Spun Gold

Websites for Girls, Part 2

by Anise Hollingshead
January 1998

Do you have a girl who likes to write? Always has good advice for her friends? Is up on the latest trends? Crazy about animals? If so, the crew at A Girl's World Online Clubhouse is looking for girls (7-17) who would like to become volunteers in their AGW Girl's Crew! If you have a girl who hates to write, but likes to hang out with other girls and have fun, this site is for her, too!

A Girl's World Online Clubhouse is a volunteer online club run for girls, by girls. Four girls, who had become friends during the 1994 earthquake of Southern California, started the club in 1996. All four families moved after the earthquake, and the girls wanted a way to keep in touch, so they started an online club for girls only. Any girl can join, and volunteers, parents or girls, are welcome to join the crew.

There are four main host areas, with many different things to do in each area. Amy's Room features animals and careers, and will soon have a sports area as well. Rachel's Room has the latest info in Beat Street, show-biz stuff, and fun things to do. Geri's Room offers advice columns on family and friends, a pen pal club, and also has crafts and recipes. Tessa's Room features advice for teens, women trailblazers, money talk, a book list for teens, and a quiz on different subjects. Amy and Geri are geared more for the younger girl, while Tessa and Rachel are aimed for the teen. Each room has articles that are submitted by different girls. This is truly a collaborative effort, with several girls working on each article, writing, editing, adding, etc. A Girl's World Online Club is free, but they recently opened a membership only chat area, called Gold Key Circle, that requires a yearly membership fee. If you join now, it is $12 for the year, after that, it is $24 for a year's membership. This area is a whole site unto itself, with chat areas for different age groups, chat clubs that meet 2-4 times a month, each with a special interest, and a girl-talk magazine that offers games, articles, interviews, job and career links, money matters, etc. Their safety measures are truly exemplary, with applications requiring valid phone #'s and addresses that are checked randomly. All email responses are read before posting, and all password and safety software is owned and customized by AGW. In Gold Key Circle, you must be a member, and have a password to log in. All identifying information is edited out for the girls who contribute articles. Yes, there is a fee, but this is a volunteer site, and it does cost to run it.

This is a wonderful site for girls, with great content. Any girl who wants to can submit an article, and get credit for it! They will also receive a free year's membership to Gold Key Circle. There is no advertising, no hidden agenda, just girls having fun! For animal lovers, teens with relationship problems, girls who lost their best friend and want to talk about it, girls who like to make stuff, write silly stories, find out what's hot, there is something here for every girl. Each area is easily accessed through another area, and it is very simple to navigate. Right now, there is heavy emphasis on Valentine's Day, with many features centered on fun things having to do with this holiday.

I simply can't praise this site enough! I couldn't find one thing I didn't like about it, and I am pretty picky about what I let my girls do and see. I have never been crazy about the idea of kids chat rooms, either, but I like the idea of the membership, password protected chat rooms that are monitored for inappropriate talk. I also like the random checking of personal information. The articles are well written and informative, the crafts are fun, the teen advice column is right on target with teen concerns, and being able to contribute your own articles is a wonderful idea! A Girl's World Online Club is definitely deserving of our Gold Award for Excellence.

Have a favorite website for kids? Email Anise!

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