Disney to Launch Web Site Aimed at Moms

The Walt Disney Co. is launching a new Web site aimed at moms who are increasingly turning to the Internet for answers to everything from problems with teething babies to financing college. The new site, Disney Family, is a departure for the media conglomerate, which has primarily launched Web efforts to promote its own brands and products, keeping strict control over content and presentation. By contrast, the new site is a onestop site for parents, especially mothers, providing everything from Internet search to usergenerated articles on key topics such as education and food, and, eventually, a "Parent Pedia," a compilation of information on 1,000 topics that can be expanded by users. The site, to be announced Tuesday in Los Angeles, will go live later this week at and remain in beta, or testing, stages until the summer, said Paul Yanover, executive vice president of Disney Online, a unit of the Walt Disney Internet Group. Advertisement: Story continues below Disney hopes to make money from selling advertising and from sponsored search, text ads that appear next to search results. The launch marks Disney's second big Web announcement since it revamped its main site in January to include more video, games and interactive features. "This is uncharacteristically good," said principal analyst Josh Bern off of Cambridge, Mass.based Forrester Research. "To get community right, you need to have the right mix between homegrown content plus the ability to loop in people and content from outside. That takes guts because you don't really know what users are going to say. It's uncharacteristic for a company that wants to control things as much as Disney." Yanover said the openness of the site is what the more than 30,000 mothers surveyed over the past year said they wanted, along with trusted content vouched for by Rosetta Stone Software Disney. The company will include Disney products on the site and promote Disney films, but alongside similar products and content, Yanover said. "We want to be clear that 'Disney' does not necessarily mean Disney branded products and services," Yanover said. "It means Disney as a reliable brand. We don't just want to push Disney products." Parents have become a larger part of Disney's online audience, accounting for nearly half of the 25 million unique visits per month to the site, the company said. Most of those are moms. In addition, the company has seen growth in a smaller site, that is coupled with a magazine and aimed at providing craft and other projects for families with younger children. Other sites already cater to parts of the audience Disney is hoping to reach by aggregating various topics under one roof. "Can Disney bring more to the party with this integration approach than the other guys can and compete against them?" asked David Card, media analyst for Jupiter Research. "I think they'll do well, but they have some serious competitors out there." Disney formed an advisory board that includes mothers who had launched their own online Web journals, or blogs, some of which will be featured on the site. Yanover figures the "mommy bloggers" alone account for 9 million unique visitors each month. One feature that should appeal to moms is the "Family 1,000," a prefiltered list of smaller Web sites that typically do not rank high on searches using traditional Web search sites such as Google and Yahoo, Yanover said. The list will change as users nominate their own sites, and the ranking will change based on how users rate them. "As a family, we have to go to the Internet to get answers," said Victoria Pericon, who runs the Web site and served on Disney's advisory board. "I need a convenient source, but is it also trusted? Because it's Disney, you know it is, so you don't have to question that."

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They have a more realistic view of the world

Ruthven's theoriesare based on US authors William Strauss and Neil Howe, generationgurus who argue that history shows a cycle of four generationaltypes, always in the same order. Based on this pattern, he expectsgen Z to soften and balance the harddriving gen Ys, with a greatersocial conscience and notion of fairness and a tendency to moreguilt trips."You're probably going to have the most savvy generation of alltime," says Ruthven, who agrees with McCrindle that the two keypointers to the adult gen Zs are their parents and technology,especially the internet. "They are going into primary schoolalready using the internet and PCs, making them the mostinformationintensive generation of all time."For a glimpse of the likely effect of internet exposure at a veryyoung age, it's worth hearing Peter Williams talk about his threechildren, aged 18, 16 and 14. On most definitions, they're gen Ys,not Zs, but the Williams home has been hooked up to the internetsince 1993, at least seven years before most families. "My kidshave been on the internet ever since they were born," saysWilliams, the chief executive of Deloitte Digital, who is also anearly buyer of gaming consoles, networking gear and every othertype of computerrelated technology."They take being connected to everything as a given," he explains."They have been exposed to so much more information, music, movies,cultures and photos. Their capacity to absorb information isbreathtaking but they like the short grabs. They become incrediblyknowledgeable about their passions because they have access to amountain of information that we never had."McCrindle's research notes that this generation values speed overaccuracy but Richard Watson, author of trends report What'sNext at, says it's too early to predict howgrowing up as digital natives will shape them Rosetta Stone as adults (like Ruthven, he says the oldest gen Zs are only seven or eight).Certainly, he believes their multiplay computer gaming requiringcollaboration, leadership and fast strategy switches will have aninfluence. Cooperating with others and problemsolving will besecond nature to Z, although McCrindle adds that cottonwoolparenting may make them riskaverse.Surprisingly, Watson is the only expert interviewed who mentionsthe environment. The deluge of media coverage and school projectson climate change will make gen Z far more environmentally aware,he believes. (At my daughters' primary school, the way each childtravels to school is recorded.) "I have a fiveyearold son onpermanent Earth Hour watch," says Watson, laughing. "He keepsswitching off the freezer and the computer and all the lights. It'sdriving me around the bend."KPMG demographer Bernard Salt argues that gen Z started way back in1991 and finished in 2006. That makes his oldest Zers 17. Hediffers from other researchers in believing the moniker won't stickbecause Americans says zee and everyone else says zed. "I'm pushingfor 'millennium generation'," he says, noting that othersuggestions include the "bubblewrap generation" and generation T(for toys).He agrees there are similarities between Y and Z, such as smallerfamily sizes and more attention from parents (making themcomfortable with authority). "It's tempting to say gen Z will bejust like gen Y, only more so," he muses. "But I don't think so.There's a fork in the road. The parents of gen Y, the baby boomers,were guilty about Mum working, and therefore very indulgent. Theparents of gen Z gen X have let go of the angst. It's tougherlove Mean Mummy instead of Yummy Mummy.

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Winslet wins the double as Ledger honoured

Kate Winslet has won a second Golden Globe in thebest drama actress category for her portrayal of afrustrated 1950s suburbanite in the drama Revolutionary Road. And HeathLedger has been post humously honoured as bestsupporting actor for his role as The Joker in The Dark Knight. Winslet, 33, beatAngelina Jolie (Changeling),Meryl Streep (Doubt), Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married) and Kristin ScottThomas (I've Loved You SoLong). Advertisement: Story continues below Winslet, who had been nominated at the Globes on five previousoccasions, also won earlier in the evening in thesupporting actress category for her performance inThe Reader. Winslet beat Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler) and Doubt costars Amy Adams and Viola Davis. Already nominated for five Oscars during her career, Winslet'snotable film credits include Titanic, Iris,Sense And Sensibility and Eternal Sunshine Of TheSpotless Mind. Mickey Rourke won the best actor in a drama award forhis portrayal of a washed up fighter in The Wrestler. Irish heartthrob Colin Farrell has won the award forbest actor in a comedy or musical for hisper formance in In Bruges. Farrell, 32, who plays a hitman struggling to come to terms witha botched job, pipped costar Brendan Gleeson, Dustin Hoffman(Last Chance Harvey), James Franco (Pineapple Express) and Javier Bardem (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) to take the award. Sally Hawkins won best actress in a comedy ormusical for HappyGoLucky. British film maker Danny Boyle, 52, won the bestdirector award for Slumdog Millionaire, whichtells the Rosetta Stone Arabic story of a boy's rise from Mumbai's slums to the brink offortune on an Indian television game show. The movie also won the best film award. Steamy Woody Allen movie Vicky Cristina Barcelona wonthe award for best comedy or musical.Steven Spielberg was honoured with the Cecile B DeMilleAward for his outstanding contribution to theentertainment field. The award recognises the legendary director of classic filmsincluding Jaws, Schindler's List andSaving Private Ryan. Australian actresses Rachel Griffiths and Melissa George missedout on the Golden Globe for best supporting televisionactress. Laura Dern beat the Australians with her role in the TV movie Recount. Griffiths had been nominated for her role in the seriesBrothers And Sisters, while George was nominated forIn Treatment. However, New Zealand actress Anna Paquin had better luck. She won the best television actress Globe forher role on the vampire series, True Blood. She was a surprise winner over Sally Field from Brothers And Sisters, Law Order actress Mariska Hargitay,The Closer's Kyra Sedgwick and Mad Men's JanuaryJones. Britain's Sally Hawkins won the best musical/comedyactress award for her performance in the lighthearted Mike Leigh film Happy Go Lucky. The 32yearold actress on Sunday beat favorite Meryl Streep(Mamma Mia!), Frances McDormand (Burn After Reading) and fellow Britons Rebecca Hall (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) and Emma Thompson (Last Chance Harvey). Disney/Pixar movie Wall Ewas named bestanimated film. The film, about a garbagecollecting robot left on Earth afterhumans have abandoned the planet,saw off competition from Kung Fu Panda and Bolt. Golden Globes organisers launched the animated film prize in2007 and so far all three winners of the award have been Disney/Pixar films. Cars and Ratatouille took theaward in the past two years.

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If anything, it's time to turn the clock back

Accidents and fatalities will always occur on the roads as surely as night follows day and this country should grow up and accept this as a fact of life. The question to ask ourselves is that do we constantly go into kneejerk reactions every time something happens on the roads and wonder what new laws to bring in to penalise the general driving public or do we react in a mature way and prosecute only the irresponsible. We are up to our eyeballs in rules and regulations and it is time to bring this to a halt by putting a moratorium on any new law. If anything, it's time to turn the clock back. Things have gone too far in respect to other issues such as the ridiculous variable speed limits one is expected to comply with, demerit points that take 3 years to extinguish and the insanity of "double" demerit points on long weekends, plus much, much more. It is my intention to form a "Drivers Party" to contest the next State election where I will endeavour to look after the interests of all drivers, young and old from an obviously out of control RTA which has been granted the role of judge, jury and executioner thanks primarily to the Labor Party in general, and an apathetic Australian public who are finally realising that if something is not done soon to protect their rights, they will wake up one morning and find they have none. For real changes to occur, it is my opinion that drivers en masse should vote for the removal of the state Labor Party from office at the next election. Gil Solomon Dover Heights NSW Road hates I have three hates that weren't mentioned by either Bill McKinnon or Joshua Dowling The first is frequently seen during morning peak periods on Victoria Road. Whilst the citybound traffic in two lanes (leaving aside the bus/T lane) is nose to tail creeping along (hopefully 2 to 3 seconds apart), from the Iron Cove Bridge up through Rozelle, as soon as one gets to the approaches to the Anzac Bridge where it widens to to 3 lanes plus the bus lane, great gaps start to appear as some drivers do not keep up with the moving traffic. However, I always seem Rosetta Stone Greek to get stuck behind the laggard whilst the cars in the lanes either side of me are "speeding" past. And yes I know that the Anzac Bridge itself is a 60kph zone, but in the morning peak the traffic frequently is moving slightly higher than the posted speed limit, and one has the feeling that it would be a very game police officer who tried to enforce the lower limit. Secondly is being stuck behind a large 4 wheel drive with children watching videos in the back seat. I have found this to be very distracting in heavy traffic, especially if there is a lot of movement in the video that catches your eye's side vision. The last point is that I have noted that vehicles which have faulty lights (brake lights, blinkers, tail or head lights) that aren't working always have discourteous, inattentive or just plain lousy drivers. Consequently I do not like being behind such vehicles and always wish that there was some system that allowed one to report such vehicles to the RTA. [Based on the principle that if sufficient people report a specific vehicle/driver then the police/RTA should require the vehicle to have a roadworthy check and the driver to have a driving test and if necessary put back on P plates.] Joe KensellFive Dock NSW Pet Hates When I read the story "Drivers behaving Badly" I thought I must have got up in the night and written it without knowing. I agree with every single one of your points but in order of annoyance my top five would probably be; not keeping left in multi lane roads; tailgating (especially by trucks); not signaling intentions; not allowing merging in places such as road works etc.; not knowing the road rules. I have been lucky enough to have driven in quite a few overseas countries (including Italy) and have no doubt that Australian drivers are the most ignorant and badly behaved in the world.

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Rosetta Stone shares jump in public debut

Shares of languagelearning software company Rosetta Stone Inc. surged almost 40 percent Thursday in their public debut on the New York Stock Exchange. It was the second IPO this week, raising some hopes that the market for initial public offerings may be reviving. The market froze last year as the collapse on Wall Street wiped out investors' appetite for stocks. Many companies decided against going public because they wouldn't be able to raise the money they needed from selling shares. The Rosetta share offering raised $112.5 million as 6.25 million shares were priced at $18 a share. Half of the shares came from the company and half were sold by existing shareholders. The price was above the initial planned range of $15 to $17, according to Renaissance Capital. Advertisement: Story continues below The shares soared $7.12, or 39.6 percent, to $25.12 on Thursday. They trade under the ticker symbol "RST." Arlington, Va.based Rosetta is not the first company to make its public debut in recent weeks. Ltd., which develops and operates online games in China, completed its IPO on April 7. Majority owned by Chinese Web portal, Changyou priced at $16 per American Depositary Share, above its proposed range. On Thursday, the stock rose 2 cents to $27.31. Bridgepoint Education, which offers online degrees, priced at $10.50 on Tuesday. The stock rose 95 cents to $12.05 on Rosetta Stone software Thursday. Kathy Smith, principal at Renaissance Capital, said the IPOs that are getting done right now tend to get done by stronger companies at attractive prices. After all, she noted, there are still problems with the financial system. "It's a buyer's market," she said. Buyers, she added, are calling the shots because they are not willing to risk capital unless the company is strong and the price is attractive. Still, Smith said it's a good sign when investors "are willing to invest not government money, but their own money." Rosetta Stone, which provides learning software for 31 languages over the Internet and CDs, said in a regulatory filing it plans to use its share of the IPO's proceeds to repay outstanding debt and for general corporate purposes such as acquisitions. Tom Adams, Rosetta's president and chief executive, said the company has always looked to go public, something that "helps reinforce" the strength of its brand. The company's language training programs seek to replicate the way children learn their first language without the use of grammar tables and memorization. "We have had very strong sales growth and we feel good about where we are as a business," he said, adding that the company wasn't looking to make decisions about the IPO market the same way other businesses are. Smith said Rosetta's shares were being offered at a "very attractive price," and investors like the company because it has a solid brand name and is profitable. "We think that for a while the market is going to be selective, (it's) going to be strong companies at attractive values," she said.

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Like Carlton, Essendon ran St Kilda off their feet early

Essendon16.12 (108) St Kilda11.9 (75)ST KILDA'S worrying form slump continued last night with an unexpected 33-point defeat to Essendon at Etihad Stadium. The Bombers stunned the Saints with a withering first term and used their superior run to maximum advantage. It was Essendon's third-straight win over St Kilda and all of those encounters have produced surprise results. Veteran Dustin Fletcher was best afield with an outstanding performance in defence as he, Cale Hooker and Michael Hurley restricted Saints captain Nick Riewoldt, while Angus Monfries kicked four goals. Advertisement: Story continues below The Bombers set up perhaps their best win of the season with an eight-goal burst from early in the first term to the start of the second. St Kilda will retain third spot regardless of other results this weekend, but alarm bells must be ringing with just over a month to the finals. The past three weeks have produced a big loss to Collingwood, a fortunate draw against Hawthorn and now an upset defeat to a side comfortably in the bottom half of the ladder. As good as Essendon were, everything went wrong for the Saints - they made too many basic skill errors and the run of the umpiring decisions went against them. Essendon kicked the first three goals of the third term to extend their advantage to a game-high 58 points after leading by 37 at half-time. The Saints then goalled Canada Goose Expedition Parka twice before three-quarter time - the first time in the match they had managed consecutive six-pointers. But Essendon quickly replied to kill off any hint of an unlikely comeback. Five weeks out from the finals, the likely top-four outfit were expected to flex their considerable muscle at Essendon's expense. The Bombers broke a six-game losing streak last week with a narrow win over North Melbourne. But it seemed as if the Bombers took a leaf out of Carlton's book in round seven, when the Blues beat St Kilda by 61 points. Like Carlton, Essendon ran St Kilda off their feet early and split open their defence. Fletcher must have licked his lips when he learnt his match-up would be Saints' first-gamer Tom Lynch. He was able to marshall the Essendon defence at will, and while Riewoldt continues to show promising signs in his comeback from hamstring surgery, the Bombers sometimes tripled-team him. There were still some problems with the controversial Etihad Stadium surface but it was nowhere near as bad as the St Kilda-Hawthorn match a week ago. Brisbane coach Michael Voss wants the criticism of his controversial spearhead Brendan Fevola to cease after his on-field behaviour and body language were again brought into question. Speaking before the Lions' clash with Melbourne at the Gabba today, Voss said Fevola was part of a team and should not be continually the focus of questions or media critique. ''It's time to draw a line in the sand and say Fev is part of the team and stop singling him out,'' he said.

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Fed not ready for exit strategy: minutes

The US Federal Reserve is mulling its exit strategy from massive economic support measures but has put off any decision, minutes of the latest policy-setting meeting showed. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) "discussed possible approaches for formulating and communicating key elements of its strategy for removing extraordinary monetary policy accommodation at the appropriate time," minutes from the March 16 meeting said. "No decisions about the committee's exit strategy were made at this meeting, but participants agreed to give further consideration to these issues at a later date." Advertisement: Story continues below Ryan Sweet at Moody's pointed out that the minutes lacked additional information on the Fed's plan to exit the extremely accommodative monetary policy it has pursued in support of the economy's recovery from the worst recession in decades. "However, the minutes show the central bank is exploring the possibility of allowing 'some or all' of its Treasury securities to mature without reinvestment, thus shrinking its balance sheet." The policymakers agreed that the central bank's purchases of 1.25 trillion US dollars of mortgage-backed securities and about 175 billion US dollars of other debt were on track for completion by the target date of March 31, the minutes showed. They concluded that financial market conditions remained supportive of economic growth and there were no signs of emerging misalignments in financial markets or "widespread" instances of excessive risk taking. "Participants were also reassured by the absence of any signs of renewed strains in financial market functioning as a consequence of the Federal Reserve's winding down of its special liquidity facilities," the minutes said. The policymakers saw the economic recovery as "likely to proceed at a moderate pace," Canada Goose Norge the minutes said, adding that "modest downward adjustments" were made to projections for economic growth. At the one-day meeting, the FOMC left the federal funds rate unchanged at a historic low range between zero and 0.25 percent, where it has been since December 2008 in a bid to pull the world's largest economy from the recession that had begun a year earlier. There was dissent on the wording of the statement accompanying the interest rate decision that the base rate would be held unchanged for "an extended period," reiterating the phrase used in recent FOMC statements. "Nearly all members judged that it was appropriate to reiterate the expectation that economic conditions -- including low levels of resource utilization, subdued inflation trends, and stable inflation expectations -- were likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period, but one member believed that communicating such an expectation would create conditions that could lead to financial imbalances," the minutes said. Kansas City Fed president Thomas Hoenig was, for the second meeting in a row, the sole dissenter to the FOMC action. According to the minutes, a number of members noted that the panel?s expectation for a policy change "was explicitly contingent on the evolution of the economy rather than on the passage of any fixed amount of calendar time." Dean Maki, chief US economist at Barclays Capital, said that was the most important message in the March FOMC minutes. "The committee does not believe the 'extended period' language refers to calendar time; rather it is meant to refer to the evolution of economic data," he said. "Because it serves as much less of a constraint than its conventional definition would suggest, this interpretation also could imply that the language will stay in place until the committee is relatively certain it will be tightening soon," he added.

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