Disney.com to launch to Surf Swell Island: Adventures in Internet Safety
Surf's Up! Disney.com Makes Waves With Upcoming Launch of Surf Swell Island: Adventures in Internet Safety
Disney.com's Surf Swell Island Enlightens Children and Parents About Internet Safety Through Interactive Games and Educational Resources Designed to Help Navigate the Internet
With such a vast sea of Web sites available, children need a sturdy set of cyber-resources to help them navigate the Net and be smart Web surfers.
Today, Disney Online, a business unit of GO.com, tosses parents and children an interactive Internet life preserver by announcing the upcoming launch of its new ``smart surfing" Web site, Surf Swell Island: Adventures in Internet Safety or www.disney.com, D-word: Surf.
Scheduled to open to visitors on August 9, 2000, Surf Swell Island will provide children and families with an entertaining and interactive way to learn valuable lessons about "smart surfing" and Internet safety. Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy join Surf Swell Island tourists as they're captivated by interactive games, quizzes and printables, all designed to reinforce important information about how to smartly surf the Web.
The upcoming launch of Surf Swell Island: Adventures in Internet Safety underscores Disney's long-standing position as a leader in online safety initiatives and its commitment to help kids and families enjoy a positive, fun Internet experience. Surf Swell Island will provide an interactive platform from which parents can further discuss and explore ``smart surfing" with their children -- and discover some online safety tips for themselves too.
"As children spend more time surfing the Web, especially at an increasingly younger age, they truly find themselves in need of easy to understand information about Internet safety," said Ken Goldstein, executive vice president and managing director of Disney Online. "Our goal in creating Surf Swell Island was to provide this crucial resource in an engaging online environment where learning happens naturally, with Disney magic and a healthy dose of fun."
Surf Swell Island: Adventures in Internet Safety will take visitors on an educational journey through five primary Island locales, all featuring original interactive activities. The first three Island destinations -- The Cliff Of Mean Manners, The Virus Caves, and No Privacy Beach -- provide insight into three key areas of "smart surfing" respectively: `Netiquette,' computer viruses and Internet privacy. Each of these Island hot spots offers both an interactive game and post-game quiz, both reinforcing the key lessons behind how to be a smart surfer.
Mickey and his Tiki friends await virtual Island tourists as they arrive at the fourth locale, the Tiki Fun Stuff Village, featuring a lively game of Coconut Bowling that helps recap the lessons learned throughout the journey. After completing these interactive games and quick questionnaires, Island adventurers can travel to The Print Hut, a destination featuring a multitude of printable "smart surfing" resources including coloring pages, mazes and word puzzles, as well as a printable graduation certificate.
The navigation bar surrounding the Surf Swell Island map will offer direct links to numerous Disney.com and third-party Internet safety tools and resources. Popular Disney.com sites such as Cybernetiquette Comix and Doug's Internet Safety Page, as well as immediate connections to other sites promoting smart Web surfing habits, tips on reporting trouble online and a list of family-friendly Internet destinations, will all be accessible through the Surf Swell Island Web site.
In advance of the launch of Surf Swell Island, Disney Online inaugurated an annual research initiative to evaluate the present needs and trends in Internet safety. Disney.com's Annual Surf Swell Barometer, an independent study of more than 4,000 parents and their children commissioned by Disney.com, measured Internet surfing habits and attitudes about current Internet safety trends and issues.
With more than half of the parents surveyed citing concern about the risks children face when surfing the Web, Disney Online recognized the need for an educational and entertaining "smart surfing" Web destination -- a site that features information from a trusted source, delivered in a fun and interactive format.
In fact, this independent research study, combined with insight from a similar survey conducted through the Disney.com Web site, pointed directly to the need for a centralized online destination full of tools, resources and entertainment all tied to Internet safety.
"Although the vast majority of the Internet is terrific, a portion of it may be inappropriate for kids as well as adults," said Parry Aftab, privacy lawyer and executive director of Cyberangels.org, the largest online safety and educational program in cyberspace.
"It's important for parents to be aware of the sites where their kids are surfing and what information they are providing to others online. Disney's Surf Swell Island is a much welcomed and needed site that provides families with essential Internet safety and privacy resources that will allow them to have a positive and entertaining experience."
Surf Swell Island: Adventures in Internet Safety is a dynamic Web site, updated periodically to ensure the most relevant and timely information, tools and resources on Internet safety is available to kids and families. Parents and their children can ride the "smart surfing" wave beginning on August 9, 2000 by logging on to www.surfswellisland.com or www.disney.com, D-Word: Surf.
Since its inception five years ago, Disney Online has created extensive, original interactive content related to online safety and smart surfing, and participated in numerous public education outreach programs including the GetNetWise Coalition and America Links Up. The creation of Surf Swell Island underscores Disney Online's leadership and demonstrates its ongoing efforts to provide online education through interactive entertainment for children and their families.
-- Posted July 22, 2000
Source: Company press release