The CBBC Website

A couple of weeks ago when commencing the start of our research, we decided upon us that our first objective would be to conduct an analysis of the CBBC website as it exists at this current moment in time. This would give us a better understand of what the website offers to its target audience, what safety procedures are in place and how the two cohabitate with each other to make a suitable, yet a joyful experience for the children who go on it. I myself visited the CBBC website and began collecting useful infromation that could be featured in our presentation.

It's a very informative and interactive website that constantly tries to engage you with joining in with its bold and impacting imagery/lettering, and it's variety of choice.

Things to do include:

• Playing Games
• Watching Video
• Listening To Music
• Interacting Through Webcasts
• Watching/Getting Involved in the News
• Entering Competitions
• Viewing Content on Their Favourite Shows
• Designing and Createing
• Customiseing Your Computer

There is a vast amount of things to do on the CBBC website; there is no doubt that users are not spoilt for choice from what is offered to them. But after looking through all that is available on the site it becomes apparent that maybe some of its featured content appeals more to the younger side of their target audience rather than catering for all ages. Also with the amount of content that is on the website it can sometimes be hard to navigate through as some pages just seem to be a cluster of links and information.

I wanted to under go a test because I remember from the BBC presentation the representative said that it was difficult for people above 16 to create an account and access the website as it's constantly monitored. So i decided to take it upon myself to create my own account for research purposes only. To be honest I found it relatively easy to create an account and access the website. I was merely doing this to get an idea of how easy it was, because if it was easy for me then it is obviously easy for others to pretend they are a young teenager. I also did it so I could get an idea of the actual content that was available to you as a user and what things the CBBC website offers you to try and keep you coming back for more.

Registration

The registration process consists of giving basic information, a user name (which is for signing in purposes only), password and age (which can easily be falsified). The next page you are directed to ask for your existing e-mail address, and then for you to tick a compulsory box that indicated either your parent/guardian/or teacher (if in use at school) agree to you creating an account and are ok with your e-mail address being given out. The only thing that crosses my mind is what makes the BBC think that all people actually ask a parent/guardian or teacher for permission before creating an acount? 

You’re then asked to provide your parent’s e-mail address so that the registration process can continue. However if you cannot provide this information your e-mail address will not be taken but you’re account will still be created.

Ticking this box and changing my birthday gave me direct access to the website. Now if I can do it then doesn't that show that it is just as easy for people with ultirior motives or people who want to disguise themselves as a younger person. I know the siite is monitored but it still has some areas of danger and I'm not quite sure yet what could be done about it. I'm sure as the research process continues me and my group will come up with some possible improvements for the site. I also remember from the presentation the representative told us a story of how some users were coming up with codes or cryptic messages to send each other private details about themselves. It took awhile for the people who monitor the website to realise this and remove the content but it just shows you how people are always going to try and find away around system.

Once registration is complete you are redirected to a flash image of a sort of lottery machine (shown in the video above). You’re asked to pull the lever which then generates 3 different selections of randomly generated names. You then have to make your selection from the 3 names given. If non of them are to your liking you can generate the machine over and over again until you find a suitable name for yourself. This name is then used as your screen name and cannot be changed. My generated screen name was "IvoryFluteTiger", funny I know.

It is aspects such as this that may drive children to drift away from the website. Not being able to have individuality and way for them to be known as themselves online. It’s just their presence hiding being a randomly generated persona that is compulsory by the CBBC website to conceal their identity.

Yes it's funny at first but would you really want to be known as "IvoryFluteTiger" or whatever random jumbled up words are presented to you as your choice of user names. I'm pretty sure your friends wouldn't let you get away with that. I still think it's all about personalization, having the ability to have some control over how you present yourself. I think presentation is a very big factor, it can build confidence and also bring across personality. I think the CBBC website doesn't have enough customizable options. People want choices and a little bit of freedom so they can stand out from other people and be their own person, it all comes back to having a personal presence online.

Creating an account is not necessary to accessing the website, but it allows you to access a wider range of content on the CBBC website such as the message board, web chats and having your opinions broadcasted.

Site Content
The navigation of the website can be slightly confusing at first as there seems to be so much going on but it kind of becomes second nature after awhile. The only thing it took me awhile to find was the message board. I haven't interacted with the message board because I thought it would be inappropriate for me to do so.

The news, information and educative side of the website are very impressive. I found it really informative and intriguing. It really reflects what the BBC is all about. Some of the games I came across were quite childish and some what patronizing, but they were fun non the less. They try to appeal to all ages and all difficulty levels, but I personally think they target more of the lower spectrum of their target audience rather than making the site equal to all ages. 

There is quite a good mix of things going on. I think it's just the interaction between other users and the ability to have some kind of personal presence on the website that is letting it down. It's almost advertising something and then once you create an account you realise that you actually can't do some of the things that you thought you could do because the BBC want to have that protective barrier.

I think the BBC just need to let the barrier down a bit and test out some ideas to see if it gets young teens interacting with their website more rather than them going off to use other websites. I think they shouldn't be afraid to also do something that isn't seen as being childish, because their ideas of the E-Buds and E-Pets came across as a very childish concept and I could imagine the aesthetics of the concept being very "kiddish".

Safety  
We know from the presentation that was given to us by the representative of the BBC that the website is highly monitored in ordered to protect all its users. The rules that are reinforced on the website or “house rules” as they are referred which are mainly applicable for the message board are
 

-          No sharing personal information: this means no personal information can be displayed or given out at any time during your use of the site. If so the message will be instantly deleted or not posted at all. Full name, e-mail address, pictures or housing addresses are not allowed to be given out. If this rule is continuously breached then the user may be band from the website all together

-          You must be 15 years old or under. As we have already displayed this can be easily cheated

-          No websites outside of CBBC and Newsround meaning no other websites are allowed to be discussed or mentioned due to suitability and safety

-          Films/tv programmes/games/creative writing that are shared must be suitable for children

-          Multiple accounts are not allowed

-          Nasty, rude, offensive or argumentative messages are not allowed

-          No spam or posts over the word limit

-          No coded or foreign languages

-          No copying and pasting text such as song lyrics or film scripts

-          No flirting, no dating or romantic stories

-          Stick to the topic

-          Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not

-          Don’t talk about stars private lives

Monitors of the site are looking out for the use of such content and getting rid of it as soon as possible to make their site safe for the users. But is it too safe? Maybe some of this restrictions are what discourages the users and encourages them to find other websites to tend their needs or interests. Maybe young children want to be able to talk their friends freely, they want to be known for who they actually are, they want freedom of expression and the ability to be able to publicize their interests and views along with playing games and

Some of these rules are great because they target growing issues such as cyber bullying and help prevent children from seeing content unsuitable for them and growing up too fast, but that seems to be the thing that all children want as they become older and start heading into adolescence. They want to be seen more as an individual, as an adult. They want to feel like they are accounted for.

Message Board
The message board is basically a blog for which people can post discussions and interact with each other, so it is seen as the main social aspect of the site. Our problem with when using this was that it isn’t instantaneous as your discussions and comments have to be checked by the monitors first before they are allowed to be posted. This can be seen as time consuming and can make you lose interest when there are other means of social networking which make it a lot simpler for you to talk to friends and various people. But this is why the BBC carries such precautions so that children are protected from talking to strangers who may have ulterior motives.  

Also the blogs you create are only relevant for a short period of time before being pushed back by new entries from other members. Therefore it hard to keep a track of the blogs you are interested in or even the blogs you have posted, and it becomes a struggling and tiresome task searching through the endless pages. The CBBC website would benefit from allowing users to feature their blog posts on some sort of profile that is created by the user at the beginning of the registration process. Therefore blogs could be found just by searching for that user, making the access much more instantaneous.

I have since deleted my account as I thought it would be inappropriate of me to keep the account, plus I have no use for it any more as I have gathered what research I wanted from it.