{{short description|Japanese public web portal}} {{Infobox website | name = Yahoo! Kids | logo = Yahoo-Kids-Logo.jpg | logocaption = Logo from 2009–2013 | screenshot = Yahoo Kids.jpg | caption = Screenshot of Yahoo! Kids website in 2011 | former_name = Yahooligans! | type = Educational<br />Entertainment | language = English<br />Korean | owner = Yahoo! | launch_date = {{Start date and age|1996|4|25}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/press/timeline.cfm |title=Yahoo! Inc. – Company Timeline |work=Wayback Machine |date=2008-07-13 |access-date=2016-07-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080713214826/http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/press/timeline.cfm |archive-date=2008-07-13 }}</ref> (as Yahooligans!) | current_status = Inactive }}
'''Yahoo! Kids''' was a public web portal provided by Yahoo! to find age-appropriate online content for children between the ages of 4 and 13. It was available in English and in Korean.
The website is used for both educational and entertainment purposes. It was introduced in March 1996 by Yahoo! to give children a venue to find appropriate, safe Internet content. Yahoo! Kids was the oldest online search directory for children.
Yahoo! Kids was discontinued on April 30, 2013, allowing the company to redirect their resources to their mobile applications.
==History== {{Quote box |quoted=true |bgcolor=#FFFFF0 |salign=center |align=right |width=33% |quote=A very special search site for children is Yahooligans which provides a safe environment including a search engine especially designed for children ages 8 to 14. Here is a place for even the very young to experience the web at its best. |source=Susan Wehe of the ''Seguin Gazette'' on August 4, 1996<ref name="Wehe">{{cite news|last=Wehe |first=Susan |date=1996-08-04 |page=11 |title=Internet Beat: Search tools help new Internet users learn ropes |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/876061/the_seguin_gazetteenterprise/ |newspaper=Seguin Gazette |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=2014-08-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140817234756/http://www.newspapers.com/clippings/downloadClipping/?id=876061 |archive-date=2014-08-17 |url-status=live }} {{Open access}}</ref>}}
'''Yahooligans!'''<ref name="Gunn">{{cite journal|author=Gunn, Holly |date=2007-07-01 |title=Searching the Web with Search Engines for Children |journal=Teacher Librarian |url=http://visualsearching.pbworks.com/f/Webfor+kids.pdf |access-date=2010-10-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715055526/http://visualsearching.pbworks.com/f/Webfor+kids.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-15 |url-status=dead }}</ref> was founded in March 1996 by Yahoo! to provide children with a venue to find appropriate, safe Internet content.<ref name="DeMott">{{cite news |title=DIC Toons Online With Yahoo! |author=DeMott, Rick |newspaper=Animation World Network |date=2004-03-19 |url=http://www.awn.com/news/internet-and-interactive/dic-toons-online-yahoo |access-date=2010-10-25 }}</ref> The website was the oldest online search directory for children.<ref name="Pack">{{cite web|author=Pack, Thomas |date=2005-12-20 |title=Search Sites for Your Kids |url=https://www.questia.com/magazine/1P3-959214701/search-sites-for-your-kids |publisher=Information Today, Inc. |volume=22 |issue=11 |access-date=2014-08-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140817235744/http://www.questia.com/magazine/1P3-959214701/search-sites-for-your-kids |archive-date=2014-08-17 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Sullivan">{{cite news|title=Kids Search Engines |author=Sullivan, Danny |author-link=Danny Sullivan (technologist) |publisher=Search Engine Watch |date=2005-04-04 |url=http://searchenginewatch.com/2156191 |access-date=2010-10-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101030235125/http://searchenginewatch.com/2156191 |archive-date=2010-10-30 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Whitley">{{Harvnb|Whitley|Goodwin|2006|p=xii}}</ref> The website's editors stated that Yahooligans! was "cool, goofy, fascinating, fun, hysterical, philosophical, surprising, sedate, silly, seismic, popular, obscured, useful, and interesting".<ref name="Pack"/> In October 1999, ''The New York Times'' reporter Michelle Slatalla noted that Yahooligans! was a "heavily trafficked site", with 463,000 visitors accessing the website in August 1999.<ref name="Slatalla">{{cite news|title=On-Line Help for Inquiring Young Minds |author=Slatalla, Michelle |author-link=Michelle Slatalla |newspaper=The New York Times |date=1999-10-07 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/07/technology/library-children-s-search-sites-on-line-help-for-inquiring-young-minds.html |access-date=2010-10-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224212658/http://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/07/technology/library-children-s-search-sites-on-line-help-for-inquiring-young-minds.html |archive-date=2013-12-24 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In October 1999, the website received an Alexa Internet rank of 991 out of 22 million content websites.<ref name="Koenig">{{cite news|last=Koenig |first=David |date=1999-10-03 |page=26 |title=Mom runs Internet site from home |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/875950/the_galveston_daily_news/ |newspaper=The Daily News |agency=Associated Press |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=2014-08-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140817232749/http://www.newspapers.com/clippings/downloadClipping/?id=875950 |archive-date=2014-08-17 |url-status=live }} {{Open access}}</ref>
In 2004, Yahoo! entered into a partnership with DIC Entertainment (now WildBrain) to establish Yahooligans! TV, which gave users access to DIC's 3,000 hours of animated children programs. DIC president Brad Brooks stated that the partnership "offer[ed] advertisers a cross platform purchase".<ref name="DeMott"/> Yahoo! sold the ads and the revenue from the commercials was split between the two companies.<ref name="Bond">{{cite news|title=DIC Ent. teams for Yahooligans! |author=Bond, Paul |newspaper=The Hollywood Reporter |date=2004-03-18 |url=http://www.allbusiness.com/services/amusement-recreation-services/4719599-1.html |access-date=2010-10-25 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240525015020/https://www.webcitation.org/5tjolUYzP?url=http://www.allbusiness.com/services/amusement-recreation-services/4719599-1.html |archive-date=2024-05-25 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In December 2006, Yahooligans! was rebranded as Yahoo! Kids.
=== Closure === Yahoo! Kids closed on April 30, 2013.<ref name="Albanesius">{{cite news |author=Albanesius, Chloe |date=2013-04-19 |title=Yahoo Kids, Deals, More Getting the Boot |url=https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2417977,00.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521100045/http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2417977,00.asp |archive-date=2013-05-21 |access-date=2013-05-20 |newspaper=PC Magazine}}</ref> In February 2013, Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer told an investor conference that the company aimed to reduce their 70 products to 12, increasing their attention on mobile device applications.<ref name="MacMillan">{{cite news |author=MacMillan, Douglas |date=2013-04-19 |title=Yahoo Trims Product Lineup as Mayer Sharpens Focus on Mobile |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-19/yahoo-trims-product-lineup-as-mayer-sharpens-focus-on-mobile.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521002402/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-19/yahoo-trims-product-lineup-as-mayer-sharpens-focus-on-mobile.html |archive-date=2013-05-21 |access-date=2013-05-20 |publisher=Bloomberg.com}}</ref> In an April 19, 2013, blog post announcing Yahoo! Kids' closure, Yahoo! Executive Vice president of Platforms Jay Rossiter wrote:<blockquote>[W]e want to bring you experiences that inspire and entertain you every day. That means taking a hard look at all of our products to make sure they are still central to your daily habits. As part of that ongoing effort, today we are shutting down a few more products.<ref name="Rossiter">{{cite news |author=Rossiter, Jay |title=Sharpening our focus – to bring you new Yahoo! products |url=http://yodel.yahoo.com/blogs/general/sharpening-focus-bring-yahoo-products-010032874.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521004922/http://yodel.yahoo.com/blogs/general/sharpening-focus-bring-yahoo-products-010032874.html |archive-date=2013-05-21 |access-date=2013-05-20}}</ref></blockquote>
He said that Yahoo! would redirect those resources to newer products like e-mail and weather mobile applications.<ref name="MacMillan" />
Rossiter wrote that Yahoo!'s "youngest users" could continue using the company's services. Children younger than 13 could create a Yahoo! account through Yahoo!'s Family Accounts program. Young users could also find age-appropriate movies through the "Family Movies" section of Yahoo! Movies.<ref name="Rossiter" />
== Japan == {{Infobox website | name = Yahoo! Kids | logo = Yahoo!Kids Logo jp.png | logocaption = Logo | url = {{url|kids.yahoo.co.jp}} | native_name = Yahoo!きっず | native_name_lang = ja | romanized_name = Yafū kizzu | type = Educational<br />Entertainment | language = Japanese | owner = Yahoo! Japan with characters licensed by Sanrio | current_status = Active }}
{{Nihongo|Yahoo! Japan Kids|'''Yahoo!きっず'''|Yafū kizzu}} was launched in Japan in November 1997.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=1997-11-04 |title=子供向けの検索サービス「Yahoo!きっず」がスタート |url=https://internet.watch.impress.co.jp/www/article/971104/yahookid.htm |access-date=2024-09-11 |website=Internet Watch}}</ref> Under the control of Yahoo! Japan and later LY Corporation, it remains active unlike its US counterpart.
==Content== The website was used for both educational and entertainment purposes.<ref name="Jones">{{cite news|title=Nick, Yahooligans Offer Kid-Friendly Content |author=Jones, Karen |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=2000-11-02 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-nov-02-tt-45705-story.html |access-date=2010-10-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113221340/http://articles.latimes.com/2000/nov/02/news/tt-45705/2 |archive-date=2012-11-13 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Yahoo! Kids' portal had directories such as "Around the World", "Arts & Entertainment", "Computers & Games", "School Bell", "Science & Nature", and "Sports & Recreation".<ref name="Jones"/> Under the directory "School Bell", the category "Homework Answers" allowed children to access websites pertaining to school subjects such as geography, history, and math.<ref name="Colker">{{cite news |title=The Goods; 'Yahooligans!' Helps Keep Junior Net Surfers on Safe Turf |author=Colker, David |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=1996-03-26 }}</ref> Under "Around the World", children could learn about countries, politics, and history.<ref name="Irick1998-01-19">{{cite news|last=Irick |first=Amy |date=1998-01-19 |page=6 |title=Yahooligans! |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/875731/the_kokomo_tribune/ |newspaper=Kokomo Tribune |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=2014-08-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140817224821/http://www.newspapers.com/clippings/downloadClipping/?id=875731 |archive-date=2014-08-17 |url-status=live }} {{Open access}}</ref> The "Art Soup" directory taught children about museums and drama, and the "Scoop" let them look at comics and newspapers.<ref name="Irick1998-01-19"/> It had an Associated Press section to let children read age-appropriate articles.<ref name="Smathers">{{cite news|last=Smathers |first=John |date=2002-06-23 |page=37 |title=When kids get bored, link them up with a computer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/876332/indiana_gazette/ |newspaper=Indiana Gazette |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=2014-08-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140818003139/http://www.newspapers.com/clippings/downloadClipping/?id=876332 |archive-date=2014-08-18 |url-status=live }} {{Open access}}</ref>
The parents' section of the website contained advice about being safe while browsing the Internet and links to services that "block and filter websites".<ref name="Irick1999-08-15">{{cite news|last=Irick |first=Amy |date=1999-08-15 |page=20 |title=Internet isn't just for fun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/875637/the_kokomo_tribune/ |newspaper=Kokomo Tribune |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=2014-08-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140817224006/http://www.newspapers.com/clippings/downloadClipping/?id=875637 |archive-date=2014-08-17 |url-status=live }} {{Open access}}</ref> The teachers' section contained lesson plans for "planning, implementing and assessing integrated units".<ref name="Irick1999-08-15"/> It was separated into three ranks: kindergarten through second grade, third through fifth grade, and sixth to eighth grade.<ref name="Irick1999-08-15"/>
Educational professionals and former teachers screened each website listed in Yahooligans.<ref name="Murphy">{{cite news|last=Murphy |first=Ann Pleshette |date=2006-10-08 |page=50 |title=Safeguard your kids' Web surfing |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/876205/the_salina_journal/ |newspaper=The Salina Journal |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=2014-08-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140818001416/http://www.newspapers.com/clippings/downloadClipping/?id=876205 |archive-date=2014-08-18 |url-status=live }} {{Open access}}</ref> The homepage displayed links to games, jokes, news, and sports. For the latter three, the content was crafted for those younger than 12.<ref name="Jones"/> Yahooligans! directed viewers to child-friendly websites like those from Smithsonian Institution and Louvre. It adopted the persona of Bill Clinton's pet cat, Socks, to introduce viewers to the White House's website in 1995.<ref name="Flynn">{{cite news|last=Flynn |first=Laurie J. |date=1997-06-05 |title=Hand in Small Hand Around the Internet |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/05/garden/hand-in-small-hand-around-the-internet.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=2014-08-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819090554/http://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/05/garden/hand-in-small-hand-around-the-internet.html |archive-date=2014-08-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Games provided on the Yahoo! Kids website included Chinese checkers, Go Fish, and Checkers. Age-appropriate offsite games were also accessible via the links under the "games" tab.<ref name="Jones"/> The website offered an instant messaging gadget that allowed children to participate in live chats with notable people, such as Bill Clinton, J. K. Rowling, and Bill Nye the Science Guy.<ref name="Jones"/>
In March 2011, Yahoo! Kids partnered with the TV series ''Star Wars: The Clone Wars'' near the season's finale to have children pose questions to Chewbacca. Question submissions were posted on SurveyMonkey, and Yahoo! Kids posted Chewbacca's answers on March 28.<ref name="Jones1">{{cite news|title=Ask Chewbacca a Question at Yahoo! Kids |author=Jones, Jason B. |url=https://www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/03/ask-chewbacca-a-question-at-yahoo-kids/ |publisher=Wired News |date=2011-03-13 |access-date=2012-05-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120502023429/http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/03/ask-chewbacca-a-question-at-yahoo-kids |archive-date=2012-05-02 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The approximately three minute long video consisted of Chewbacca pantomiming responses to queries such as "How do you deal with all that hair?"<ref name="Jones2">{{cite news|title=Chewie Answers Clone Wars Questions at Yahoo! Kids |author=Jones, Jason B. |url=https://www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/03/chewie-answers-clone-wars-questions-at-yahoo-kids/ |publisher=Wired News |date=2011-03-28 |access-date=2012-05-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120525040631/http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/03/chewie-answers-clone-wars-questions-at-yahoo-kids/ |archive-date=2012-05-25 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Reviews== In August 1996, Greg Mefford of ''The Galveston Daily News'' (later renamed to ''The Daily News'') stated that Yahooligans is "as much fun as it is educational, with links to darn near everything".<ref name="Mefford">{{cite news|last=Mefford |first=Greg |date=1996-08-04 |page=22 |title=Educational aids aplenty are online |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/876408/the_galveston_daily_news/ |newspaper=The Daily News |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=2014-08-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140818004300/http://www.newspapers.com/clippings/downloadClipping/?id=876408 |archive-date=2014-08-18 |url-status=live }} {{Open access}}</ref> ''Kokomo Tribune'' columnist Amy Irick wrote in January 1998 that Yahooligans! was a "great alternative to the Yahoo! search engine for younger computer users".<ref name="Irick1998-01-19"/> In August 1999, Irick said that Yahooligans! was "very user friendly, just like its parent Yahoo!" and that its teachers' guide is a "must see for teachers".<ref name="Irick1999-08-15"/> ''Indiana Gazette''{{'}}s John Smathers wrote in June 2002, "I can't mention kids sites without mentioning Yahooligans.com", praising the website as a "great tool to teach kids more about Internet surfing".<ref name="Smathers"/>
In June 2005, reviewer Gail Junion-Metz of the ''School Library Journal'' praised Yahooligans! Games, writing that it is "[o]ne of the best spots to find kid-appropriate games that don't require downloads".<ref name="Junion-Metz">{{cite journal |author=Junion-Metz, Gail |date=June 2005 |title=Yahooligans! Games (Review of yahooligans.yahoo.com) |journal=School Library Journal |publisher=Reed Business Information |volume=51 |issue=6 |page=68 }}</ref> In a September 1998 review of the website, John Hilvert and Linda Bruce of ''PC User'' (now named ''TechLife'') wrote that "Yahooligans is one of the best specialized engines, particularly for homework answers."<ref name="Hilvert">{{cite journal |author=Hilvert, John |author2=Bruce, Linda |date=September 1998 |title=Search engines compared |journal=PC User |volume=10 |issue=9 |page=102 }}</ref>
In July 2007, reviewer Holly Gunn of ''Teacher Librarian'' praised Yahoo! Kids for its helpful, comprehensible results but criticized it for having an interface filled with too many ads and that was "too busy and filled with too many diversions. Useful material is buried amidst entertainment".<ref name="Gunn"/>
==References== ;Notes {{reflist}}
;Bibliography {{refbegin}} * {{cite book |title=99 Jumpstarts for Kids' Science Research |last=Whitley |first=Peggy |author2=Goodwin, Susan Williams |year=2006 |publisher=Libraries Unlimited |location=Westport, Connecticut |isbn=1-59158-261-X |ref=CITEREFWhitleyGoodwin2006 }} {{refend}}
==Further reading== * {{cite book |title=Yahooligans!: The Ultimate 2003 Kids Passport to the Web |last=Newquist |first=Trini |year=2002 |publisher=San Val |isbn=0-613-87258-4 }} * {{cite book |title=Yahooligans!: Way Cool Web Sites |author1=Raucci, Richard |author2=Crane, Elizabeth |author3-link=David Filo|author3=Filo, David |author4-link=Jerry Yang (entrepreneur)|author4=Yang, Jerry |year=2002 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |location=Foster City, California |isbn=0-7645-7002-1 }}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20061106215137/http://yahooligans.yahoo.com/ Yahooligans!] on November 6, 2006 (from the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine) * [https://web.archive.org/web/20130426200557/http://kids.yahoo.com/ Yahoo! Kids] on April 26, 2013 (from the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine) * [http://kids.yahoo.co.jp/ Yahoo! Kids Japan] {{in lang|ja}}
{{SoftBank}} {{Yahoo! Inc.}}
Kids Category:Web directories Category:Children's websites Category:Products introduced in 1996 Category:Internet properties established in 1996 Category:Internet properties disestablished in 2013 Japan Category:Japanese websites Category:Japanese-language websites Category:SoftBank Group