I am woman, hear me tweet
Wales Business — By Katie Chappelle on March 9, 2010 7:00 am
A recent report from Nielsen found that 55% of mobile social networkers are women
THINK about your wife, girlfriend, sister – or yourself and your friends if you’re also female. Do they have a smart phone? Do they use social networking sites? Do they read, or even write, blogs? And how many of you have said yes to at least one of those questions?
Plenty of studies show that women are embracing web 2.0 and mobile browsing. According to AdMob’s January Mobile Metrics report, 43% of iPhone users are now female. Meanwhile, a survey from Information is Beautiful also confirms that us ladies make up the majority of users on most social media sites. They’ve gone so far as to break it down by website:
- MySpace users are 64% female,
- Ning users are 59% female,
- Facebook users are 57% female,
- Twitter users are 57% female and
- flickr users are 55% female.
YouTube and LinkedIn have an equal ratio of men to women, while social news website Digg is the only major social network that is skewed towards males, with 64% of users, according to the study.
But forget any idea that these female users are teenage girls who are more interested in swapping pictures with friends than serious networking. Nielsen’s study shows that 70% of social network users are aged 25-54. We’re talking professional women and, of course, mums – the people who traditionally make the buying decisions in a household.
Companies have been quick to pick up on this development, which is reflected in an increase in websites aimed at mothers, such as Mumsnet – one of the biggest parenting websites in the UK with over one million visitors each month. Mumsnet has already established itself as a tour deforce – broadcasting live webchats with Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg among others. You may remember that Gordon Brown’s Mumsnet webchat made national news when the Prime Minister failed to tell users what his favourite biscuit was, despite being repeatedly asked. (He later admitted that he likes to eat “anything with a bit of chocolate on it”.)
The reasons why women are embracing social networking are obvious. It may be tarring all women with the same brush, but my friends like nothing more than catching up and just generally having a conversation – which is exactly what web 2.0 all about.
Of the top ten most followed tweeters, five are women: Britney Spears, Ellen DeGeneres, Oprah Winfrey, Kim Kardashian and Lady GaGa – with each having around 3-4 million people monitoring their tweets. BlogHer – a website which correlates female-aimed blogs into one place, reaching more than 20 million women each month – has also carried out a study into women’s online usage. It found that women are more likely to go to social network sites for beauty, entertainment and dating advice. But for the majority of other categories (EG politics and news) they look to blogs.
Women are starting to realise that blogging isn’t just a hobby. Take, for example, professional blogger Heather B Armstrong. She set up Dooce– a blog about her work, family, postnatal depression and her dogs, among other things. Since 2005, the advertising revenue on her blog has been enough to support her family. Dooce was named in the Observer’s 50 most powerful blogs and it’s worth noting that of these blogs, at least 11 are female bloggers who started writing about their lives as a hobby and now make enough income from advertising and are able to call themselves ‘professional bloggers’.
And women here in Wales are no different when it comes to online use. Chwarae Teg has the womenspire Twitter account and iPhone app to share inspiring quotes for women, while websites such as Cardiff Girl Geek are springing up across the UK as a way of bringing together female bloggers and social media enthusiasts.
The fashion world – whose audience, it is safe to assume, is largely made up of women – has already cottoned on to the value of social networking. Last year, Burberry linked up with Facebook to launch artofthetrench.com – a social networking site enabling fashionistas to upload pictures of their favourite trench coat, creating a community of wearers of the Burberry classic.
During this year’s recent London Fashion Week, pictures from the shows were instantly available to everyone who wanted it, thanks to London Fashion Week’s own website, which offered online streaming videos of the runway shows and a newly launched blog portal. Indeed, most of the front row seats at the shows seemed to be taken by a mixture of traditional journalists, celebrities and bloggers. During New York Fashion week a seminar was held especially for fashion bloggers – which included a talk from one of NY’s most famous fashion bloggers – Tavi, who is –shockingly – only 13-years-old.
Fashion-related iPhone apps such as Shop Style and Chanel Haute Couture are also growing in popularity. The Wall Street Journal is quoted as saying that fashion apps are the “new must-have accessory.”
As smart phones increase in popularity so the number of apps aimed at women are increasing, too. There are phone apps to help you with your food shopping, track your menstrual cycle, tell you your horoscope, help you make cocktails – indeed, the list goes on and on. There are also plenty of practical apps for women, too – Green Flag has a ‘rescue me’ app, perfect for if you break down on a deserted road, while crimpic sends an alert to your nominated contacts if you’re in distress.
Newspapers have historically struggled to attract as many female readers as males. As news coverage moves into online territory and even considers paid for content – perhaps blogging is the way forward when trying to reach women. As for products and services targeting females, the proof that they need to turn their attention to online PR and blogs is irrefutable.
Whatever your opinion, new media seems to be giving women the opportunity to break into traditionally male-dominated occupations. Perhaps online could be the place that women finally break through that glass ceiling.
Tags: facebook, Fashion, International Women's Day, smartphone, Twitter, women girl geek
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10 Comments
Actually women make up over 50% of internet traffic using smartphones, too. I’ll find the actual stats, but the typical image of the Blackberry-wielding businessman is wrong: she’s more likely to be a woman
Totally agree, under its flashy exterior, web2 is all about interaction and conversation, something women are naturally better at. So nothing in this piece is surprising, but the perception of it being a male-geek thing is something that men, and especially women, need reminding of.
Thanks, Katie – nice and fact-laden but written in a way that doesn’t make it a heavy read (like it would be if I’d written it…).
It was a mate of mine – also a woman – who wrote Chwarae Teg’s iPhone app. I’ve been asking her for ages to write for us and it finally looks as if she will. Well happy.
obviously, I meant “the perception of it being a male-geek thing is wrong”. Never comment before coffee
Here’s the stats on mobile gender use:
http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/for-social-networking-women-use-mobile-more-than-men/
In all fairness to Katie, she added those stats. Unfortunately, because idiot here was at the controls last night, I couldn’t get the link into either the standfirst or the pic caption. So thanks for that, Al.
Great article Katie, really thought-provoking and so true. Essentially social media helps us girls do what we love best! We came up with the Womenspire campaign in recognition of this and so far all the evidence points to it working really well, women are contacting Chwarae Teg having heard about their flagship project online, and are talking about it and sharing experiences and inspiration online. It’s been more successful than we could have imagined and shows how well it can work…
Are women more interested in social networking websites and blogs? Yes
Are there enough women working in this industry ? no
I went along to the girl geek event in cardiff and I was struck by the sheer range of women involved in new media/technology and all the different jobs they were doing. It was fascinating because by and large I have always considered this area very male dominated. I am constantly made fun off because I don’t understand code and can never claim to be a technical wiz.
“Newspapers have historically struggled to attract as many female readers as males. As news coverage moves into online territory and even considers paid for content – perhaps blogging is the way forward”
I think that blogging is a new way to interact and engage with the audience, and people like martin lewis at money saving expert.com have shown it is possible to attract a niche audience and make money through blogging.
The more I learn about blogging the more I realise what potential it has to engage with the audience.
Interesting article.
I don’t dispute the facts but wonder if the nature of “news and information” is changing by an increase in online Web 2.0 activity fueled largely by women.
In other words, it’s not women who are being changed with their dominance on Web 2.0 and the like – it’s the very nature of ‘news’ that has been altered.
Certainly the BBC has undergone a feminization of its news service over the past decade. It used to be a reliable source of world news back in the 20th century. Now it’s mainly tabloid like gossip, focusing on TV celebs, personality politics, and crime stories designed to shock and titillate.
If I want to know what going on in the world at large I have to tune in Moscow’s English language world service: http://rt.com/ They broadcast to people seeking more than Web 2.0 chitchat and gossip.
I’m sure there are some women who feel the same as I do, no?
I’m sure that many more women will resent the linking of their news habits and tastes with “mainly tabloid like gossip, focusing on TV celebs, personality politics, and crime stories designed to shock and titillate”.
Excellent article. Katie, you’ve hit the nail on the head with this piece.
Web 2.0 is the way to go for everyone in fact, and for sure it truly heralds refreshing and democratic empowerment, a future for all who wish to participate in the new media.
Put it this way, if such technology was available at the turn of the 20th century, then Keir Hardie would in all probability have been a leading advocate and would have called on all to be equipped with the means to communicate and create new ideas through such media.
Simon – Duncan is right, I definitely dispute your comment;
“Certainly the BBC has undergone a feminization of its news service over the past decade. It used to be a reliable source of world news back in the 20th century. Now it’s mainly tabloid like gossip, focusing on TV celebs, personality politics, and crime stories designed to shock and titillate.”
Of course, many women enjoy reading these types of ‘tabloid’ news stories – as do many men. But as I mentioned, the research from BlogHer shows that women are also seeking politics and news online and they are turning to blogs to find it.
I think the perceived change in the BBC’s news values says a lot more about society as a whole – the growing demand for celebrity gossip and culture, demand which comes from both men and women I would say.