Social Media: For Kids! | The Digital Clicks Blog
It’s no secret that social media is taking over the world. It’s not uncommon in today’s society for a person to update their location on Foursquare, tweet about the event they just witnessed there, upload a picture or video of what’s happening, and then add the friends that they made there on Facebook. It’s not just our adult lives that the Internet is ruling; however, there’s a new initiative to create social media aimed directly at children. Californian start-up "KidZui," who offer a web browser aimed at kids, has now released its latest product: "ZUI.com," a website that allows children to browse child-friendly content through the likes of YouTube, games sites, and a variety of other media sources. As far as online safety is concerned, a service such as this could reassure parents that their child is browsing the Internet safely and securely. From an online marketing perspective, however, what does this spell for the future? If social media has reached the stage where it’s being directly targeted at kids, is it the case that Internet use is becoming a part of life from birth onwards? Will a child’s first tweet become as memorable as their first steps or their first day at school? Sites like “ZUI.com” are an indication that social media is only going to get more important and more influential as time goes on. From an SMO perspective, having a great understanding of what differentiates online and what techniques gain a following will be essential in achieving future success. If you think this is all speculation and will never fully go ahead, it may surprise you to learn that the kids’ site has already received over $2 million in funding from major corporations in the US. Not only this, but it’s been backed by the hugely influential publisher of children’s books and educational technology, Scholastic Corporation. If all the big brands in education start to get involved, how long will it be before children are told to use these sites in school as a part of their educational curriculum? Conjecture aside, this is a clear indication that there is a massive focus on social media development in numerous aspects of life. If it carries on this way, social media’s influence will be of unfathomable proportions in the future. On a side note, “ZUI.com” is a fantastically built site and is a great service for those wanting their families to embrace the social web. Businesses should be looking at this and preparing their Internet marketing strategies accordingly to keep up with the online revolution.