I don’t usually promote start up social networks, mainly because they are a dime a dozen and very few seem to have enough differentiation to ever gain traction in the social networking sector.  However, I like this one, the new Beacon Street Girls’ safe social networking site and online club (Club BSG) provides girls 9-13 with a myriad of online activities designed to satisfy their ever-growing need to create and communicate with each other.  This could be the start of another MyYearBook type of site.  A couple things they are going to fix: they have to kill the music that auto plays when you go to the site; and they will have to figure out how to get the homepage to load faster.

Addie Swartz, CEO, B*tween Productions and the Beacon Street Girls (BSG) brand, explains the company’s vision for the site: “Lockers are a symbol of the complicated social landscape kids face in junior high. At first, there is the fear that you’ll forget your locker combination or lose the key. But soon you realize that lockers are a blank canvas, inviting creativity and personalization.”

Club BSG lockers provide girls with the tools to personalize their own private online space. Girls who use wallpaper, magnets, mirrors and photos to decorate their real lockers can now do the same thing online. Plus, ‘meet me at my locker to hear the latest news’ is an invitation no one can resist.”

Tied to the literary world of the award-winning Beacon Street Girls book series, now published by Simon & Schuster, the free online club provides a fun and exciting online community for preteen girls around the globe. And like the books, its positive and healthy messages help girls feel empowered to be their best selves.

Is it safe?
Tweens, to their parents’ consternation, are very interested in MySpace, Facebook and other social networks even though those sites aren’t COPPA-compliant (the Children’s Online Privacy and Protection Act which governs websites for kids under the age of 13). Parents realize that these sites are designed with adults and older teens in mind; and understand that these sites don’t provide necessary safeguards for a child’s personal information.

“Born with a mouse in her hand, today’s tween is more comfortable online than ever before. Some kids learn to use the Internet before they can read,” said Swartz. “Meanwhile, our preteen fans tell us that other virtual pet and online doll and dress up sites can seem childish and more appropriate for younger children.”

Virtual world and toy industry analyst Sean McGowan, Needham & Company LLC, sees the Beacon Street Girls as uniquely positioned between Webkinz and Facebook, and recognizes the growth potential of the site. “Sites like Club Penguin and Webkinz are giving children a taste of social networking, whetting their appetite for the more sophisticated fare Club BSG serves, creating a ready-made feeder system. The Beacon Street Girls brand offers experiences that run the gamut from totally real to totally digital, with the online junior high serving as a bridge to the real world. And, because the Beacon Street Girls exist as a multi-platform brand – books, website and licensed products – the online-offline connections and opportunities continue to multiply.”

Safety is paramount on the Beacon Street Girls site. While Club BSG mimics the “friending” and social networking conventions found on teen and adult sites, the Beacon Street Girls’ website controls do not allow any direct contact between strangers. Girls build their profiles by making selections from pre-defined menus. All comments are reviewed by adult monitors before they are published to the site. Only posts that follow all the “Club Rules” are allowed. No personal information is collected.

Parent Trust
The online world of the Beacon Street Girls provides girls with a friendly format for receiving real-world advice and guidance from a panel of leading experts in adolescence. These experts work with B*tween to cover a variety of tween-specific issues which include body image, online safety, diet and healthy lifestyles. Elizabeth Wharff, PhD, of Children’s Hospital Boston is one of several experts who work with the Beacon Street Girls team to infuse the company’s content (both print and online) with the latest research on adolescent behavior. “Preteen years are a time for exploring and trying on different personalities,” says Wharff, who works with BSG as a mental health consultant. “Beacon Street Girls online is a safe resource for young girls to express themselves and find answers to difficult questions they may face in adolescence.”

Meanwhile, the related literary world of the Beacon Street Girls books provides credibility with parents, while adding to the sense of fun and excitement for the girls as they follow the adventures of Charlotte, Avery, Maeve, Katani and Isabel at Abigail Adams Junior High School. Books feature issues around friendship and growing up and portray socially responsible values in a contemporary setting. ”By getting to know the Beacon Street Girls characters online, girls are more likely to actually pick up a book and read about their friends,” says Swartz.

Marianne Ferrucci’s 12-year-old daughter is a fan of the Beacon Street Girls. “My daughter is enjoying your new web site very much. She especially enjoys the locker whiteboards. She has even had some of her friends join too! Thanks for providing a fun and safe web site.”

A beta version of site is currently available. The BSG’s website is free to all girls under the age of 17. Club members:

• Design and decorate their own locker and personal space
• Select a personal avatar/icon that identifies all their contributions
• Safely “friend” the Beacon Street Girls characters and other Club BSG members from around the world; get and give each other advice.
• Connect with a variety of celebrities, role models, literary figures and experts
• Get advice and guidance from the BSG panel of adult experts
• Join special online clubs, team and special interest groups.
• Get the inside scoop on the latest BSG news with the Club BSG e-newsletter