"Alison Kerr thinks a lot, and corporate America better take notice. She's one of Lexington's most influential consumers. When an airline advertises a discount fare on its Web site but Kerr can't get it when she tries to book a ticket, she informs the public. She sees a book she likes, so she writes a book review and speaks personally with the author. Kerr is part of a select group of women who are speaking out, demonstrating their intelligence and insight, and wielding considerable clout.
Alison Kerr writes a blog called Alithinks (www.alithinks.com).
If you're around a computer at all these days, you know that "blog" is short for Web log, which is simply a Web site with dated entries. Most blogs allow their readers to post comments directly on the site to develop an online conversation. Research from the Pew Foundation finds blog writers and readers tend to be more educated and make more money than the general population. They are much more likely to be opinion leaders in their "offline" communities.
"I started blogging as a means to express myself," Kerr said. "Three years on, I still enjoy it." While Kerr doesn't place paid advertisements on her blog, it's clear that companies are beginning to notice the influence she and other bloggers, particularly women bloggers, have in the marketplace.
When Sharon Tessandori opened Barefoot Works, her eco-friendly yoga studio in Patchen Village, she created a Web site as many new business owners would. To set herself apart, she created a blog as well (www.barefootworks.com). The blog costs nothing but her time to maintain, and it allows her to share many more details about her yoga practice and other thoughts each day with her customers.
"Blogging is like a great big conversation with the world. I love that my yoga students keep up with the blog," Tessandori said.
Tessandori isn't alone. In fact, women across the globe leverage blogs and other forms of Internet-based social media to build or support businesses and overcome many of the traditional barriers to successful entrepreneurship.
Kristen Chase of Philadelphia is a pioneer of the "mommyblog-based business." She is steadily building her own virtual media empire, which includes two blogs, an internet radio show, and even a sex column for parents. She's the co-founder of Cool Mom Picks (www.coolmompicks.com), a popular web-based shopping guide for moms that features products from "mom-trepreneurs." She's also the co-founder of Parent Bloggers Network (www.parentbloggers.com), a product review service by parents for parents. Both online properties are constantly the object of pitches and offers from public relations and marketing firms.
"I initially started blogging to connect with other people through my stories about motherhood," Chase said. "The ability to make money working from home and doing something that I enjoy seems incredibly wrong, but also amazingly satisfying."
The Internet allows Chase to work with friends and business partners hundreds and thousands of miles away. Julie Marsh writes and contributes to several blogs, writes a political column for an online magazine, and is the co-founder of Parent Bloggers Network. She works with Chase from her home in Colorado. Marsh had a career in the Air Force and also worked in the private sector, but enjoys the freedom and autonomy of online entrepreneurship.
Chase and Marsh also collaborate with Liz Gumbinner, co-founder of Cool Mom Picks, who also serves as creative director for a Los Angeles-based advertising agency. "My ad agency colleagues have been amazingly supportive of CMP, submitting friends' businesses as potential 'picks' and forwarding on potential PR and business opportunities," Gumbinner said. "I think a few of them thought I was doing some 'cute little Web site project' on the side, until we were featured in Advertising Age in February."
The trio will meet later this month at the BlogHer annual conference in Chicago. BlogHer is the largest blogging conference in the world and provides an online hub for almost 12,000 members. It maintains an advertising network that women use to earn income. It also provides a remarkably effective networking opportunity for thousands of women. Corporate sponsors such as Google and Dove are flocking to BlogHer and trying to develop future partnerships.
"It's obvious that since BlogHer '05, women bloggers have started to realize their power as not only consumers, but as influencers," said Elisa Camahort, a spokesperson for BlogHer. "Women continue to control over 80 percent of the household dollar on purchases ranging from groceries to cars to consumer electronics."
Blogs are just the beginning. As technology expands into social networks, women have even more power to express themselves, to build communities and to work together and support each other. But interestingly enough, the women who use technology best say it's just a tool — talent and entrepreneurial spirit is what drives these women most. As Chase said, "persistence and good writing will take you far."
David Wescott is a Lexington-based senior associate for APCO Worldwide, a global public affairs firm headquartered in Washington, D.C. He writes a blog about technology and communications issues called "It's Not a Lecture," which can be found online at http://itsnotalecture.blogspot.com.