identites, dance, have snowball fights, flirt, break-up, IM each other and so on.

The founders are three 20-somethings who have turned down advertising deals and say they have rejected offers from potential investors. Its CEO is Lane Merrifield, 28. Says Merrifield: Advertising is a great model for a grown-up world," explained Mr. Merrifield, who has two children of his own. "But I wouldn't want my seven- or eight-year-old being pitched all day long. I wouldn't let my child watch an hour of advertising on TV. So why would I on the Web?"

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