Women were always going to thrive on the Internet. Connecting, enabling connections among others, sharing information and more importantly, support and wisdom — these are some of the reasons we belonged online from the beginning. I knew it as soon as I saw my first browser, Mosaic (later Netscape) in the early 90s.
After early obscurity, women have become more and more visible and successful online, not only creating content but entire media operations. Numbered among them were the pioneering iVillage and BlogHer and agencies like Clever Girls, Blogalicious, Women and Work, Sway Group, and The Motherhood. There are plenty more.
When I saw this story today about the emerging Internet of Women, led by Cisco’s Monique J. Morrow, I’ll admit I got a little sad. I had tried to write a handbook (Internet Bootcamp) for women online in 1996. A friend hooked me up with a celebrity agent I could have never enlisted on my own, and my proposal went to some serious publishers. The response – and I wish I still had the precise language, was that the writing was “engaging” but women would never buy such a book. I just pulled it to take a look and am posting it here. See what you think. If nothing else it will evoke memories of modems past.
Here is Morrow’s basic message: (We agree, right?)
From connected homes and cars to monitoring our health through smart devices, a woman’s view point in this new age of digitization has never been more critical.
I invite you to follow our publication, the Internet of Women and be part of this movement.