"I am totally perplexed at the cynical attitude women have about this
conference--instead of whining it might be a good idea to contribute
something to it--so these stereotypes can end."
Well, that cynicism might have something to do with the fact that marketing
to women "offline" usually involves appeals to make ourselves more
beautiful, better lovers, better cooks, or better housecleaners. Let's face
it--the marketing profession does not have a good track record with women.
I for one find it a bit off-putting that we need to have a special
conference on marketing to women, as though more than 1/2 of the world's
population is this weird group that we just can't figure out. Yeah, I know
that the Net is male-dominated, but aside from their avid interest in
pornography, are men online really so wildly different from women online?
"It's not smart to cut the men out or ignore them or not include them. We
need to work with those who have the power and the money, mostly men,
show them how to be our benefactors while also gaining advantage
themselves. it's called win-win."
Yikes! This paragraph makes my flesh crawl! How often are men excluded,
ignored, or cut out of anything? I agree that there is no need to alienate
anyone unnecessarily, but I think women online have a justifiable wariness
of what men might produce to "target" women. What constitutes a "women's
page?" Why do we need to convince men to sponsor them? What does it matter
anyway if women do not have access to the technology to get them on the Net
in the first place? Or if they feel intimidated because of stories about
rampant porn and e-mail stalking? It seems as though dealing with these
bottom-line issues is more important than trying to figure out how to target
ads to women.
================================
Cheryl Donahue -- cdonahue@intr.net --
Acme Policy Works -- <a href="<a href="http://www.oim.com/apw">http://www.oim.com/apw</a>">http://www.oim.com/apw</a> --
(202) 547-1774 (Ph) (202) 547-1637 (Fx)
================================
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This week's sponsor:
Marketing to Women Online Conference &lt;<a href="<a href="http://www.kelseygroup.com/kelsey">http://www.kelseygroup.com/kelsey</a>">http://www.kelseygroup.com/kelsey</a>&gt;
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Sponsor the Internet Marketing list -- see the Web page
&lt;<a href="<a href="http://www.popco.com/hyper/internet-marketing/sponsor.html">http://www.popco.com/hyper/internet-marketing/sponsor.html</a>">http://www.popco.com/hyper/internet-marketing/sponsor.html</a>&gt; for details
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