As a woman who spends most of my waking hours writing, reading, and thinking about technology, I'm suspicious when a tech company deigns to create a site or product geared "toward women." So when I heard about Della, Dell's new site for my gender, I had to check it out.
I quickly discovered that Della is pretty much solely a marketing vehicle for the Dell Inspiron Mini 10. Naturally, right? Because chicks dig netbooks. They're just adorable, and anyone with half a brain can use them. Sarcasm aside, I have more complaints about the site than I can enumerate in a blog post. So I'm going to stick to five. After the jump, I list the the five most offensive things on Della.
5. They use OMG properly in a sentence. As in, "Once you get beyond
'OMG-that's-so-cute-I-want-one!' (a totally understandable
response)..." Because that's always my first reaction when I encounter
an adorable new laptop.
4. They kindly inform readers that netbooks can do more than check
e-mail. Wow, so that's what all those funny-looking applications are
for!
3. Netbooks can help you "Get healthier." Of course, after fashion,
I spend most of my time obsessing over my diet. It's a good thing I can
use my Mini to track my calorie, carb, and protein intake, and plan my
awesome workouts.
2. They define cloud computing. Sure, most people might not know the
term, but everyone and their aunt knows about online services like
Flickr and Google Docs.
1. They're just generally patronizing. The minute I spotted words like "totally," "adorable," and "cute," they'd lost me.
My point: Women are just as savvy as men. We're a more challenging demographic to market to because we demand more from products, not less. My gadgets need to be usable, capable, and
stylish, and I'm not going to settle for a device just because it's
"cute." So let this be a challenge to marketers everywhere: If you want
to create a site for women, go right ahead! Just make sure it treats us
like the intelligent, tech-savvy individuals we are.
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May 1, 2009 11:21 AM
Women want gadgets that work reliably without a fuss (we're just too busy to have to mess about with tools that are suppose to make life easier).
Women generally make less money than men, even for the exact same job, so we tend to be very careful about reading specs and product reviews before buying a gadget. Do NOT talk down to us.
Also, statistically, women have smaller hands than men (I'm not the only one who has to chord keyboard shortcuts with both hands just to reach).
P.S. I hate pink, hate it, hate it. Also "bling." Just stop with that I-know-what-you-want cr@p and make an awesome product.
May 1, 2009 12:57 PM
Stop being so offended by your gender's tendencies. There are probably many women who will buy it just because it's cute and fits their price point - and that's how marketing works.
I don't take offense when I see a ridiculous beer commercial that 'insults' my intelligence and assumes all men are drooling women chasers. I do get a laugh out of it though.
May 1, 2009 4:56 PM
@John: there's a difference between "humor" (crude though it may be ) and a marketing message with built-in, assumed condescension. Also, I don't think men need to worry about getting respect in the tech world, despite the beer ads. Women--that's a different story. That's why we get a bit angry about this stuff.
May 10, 2009 3:21 PM
I'm not offended by this, but I think it doesn't work. As a woman in technology and marketing, I find this site hurts Dell's brand more than it helps. What is "della?" It's not in the URL, it's not a product brand...is it just a name for a site that is supposed to sound more appealing to me than "Dell?" They don't even own della.com and that is pretty bad when you're trying to introduce a new brand. It doesn't seem well thought out at all.
If Dell is trying to use this site to market to women, they should take in a broader spectrum of women's computing needs and get away from all the stereotyping (take a lesson from Dove's Real Beauty campaign). If they're trying to market just the Netbook product and specifically to women, then be transparent about that, and give it more thought than assuming some thin content on fashion, diet, art and "giving" is going to do the trick and is just as important as the product itself. There is a tremendous untapped opportunity here to show a wide range of women and how they use the product to accomplish much in their lives.
May 12, 2009 2:50 PM
There are stereotypes for all kinds of people. I think what would be more appropriate for the Della site is if there was some sort of disclaimer.
Stereotypes exist. Unless you think that they are absolutely true all of the time, deal with them (by ignoring them or proving them wrong) and move on.
By the way, it sounds as if you find fault with the way the Della site is treating women. Then again, you sound as if you wouldn't benefit from the Della site, so ignore it. I ignore Maxim, Penthouse and Guns and Ammo because I wouldn't benefit from any of them.
May 13, 2009 5:42 AM
Is anyone here old enough to remember this ad?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVTwEt95q1Q
I keep recipes in my notebook. I also run AutoCAD 3D and Mathcad. (I'm a structural engineer.)
What troubles me about Della isn't the trivial stereotypes on the site, but that the site puts its entire FOCUS on the most trivial uses that they think women might make.
May 27, 2009 5:25 PM
Wahhh.. Put your big girl panties on and go on with life. Most women I have encountered and that is including my mother ( love you mom!! ) cant even properly use the remote control for the TV. God forbid they hit the TV/Video button and end up on LINE 1. The TV will stay black until they buy a new one. Unless your are pretty and have a man that can fix these things. The ugly ones just have to cope and learn for themselves. HOW ABOUT THAT FOR A STERIOTYPE!!! :) They are just aiming for the less than tech savvy crowd.. my mother and other pretty wommen. :)
October 12, 2009 12:21 PM
Well I think one has to consider the demographics the site is aimed at. I work all over the world and there are lots of women (and men) in the US and outside who don't fully understand what is cloud computing or indeed the uses of a netbook.
Lots of women, especially younger women, will chose a computer because its "cute"-not necessarily that's the only criteria, but if you have identical specs and one packaging is cute and appeals to you, why not? I have a pink camera and pink luggage because they are easier to spot/find and in traveling this dramatically cuts down the chances of theft-many men won't bee seen toting pink! After I had someone try to pick up my carry on I had my fingers lightly resting on while looking for my luggage on the carousel I switched to pink!
If the site is not geared for you, simply don't use it.