Children’s Online and Mobile Safety Major Focus of Engage Digital’s 6th Annual Digital Kids Conference

The recent release of the FTC’s highly publicized Kids App Report suggest wide ranging implications to companies providing products and services to digitally connected kids and youth. With this in mind, Engage Digital’s Digital Kids Conference is offering an all-day workshop providing detailed strategies on how to create secure online and mobile experiences for child-aged users. The event brings together the brightest minds in the field today.

Press release with the details below:

Engage Digital today announced it is partnering with the kidSAFE® Seal Program to make children’s online and mobile safety a major focus at the 6th annual Digital Kids Conference – http://DigitalKidsCon.com – scheduled for April 25-26, 2012 at the new Pasadena Convention Center in Los Angeles. Digital Kids provides companies the critical information they need to reach digital kids and connected youth through online and mobile technologies.

kidSAFE and Engage Digital are co-producing the Digital Kids Safety Track, a day-long forum at Digital Kids Conference taking place April 25, 2012. The Digital Kids Safety Track addresses issues challenging the operators of social networks, online games, mobile apps, virtual worlds, and related products and services for kids and youth. Experts will provide practical advice and techniques for creating secure online and mobile experiences for child-aged users.

The Digital Kids Safety Track is one of five dedicated conference tracks. Subjects include: Operations, Content, Business, Safety, and Market Research. The Digital Kids Conference of panels, presentations, and interviews provides unparalleled exposure to best practices, current trends, and effective strategies behind the most successful techniques to develop and market to digital kids and youth.

“This is the definitive opportunity for business and tech professionals to gain the critical knowledge they need to safely engage with digital kids and connected youth,” says Engage Digital CEO Chris Sherman. “kidSAFE is renowned for its deep insight on online and mobile safety issues and policies, COPPA compliance, and how companies should take these into consideration when building online and mobile services. They are the ideal partner for assembling such a comprehensive program.”

Children and teens are among the most active users of smartphones and tablets. The number of apps for toddlers and preschoolers alone grew by 23 percent over the last two years, according to the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop. And a recent study by Common Sense Media found that half of children under 8 have access to mobile devices.

“Embedding an all-day safety and privacy issues workshop in one of the largest industry conferences on kids-focused content presents a forum like no other,” says kidSAFE Founder and President Shai Samet. “Digital Kids Conference is a magnet for companies seeking answers and, in that sense, will provide unprecedented access to information businesses need to assess where they’re at, wisely prepare for the hurdles ahead, and gain a competitive advantage in the market.”

The Digital Kids Safety Track consists of the following expert-led sessions:
- Filtering and Moderating Virtual Worlds and Online Communities
- Educating Kids about Online Safety
- How Much Control Should Parents Have?
- Is it Kid-Appropriate?
- Safety and Privacy in Mobile Apps

Speakers include:
- Travis LeBlanc, Special Assistant Attorney General for Technology, State of California
- Jess Brallier, SVP and Publisher, Poptropica and Funbrain, Pearson
- Adam Hildreth, Founder and CEO, Crisp Thinking
- Amy Pritchard, CEO, Metaverse Mod Squad
- Anne Collier, Executive Director, Net Family News
- Anastasia Goodstein, Director of Digital Programs, Reachout.com
- Marian Merritt, Norton Internet Safety Advocate, Symantec
- Matt Palmer, Chief Strategy Officer, Sweety High
- Hilary DeCesare, CEO and Co-Founder, Everloop
- Joi Podgorny, Director of Community Engagement, National Geographic’s AnimalJam.com
- Ryan Bettencourt, President, Zui.com
- Dan Wilmer, SVP of Digital Media, KIDZBOP
- Shai Samet, Founder and President, kidSAFE® Seal Program

Visit http://digitalkidscon.com/ to register for the Digital Kids Conference and for more information about these sessions, featured speakers and other conference tracks focused on content, business, operations and market research.

kidSAFE® Seal Program: Founded in 2010, the kidSAFE® Seal Program is an independent safety certification service and seal program designed exclusively for children-friendly websites and applications, including kid-targeted game sites, virtual worlds, social networks, PC and mobile apps, web-connected devices, and other similar online and interactive products. Several large kids’ brands, including Cartoon Network, National Geographic, and Fantage are participating members in the program. The program was developed by Samet Privacy, an experienced and award-winning privacy services company based in Los Angeles, and contains an advisory board of some of the world’s leading Internet safety experts. For more information, visit www.kidsafeseal.com.

Engage Digital: Founded in 2003, Austin-based Engage Digital is a leading producer of technology-focused industry conferences and trade expositions ranging from software development, mobile technologies and games to social media, youth, virtual learning and more. Recent events include those held in Austin, New York, Silicon Valley, San Francisco, Seattle, and London. Upcoming events include Tech Career Expo @ SXSW March 9-10, 2012 in Austin, TX and App Hackathon @ SXSW presented by Zypr, March 9-10, 2012 in Austin, TX. Visit http://www.EngaegDigital.com for more information.

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Note to Editors: For up-to-date company information, media contacts and facts and figures about Engage Digital events, visit our Media Newsroom at http://www.engagedigital.com/press/.

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