Keynote with Lane Merrifield @ mesh08
- Lane Merrifield, Executive Vice President Walt Disney Internet Group, Co-founder and General Manager Club Penguin.
Lane Merrifield is general manager and one of three co-founders of Club Penguin, one of the most popular and fastest-growing virtual worlds for children. Since Club Penguin’s inception, Lane has led the management, operations and business strategy for Club Penguin out of the company’s headquarters in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.by Jonathan Keebler (Live) at 5/22/2008 1:07:01 PM - Technologick pumping over the PA...by Jonathan Keebler (Live) at 5/22/2008 1:13:16 PM
- The Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG) oversees various websites owned by The Walt Disney Company and its subsidiaries. [1] The division's Disney Online unit operates disney.com, which promotes the Disney theme parks and offers entertainment content intended for children. It also maintains an online presence for Disney's retail operations and it offers wireless phone and data services tailored to families. In addition, WDIG also runs the websites for the ABC network, ABC.com and ABCNEWS.com, as well as top sports site ESPN.com, and WDIG distributes content to mobile-device users.by Jonathan Keebler (Live) at 5/22/2008 1:16:07 PM
- Getting started (creepy music and all :))...by Jonathan Keebler (Live) at 5/22/2008 1:19:15 PM
by MDM at 5/22/2008 1:22:46 PM- by Jonathan Keebler (Live) at 5/22/2008 1:23:30 PM
- Two parties tonight, w00t!by MDM at 5/22/2008 1:23:54 PM
- Lane's introduction = involves thousands of penguins I guess :)by Jonathan Keebler (Live) at 5/22/2008 1:25:31 PM
- by Jonathan Keebler (Live) at 5/22/2008 1:25:56 PM
by MDM at 5/22/2008 1:26:17 PM- Club Penguin sounds impressive. Kids translate virtual newspaper into other languages.by Jonathan Keebler (Live) at 5/22/2008 1:26:57 PM
- And here he is, Mr. Lane Merrifield..by Jonathan Keebler (Live) at 5/22/2008 1:27:08 PM
- Moderator: Tell us about your igloo :)by Jonathan Keebler (Live) at 5/22/2008 1:27:31 PM
- Lane: Sneaks lots of beta things into his igloo.by Jonathan Keebler (Live) at 5/22/2008 1:27:55 PM
- Moderator: What is Club Penguin teaching our kids?by Jonathan Keebler (Live) at 5/22/2008 1:28:17 PM
by MDM at 5/22/2008 1:28:34 PM- Lane: Lots of elements woven into it (more than ppl realize): tonnes of reading (not many voiceovers, weekly newspaper), teaches about currency (critics:"Are you teaching them to be consumers?", teaches that you have to save to buy the igloos), practical elements (choose your own adventure, paint by numbers). Kids love it. Treat it more like parents than like teachers (not directly educational) but try to weave in something educational.by Jonathan Keebler (Live) at 5/22/2008 1:28:39 PM
- Moderator: Is it possible to build a truely safe environment for kids to play in?by Jonathan Keebler (Live) at 5/22/2008 1:31:54 PM
- Lane: Not purely a technology thing, there are limitations as a technologist. Lead to having live moderators. 120 ppl dedicated to online safety fulltime. Strip out personal information, (offensive)pop culture references = need to have humans involved. Didn't have marketing $ for safety, just had to do it.by Jonathan Keebler (Live) at 5/22/2008 1:32:14 PM
- by MDM at 5/22/2008 1:32:28 PM
- Moderator: Who is your market? ($57/year)by Jonathan Keebler (Live) at 5/22/2008 1:34:48 PM
- by MDM at 5/22/2008 1:34:49 PM
- Lane: Very wide market. We're big fans of focus. Need to have elements for early readers, but also have 13/14/15 yos (having snowball fights). Really aimed at younger kids (8-11 yos). Wanted it to be like a playground - not a separate girl and boy playground. Playgrounds = never isolated environments. Neutral enough for everyone to enjoy.by Jonathan Keebler (Live) at 5/22/2008 1:35:26 PM
by MDM at 5/22/2008 1:37:00 PM- Moderator: 12M registered users. What was the runup to that? How did you go up to 12M users from starting?by Jonathan Keebler (Live) at 5/22/2008 1:38:09 PM
- by MDM at 5/22/2008 1:38:12 PM
- Lane: I don't know how it happened. We were paniced at thought of doing it on credit cards + lines of credit. Investers aren't bad, but we didn't need a lot of ppl staring over our necks. For them: what's the best decision as a parent. Wanted it to be long enough that their kids could grow up with it. Heart behind it is so important. "Our kids are on it". If we go out there as parents and make it as fun as we can, as safe as we can, we'll do well.by Jonathan Keebler (Live) at 5/22/2008 1:38:14 PM
- by MDM at 5/22/2008 1:40:09 PM
- Moderator: Lots of ppl have had that view: build it and ppl will come.by Jonathan Keebler (Live) at 5/22/2008 1:41:35 PM
- Lane: When Miniclip picked us up, got the word out there. Wishes he could be more helpful. Not a single moment where they lost focus of who they are or what they want to do. Don't spend a lot of time at conferences, not a lot of time in the industry. Kids don't care if he's sitting on a stage right now, they care about what's going on in Club Penguin this week. Focus is a huge thing. Used to say, "they can't outspend Disney's or Nickleloadians".by Jonathan Keebler (Live) at 5/22/2008 1:42:17 PM
- Lane: If it doesn't matter to an 8 year old , it doesn't matter.by MDM at 5/22/2008 1:43:49 PM
- Moderator: Your 1st job was working at Disneyland? Was the progression to Disney a nature one? Right thing to do? Always part of the plan?by Jonathan Keebler (Live) at 5/22/2008 1:45:13 PM
- Lane: Wasn't always the plan but he was always passionate about Disney. Within company, trying to get back to roots - quality, wholesomeness.by Jonathan Keebler (Live) at 5/22/2008 1:45:48 PM
- Moderator: Also Disney reputation for being hardnosed?by Jonathan Keebler (Live) at 5/22/2008 1:46:32 PM
- Lane: They would admit that that reputation is deserved. Trying to change that. Management is trying to change that. Club Penguin was profitable before Disney came along. "For us it really came down to heart....philosophies". One of his diligence requests was talking to head of Pixar about what it was like (he was very warm, very nice). Was told: "Whatever Bob (Iger) has told you, it will come true. It will be true". They are ppl with integrity - won't do one thing and say another. He doesn't have to stay there, but he wants to. Very excited about direction of company.by Jonathan Keebler (Live) at 5/22/2008 1:47:29 PM
BC Business magazine Quote:
Q: When you and your two co-founders started Club Penguin, did you anticipate it becoming a $350-million company?
"Never in a million years. In fact, to be honest with you, part of the reason we have not gone the route of venture funding or the standard business route is that we really started it as a kind of a side business, one that we hoped would serve our kids and our friends’ kids more than anything. It’s one of the reasons it’s as scalable as it is and as efficient as it is. We built the model with the hope of it being sustainable, never in a million years expecting that it would ever turn into this. It’s been a crazy rollercoaster. It’s been a lot fun."by MDM at 5/22/2008 1:49:06 PM- Question from audience: Have you considered a signoff for teens to leverage users you had as kids?by Jonathan Keebler (Live) at 5/22/2008 1:49:54 PM
- Lane: Best/scariest thing to say is "from the makers of Club Penguin". Try not to focus on demograhics. Interesting to see what's out there - lots of ppl flooding to market. There's such a focus on safety now.by Jonathan Keebler (Live) at 5/22/2008 1:50:37 PM
- Lane: Was told he could use Mickey if he wanted them. No pressure to use them. Disney: wanted to keep entrepreneural spirit alive. Mickey/Buzz don't really fit into story right now.by Jonathan Keebler (Live) at 5/22/2008 1:51:33 PM
by MDM at 5/22/2008 1:51:42 PM- Question: Any talk of skinning the platform as "Happy Mickey Land"?by Jonathan Keebler (Live) at 5/22/2008 1:52:18 PM
- Lane: Disney trying really hard not to flood the market themselves.by Jonathan Keebler (Live) at 5/22/2008 1:52:29 PM
- Question: Every startup has concern how to get word out. How did you get the word out? When did you see when the word was spreading?by Jonathan Keebler (Live) at 5/22/2008 1:53:24 PM
- Lane: "Purely viral". We didn't arrange a viral compaign. Tried to make it as safe (for parents) and fun (for kids) as we possibly can. Listened to what 8yos were asking for.by Jonathan Keebler (Live) at 5/22/2008 1:53:28 PM
- by MDM at 5/22/2008 1:55:02 PM
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Michael.DeMonte
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