(This article was written before the purchase of Club Penguin by Disney)

They call them ’ tweens’.

In October of 2005, Dave Krysko, Lane Merrifield and Lance Priebe set out to create a safe online world for this vulnerable demographic. The three young dads became interested in developing a flash-based gaming and social networking environment for kids while working together at New Horizon Productions (now New Horizon Interactive).

“Chatting and gaming are the most popular online activities for children, yet most products are geared to older teens and adults,” says Karen Mason, communications director. “Creating a safe environment for kids has always been [our] number one concern.”

After months of consulting and research into online safety, ClubPenguin.com was launched.

World and game play

ClubPenguin has elements of massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). Kids assume the identity of a brightly coloured penguin that waddles about, exploring a detailed and constantly expanding world of social settings, interactive environments, games and problem-solving.

The environment is both graphical and highly social. Interactions with peers take place in cool ‘hangouts’ such as an ice rink, disco, pizza parlour, a beach and even a ski hill. Users communicate through email and a moderated chat function that is customizable to different security settings.

ClubPenguin’s newest hotspot is called The Cove. Several dozen multi-coloured penguin avatars wander about engaged in simultaneous discussion visible via chat bubbles visible to everyone in the environment. The tone of the interactions is reminiscent of the awkward relationship building of a grade school dance.

“Are you a boy or a girl?” one penguin asks another. “Want to be friends?” comes the reply. Then, little heart emoticons pop over the heads of the paired penguins as they waddle off together.

“There is a sweetness to the way kids interact on the site that is worth protecting,”—Karen Mason

Safety first

ClubPenguin uses a series of techniques—technical and otherwise—to safeguard their user’s experience.

First, nearly 80 per cent of the company’s staff are in-game monitors.They observe and can immediately react to any inappropriate language or behaviour on the site.

“Being a technical person is by no means the first requirement to work here,” says Mason. “We try and find people that are savvy of Tween culture and are committed to the safety of children.”

ClubPenguin also offers parent-guided user settings for its chat function and incorporate a series of real-time filters to weed out undesirable chat content.

‘Ultimate’ Safe Chat limits what users can say to a predefined menu of greetings, questions, and statements, as well as emotes, actions and greeting cards.

‘Standard’ Safe Chat allows players to type their own messages to other users, but every message first goes through a filter that blocks inappropriate words and phrases.

“Let’s say I’m a nine-year-old that’s been on the site for a while and wants to try and push the boundaries,” says Mason.

“If I type ‘you’re ugly,’ the comment will pop up [but] only I can see it. I won’t get any response and will probably move on to something else.”

ClubPenguin uses a sophisticated program for ‘string-monitoring’ of multiple chat entries developed based on the research of techniques used by pedophiles to lure children over the Internet.

“If the system sees a pattern in the types of questions asked, the user is flagged and we can follow-up from there,” says Mason. “Ultimately, it’s an honour system for those who sign-up as members, but we do everything possible to keep it safe”.

User-driven community building

With time and experience, users can apply to become tour guides within the ClubPenguin environment, acting as virtual goodwill ambassadors for less experienced players. Registered users can also apply to become ‘secret agents’ within the game.

Secret agents are regular users who voluntarily take on the added responsibility of monitoring and reporting inappropriate actions or behaviours. They also get the chance to complete special ‘missions’ and serve as in-game support, helping other players navigate their way through the world of ClubPenguin.

Membership in ClubPenguin costs US$5.95 per month; reduced rates are available with six-month or one year memberships. The company also sells branded merchandise through a storefront on the site, but the pitch is low-key.

ClubPenguin is noticeably different from its competitors—Neopets, Imbee and Whyville, for example—in that it does not accept advertising on its site. The logic is that click-thru advertising would create the mechanism for users to jump to another site that may not be as ardent as ClubPenguin is about protecting children’s safety.

Penguins seem to like the ad free experience. At somewhere between four and five million monthly users, ClubPenguin has become the 800 lb. gorilla of the Tween social networking space in less than two years.

The privately-held company doesn’t release revenue details.

Some industry watchers place ClubPenguin’s margins near 50 per cent.

“We’ve had a lot of people ask if the company is for sale,” says Mason. “The plan right now is just to keep what we’re doing and focus on building a fun, safe environment for kids.

“Soon we’ll be launching a tool that parents can use to limit the amount of time their child spends on the site,” she says.

But even as ClubPenguin vows to keep building its perfect Tween universe, rumours swirl that Sony is interested in acquiring the company for as much as half-a-billion.

The commitment of three fathers and several million socially conscious pre-teens aside . . . with that kind of money on the table, the ad-free version of this multi-coloured Penguin may be an endangered species.