AFTER an intensive feedback campaign started late last year, online portal for children worldoo.com has repackaged itself, and the new look is out. Launched by actor Amitabh Bachchan, worldoo.com promises to help children take their first step into the world of internet and aims to take “creative engagement to a new level”. Originally launched in 2013 to introduce the concept of what it calls “responsible internet”, the website, which calls itself an “online ecosystem for kids”, says its ‘Let’s Build’ feedback campaign endorsed by Bachchan garnered more than 1,57,000 responses from children, parents and teachers. The “co-created” platform that offers a range of interaction and engagement for children on the internet was built factoring in the topics - such as value for money, power of giving, skills and sports - that the children, parents and teachers wanted to see. [related-post] Designed for children aged 6 to 12 years, the all-new website has an interesting feature called Doo Zoo, which is an interactive zoo packed with information on animals from around the world. There is a Doo Academy where children can learn some life skills, such as tying a shoelace. Doo Holidays offers an in-house airport from where children can travel to different corners around the world at the click of a button. Besides, there are worldoo.com’s new flag-bearers ‘Mo’ and ‘Ki’ whom children can help in their fight against social issues. As the parent of a four-year-old, I liked the new ‘time limit’ feature - from 20 minutes to 1 hour a day - restricting the time children are allowed to spend online. There are two separate log-ins for children and parents, with the children’s log-in linked to the parents’. The website sends weekly activity reports to parents and also claims to have enhanced security to protect information of the young users on the website. The site also has a store to buy children’s stuff from. The registration will eventually cost Rs 2,400 but is free for now. Aiming to engage parents in the child’s online journey, worldoo.com has also introduced a dedicated app for parents allowing them to choose the amount of time their child spends online. They can also see what content that their child engages with. Commenting on the launch of the platform, Bachchan said, “The participation of children, parents and teachers contributing towards the look and feel has been extremely overwhelming. This only goes to show how much more involved the Indian parent is becoming towards their child’s internet activities which would help them become more responsible in their usage. Worldoo.com has been…able to understand the role of the parent in this journey. Having done so, the platform is a perfect synthesis of balancing a child’s needs and a parent’s concerns.” Worldoo.com founder Monish Ghatalia said, “We are confident that the platform will receive the love and support from children and parents across the country. The additional security features as well as the parental dashboard are an attempt to keep the parent as involved in their child’s internet journey thereby hand-holding them and encouraging every step of the way.”
