Much to my surprise and a little to my chagrin, my blog fell in the forest and someone actually heard it and left a comment. Which means, if I’m doing this right, I must post a meaningful response. The comment contained a stat that surprised me and a few others around here: “Most bloggers are male ranging from 57 percent in the USA to 73 percent in Europe and Asia.”
So we did a little digging, emphasis on “little,” and for the most part it’s true. At least according to Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere 2008. Men blog more than women. But also according to the Technorati, women are better at it.
To whit: “Female bloggers are more sophisticated about advertising. They are twice as likely to sell through an ad network. And more likely to have affiliate links.
They are also more savvy about driving traffic to their blogs. And more likely than male bloggers to participate in a blogroll, link to other blogs, get listed on a blog directory and produce content for other blogs.”
Women are also more adept on the business end of a blog. “36 percent have converted business leads from their blogs vs. 27 percent for men.”
So what have these numbers concluded for us? Women are better at blogging? Men like to blog, but are Neanderthals when it comes to knowing how to use it? Being a Neanderthal, I haven’t a clue. So draw your own conclusions. But as the evolution of blogging claws its way out of the primordial digital soup, I do know these stats will change. And maybe, just maybe, some day boys will be smarter than girls.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
It’s about time men realized women were smarter! (I loved that!) Truth be told, though, I think women are just better social butterflies. In general, we’re more patient and have less ego, for two, and that’s just the start. I’m sure if we researched, we’d find more than two “groups” of women, but let’s just break it down to two: the young (20 – 30), and the “old” (45 – 65).
With younger women, the need for personal esteem and feelings of accomplishment are fairly important. They really think things through, strategize and consider everything (remember, this is generalizing).
The salty ole’ broads like me don’t need these feelings – as much. We’ve come to accept our faults, influence and Raison d’etre and don’t need the sense of accomplishment – again, as much. We’ve raised our kids, probably gained a couple of pounds, but are – in general – happy with ourselves.
The women I know understand the value of relationships: friendships, business, networking, families. This helps fulfill their need for companionship and acceptance, as does involvement in the community and social media. At it’s worst, blogging, FaceBook, YouTube, Twitter… it’s all an exercise in unconditional narcissism.
Men, on the other hand (and, yes, in general), never seem to lose the ego, and it shows through in tweets, blogs, articles, etc. Most of the time, they don’t seem to build relationships unless something is in it for them – and then exploit those relationships.
Women don’t abuse what they sow. Voila – enough said. I hope the inspiration continues this was brilliant!
Interesting. The way I see it – and I beg my forgiveness from all the ladies in the world who are peeved by this stereotype. But, hey…. you have to admit it’s at least somewhat true – it’s all about the nurturing.
I have a blog and do other things online and I they are my babies. I nurture them, want only the best for them and I sometimes catch myself bragging about them a little to other people
Thanks for the follow-up post Stan!
Bravo to both Gabriella and Andi, as well as to Stan – great article here.
Salty ole’ broads or youngsters, I have to agree with both of you. We get the community as well as the nurturing from blogging and social media. So, hey, we like to talk and everybody knows it, but a lot of times it’s not just b.s., and the returns through comments, back links, blog roll inclusions and whatnot prove it. Not that women are necessarily smarter – although, hey, I’m all for believing that! – but we do seem to be better at socializing and making others feel comfortable enough to socialize back.
Thanks for the article, Stan!
Disclaimer: Some of my favorite bloggers are women; Sheila O’Malley, Ann Althouse, Miss O’Hara, MLP and Katie McCollow.
But it’s funny that the “empirical” measures for “better” blogging – ads, links, cooperation – have, themselves, nothing to do with writing or content, but networking.
Which is a minor, tiny quibble in this context – but it comes close to a raw-ish nerve for any parent of boy in the current, feminized school system; the meaurements of “compliance” and “acceptability”, to say nothing of “success”, are set largely in female-centric terms. Which is why within the next five years there will be three females in college for every two boys, which is great for dating but not so much for the economic and social futures of tomorrow’s men (and women, given the desire of women to “mate up”).
Am I making too much of this question? Perhaps. So I’ll get back on topic; I’m mainly a political blogger, and while many excellent poli-bloggers are women, I think men cover the field better. It’s a matter of preference, of course, but that’s mine…
I think a small amount of generalization, in this respect, is fair. Women ARE the “nurturing, relationship builders” of the world. All of a sudden, now that social media is getting more national attention, you’d think that it was the new “sliced bread,” or something. Women have been blogging for eons – and yes, we are better at it!
Having a “heart” makes us (female bloggers) “…more sophisticated about advertising.” Think about the flip side of this: Women are the greatest Consumers on the planet! When I am going to make a decision about a company or a salesperson…the very first thing I do is check them out online to “see what they are saying.”
If they are NOT saying anything…they just lost a sale. If they are saying things out ego, they just lost a sale. I do not want to do business with a company that does not care about what I have to say, is not doing something for others, and is not “out there” building relationships.
So sorry guys…go back to marketing 101. You can rant-n-spam til the cows come home but until you build solid relationships with your potential clients and customers…you are not going to end up with conversions or a ROI.
I think this is my new favorite quote: “Women don’t abuse what they sow.” Well spoken!