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September 07, 2007Speaker Interview: Evan Bailyn, CEO, Cartoon Doll Emporium
Tween girls love avatars. It's paper dolls gone virtual, and in the past year or so this space has exploded. While many of these sites cater to 13 and up (Meez, Zwinktopia, IMVU, Gaia), there are a handful that are kid-friendly and COPPA compliant, and Cartoon Doll Emporium is one of the larger sites (as is Stardoll, who will also be at the Tween Mashup). I did a quick interview with Evan Bailyn, the founder and CEO of Cartoon Doll Emporium, to find out more about their site and why they went the kid-friendly route.
Ypulse: What was the inspiration behind Cartoon Doll Emporium -- is this part of your "Peter Pan" complex ;-)?
Evan Bailyn Indeed, it is. Peter Pan Syndrome, to me, means living in your own world, apart from the societal mores that adults like to impose. I believe everyone has their own reality, and CDE is a reflection of that. Our site is going to be more and more a place where kids have control of their experience - a safe make-believe world.
YP: Why did you decide to make it tween friendly/COPPA compliant vs. going the 13 and up route?
EB: I wanted to include kids under 13 because kids imaginations are very fertile at younger ages and I think it is a super demographic to work with. Kids ages 6 - 14 are sophisticated in knowing what they like and don't like but when they find something that appeal to them, they can really fall in love with it. I've found that out from CDE's fan base.
YP: What's the most popular feature or game on your site? Why do you think it's so popular?
EB: Our superdolls are the most popular games on our site because they give kids hundreds of different clothing and accessory options. Kids come to CDE primarily because they love dress up games and we create more of them than any other site on the internet.
YP: Do you moderate your forums? How do you handle community management?
EB: We have six full-time moderators that cover the site 24/7. We also have over a dozen "junior police" - older kids that have earned moderating positions - that sweep the site on a granular level. We strive to be a leader in safety.
YP: What's new or coming soon on Cartoon Doll Emporium that you think Ypulse readers should know about?
EB: A ton of things are coming in the next two months. We are referring to this upcoming fall as the CDE Renaissance due to all of the new features debuting. I don't want to reveal too much, but our fans can definitely expect brand-new profiles where they can display all kinds of personal creations and make-believe items. We are also coming out with artificially intelligent pets that learn from their past experiences and play uniquely with other pets. There are at least ten more new features, but again, I have to keep hush-hush about them for now.
The "early adopter discount" ends September 15th, so register today! And RSVP for the evening event at Bongo (it's an "intimate" venue so the list will be full soon).
Posted by anastasia
Speakers
Friday September 28
- How traditional brands are leveraging new media to reach tweens
- Building communities around your brand: what works & what doesn't
- Are tweens still reading books and magazines and watching TV?
- What is the appeal of virtual worlds for tweens?
- Integrating sponsors or selling subscriptions: a look at online business models for tween communities
- Offline brand extensions: from virtual to products, movies and more
- How to market to tweens and be COPPA compliant
- How to keep kids in - and adults out
Hear real tweens talk about their favorite Web sites, games and more!
Dema Hanna, Producer, Nickelodeon
Bernice Wooden, Camerawoman, All About Kids TV
Caroline McCarthy, Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Director of Marketing, Sony Home Pictures Entertianment
Chuck Salter, Senior Writer, Fast Company
Emily Zyko, Project Manager, Family Literacy, Thirteen WNET
Helen Vargas, Segment Producer, All About Kids TV
John Regal, CMO, kajeet, Inc.
Keisha Wright, Sr. Marketing Manager, MTVN Kids & Family
Lillian Lebron , Beacon Media Group
Matt Nichols , Highland Capital Partners
Matt Schwartz, Director of Online Marketing, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Shalini Patel, Associate Brand Manager, LeapFrog
Shelly Hirsch , Beacon Media Group
Angela Morris, Series Producer, All About Kids TV
Jennifer Franko, Account Executive, Cynopsis KIDS!
Mark Bohn, Vice President, Cynopsis Media LLC
Joanna Roses, Senior Director, Corporate Communications, Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group
Jonathan Bertfield, CEO, Readio Network
Helen Lerberg , 2Can Entertainment
Joanne Erickson, Director of Research, Neopets
Barbara Marcus , B*tween Productions
Lilka Nakanishi, Editor, Snippies
Michael Acton Smith, CEO, Mind Candy
Antonio Neves, Producer, BET News
Ana Adler, Creative Manager, Boomerang Latin America
Brian Anderson, President, Yomod.com
Eric Greenwald, Executive Vice President - Ad Sales & Business Development, Whyville.com (a Numedeon, Inc. property)
Angela Natividad, Co-Editor, Adrants.com
Kelsey Smith, Teen Advisor, PAYjr
David Jones, CEO, PAYjr
Mary McIlrath, Vice President, Qualitative Services, C&R Research
Alex Leiter, Account Executive, Disney Online
Mara Einstein, Associate Professor, Queens College
Navid Behzadi , Cell Fish Media
Stephen Youngwood, Executive Vice President, Digital Media, Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family
Nancy Gruver, Publisher, New Moon Publishing, Inc.
Nicole Perri, Editor-in-Chief , Popteen.com
Michelle Bisson, Product Manager, American Greetings
Mike Fassino, Director, Weekly Reader Research
Simona Grinfeld, Marketing Specialist, American Greetings
Co-Founder, The Chica Project
Scott Lemon, Consultant, HumanXtensions L.L.C.
Randy Meredith, Creative Director, Brighter Minds Media
Al Primo, Executive Producer, Teen Kids News - Weekly Reader Corporation
Dominic Rivera, Managing Editor, 901am.com
Carol Altarescu, EVP, Privacy Vaults Online - PRIVO
Kevin Auerbach , 365 Connect
Theresa Bhatia, VP, Business Development, kajeet, Inc.
Edward Bikales, President, Snippies
Jamie Bryant, Founder and CEO, B-books, Ltd., (Kiki Magazine)
Susanah Doucet, Production & Media Manager, Music Alive! Magazine
Scholastic, Inc.
Peter Grunwald, President, Grunwald Associates LLC
Nuit Hansgen, Director, ARTSEDGE
Caroline Horn, Editorial Director, Music Alive! Magazine
Robbin Jakklin , C&R Research
Joyce Kim , The Gigaom Show
Linda LaBrecque , WhateverLife, Inc.
Richard LaBrecque , WhateverLife, Inc.
Jacquline Lane, Director of Teen Research, C&R Research
Jeff Mayerczak, Director, Content Services, kajeet, Inc.
Liz Nealon, Managing Director, Tesseractive Pictures
Danilee NewBy, Graphic Designer, WhateverLife, Inc.
Sinyoung Park , NYU
Celeste Pietrusza, Marketing & Partnership Development, Snippies
Steve Rogers, VP - Business Development, Industrious Kid, Inc.
Manager, Consumer Insight & Strategy, mDisney
Suzie Sisoler, Senior Online Marketing Manager, HarperCollins Publishers
Jessica Stroud , PAYjr
Denise Tayloe, Pres/CEO, Privacy Vaults Online - PRIVO
, Scholastic, Inc.
Maura Welch, Editorial/Marketing Director, WeeWorld
Jeffery Boortz, President, Concrete Pictures
Lawrence Neves, Editorial Director, Pokemon USA Inc.
Eric Robinson, InComm
Amy Bowman, InComm
Jennifer Brown, AllyKatzz.com
Jennifer Van Grove, Community Manager, FIRST
Allison Mooney, Director of Trends and Research, Fleishman-Hillard, NGT
Larissa Faw, Editor, Youth Marketers Alert
Manager Consumer Insight and Strategy, mDisney
Ashley Qualls, CEO and President, Whateverlife, Inc.
Danielle NewBy, Graphic Designer, Whateverlife, Inc.
Criag Peters, Director, Online Marketing & Communications, kajeet
Vice President, Strategic operations, National Geographic Society
Kelly Mendoza, PhD Student, Temple University
Catherine Lee, Publisher/CEO, Discovery Girls Inc
Timothy Mabrey, Creative Director, Gorilla Soapbox
Andrew Schultz, Senior Editor, Gorilla Soapbox
Sherri Culver, Director, Media Education Lab, Temple University
Allison Keiley, Online Content and Community Manager, Girls Incorporated
Head of Marketing, Glassnote Records
Dave Witzel, Producer, Backyard Jungle, Forum One Communications
Cliff Annicelli, Editor, Playthings Magazine, Reed Business Information
Lynne D. Johnson, Senior Editor, FastCompany.com
Robert Smith, NPR New York Correspondent, National Public Radio
Vice President, Strategic Operations, National Geographic Society
Kristen Soumas, VP, Games, Lifetime
Brian Braiker, Columnist, Newsweek
Bryon Chaill, Weekly Reader
Izzy Neis, User Engagement Manager, Star Farm Productions
Mark Hansen, Director, LEGO Group
Diane Hockenberry, Director of Audience Development, Newspaper Association of America
Shannon Silva, Professor, University of Northern Carolina Wilmington
Andre Silva, Professor, University of Northern Carolina Wilmington
Edith Bellinghausen, Vice President of New Media, Razor & Tie/KIDZ BOP
Jordan Cooper, General Catalyst Partners
Eileen Esposito, VP, Communications, Cartoon Doll Emporium, LLC
Evan Bailyn, CEO, Cartoon Doll Emporium, LLC
Licensing Manager, DC Comics/Warner Brothers
Sarah Corrigan, Assistant Web Editor, B*tween Productions
Bobbie Carlton, Director, Marketing, B*tween Productions
Michelle Sullivan, Executive Producer, National Geographic Kids
Vice President of Marketing, HarperCollins Publishing
Chief Creative, COGO
Brian Reich, Director of New Media, Cone, Inc
Barbara Pflughaupt, Principal, P&F Communications
Marketing, EPM Communications
Market Analyst, Practical Parenting Concepts
Kathy Ishizuka, Technology Editor, School Library Journal
Kyra Reppen, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Neopets
Mark William Hansen, Director, Business Development, LEGO Group
Molly Chase, Vice President and Executive Producer, Cartoon Network New Media
Addie Swartz, CEO, B*tween Productions, Inc.
David Card, Vice President & Senior Analyst, JupiterResearch
Bryon Cahill, Editor, READ Magazine, Weekly Reader Publishing
Daniel Neal, CEO, kajeet
Jim Bower, CEO Numedeon
Anastasia Goodstein, Publisher, Ypulse.com
Renee Hobbs, Professor of Communication and Director, Media Education Lab, Temple University
Mattias Miksche, CEO, Stardoll
Joi Podgorny, Kids/Tween Internet Community Expert
Erin Reilly, CEO, Platform Shoes Forum
Denise Restauri, CEO, Allykatzz.com
Charles Pelton, Managing Partner, Modern Media Partners
Mary Zagrobelny, VP Marketing, Modern Media Partners
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