Women's New Media

Tune in to Mom's Rising

Actually, tune in tonight to ABC's 20/20 and you will get a chance to see an interview with Joan Blades, co-founder of MomsRising.org. MomsRising is a terrific grassroots organization championing political, social and economic issues in support of families.

They've recently released a new film called The Motherhood Manifesto featuring facts, stories and humor about motherhood.

If you don't have time to watch the show tonight like many busy parents, you can watch a YouTube trailer for the film or buy a copy for yourself for only $6 from MomsRising.org.

momsrising motherhood parenting

 

Online Ads & Communities Help Marketers Reach Local Audiences

Heidi Cohen, who is a columnist for the ClickZ Network, raised some interesting points in a recent article about local advertising. Many retailers, local news organizations and regional businesses still haven’t done much online advertising yet because they feel that people will find them through word of mouth, store visits or the yellow pages. While they are sitting on the sidelines, many of their readers and patrons are being influenced by online discussions rather than local print and TV ads. People are reading about their favorite stores, local events and service providers on blogs, community forums and discussion boards that are available 24x7.

Not everyone may be online yet but in most households, someone is online everyday with access to local information for teens through seniors.  So what are people looking for in local information? Just about everything you can think of:

Who's Feeling Rushed? Just Ask A Working Mom

Pew Research Center just released a report today titled "Who's Feeling Rushed? (Hint: Ask a Working Mom.)  The report focuses on how much people report feeling "rushed."   It's sad to say, nearly one quarter of all Americans feel rushed.  Not surprisingly, people who always feel rushed say they are not as satisfied with many aspects of thier lives - even when hiring outside help.  The aspect of being rushed impacts more women than men with working mothers taking the prize for being the most affected.  Twenty six percent of working fathers "always feel rushed" vs. forty one percent of working mothers.  No doubt there is a correlation between Americans feeling rushed and the growth in new media and internet usage - with time savings being cited as a major benefit.  Women's are a driving force in the growth of both cellphone and internet use - it's no coincendence that both are major timesavers for women.

MySpace - Teens Love It, Parents Hate It

MySpace has been enormously popular in a short amount of time.  The issue of MySpace conjures up the image of trying to balance fascination and fear.  MySpace was created in 2003 and boasts 43 million users.  But to make some gross generalizations, kids love it and parents either don't know about it or if they do, they hate it.  The fascination with MySpace is that teens use it as a way to connect, a method of personal expression through a combination of journaling, photographs, music selections, inside jokes, listing of friends, etc...All wonderful for creative expression and personal connection.  However, MySpace owner NewsCorp is taking some heat for safety issues which leave young and unsuspecting contributors open to the world at large.  A Massachusetts Police Chief claims that "one out of five kids gets sexually contacted over the internet."  Online predators can find a teen's profile on MySpace or Friendster and note their likes and dislikes, can see pictures of teens, and use that information in a virtual conversation to engage them. 

Welcome to Women's New Media

Welcome to the Women's New Media blog. Your authors are Mary Beth Schoening and Julie Woods, co-founders of Women's New Media, a marketing services firm dedicated to helping companies create better products and services for women and their families by helping them connect better with women through digital media and online communities.

This blog will cover many topics related to women, the issues they care about and how to use new media and communities to connect with them.

Specific topics are: Marketing to Women, Family, Fun, Work/Life Balance, Society, Culture, Books, Blogging and Podcasts. More topics will be added as we develop the blog and get your feedback.