Nickelodeon Grows Up for Parents

As if the world were running out of children, Nick has decided to expand its sights to the kiddies of yesterday.

Last month Nickelodeon launched ParentsConnect.com, a social networking site that is just completing beta. Unbranded thus far as a Nickelodeon offering, parents can create profiles, scope blogs, post on message boards and watch videos. The site has already piqued the interest of some heavy rollers in terms of advertising, like State Farm Insurance and Nissan, which seeks to promote the Quest minivan they were once targeting at children.

The site is moderated by parents and Nickelodeon plans to conduct the official launch in January. They expect it to become profitable within the next two years.

In my opinion they could try and make it a bit more attractive. It's wildly dull. Are parents wildly dull? They're typically fairly active people and more than a few watch (and enjoy!) Nick cartoons with their kids. I'm wondering whether they'll toss in television tie-ins, particularly those for which Nickelodeon (er, Nick at Nite?) is most known. My generation still falls all over itself when somebody brings up The Wonder Years.