WiredNews.com has an article today about the dearth of women podcasters, and listeners. Only 15% of participants at the recent Portable Media Expo & Podcasting Conference were women, and some reports indicate that 97% (!) of podcast listeners are men.
Well, we’re happy to report that LibriVox has no such gender-parity problems. Although our forum member lists more males than females, we’re actually split just about evenly between men and women readers, and some of the most active volunteers (both readers and builders of the LibriVox technical infrastructure) are women. UPDATE: And, as Paula reminds below, a good number of our female librivox volunteers also have their own podcasts: here, here, here, here, here… have I missed any?
So lead on!
Well, if Wired were to talk to *me*, they’d know more about women in podcasting. I didn’t go to the expo, but I have two podcasts, and I do participate in Librivox. Harumph, as one of my editors always says.
Perhaps why women didn’t attend the Podcast Conference in large numbers is that our interest in podcasting is more in the content we create than in the tech to do it. I love my gear more than most girls, but “Portable Media Expo” does not sound like a fun time to me.
I podcast, too, at Haanashi Station (a group effort) and on my own mediatinker site.
http://www.hanashi-station.net/wp/?feed=rss2
http://www.mediatinker.com/blog/mediatinker_audio.rdf
Agreed that perhaps (and I had to presume stereotypes, but…) we’re more interested in podcasting than gadget collecting and networking? I, for one, would rather be home recording a podcast than at a convention testing the latest clipon mic and eating (shudder) convention centre food any day. Perhaps it’s not an issue of gender, then, but of sophistication and commitment, and that, at least among podcasters, we happen to be the more refined sex?
How fascinating! I went, and heard from the Feedburner booth that women were scarce. The expo, to me, was both smalltime and icky. I was (wistfully) getting a schpiel at the Marantz booth and one of their sales reps grabbed my badge and scanned the bar code on it. I felt like I was being checked out — not in the girlie way, but in the grocery way.
Yeah, I’ve been to too many conference/expos to want to go to any more. They are noisy, over-stimulating and at the same time homogenous and boring.I’ve been on both sides, too–working booths, attending, and even reporting. They fail from every angle as far as I’m concerned.
There is a growing list of women podcasters at Contentious and I’ve written to the author to add LibriVox to the list.
http://blog.contentious.com/archives/2004/12/22/women-in-podcasting-the-list
These are very interesting comments about the expo. Is anyone else here on the Yahoo podcasters list, which is largely composed of guys in their 30s? They loved the show. Couldn’t praise it enough. Of course, their big thing was the schmoozing and sitting around in the bar.
I agree with Kristen. I hate trade shows. You gotta do ’em sometimes, but not my thing.
oh, cool a discussion on our blog! … shall I keep posting podcasting-type news?
Yes! I’d love to hear what people outside the Yahoo podcasters list think.
Actually, I was very tempted to go to the Expo but I’ve been traveling alot lately. In fact, I’ve been traveling to other events that also tend to be skewed towards a male representation: video game conventions, business expos, and rockclimbing trips.
Though I normally tend to shy away from crowds, I like conventions (though just not back to back). I’ve been attendee, vendor, guest, and reporter. I think I would have enjoyed the expo for the same reasons I would have enjoyed other events I’ve attended: making new friends, talking shop, and seeing new technologies. In that order.
A disclaimer here though is that thinking back on this, I only tend to go to very large conventions so perhaps my experience is skewed. For instance, I tend not to eat convention food but go out to a nice restaurant, sometimes on someone else’s bill.
Hmm, 97% of podcaster listeners are male? I might be inclined to believe that. I have no way of telling but in terms of emails and comments I’ve received regarding my podcast, I have received 2 from females and 6 from males.
Paula, I’m a member of the Yahoo Group too, I’ve only posted one or two comments to it and get it as a Digest in my mail.
Anyway, here’s to female podcasters!
~ e
http://publicdomainpodcast.blogspot.com
paula…
Interesting post. I came across this blog by accident, but it was a good accident. I have now bookmarked your blog for future use. Best wishes. Paula Creamer….