Consumer
Reports for Kids Online
From 1991-2000 I was the
staff writer-editor of Zillions, the Consumer Reports magazine
for kids. In Summer, 2000, Zillions ceased its print operation
and transmogrified into a website, www.zillions.org. For a little over
a year we continued to test and report on new toys, games and stuff
from the world of kids, and create online features to make kids smarter
about money and be aware of ad hype. We also repurposed some articles
and favorite departments from the pages of Zillions magazine.
We posted new material weekly
-- a Herculean feat considering the reduced staff (just me, the editor,
and art director) and microscopic budget for freelance illustration
(a mainstay of the magazine). It was gratifying to work on a website
from the ground up, though frustrating because we didn't have the resources,
or organizational directive, to create a state-of-the-art site. (It
was kind of like making silent, black-and-white movies circa 1930 when
sound and color film had already became the vogue.)
Given our staff and budget
limitations, we put together an informative and engaging website, which,
due to financial exigencies, stopped postingnew material in Fall, 2001.
Sample
features
Most of the features and
departments are still accessible at the redesigned archival website
www.zillions.org.
