Notes for my presentation at the O’Reilly Web 2.0 in Berlin last October:

Women represent a good half of the number of users of the web and even more on social networks.

Women make over 80% of all real world consumer purchases and according to a recent survey conducted by Mastercard run across 7 countries recently, women now shop more online than men – though they spend less. Some of the reasons for this being security issues and bad website design.

Justin Drummond notes in Brandrepublic ‘It is recognised that women, more so than men in the US and UK, are culturally encouraged to be more inclined to discuss their purchases with friends, recommending items they are pleased with and asking for advice from peers in decision-making; “they utilize the powerful marketing tool: word of mouth” (Source: www.alternet.org). This goes hand in hand with an expectance of openness to information about goods they wish to purchase, and makes them harder customers than men in many ways’.

The Web 1.0 online hard sell “Point-Click-Purchase” approach doesn’t always work, and given the choice women often prefer to browse, dig deep and get to understand our choices. Perhaps this is the reason for the success of sites like Etsy http://www.etsy.com/ which offer more of a shopping experience – with social networking at its core.

Social media is becoming more of an integral part of websites – and, as Business Week reports the use of social media is particularly attractive to women.

Web design and online marketing companies which are areas generally dominated by men are having to adapt to social marketing. Having more women involved with their eye for what women want can only be a good thing.

Moving on to advertising, Martha Barletta in her book ‘Marketing to Women’ comments that 91% of women say ‘advertisers don’t understand us’,and IPC Media reveals that within the ever growing market of women over 35, 36% feel that advertising aimed at them is patronising.

I must admit that I’m getting particularly fed up with the marketers and product designers assuming that the way to get me to buy some piece of tech is to make it in pink!

But there are a few glimmerings of hope with Dove, M&S and a few others having launched highly successful campaigns aimed at the older woman.

But my favourite to date has to be Harley Davidson which has added a section on its website dedicated to women motorcyclists. Women now buy 12% of all Harleys sold, and in an article in the New York Times, Jerry G. Wilke, Harley-Davidon’s vice president for customer relationships and product planning comments: “I think 12 percent is just the beginning…. The opportunities to cater to women are endless, and we will continue to do more.”

The video games industry is an area worth watching too with 40% of all gamers being women – though they represent just 12% of the industry.

This is still just the beginning though, and the money is starting to appear.
Advertising on, and traffic to, women-specific sites has increased rapidly and the big boys are starting to get in on the act:

Comcast recently bought the shopping and entertainment site DailyCandy for $125 million;
Peacock Equity and Venrock invested $5 million in BlogHer;
Yahoo created Shine http://shine.yahoo.com/ .

So where do we go from here? With the majority of internet shopping being done by women, and women also being the majority users of socical networks it’s odd that only 16% of women are involved in designing and building websites. And although roughly half of staff in advertising are women, men still monopolise the all important creative director roles which is odd considering that they are trying to influence women.

I would have thought that with these serious facts and figures behind us, now would be the right time for women to really start to make their mark.

I went along to NESTA recently to hear Tim Berners-Lee, ‘Creator of the Web’. Intelligent and articulate as you would expect, he also came over as a truly genuine person. As he was part of a panel he didn’t have too much time to speak which was a shame – but here’s the video of what he did say. Bringing everything down to a very human level you were left simply wanting to hear more.

It’s just a shame that NESTA couldn’t provide an embed code – so don’t forget to come back here when you’ve finished watching the video!

The speed at which technology is moving, how it impacts upon everyone in the world, and what the future holds for us all is of constant fascination to me. Whether you see it as exciting and motivating or a threat to the way in which we currently live, here are some facts which none of us can easily ignore. This video was made only a year ago and it’s interesting to note how some of the figures relating to internet usage have increased since then.

Sir Salman Rushdie in conversation with Chrystia Freeland on the impact of technology on the literary sphere and as an enabler free speech at Google Zeitgeist last week. 

I’ve been waiting patiently for a few years now for those creating online media to grasp the huge potential of online magazine-style sites devoted to the huge female audience which is now descending into the space. I’m personally not a women-magazine fan and don’t have copies draped around the house as many do – but this ad got me thinking that perhaps keeping one or two at hand in hard copy format wasn’t such a bad idea

Should blog comments have video replies or not? What IS the big deal?

There’s major outrage from many hardcore geeks who prefer just the written word as videos are impossible to scan quickly, while more media types who enjoy taking part in video conversations citing it as more ‘intimate’ an experience. Well, of course it is.

Bottom line is that there’s room for both and each will find its place. I imagine that the blogs with a high geek / IT audience will remain mostly with the written word, while blogs attracting those with a more media leaning will eventually become havens for those who enjoy being seen and (let’s be honest) have the time to scan. Personally I’ll probably only watch videos of those people I recognise and who I know will give good value for my time spent.

A few interesting points to be considered are:

Who owns the videos of yourself that you are creating?

What if, in years / weeks / days to come, you would rather those videos did not exist and what rights do you have to get them removed?

You can hide behind a nom de plume with the written word  – but videos leave you completely exposed….

In autumn ‘07 Etsy.com displayed its features at the Future of Wep App’s Show in London to an audience of geeks – who, it seemed, were relatively dismissive about it as ‘just another Ebay’. They found it difficult to believe that its exponential growth figures really were due primarily to word of mouth or that there was anything unique about it. It seemed to me that they just didn’t quite ‘get it’ – probably because it just wasn’t their scene – but I was completely transfixed, immediately saw the appeal and ran home ready to spend a good few hours searching and exploring it – not necessarily because of what it sold but because of its design, look and feel. Why the difference of opinion?

Etsy.com it transpires is used primarily by women. Here is a true shopping experience to be appreciated by those who love rummaging round small boutiques searching for that ‘must have’ unique item. The principle here goes completely against the traditional online shopping philosophy of ‘get in, click and purchase in under 60 seconds’ – rather you’re invited to hang, chill, join the community and purchase products as part of the overall experience. It’s a gallery in which you can play and create, converse with the artists, choose items by colour as well as type. A happy hour or 2 can quickly disappear and can be just as social and absorbing an event as a trip to your nearest off line boutique. And it’s that which makes the difference. A shopping experience in a Social Media space – now how cool is that?

For those who are into figures, according to Wikipedia: ‘On July 29, Etsy had its one-millionth sale and anticipated its two-millionth sale would occur mid-December 2007. In November 2007, buyers spent $4.3 million purchasing 300,000 items for sale on Etsy, an increase of 43 percent from October 2007′.

Ebay may well have lost its footing slightly – perhaps now it’s their turn to look for a bit of Etsy inspiration.

Did the names Scoble, Godin, Macleod and Arrington, mean anything to you 3 years ago? How about 2?

Of course these tech-savvies and marketing gurus have always been around – their claim to fame and notoriety as ‘thought leaders’ of the web is relatively new and it has been their blogs which have given them the foothold.

As the net evolves demands for different talents are emerging; merging the need for technical skills of the geeks, PR skills of the gurus and now the creative skills of video talent.

So we wait with baited breath to discover which names will be hitting our screens and added to the must-follow “Top Ten Twitter Stars” as the internet goes creative. Any suggestions?

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