Thanks to Peter Kim for putting out his great survey of Social Media Predictions 2009. One unintended learning from the survey, at least for me, was this list, and what it means for social media:
- David Armano
- Rohit Bhargava
- Pete Blackshaw
- Chris Brogan
- Todd Defren
- Jason Falls
- Ann Handley
- Joseph Jaffe
- Charlene Li
- Ben McConennell
- Scott Monty
- Jeremiah Owyang
- Andy Sernovitz
- Greg Verdino
Fifteen big names in social media – including Peter Kim -, and only two of them women.
I can understand women being underrepresented in older, more traditional fields such as engineering, or government, but social media? This feels like deja vu. I noticed a similar trend in the field of green and sustainability, prompting me to ask the question, ‘Where are the Women in the Green Stratosphere?’
Men appear to be especially good at appropriating spaces, even ones they don’t particularly care for as a whole. Again the cooking analogy applies. While women represents the majority of the home cooks, and do most of the daily cooking, cooking celebrities, the chefs with five star restaurants, big cooking shows and books galore, tend to be men. Same with social media. From 2008 Rapleaf study:
When it comes to social media, women are at the forefront. At Rapleaf we conducted a study of 13.2 million people and how they’re using social media. While the trends indicate both sexes are using social media in huge numbers, our findings show that women far outpace the men.
Not surprising, given that women are inherently inclined to being more social than men. It’s part of our DNA, and a well documented fact. Women will continue to thrive in both online and physical social networks. I just wish we took a more deliberate role in the shaping of social media. Women have things to say, that are different from men, and that can contribute to a richer picture.
This post is the first in a series I will be writing on social media. My humble attempt at adding another feminine voice to the social media chorus . . .
La Marguerite 
Thoughtfully persuasive, Margeurite. I look forward to your next post on the subject.
I think some of the problem is the media itself. That represents technology and that is scary for most females. It isn’t their field.
As the technology aspect recedes a bit with better usability women may well come more to the fore.
The same goes for kitchens. Commercial kitchens are not friendly places and so lack the social things women need.
viv in nz
Do you know how many women Peter invited to participate in the predictions? The response rate might be more worthy of comment.
What accounts for the apparent deficiency of female thought leaders in this area? I happen to know many smart social media leaders who are women, so it’s not a case of the lack of aptitude. What’s behind this disparity?
You might take a look at the top 100 people on Twitter and analyze how many are women http://twittercounter.com/?inc=100 It might make for an interesting study.
I have to wonder what criteria are being used to make this list. Are these just social media folks into using it for marketing? How is social media being defined? Are these really blogging fiends or are they community gurus capable of growing communities, designing community spaces, and sharing the wisdom of their communities?
How could Beth Kanter not be on the list? Oh, because she is not into selling social media for eager marketing/advertising audiences.
So I suspect the reason so many on the list are men is because of a bleed-over from older fields of money-making eyeball catching.
When I look at who I am paying attention to as leaders in social media, I realize that they are social media activists and consumer advocates. Perhaps this list should be retitled: social media marketing leaders?
Thank you for stimulating the conversation!
Thanks each, for helping complete the picture of women in social media world. My hunch is the ones who make the most noise, may not be the one with the most actual impact, in terms of social change at least. I guess that is the main point of my post. Taking notice of a trait in women, that may not always serve us well. We are very good at doing the work, but not so much at taking credit for it, and making sure our voices are being heard. The collective discourse, in social media, and other fields, needs to be more balanced, to have more of the feminine represented.
Agree with you NurtureGirl, about Beth Kanter.
Scott, I will take your suggestion and make a post out of it!
And Knutty Knitter, I am not sure technology is an obstacle. Unlike other web related fields, social media is actually relatively barrier free, technology wise at least. To get on Twitter, or to start a blog, take only a few minutes. This is supported by the Rapleaf study.
I think a lurking variable for the male/female ratio is introversion/extroversion. It’s my hunch that lots of guys who are blogging and tweeting (and seemingly quite extrovert) are more introverted in real life. Online, they may feel more free to express themselves.
See http://www-usr.rider.edu/~suler/psycyber/disinhibit.html
Online, it’s also possible to make up for one’s lack of social intuition by learning rules. It’s a more analytical/tactical/strategic way of being social. Notice the huge number of Twitter and blogging howto’s / tips. I wonder if there has ever been written so much about being social in the real world.
Also, “How to win Friends and Influence People” and “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” were written by men.
My hunch is that as online interaction gets faster and faster, authenticity, intuition and honesty will take over, and this will give women a potential edge. I look at Laura Fitton as an example for this true feminine style. To me, this shows the future.
Two other important variables are ambition and self-esteem. I think that men still are more ambitious. When status is so visibile as it is on the web, men might try harder to compete. Then with self-esteem, one might wonder how many women there are who actually think they can become someone like Sarah Palin or Madonna. Which woman dares to be a star? Laura Fitton could be limited by her ambition (doesn’t want to put in more time, or doesn’t like to compete) or her self-esteem. If she’d go full on, I think that in a few years she’ll beat the crap out of the guys in that list. But beating the crap out of guys might not be very “feminine”.
You get my point?
Right on, Meryn! My sense is we, women are more into the joy of relating itself, as opposed to turning the whole experience into another conquest.
@ Scott Monty – I invited three women. Charlene and Ann participated, Jackie Huba handed off to Ben McConnell. I thought of Laura “Pistachio” Fitton too late, but she had her own very successful project this month with @wellwishes on Twitter.
The common thread through the group is that I feel a personal connection to all of the people included. Related –
@NutureGirl – I’ve never met Beth Kanter.
@Meryn Stol – it’s dangerous to stereotype an entire gender participating online.
For anyone who’s interested in discovering more females participating online, you might find this list useful: http://immediateinfluenceblog.com/50-of-the-most-powerful-and-influential-women-in-social-media/
Thanks Peter. This is helpful info. I get your part about inviting people you felt connected to for your survey. The danger, though, is for others to take your survey as representative of the whole social media sphere.
Peter, I was not trying to stereotype anyone. It’s just that I wanted to say *something* about men and women, and this necessarily comes down to stereotypes. We are talking about heterogeneous groups after all, not perfect clones of a hypothetical Adam and a hypothetical Eve. Insert tentative qualifications into my sentences as you please. š
Marguerite, have you been following Colleen Graffy on Twitter? She seems to be doing very interesting things with social media…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/12/24/ST2008122400049.html
Thanks Mike, love her diplo-twittering idea! I will start following her.