Cackleberries on The Express Television Show – September 11th, 2009 

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Cackleberries in the Coquitlam Now Newspaper – August 19th, 2009

Local company aims to protect kids online

John Kurucz, Coquitlam NOW – Published: Wednesday, August 19, 2009

A Coquitlam-based kids entertainment company is set to launch a new version of its website, and company reps are confident the update will change kids’ gaming forever.

Offered to children between the ages of three and eight, Cackleberries.com will launch its revamped, kids-oriented educational gaming website on Sept. 1.

The new model allows for kids to access the company’s online world through a desktop access that bypasses any chance for the kids to be subjected to online predators, viruses or advertising.

"The No. 1 concern on the Internet is people having access to children — that can’t happen with our site," said Coquitlam’s Eronne Ward, CEO of Cackleberries Entertainment Group. "It’s built in Flash, so it can’t be hacked, and nothing can appear on their screen that didn’t come from us. And they can’t get out [onto the Internet], so there’s no chance of any inappropriate content."

Cackleberries is set in a village-like setting and offers its users practical, everyday life lessons about everything from bullying to arithmetic.

The software has more than 50 different characters, and characters can travel through various dwellings in the game — castles or libraries, for example — that offer up music, storytelling or crafts.

The subscription-based online world costs $5 per month or $39.95 per year, though users would never know that.

"There is zero indication that we sell anything to the kids, they don’t even know that they can buy a membership. Our target is 100 per cent the people with the credit cards," Ward said. "Once parents buy a membership through the Cackleberries.com site … the child never, ever knows that we have a store, sees an advertisement, gets an e-mail — none of that happens."

Phase 1 of the online world represents the first of nine updates Ward has targeted to launch in coming months. With each update will come new additions to the online village or expansions to the software that will allow the website and company to grow further. In terms of growth, Ward said her company is already in talks with reps from China to build the brand overseas. Cackleberries is also involved in a number of different youth-focused entertainment platforms, including CDs, music videos and toys.

"We’re launching in every aspect of children’s entertainment. Our goal is to be the most ethical, appropriate content website for kids — no bullying, no violence, no sexuality," Ward said.

© Coquitlam Now 2009