Sequiam Biometrics (fka SQUM)

[analystslie]

One of the subsidiaries that we are most interested in is http://www.annesdiary.com/. This is a blog, chat room and shopping site for young girls. Now this in itself doesn't shout large investment, but the site ‘ClubPenguin.com’ recently sold for $350mn (some reports say $700mn) to Disney. Disney know, as an outlet for targeted advertising this site is great, hence the price tag.


The site itself is, essentially, a closed off world for its users. For a monthly subscription, children are given a fingerprint reader and a blue tooth necklace that detects when a child has left the area of the computer and logs it off. To become a member of the site a child must have their application signed off by a local schoolmaster, police officer or some identifiable responsible member of the community, thus creating a flow of information on exactly who the user is, a verifiable young girl.

The child then logs onto the computer and into Anne’s Diary via the finger print software and the parent knows that everyone she talks to will be verifiable as another young girl. Should a predator get onto the system by manipulating a child, then there is a verifiable and reportable trail of evidence to the person who signed off and who the user is. Even the most stupid of pedophiles would not venture into such a situation and would, more than likely, move on to sites that weren't protected.

And therein lies the rub. Sooner or later sites that do not have the protection offered by Anne’s Diary will begin to suffer. Why? Simple economics. We all know the litigious nature of the US (not a criticism, just an observation).

http://winterman-am.blogspot.com/2007/08/billion-dollar-internet-businesswe-hope.html