Lip-Sticking

Women of the Web, We Are

As the country moves forward with a new president and a new focus - are you wondering, as I am, where the women of the web fit in? Where do those of us who are devoted to the care and welfare of our families, and to our small online businesses, and our Twitter connections, and our blog conversations, fit in the overall scheme of things, in this great country we call the U.S. of A.?

To count us is to count us by the thousands. Nay, hundreds of thousands. We are Moms and Grandmoms. We are young and not so young. We are married and not married. We are Aunts or Retired business professionals. We are part of a tapestry of colors and textures.

We are designers and writers and speakers and bakers and knitters and quilters and make-up artists. We are marketers, authors, web artists, manufacturers, consultants, cooks, pet professionals, and so many other things.

We are the Women of the Web.

Telephone, Telegraph...Tell a Woman with a Blog

People routinely ask me why I promote marketing to women online, rather than just writing a marketing blog. There is a movement afoot to drop the "marketing to women" label in preference to marketing to ... your market. Which is, very likely, women and men.

I have no beef with that belief. In almost every market you will find an overlap of men and/or women. Women buy electronics, and houses, and lawn mowers, as well as shoes, and skincare, and new bedding. Men buy shoes, and skincare and even new bedding, as well as lawn mowers, etc.

But, in the end, if you're online, the dominant gender, the gender that is eagerly involved in community building, is women. Women who talk, and talk, and talk...to each other, every day.

Last spring Rapleaf did a study about the differences between men and women online and it bears noting that their results showed the relationship qualities of what women do online.

Sharing the Link Love in September

This is one of those days where you start to pull your hair out by the roots, around 9:30!!!

On the one hand, it's a beautiful day outside - so sunny and bright and not too hot, that it helps me remember why I like Fall better than any other season. On the other hand, I'm chained to my computer, trying to get stuff done but constantly interrupted by phone calls or business issues, or Twitter notes I can't ignore! Oy vey! (and I'm not even Jewish!) AND... the computer is misbehaving! I've rebooted 5 times, already!

Since I cannot write a great post today, though I have a whole lot of content to share, let me do this... let me create a great Link Love Post for you to click away at.

Twittering Your Life Away: Not! Why I Twitter

Not very long ago, one of my BBBF, Susan Getgood, nudged me to start using Twitter. I admit openly that I a gentle nudge was not enough. "What," I asked Susan, "do I need with another social media tool? I have enough to do just keeping up with blogging and Facebook!" (no, I do not have a MySpace page!)

Well, after some more gentle nudging - I took the plunge. I set up a Twitter account and wrote a few little Twitter posts. It was harder than imagined, since you can only use 140 characters.

About a week later, I was still mystified. Susan shared some of her followers - that's what it's called when someone decides to watch what you write in your Twitter page; followers. I started following some of the same people Susan follows, and I found Toby Bloomberg, another BBBF, and I found a few other folks I knew...and in short order, I was hooked!

Girls Gaining: We Love Math!

Had to write about an article I read in my local paper, on Friday. The article was from the Associated Press but there is a whole lot of buzz online about the study it refers to - that being girls and math. And for good reason. Until this study, it has been reported over and over that girls excel in math (not saying they are better, just that they are good at it) up to about ages 12-14. That's when their hormones kick in and to date, girls have pulled back in order not to seem "too smart" to the boys they want to attract.

The "hormones make girls less smart" argument has always annoyed me. It didn't make ME less smart (ok...open honesty here - I hate math, I can add two and two, but I don't reconcile my checkbook, or whatever it is you do with your checkbook, and I refer all financial issues at work to my partner; but I do review them)...and being a teenaged girl did not put a dent in the IQs of my daughters. Both excel in everything, but especially math.

"I always liked math," says Maggie, my middle child. "Math is black and white. There's a right answer or a wrong answer, no gray areas." Today she's working on her PhD in Epidemiology and Community Health, in Buffalo. Math is a necessity for her.

But, I can see how girls who are eager to be pretty and popular and who want a great guy to take them to the prom might supress their IQ. If their football playing target is worried about his date upstaging him.

BRATZ Dolls Offering Scholarships

Ok, it isn't the dolls offering the scholarships, it's Lionsgate Home Entertainment.

According to the press release I received, "The Bratz Are Helping To Send Four Girls To College With A $60,000 Scholarship Contest! On behalf of Lionsgate Home Entertainment, we are pleased to announce they will be awarding $60,000 in college scholarships in promotion of the Bratz: The Movie DVD release on November 27th!" (that was a couple of days ago but, hey, I bet you can still get it...read on to learn more about the $$$)

A total of four scholarships will be awarded, each worth $15,000, though an essay contest asking girls, “What are you most passionate about in life and how would you use this scholarship to help you grow?”

According to the "news", "The Bratz are best friends, but also have individual passions such as singing, chemistry, soccer, and dance. The scholarships, named for each of the Bratz -- Yasmin, Cloe, Sasha, and Jade – will be awarded to children that embody a passionate spirit for life. The Bratz Scholarship Contest is closely aligned with the positive values represented in the film, including a storyline where these “BFF’s” compete in a talent show for their very-own chance to win a college scholarship! Details on prizing and how to enter will be included inside the DVD."

Now, I have never been fond of the Bratz dolls but these are real girls...and I have to applaud the concept of encouraging positive values, and presenting positive role models. If I think back...to my days as a pre-teen, I was a BIG...really BIG...fan of Barbie. So, this is today's girlie-girl thing and...it's worth some time in front of the tube. Together, Mom and Dad. With your daughters. Talk about the movie, talk about the scholarship, talk about life. I bet you learn some things about your girls that you didn't know before.

Good luck!

The News No One Wants To Hear

Got an old CIO Insight report recently that say, "the number of women working in information technology has declined, both in absolute numbers and as a percentage of IT professionals."

Their article "Women in I.T. : Where the Girls Aren't" hits home at this house because we gals are all pretty technical. I often error on the side of believing the women I know are more technical than they give themselves credit for - even as I admit that I'm not as technical as I'd like to be. And I used to stop over at Misbehaving a lot - until they stopped posting.

I did find this link to a great tech program for girls, on Misbehaving, and I clicked over to the Women's Computer Learning Center to see what was up there. Apparently, everything is up there... especially learning how to use email effectively...which I wish more people would do.

"In 2 hours and for $49.95 you can learn everything you need to know about
email and the internet. Don’t feel out classed by your kids, your friends, neighbors or co-workers. Come Join the fun."

Back to the women in IT article... no one wants to hear that a particular skill is gender based, and yet some are. IT is not one of them, however. (I do think the guys have it over us in football, gals... and we have it way over them in rocking the baby to sleep)...but why are the numbers for women in technology going DOWN??? In this, the age of technology?

Here are the stats, from the article: (and yes, this is marketing to women online - this is content you should be aware of and be sharing):

Data from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that 984,000 women worked in eight IT categories in 2000, accounting for 28.9 percent of all employed IT workers. The corresponding numbers for 2006, when overall IT employment hit an all-time high of nearly 3.47 million, show a 7.7 percent drop from 2000, with 908,000 women working in IT, or just 26.2 percent of the total.

The reasons cited are "abrasive experiences"... "social stigma"... and "diminishing opportunities." I just don't buy it. The experiences, maybe...but young women I know can handle it. Better than we did when we were their age. Social stigma is a joke. Girls everywhere create their own Facebook and Myspace pages because they want to be "sociable"... they aren't feeling stigmatized. And, diminishing opps? Well, I can't speak for that...but I see a whole LOT of opps in technology, that come with some nice $$$.

So, gals, what is it, really? Tell us. We're counting on you to run the world in the coming decades. You can't do that if you're too busy parading around in tu-tus, sucking on lollipops... Come on, throw Britney out with the Barbie dolls and ... take your rightful place beside all the men who already know technology is the foundation of all life on earth.

The Top 10 Reasons You SHOULD NOT Blog

In our local area we're known as the Blog Twins, Tom and I. Everywhere we go we talk blogs. Often we're asked to talk blogs to some local chapter of some national organization. Sometimes we're put on the spot to explain what a blog is and why anyone would want one. Often, we just refer people to one of the many blogs we write in.

Truth is, blogging has been very good to us. It's connected us to a network we would never have been a part of, otherwise. I've met hundreds of new friends, via this blog and other blogs I write in, and many of them send me referrals. I try to do the same for them.

Because of our affiliation with all things blog, including Jeremy Wright's outstanding book on Blog Marketing (which I served as technical editor of), I've come up with 10 Reason You Probably Shouldn't Blog... for people who still have misgivings about using a blog as a business tool. I am citing them here, in my marketing to women online blog, because they apply to women and men, alike. And this blog is for men and women, not just women. It's mostly ABOUT women...so, I'll relate my 10 Reasons to the women's market, as much as possible.

Abraham Lincoln: Most Effective Leader says Doris Kearns Goodwin

Doris Kearns Goodwin: Pulitzer Prize Winning Author and Presidential Historian

I was asked if I'd be interested in showcasing this interview with former Harvard professor and Woodrow Willson Fellow, Doris Kearns Goodwin, and after looking at her subject - Abraham Lincolh - my all time favorite president - I could not resist. My comments are in red, however.

Ms. Goodwin is the author of several New York Times best-sellers, including No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt which was awarded the 1995 Pulitzer Prize in History and her latest book, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln (Simon & Schuster, 2005). She is the recipient of the Charles Frankel Prize and the Sara Josepha Hale Medal. She was the first woman journalist to enter the Red Sox locker room [brave woman!] and has been a consultant and on air-person for PBS documentaries on Lyndon Johnson, the Kennedy family, Franklin Roosevelt, Abraham and Mary Lincoln, and Ken Burns’ “The History of Baseball.” Currently an NBC News analyst, Ms. Goodwin lives in Massachusetts and has appeared on “Meet the Press” and “The Colbert Report.”

Ms. Goodwin is leading the session, “The Ultimate Executive Office: Leadership in the White House” at the Fortune Leadership Forum taking place this week, June 26-27. Goodwin will share what management leaders can learn from leaders in the Oval Office. [would that I could have been there but... time, tasks, and family prevent.] Disclaimer: I did not compose this interview, but it serves its point well, so I am very happy to share it.

1.) Who is the best leader you've encountered during your career and why?

Doris: Abraham Lincoln is the most effective leader I have studied. While FDR's conduct as commander in chief during World War II is a close second, Lincoln possessed a greater array of emotional strengths that grounded his leadership style and allowed him to create the most unusual cabinet in presidential history comprised of his chief rivals for the presidency, each of whom thought he should have been president instead of Lincoln.

Throughout, he possessed an uncanny ability to empathize and understand other people's points of view. Over and over, he repaired injured feelings that might have escalated into permanent hostility. He shared credit with ease, assumed responsibility for the failures of his subordinates, learned from his mistakes. He refused to be provoked by petty grievances, to submit to jealousy or to brood over perceived slights. Time and again, he was the one who dispelled his colleagues' anxiety and sustained their spirits with his gift for storytelling and his life-affirming sense of humor. And he expressed his unshakable convictions in a language of enduring beauty.

2.) What are the two or three contributing factors to the crisis of leadership in this country today?

Doris: People have sometimes asked whether Lincoln could be elected today. I think if he were running today - even with his unfortunate beard (which he might be convinced to cut) and his curious stovepipe hat (which he might be convinced to discard) - he would win hands down for people would recognize instantly how smart, funny, clever and wise he is, but the harder question is whether he would run for office today given the state of our political climate.

Which raises the larger worry about whether our best people are entering public life. I think not -- due to the necessity to spend so many waking hours begging for funds before even beginning to compete, plus the intrusion of the press into one's private life, the ease with which one mistaken remark can undo a reputation and the difficulty of getting bipartisan cooperation even if one  [okay, I disagree on the beard issue... I like it, I would be disappointed if he shaved it.]

For more information on Doris Kearns Goodwin visit her website here.

I truly wish I could have been there to hear Doris speak. I wonder if political leaders can learn from business leaders and vice-versa. I wonder if politics has become too corrupt, to inner-focused, and too wedded to industry. In times like this, I wonder if those in the major levels of business and politics have a clue about the every day citizen, other than what she or he looks like when it's hand-shaking time.

I wonder what Doris would say to that?

Innovation: The Time is Now

As Tom and I prepare to go to NY, for the Innovation Forum conference, I'm struck by how things change, and yet, remain the same. It almost seems as if the world has finally woken up to the power of a woman's purse, but - the truth is, they've known it all along. Most women don't feel recognized but, looking back at advertising, I notice that marketing has been focused on women for a long time.

Back in the day, according to this About.com page on the history of advertising, the consumer goods industry was marketing via Harper's Weekly, to...women. Maybe it wasn't stated that the ads were for women but...I have to believe that Harper's Weekly knew who was going to read the ads. Check out this ad for a sewing machine, endorsed by Mrs. Jefferson Davis (before the civil war) and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant (after the civil war). Hmmm...

And, here's whole page of ads for yeast, toilet soaps, and more. Now, who do you suppose was going to buy those items??

Then, there's this timeline of advertising showing how Procter & Gamble started advertising Ivory Soap in 1882, with a budget of $11,000! In 1883, Ladies' Home Journal was launched, by a husband and wife team.

So, this 'idea' that marketing to women is new...or that we ladies aren't on the minds of advertisers and marketers just might be an overstatement. I think, looking back at the 50s and 60s, that our newfangled invention, the TV, was a prime marketing tool to the ladies. We have to go back to The Mom Factor and how women, at that time, were likely to be homemakers. Homemakers with time on their hands - time to watch Soap Operas. Please, admit that advertising on soap operas was aimed at women. And, that it spilled over into the sitcom industry, even to the dramatic shows of the day like Alfred Hitchcock presents, and even The Twilight Zone.

Maybe women didn't hold the remote in those days (because there wasn't one) but they controlled the channel changer - for the family. That's what women did then. That's what women do now. Men may 'think' they have control over the remote - but, regardless of what comes on the TV as they click through, the commercials are aimed at women. Not always successfully, true. Still, hair color commercials, shampoo commercials, diet commercials, fast food, microwave meals, cleaning products, medicine - what isn't part of what all Moms take care of?

So...as we explore innovation in NY, you will not see a lot of "marketing to women online" talk here. You'll read about education, I hope. You'll read about creativity, I'm sure. You'll read about tomorrow and next year and how our thinking in this country has to change, if we want to stay competitive. And, maybe, just maybe, you'll learn something.

I know I expect to learn something. Stay tuned.