I hope you plan to come to PodCamp Toronto 2010. I already told you about my individual session. To pursuit further the discussion on niche communities, I will sit on a panel with the popular Erica Ehm of Yummy Mummy Club.  We will exchange on the business of online communities for women. A savvy girl on social media will moderate the talk. It is Eden Spodek who is the editor of Barganista.ca and the Digital Strategist at High Road Communications.

I hope to see you there. Discover the other sessions at PodCamp Toronto 2010. And do not forget to register if you wish to attend this free unconference.

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• The Schedule for PodCamp Toronto 2010 is Out

It is not really a surprising news if you ask me. First of all, I told you about the female Internet in autumn 2008. At the time, I reported that Women’s community was the most visited and fastest growing Internet category, tied with politics according to ComScore Media Metrix’s year-end report.

I attributed these statistics to the fact that women are the ones who typically lead conversations, share information amongst themselves and create relationships with their peers. This is basically what social media is all about. What surprised me is what age groups haves the most users. As you can see, it is either 35 to 44 years old or 45 to 55 years old.

I added the more popular age group on the graph produced by Information is Beautiful. The data were compiled by Brian Solis.

+ via a tweet by Miss Rogue

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If you follow the social media crowd, you probably have noticed the current campaign against the lack of women speakers and presenters at big Tech conferences. Allyson Kapin summed it up on Fast Company when she wrote Where are Women in Tech and Social Media? yesterday.

There was an improvised discussion on that topic at PodCamp Boston 4. There were good comments. I agree that we are missing the input of women at conferences. Now that women are very active on social media, it makes sense that things change. It is also up to us to take our place. The heart of the problem does not necessarily start at the big events.

Participation Outside the Usual Crowd

I always try to encourage women, for most part women bloggers that are not social media consultants, to attend tech and social media conferences and unconferences. Sadly, many women do not attend conferences that are work related. I guess it is either by lack of time or because they are unsure that they fit in.

Last year, I spoke at PodCamp Toronto and PodCamp Montreal about how women are shaping the Web. I felt it was important to show how the non-tech women blogging universe is diverse, creative and bring innovative ideas. At WordCamp Montreal last June, we were only three women speakers. I wonder why no more women – in fact, I could say the same about the design crowd – spoke at WordCamp Montreal.

One Step at a Time

Before we get invited to speak at big events, we have to learn public speaking. More women should take the opportunity to be known and get public speaking experience by attending and presenting at smaller conferences. It is one simple way to invade the boys’ club.

Therefore, I invite women, and men, to come to the upcoming PodCamp Montreal on September 19-20, 2009. I already selected my topic. I will be sending my conference proposal shortly. If you want to, this is your chance to present. Take it!

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• Blog Out Loud Event in Los Angeles
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• Talking Blog Monetizing on my Updated Look at Women and Social Media Presentation – Part 3 of 3
• Updated Look at Women and Social Media Presentation: Women blogs – Part 2 of 3

If you are a blogger living in Los Angeles, make time to attend the first Blog Out Loud event on Thursday, June 4th, 2009 at Patio Culture. This is a concept by Megan Arquette and Rebecca Orlov to encourage and inspire creative people to start blogging. From what I heard about the event, it is something you put on your agenda.

Megan and Rebecca planned an evening where you will be able to chat with 5 design bloggers who have learned the ropes of creating an online presence through blogging. They want to gather creative people around a glass of wine. Few goodies will be given for the first attendees. Beside the panel and great conversations, they are giving away 2 amazing door prizes: a design consultation with designer Kelly Van Patter and a vintage print donated by Vanessa De Vargas. I read on loving. living. small. that they have 50 goody bags to give away at the door that include gifts from ferm living, Urbanic and Patio Culture. I am sorry that I live so far away.

The panel of 5 bloggers will composed by:

1. Rebecca Orlov of loving. living. small.
2. Megan Arquette of Beach Bungalow 8
3. Audrey Woolen of Parcel Post
4. Jonathan Lo of Happy Mundane
5. Richelle Silva of Richie Design

Read on the Blog Out Loud blog how this idea is born.

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If you are serious about attracting advertisers and sponsors, start by keeping a writing schedule. Consistency is important to build traffic. You wish to create a routine with your readers. Establish a schedule that is compatible with your agenda. The more you post, the more pages views you will get.

Ideally, you should aim to publish at set time. I am not there yet. With Wordpress, you can schedule in advance the date and time a post will be published. Try to always keep a few posts in backup for when you are too busy.

One advantage for bloggers in the women and mom category is that advertisers wish to connect to women. This is because women are responsible for most of the shopping in a household. We are in the best position to attract advertisers and are often asked for product reviews.

Be Picky with Your Reviews

In fact, brands solicit women and mom blogs for product reviews at an increasing rate. That is why you should be coherent and carefully select the products you will write about. Think about what your brand stands for and if the product fits well within that identity.

Take At Home with Kim Vallee. It is a collection of things I like. Negative reviews won’t fit within my concept. Therefore, the merchants send me the products without any guarantee of a coverage. Even if I like the product, I may never talk about it. They cannot interfere with what, when or if I will talk about something. I published a simple policy on my At Home blog. I encourage you to write your own.

It is important for bloggers to maintain a separation between editorial content and advertising. You wish to preserve the trust and credibility you build with your readers. Remember that you can only be an influencer if people trust what you say. It is not just your traffic but also your power as an influencer that attracts the right advertisers to your site.

Let’s watch my session.

Learning from Two Podcasters who Monetized their Shows

Matt Campagna and Anastasia Tubanos gave an excellent session on how to be considered a legitimate media. They talked about how to make money with a podcast. One of the income sources that grab my attention is sponsorship. For example, sponsored events would fit within the scope of my At Home with Kim Vallee brand.

March 10th, 2009 update: what was original intended to be part 4 was the question period. The participants did not a micro so we do not hear well their questions, so I decided to not publish it

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• Updated Look at Women and Social Media Presentation: Statistics – part 1 of 3

Continue with part 3 about monetarizing a blog.

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In the first part, I highlighted key statistics about women Internet usage.  Learn why and how women use social media. These statistics will help any blogger grasp the extent of the women and mom social media universe.

Continue with part 2

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Another interesting fact is that online acquaintances are perceived by most as real acquaintances. I do that when I talk to people about my best online friends.

Germans are more likely to organize something to meet in person their online friends. This is also a behavior change that occurred with me. When I travel or if I know a blogger that I follow is coming to Montreal, I try to see if we can meet for a coffee or a drink.

+ Via BBC News

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A year ago, Twitter was only used by the in the know social media crowd. Since the middle of 2008, new user groups have emerged. New mothers use Twitter to inform their friends and family of what is going on with their newborn. The foodies are a very active crowd on Twitter. I also follow several wedding and event planners.

Some types of users felt the need to connect deeper than the 140 characters. Social networking sites are born like Twitter Moms that now count 5,400+ awesome moms who love Twittering. Moms can connect, discuss and create groups of interest.

New Services to Enhance the Experience

twitTangle comes handy when you follow a large of Tweeple. twitTangle enables you to organize your followers in custom groups and to filter your timeline for a specific group.

Since this morning Mr. Tweet follows me. This new service aims to recommend new Tweeple to follow based on your current network. It sounds interesting. Mr. Tweet is not ready to serve a large crowd. I am waiting my invitation to give it a try.

Are you on Twitter? If so, I invite you to follow me.

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• Mr. Tweet may be useful after all. We will see

To have been on both the Tech side and now running a women-focus blog, let me tell you that I am happier being a part of the women and moms community. Probably because I do and I write about what I am passionate about. In the past, I worked on things I was great at. My past career chose me and not the other way around.

I am thrilled that technology evolved to a point where the average (meaning non technical) woman can start a blog on the Web by herself. Blogging opens a lot of doors for women. Several of you started their small business, some got book deals and others simply enjoy being able to communicate with people that share similar interests. Notwithstanding the current economic situation, we are living in exciting time.

I am taking this opportunity to repost the key statistics of a post I first published Sept. 22, 2008 on At Home with Kim Vallee following my presentation at PodCamp Montreal.

Revealing Statistics

InsideFacebook: A survey published September 18th, 2008 shows that US women outnumber men on Facebook in every age group. Early december 2008, Oreilly’s Radar published the latest statistics.  It shows that the trend spread to all Facebook users. Females now outnumber Males on Facebook, 51% to 44%.

ComScore Media Metrix’s year-end report: Women’s community was the most visited and fastest growing Internet category, tied with politics. The number of unique visits to women’s community sites jumped 35% to almost 70 million from 52 million. This is quite an achievement considering the Presidential race.

A BlogHer survey conducted by Compass Partners : 36.2 million American female Internet users actively participate in blogs every week. You get 15.1 million women publishing at least one post a week and 21.1 million reading and commenting at least weekly.

eMarketer established that more than 8 out of 10 U.S. moms go online at least once a month.

2007 survey by Intelligence Group:

• 88% of mothers said the Internet has helped them stay connected to the world
• 85% believed technology has made their life as a mother easier
• 66% said they relied more on technology since they became a parent.

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