A kid-safe service scours the Web for good content

By Michael Hatamoto, BetaNews

March 20, 2008, 9:00 AM

A new service aims to enable kids to browse the Internet while also keeping them safe. Although it's joining an already crowded market for fun and education, KidZui hopes its own browser will differentiate it from the competition.

KidZui is designed for children between the ages of 3 and 12 who can use the service to have access to more than 500,000 Web sites that have already been deemed to be "child appropriate." Rather than offer yet another online environment where kids can socialize, KidZui is based on a whitelist -- a catalog of web sites that were individually checked by human beings.

Before publicly launching, the service was beta tested by 8,000 children and parents, who helped discover some of the pros and cons of using the service. More than 200 parents and teachers were hired to help look at and rate different online materials.

Parents must first create an account through the service, then children may create an individual account and avatar for them to use. If a user tries to view content outside of the KidZui whitelist, the management team is notified so the Web site can be reviewed. Some 200 parents and teachers are responsible for deciding what sites outside of KidZui are appropriate or inappropriate.

The KidZui staff said it is possible and not uncommon for approval to happen in a matter of hours, though conceivably it could take longer.

"While we don't promise a 'FedEx' guarantee, this is not empty marketing talk," KidZui CEO Clifford Boro told BetaNews. "We have had more than 200 editors working for KidZui, in 25 states, and it is essential that we continue to expand KidZui's content daily. Our system takes aggregate kids-search and usage, and makes sure that our editors expand into content that kids care about. Our subscription model will allow us to continue to invest in adding content."

Launching Web sites and services for children is becoming a lucrative business, as sites such as Disney's Club Penguin and Ganz's Webkinz offer a safe, controlled environment for children to interact and play games with one another while online. Most of these services have limited interactivity by design, especially to protect youths from impostors. Meanwhile, the rest of the Internet can be awfully tempting, and keeping kids from testing the waters can be difficult for parents unless they keep very, very close watch over their browser.

It helps if the browser has tight controls and restrictions, and that's where KidZui makes its strongest value proposition.

For new users, KidZui is being offered at a reduced price of $4.95 per month, or $49.95 per year, with typical subscription fees set at $9.95 per month. Parents can also take advantage of a 30-day free trial period.