Highlights

Since I thought that some of you may want to stay current on trends, I am publishing a summary of my presentation. I compiled key facts about what is going on right now. And I finished with my opinions about the market.

Female Internet

There are now more women on the Web than men. My presentation put emphasis on the fact that women use technology to communicate, create, collect, share and fulfill their dream/passion.

Revealing Statistics

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.

InsideFacebook: Two days ago, a new survey shows that women outnumber men on Facebook in every age group

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.

I believe that with this large women presence, we will change the face of Internet. I shown 7 blogs besides my own on my presentation to represent the different voices of women. Everyone were impressed by the level of quality. I show the homepage of Steamy Kitchen, TasteSpotting, decor8, Design Sponge, Oh Joy!, Babygadget, Simple Mom and Hostess with the Mostess.

Traditional Media are Waking Up

The BlogHer survey found that because of blogging, 24% of surveyed women watch less television, 25% read fewer magazines and 22% read fewer newspapers. This is why the traditional medias are starting to embrace the Web 2.0 inside their publications.

Last week, on September 17, 2008, Martha Stewart did an entire TV episode on blogging. She encourages women to start their own blog by giving Blogging 101 tricks.

Two magazines, Domino with My Deco File and Style at Home launched Web 2.0 initiatives this fall. As a blogger I asked myself, what does it mean for my brand? How I can leverage that fact to convert audience to my site?

Twitter

I observed a switch in the Twitter population since last year. The foodies, the moms and on a lesser extent the event planners are very active on Twitter. Foodies and moms use Twitter to have dynamic conversations with their peers. I even found a site called Twitter moms.

Have you noticed a change in the Web? Do these facts reflect your reality?

Watch My Presentation Online

You can see the last third of my session at PodCamp MTL on September 20th, 2008. The presentation was recorded on live stream but as it something occurs, there were some technical difficulties at the start. The four pictures at the top rely to the last segment of my presentation about how the print media is catching up.

Fell free to watch it. Since it is a live stream, the video quality is not the best. You will see that I am still not completely comfortable in front of the camera. One thing I would like to do is to give the same conference several times to see how I improve.

Free TV Show from Ustream

Women and Mom blogs are an exciting domain. I am proud to be a part of it. I strongly believe that we moved from a Male Internet to a Female Internet. The more we participated, the more the Internet will become a social, simple and practical place.

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I do not often talk about applications but this Facebook application is fun and well-done. Moreover, Praize’n'raze is produced by a talented team from Montreal.

The offices of Praized Media are on the same building than my company. I know the three owners because I met them at YulBiz and we hang in the small IT events around Montreal.

The CEO of Praized Media is no stranger to the blogosphere. I am talking about Harry Wakefield of MoCoLoco.com. It is a small world!

Before launching their main product, Praized Media created a Facebook application. Praize’n'raze was published a few days ago. But I must warn you that Praize’n'raze is quite addictive.

How does it work?

The principle is simple: you give a thumb up (praize) or a thumb down (raze) to local merchants. You can also add comments and bookmark your most loved stores.

Partnerships with Yellowbook, Yellow Pages Group Co and Localeze in the US mean that you have access to 17 million searchable, North American business listings. So you can pass hours ranking your favorite stores.

If you are on Facebook, give a try to Praize’n'raze.

Reminder

I am taking this opportunity to remind you about Status Competition. My husband and I produced Status Competition on Facebook as a quick and easy way to connect with your friends.

>>> Sourcing:
Learn more: Praize’n'raze on Facebook

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I did not post yesterday night because I had enough of my cell phone. My Motorola RAZR might have been pretty in pink (fuchsia) but it was not fit for an active member of the social media community.

A full QWERTY keyboard became a must since I started using Twitter or to write several Facebook Status Updates a day to stay on top of Status Competition – a little bit of self-promotion (if you do not know, my husband and I created the Status Competition on Facebook as a social experiment). Being able to send and receive emails all the time is pretty handy.

A smart phone for a stylish girl

So what phone a stylish Canadian girl goes for: the next best thing besides an iPhone. For my non Canadian readers, the iPhone has not officially arrived in Canada. Apple and the aspirant wireless service provider cannot reach an agreement. I was tired of waiting and decided to act.

So I bought a Red BlackBerry Curve 8310 Smartphone instead. Mine is a rich burgundy red so it looks less corporate. It is the smallest and lightest BlackBerry to offer a full QWERTY keyboard, Web browsing, GPS, 2.0 megapixel camera with digital zoom and flash. There is a MP3, but I do not care because I always carry my iPod Touch.

After going for a drink with some friends, I went shopping, ate dinner and started the learning process. My husband set everything up for me. This is definitely the biggest advantage to be married to a cute geek. As I woke up this morning, I read my twitter on my Blackberry.

My Red BlackBerry Curve may not be as cool as the iPhone but once you learned how the basics, it is pretty easy to maneuver. If I can only find a great ring tone, I will be all set.

Sourcing:
Where to buy: Store listing for the BlackBerry Curve 8310 Smartphone

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Besides being an entertaining expert, some of you may know that I am a geek. And I proud to announce that the first public Facebook application developed by my husband Jerome Paradis and I has been approved. Our Facebook application is called Status Competition.

Status Competition is an application that enables you to stay connected with your friends. We invited some friends to play before the official launch. The responses have been quite positive. We already had some reviews by bloggers. 

We even have friends who challenged themselves and entered into a sprint of Status Competition voting. I was astounded by the scores they achieved. Be warned, playing Status Competition can become addictive. I would be sad if you miss my daily posts. 

How do you play Status Competition?

If you participate in Facebook, you probably noticed how quickly the words get around when you write something on your Status Update. Personally, I like updating my status several times a day. This way, I inform my friends about what is going with my day.

Status Competition makes the most of the human social behaviors. When your friends vote on your status update, you know instantly that they read it. You vote by simply clicking on a feeling or an emotion. When you received a vote, you know how your friends feel about what you had to say. And you cannot underestimate the reciprocal power of voting. What is best is that you get points to do all that. You can become the best scorer of your group of friends.

My secret to rise at the top of the leader board

Vote for a few friends first. Then invite your friends to participate into a friendly Status Competition so they can vote for you. Play regularly. Try Status Competition and see how fun it is!

Sourcing:
Learn more: Status Competition application on Facebook

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If you are on Facebook, I invite you to join the group for my blog. I want to create a place where we can share entertaining experiences and exchange on fine living.

You visit my blog for my inspirations. My intent with the Facebook group is to be more about you. I want to know about your entertaining ideas, the home products you like and your lifestyle. As a tastemaker, it is important that I stay up to date with your needs and desires. I feel the Facebook group it the perfect forum to do that.

Do not be shy to start the conversation. Tell me about your taste, your ideas and your opinions through the wall or the discussion board. As a member, you will be able to upload your own posts, photos or videos about your parties and your home projects.

I hope to meet you on the At Home with Kim Vallee’s Facebook group.

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If you are a member of Facebook and you like my blog, you may be interested in becoming a fan of At Home with Kim Vallee.

I created a page on Facebook so we can exchange on what you would like to see on my blog. So far, I also published photos of my own dinner parties and tabletops. These pictures are inspirational but I do not feel writing about them on my blog.

What’s new

I work right now on updating my blog to a newer version. For one thing, it will be easier for you to find contents. So stay tuned! I will use the Facebook page to make future announcements when it is appropriate.

Sourcing:
Join: At Home with Kim Vallee’s fan on Facebook

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