WiredKids Best of the Web, 2009

The 2009 WiredKids Annual Summit Best of the Web Award Recipients

For the last ten years young people across the US have nominated their favorite Web sites for the WiredKids Best of the Web Award. And for ten years moms have reviewed them for their approval, as well. The list shortens with each step, but few pass the final scrutiny of Internet lawyer and WiredSafety’s founder, Parry Aftab, to determine which sites understand safety and responsibility when young people are involved.

This year, more than 50,000 students were polled. They nominated thousands of sites, but only 143 were nominated by enough students to qualify. Our team of moms then reviewed the 143 sites and cut them back to 62 sites. Only a handful in each age category passed Parry’s scrutiny.

Fifteen Web sites were selected for the WiredKids Best of the Web Award. Nine were selected for the K-7th grade category and five for the 8 – 12 th grade category. When sites were nominated and cleared for more than one age group, we selected the one age group that was more passionate about that site. (They receive only one award for one category, even if nominated for more than one age group.)

But knowing which sites are the most popular is important. One site was a favorite in all age categories - Google. KidZui was a favorite among our Tweenangels. ESPN was nominated by most male students between 6 th and 12 th grade. Disney and Nick were nominated for their various sites and brands, all of which were aggregated with the exception of Club Penguin as a standout among students between 4 th and 7 th grades. Webkinz was a favorite of the students starting in kindergarten and (with some red-faces) ending in 7 th grade. Xbox began being nominated at the 5 th grade level, but peaked in high school.

Each year, since the WiredKids Best of the Web Awards were launched, the process has forecasted trends in use of the Internet by kids, tweens and teens. Ten years ago, the final nomination list was hundreds of Web sites long. The same one made the grade. The Web sites controlled youth traffic or their hearts, other than those that controlled their traffic and hearts offline (Disney, Nickelodeon and Sesame Street). Nick (combined with its younger-counterpart, Nick Jr.) has won the award every year since we began ten years ago. (It is the only one with that distinction.)

Then, as AIM grew in popularity and the Internet crash and COPPA (the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act) took its toll and children’s sites dropped like flies, fewer sites held their interest. They nominated the same 50 sites and had no major loyalty to any one of them, other than Yahoo, AOL and AIM and the same offline cast of characters. Some students told us that they didn’t have a favorite site. Those were lean years in the industry, but forecasted the growth of communication tools and networks driving youth Internet use. Google replaced Yahoo! In their hearts and in their nominations, but little else changed.

Then, in late 2004 and 2005 as social networking grew in popularity, MySpace, Xanga and LiveJournal jumped to the top of the nomination pack, but never got past moms or Parry. Virtual worlds like Neopets, Webkinz and Club Penguin gained in popularity, but didn’t have their counterparts with older preteens and teens. Only Google was on all age-groups’ favorite lists.

At the same time, the kids Internet industry figured out new business models that had failed in years past. Club Penguin succeeded when others failed in the subscription model. Webkinz used offline sales of plush animals to fuel their online community for kids and preteens. KidZui got the formula right when it built an “Internet for kids” that allowed fun and age-appropriate Youtube videos and avatar social networking tools where kids can share their favorite Web sites, without sharing their personal information. Old ideas, spun with gold this time around. Parents are finally ready to pay for content and communities if they feel their children enjoy them and are safe.

But this year shows changes once again. More sites have gained the youth loyalty in the earlier years than ever before. Why? The overwhelming popularity of Webkinz and Club Penguin has spurred the development of more virtual worlds. And Facebook has become the single most popular Web site among teens – by staggering leads. Until the recent economic downturn, the VCs and investors have responded to the success of Club Penguin (acquired by Disney for about $700 million plus earnouts) and the retail plush sales of Webkinz and the pricetags for networks like Bebo (acquired by Time Warner for $800 million last year). The richness of choice is better than it has been in years. Hopefully, given the small price to parents for what their kids want in a virtual world or what parents want in safe communities, this growth and the investment in our kids online will survive the general economic climate.

Most sites are biting the COPPA bullet and going through the steps needed to allow preteens to build communities. Many are learning innovative ways of giving them community without sharing personal information with others. Safety has caught on. Sadly, though, Parry has been knocking more off the list than usual this year. While the sites want to do the right thing, they are often adopting “do it yourself” methods that violate the law or put kids at risk unintentionally. Best practice standards for the kids Internet industry are new and require professional guidance. And if you can’t convince Parry that you’re doing it all right, you don’t get an award.

The ones that do it right for the kids, their parents and Parry are winners and will continue to lead the pack. In the 8 years since COPPA became effective there is one thing for certain – The Kids Internet Industry is Back!

WiredKids Best of the Web Awards:

Kids and Preteens Grades K-7 Favorites:

• Nick Jr and Nick ( a recipient of this award every year since the award was launched)
• Disney (a recipient of this award every year since the award was launch)
• Webkinz (second year of receiving this award)
• KidZui (first year on this list, nominated by the Tweenangels themselves)
• Sesame Street (recipient of this award 2 times)
• Candystand (fourth year approved, but first time presented)
• Club Penguin (approved once before, first year presented)
• Lego (first year on this list)
• Build-A-Bear Workshop (first year on this list)

Teens Grades 8-12:

• Xbox (first time recipient for this award)
• Facebook (limited to those in high school)
• myYearbook (limited to those in high school)
• Google [pending confirmation of a senior representative]
• ESPN