Dealing with children and sensitive information online

• May 18, 2012

By Alexandra Reid

Joi Podgorny, who presented at Social Media Breakfast Ottawa yesterday, is an expert in dealing with children and other sensitive information online. In fact, she has nearly 5 million kids to watch over as the director of community engagement for National Geographic’s online kids game Animal Jam. As a marketer, community manager and creator of branded entertainment for children, Podgorny is under enormous pressure to ensure her product is as entertaining as it is safe.

Imagine, just for a moment, babysitting 5 million children. It seems like an impossible feat. Now envision what it would be like if those 5 million kids were situated across the United States, Canada and the world, and your only means of watching over them is through their activity online. On top of it all, the legal regulators who oversee online child safety are watching your every move. This is what Podgorny deals with on a daily basis. She deeply cares about the wellbeing of these children. But at the same time, she must ensure they are having fun and interacting with the game regularly. On top of it all, she’s got to prove to the parents that their kids are safe and benefiting from the game. How does a women who openly admitted that she should tattoo on her arm “never trust a nine-year-old” achieve such tremendous success in such a competitive and highly regulated industry?

Success for Podgorny amounts to following the rules without fault, knowing her market intimately and having a sound strategy in place, the details of which she discussed during her Social Media Breakfast presentation and in our interview that followed. As a former mathematician, her social media strategy for the kids’ media properties she oversees is meticulous, granular and purpose-driven. She has a plan for dealing with both the parents and the children involved and manages her team with an eagle eye to ensure all activities are law-abiding according to the children’s online privacy and protection act. As can be suspected, she admitted that she never really stops working.

Listen to our conversation that follows and let us know your thoughts and concerns. I will loop Joi into the conversation to answer your questions. We hope that this will spark a meaningful discussion.