Yahoo! Kids

Yahoo! Kids (formerly known as Yahooligans!) is a public web portal provided by Yahoo! to find age appropriate online content for children between the ages of 6 and 12. The website can be used for both educational and entertainment purposes. It was established in March 1996 by Yahoo! to give children a venue to find appropriate, safe Internet content. Yahoo! Kids is the oldest online search directory for children.

Contents

History

Yahoo! Kids, originally known as Yahooligans!,[1] was founded in March 1996 by Yahoo! to provide children with a venue to find appropriate, safe Internet content.[2] The website is the oldest online search directory for children.[3][4][5] The website's editors stated that Yahoo! Kids is "cool, goofy, fascinating, fun, hysterical, philosophical, surprising, sedate, silly, seismic, popular, obscure, useful, and interesting".[3] In October 1999, The New York Times reporter Michelle Slatalla noted that Yahooligans! was a "heavily trafficked site", with 463,000 visitors accessing the website in August 1999.[6]

In 2004, Yahoo! entered into a partnership with DIC Entertainment to establish Yahooligans! TV, which gives users access to DIC's 3,000 hours of animated children programs. DIC Entertainment president Brad Brooks stated that the partnership "offer[s] advertisers a cross platform purchase".[2] Yahoo! sells the ads and the revenue from the commercials is split between the two companies.[7]

Content

The website can be used for both educational and entertainment purposes.[8] The Yahoo! Kids' portal has directories such as "Around the World", "Arts & Entertainment", "Computers & Games", "School Bell", "Science & Nature", and "Sports & Recreation".[8] Under the directory "School-Bell", the category "Homework Answers" allows children to access websites pertaining to school subjects such as geography, history, and math.[9]

The homepage also displays links to games, jokes, news, and sports. For the latter three, the content is crafted for those younger than 12.[8] Games provided on the Yahoo! Kids website include Chinese checkers, Go Fish, and Checkers. Age-appropriate offsite games are also accessible via the links under the "games" tab.[8] The website offers an instant messaging gadget that allows children to participate in live chats with notable people. Bill Clinton, J. K. Rowling, and Bill Nye the Science Guy have been guests in the chats.[8]

Reviews

In June 2005, reviewer Gail Junion-Metz of the School Library Journal praised Yahooligans! Games, writing that it is "[o]ne of the best spots to find kid-appropriate games that don't require downloads".[10] In a September 1998 review of the website, John Hilvert and Linda Bruce of PC User wrote that "Yahooligans is one of the best specialized engines, particularly for homework answers."[11]

In July 2007, reviewer Holly Gunn of Teacher Librarian praised Yahoo! Kids for its helpful, comprehensible results but criticized it, writing that it had too many ads and that the "interface is too busy and filled with too many diversions. Useful material is buried amidst entertainment".[1]

References

Notes
  1. ^ a b Gunn, Holly (2007-07-01). "Searching the Web with Search Engines for Children". Teacher Librarian. Archived from the original on 2010-10-25. http://www.webcitation.org/5tjuxcNJj. Retrieved 2010-10-25. 
  2. ^ a b DeMott, Rick (2004-03-19). "DIC Toons Online With Yahoo!". Animation World Network. http://www.awn.com/news/internet-and-interactive/dic-toons-online-yahoo. Retrieved 2010-10-25. 
  3. ^ a b Pack, Thomas (2005-12-20). "Search Sites for Your Kids". TecTrends. 
  4. ^ Sullivan, Danny (2005-04-04). "Kids Search Engines". Search Engine Watch. Archived from the original on 2010-10-25. http://www.webcitation.org/5tjpsflsz. Retrieved 2010-10-25. 
  5. ^ Whitley & Goodwin 2006, p. xii
  6. ^ Slatalla, Michelle (1999-10-07). "On-Line Help for Inquiring Young Minds". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2010-10-25. http://www.webcitation.org/5tjn0F74H. Retrieved 2010-10-25. 
  7. ^ Bond, Paul (2004-03-18). "DIC Ent. teams for Yahooligans!". Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2010-10-25. http://www.webcitation.org/5tjolUYzP. Retrieved 2010-10-25. 
  8. ^ a b c d e Jones, Karen (2000-11-02). "Nick, Yahooligans Offer Kid-Friendly Content". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2010-10-25. http://www.webcitation.org/5tjn2pbqD. Retrieved 2010-10-25. 
  9. ^ Colker, David (1996-03-26). "The Goods; 'Yahooligans!' Helps Keep Junior Net Surfers on Safe Turf". Los Angeles Times. 
  10. ^ Junion-Metz, Gail (06 2005). "Yahooligans! Games (Review of yahooligans.yahoo.com)". School Library Journal (Reed Business Information) 51 (6): 68. 
  11. ^ Hilvert, John; Bruce, Linda (09 1998). "Search engines compared". PC User 10 (9): 102. 
Bibliography
  • Whitley, Peggy; Goodwin, Susan Williams (2006). 99 Jumpstarts for Kids' Science Research. Westport, Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited. ISBN 159158261X. 

Further reading

External links