Whyville.net, the popular “virtual world” designed by Caltech scientists to give children 8 to 15 years of age a safe online spot to interact, play and learn, has caught fire.
The site, whose parent company is Pasadena-based Numedeon Inc., has about 1.8 million young members, and has been adding about 60,000 young users a month. Launched in 1999, it has numerous safeguards like prohibiting adults and requiring a parent’s e-mail so that they can track their children’s activities that have enhanced its reputation as a safe online haven for kids.
Whyville “citizens” ages 8 to 15 can play games, but also take jobs that teach them various skills. They’re paid in clams, which can then be used to buy stuff.
Whyville generates revenue by letting organizations set up shop and teach kids about topics like rocket science (NASA), art (the J. Paul Getty Trust) and cars (Toyota Motor Corp.).
The site recently teamed with Torrance-based Celestron, the second-largest maker of telescopes worldwide, to offer Whyville kids access (for 25 clams) to its Skyscout celestial viewing device.
The Whyville SkyScout is about the size of a camcorder and weighs less than 16 ounces. It uses GPS technology that allows stargazers to view the stars while listening to commentary on the stars and their history.
“We are ecstatic to have the opportunity to partner with Celestron and offer kids a new and exciting ‘edu-game’ in which they can virtually access the stars from Whyville and learn about their origins,” said Jay Goss, chief operating officer of Whyville.
Science can be exciting, of course, but it’s not all nerdy stuff for Whyville kids. The site last week produced a virtual concert with EMI/Virgin artist Stacey Orrico.
Fox Takes Top Slot
L.A.-based Fox Interactive Media has taken over the lead from Yahoo as the company whose sites are viewed most frequently by Internet users.
According to online research firm comScore Networks, Fox Interactive was the leader during the month of November with 39,529 pages viewed, compared to Yahoo’s 38,701. In October, Yahoo sites were viewed 41,605 and Fox’s were viewed 38,701 times.
Peter Levinsohn, President of Fox Interactive Media, said that his firm was boosted not only by MySpace.com but also strong traffic directed toward IGN.com, which was fueled by new game console releases.
The remainder of November’s top ten most-viewed sites, in order: Microsoft Sites, Time Warner Network, Google Sites, eBay, Facebook.com, Viacom Digital, Craigslist.org and Comcast.
Break Point
Break.com, the male-oriented short-form video Web site, drew 15.6 million unique browsers in November, according to the Nielsen/Net Ratings Site Census, which also labeled Break.com as the top independent Web site in the entertainment and multimedia category.
Break.com shells out relatively high fees for the videos it picks up, with payments ranging from $400 to $2,000 per video.
Whether the impressive number of hits provides enough viewer bang to bring in significant advertising bucks is unclear, since the private company isn’t talking numbers.
But the site has clearly managed to generate buzz.
Break.com’s Chief Executive Keith Richman said that the “continued growth is a clear indication that we understand the changing needs of people for entertainment in the new era of Internet TV.”
Driving Force
Two years ago, a Los Angeles-based group of entrepreneurs from the automotive, technology and finance worlds got together to build a business that would enable consumers to buy cars more easily.
Led by Scott Painter, former chief executive for CarsDirect.com, the Zag group designed a technology platform that provided customizable online car search information. It included a price-guaranteed certificate that customers can simply present to a dealer to buy their cars.
Now Zag.com Inc. has used $40 million in outside financing to build a software platform to power Capital One’s new Drive One program and has acquired Autoland, the nation’s largest credit union auto-buying service.
Zag separately picked up Automotive Invitational Services, an auto-buying program that serves more than 6 million members of 12 American Automobile Association clubs.
Staff reporter Dan Cox can be reached at
[email protected]
or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 230.
