Twitter, the Women's Revolution

The first Twitter conference (www.140conf.com) is happening right now in New York. For the first time in my 14 years of experience in interactive technology, this is the first event I attend when there's as many women than men.

The whole conference talks about the revolution of "Now". It is said  that Twitter is the first "Now" media; as opposed to "Old" media and "New" media. A simple look at the audience makes me believe that, yes, something new is happening with Twitter.

Not only there is a gender balance. Not only the audience is warm. Not only people talk to the speakers as they speak and people laugh and participate together. Not only people hug each other and value building friendships. Not only people aren't into making business. Not only this community seems to have its own culture. But the true innovation seems to come from women.

Here is what you hear from men:

    "We apply the 4 E's
        - Excite
        - Engage
        - Educate
        - Evangelise"

    B.O.R.I.N.G. and totally disconnected. Just good for a board of directors.

Here is what you hear from women:

    LizStrauss (@lizstrauss)

"Using Twitter is having a 3D conversation. You are in a room and you talk to someone. But you know an audience is listening. Use these private conversations as much as you can, they are public. They are warm and still engage a large audience. You'll save time like this and be more productive too.

"Don't just throw sentences like that in the mass. Don't talk to no one.
On Twitter, always talk to someone. Add @name to every message.

"140 characters is nice to be brief in your messages.
But the whole conversation is more important. Get involved and follow.

"I use my blog to go deep.
I use Twitter to go wide and to listen to what people say about my blog
(I don't try to build traffic with Twitter).

"Test your tweets on yourself before to send them.
Make sure that they are fun, short, and that users will be proud to pass them on."

    Justine (@iJustine)

"The point of Twitter is to have a "Voice" (a flavor in how you say things).

"Looking at my logs, I noticed that my Tweets are active for 20 min.
After that, people just don't see them or don't re-tweet or click them.
And they just fall in (a black hole of forgiveness).

"I get about 5,000 to 10,000 clicks per Tweet".
iJustine has many Twitter accounts and over 500,000 followers.
That makes a click-through rate of 1%-2%

    Laura Fitton (@Pistachio)

Laura has a unique story in many regards. Once she's been accused of abuse on a child. She couldn't Tweet because, as she said, people would judge her and amplify the words. It would just make things worst. But her Twitter friends started to write her. Take care of her. They invited her to go out. She was declared innocent eventually.

"On Twitter, you connect in the moment. You are never alone. You escape from isolation".

"Twitter drives and tribes on love".

Listening to these women, their advises seem to be more concrete and based on passion.

Having a gender balance isn't a little fact. I might be judged as old school and told that socio-demographics are irrelevant. But for me, there is something there. And frankly I have no clue what it means yet.

Comments are welcome on this one.

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Comments

[Pascal H]

Where was it? why can't we have a direct link to www.140conf.com ? I'm in NY kkes jours, ça aurait été le moment de saluer un expat'-compat'...

[Bastien Beauchamp]

www.140conf.com is 15 characters to type. Not that much. :)

Registration was tough to get. And it was right by the park beside Ogilvy's Building. Although nobody from Ogilvy was there... Amazing!

You are welcome to meet me for a coffee today. Gimme Coffee 228 Mott St, Manhattan, NY (In Soho close to Spring Street). That is the best coffee in Manhattan. Let me know what time. After lunch would be perfect for me, like 2pm.

[Elisa Camahort]

"Not only the audience is warm. Not only people talk to the speakers as they speak and people laugh and participate together. Not only people hug each other and value building friendships. Not only people aren't into making business. Not only this community seems to have its own culture."

Sounds like BlogHer :) You should come!

You may be interested in a post I wrote about this new Twitter conference phenomenon:
http://workerbeesblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/quick-thought-how-can-there-be-six.html

You attended one of the six Twitter conferences I looked at, and one that was indeed more gender-balanced. Most of them were not, as far as speaking rosters go, and I marveled at that, considering that, for me, Twitter seems to be a very woman-blogger-driven phenomenon. Or should I say *my* Twitter experience is very woman-blogger-dominated.

Great post.

[Zayne]

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