Sorry, Young Man, You're Not the Most Important Demographic in Tech • Hacker News Board

Re: Sorry, Young Man, You're Not the Most Important Demographic in Tech

#41

Post by Retric » Sat, Jun 09, 2012, 1:10 AM UTC

untog wrote: post #34

Retric wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Considering, I know nobody that actually uses Twitter I think 13% is wildly overstated.

Without wanting to sound too harsh: there's a reason why statistics are not based around personal anecdotes.

13% of US population = 40 million people.

Officially, Twitter has 100 million active users – again, members who log in at least once a month. (January 13, 2012 6:00 AM) http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/twitter-active-total-u...

However, I suspect a lot of those are bot's / sockpupets. Not necessarily spam, but a weather feed does not a twitter user make. I have seen estimates ranging from 24%-50% of all accounts are bots, and many users are over represented with a corporate account and a user account. Leaving perhaps 15-50 million actual users worldwide.

PS: I have been linked to tweets and I know plenty of people that do the same, but I don't have an account so by their accounting I am not a user and neither are the 100 or so other people I have talked to about it.

Re: Sorry, Young Man, You're Not the Most Important Demographic in Tech

#42

Post by jaems33 » Sat, Jun 09, 2012, 1:23 AM UTC

goodside wrote: post #14

This is an extremely bold and unsupported assertion: "[Men] were the one who decided what products failed and what products succeeded. That's why companies like Asus tweet ridiculous, sexist stuff. That's one reason why less than 10 percent of venture capital-backed companies have female founders and there is a massive gender gap in tech." There are plenty of industries where there is a huge discrepancy between the g…

Indeed. Despite the fact that women's fashion is far more lucrative and with a larger market, the majority of top end fashion houses are headed by men or whose label is a man's name.

Re: Sorry, Young Man, You're Not the Most Important Demographic in Tech

#43

Post by cldrope » Sat, Jun 09, 2012, 1:30 AM UTC

nsxwolf wrote: post #24

cldrope wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>sausagefest Honestly I think the ones who have a problem are the ones who see a difference. Those that just put what they have out there and discuss openly, maturely will generally find (regardless of where they go) some kind of return. Even on PInterest you'll find immaturity and other negative qualities, merely exhibited by men instead of women. Does that make it innately better?

Is sausagefest offensive?

It's juvenile.

Re: Sorry, Young Man, You're Not the Most Important Demographic in Tech

#44

Post by rev_null » Sat, Jun 09, 2012, 2:38 AM UTC

csomar wrote: post #30

It began with That's one reason why less than 10 percent of venture capital-backed companies have female founders and there is a massive gender gap in tech. and then It turns out women are our new lead adopters. When you look at internet usage, it turns out women in Western countries use the internet 17 percent more every month than their male counterparts. Women are more likely to be using the mobile phones they own…

I think this proves that young geeky men have finally learned how to please women... by making smartphones.

Re: Sorry, Young Man, You're Not the Most Important Demographic in Tech

#45

Post by zxcvvcxz » Sat, Jun 09, 2012, 5:25 AM UTC

I'll probably get downvoted for this, but honest question -

How come that ASUS tweet message was considered so sexist? Using attractive women in advertisements has been around since the dawn of, well, advertisements. And she definitely had a nice rear.

I mean what if the woman was replaced with a strong muscle man and the tweet said "Nice biceps" or "Nice pecs" or something? Hell, say "Nice rear" for a man, why not? Would that also be sexist?

Why are we all so uptight about this stuff?

Re: Sorry, Young Man, You're Not the Most Important Demographic in Tech

#46

Post by TrevorJ » Sat, Jun 09, 2012, 5:38 AM UTC

untog wrote: post #3

"A young man contemplating his decreasing significance on the world stage" ...hilarious. There's some truth in this. And it's what often concerns me about the tech world- that it's a big echo chamber of young, tech savvy people that actually represents a tiny demographic. It's one of the reasons I like living in New York- it gives me perspective. I see hundreds of people that are using 'dumbphones' and are quite happ…

We will see a huge, cataclysmic shift in the next 20 years in terms of the demographic online. By the time I am my parent's age we will have 50 and 60 year olds who grew up with the internet, along with their children, and the next generation.

Re: Sorry, Young Man, You're Not the Most Important Demographic in Tech

#47

Post by ender7 » Sat, Jun 09, 2012, 5:47 AM UTC

A great place to see this in action is with smartphone ads.

Almost all of the smartphone companies have been producing ads that cater only to the young male (see: those terrifying Motorola Droid ads). Apple is an exception, as usual.

They finally seem to be getting their act together, however. The latest Droid ad is almost Apple-esque.

Re: Sorry, Young Man, You're Not the Most Important Demographic in Tech

#48

Post by swdunlop » Sat, Jun 09, 2012, 6:09 AM UTC

gbog wrote: post #40

Wondering why every weekend HN needs a dose of gender issue in tech posts. Genuine question.

No idea. Seems like HN rolls out a gender dispute on a slow news day like Congress rolls out flag burning when they need to avoid a decision.

Re: Sorry, Young Man, You're Not the Most Important Demographic in Tech

#49

Post by akavi » Sat, Jun 09, 2012, 6:57 AM UTC

Kaffkaff wrote: post #19

ericabiz wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's called Pinterest -- 82% female: http://mashable.com/2012/02/28/pinterest-women-marketing/ Perhaps you've heard of it? ;)

why do people keep saying Pinterest is the female Reddit? The female community on Reddit is big enough.

Is it? The numbers I've seen suggest that Reddit is more male-dominated than Pinterest is female-dominated.

Re: Sorry, Young Man, You're Not the Most Important Demographic in Tech

#50

Post by ljf » Sat, Jun 09, 2012, 9:34 AM UTC

jaems33 wrote: post #42

goodside wrote: post #14

This is an extremely bold and unsupported assertion: "[Men] were the one who decided what products failed and what products succeeded. That's why companies like Asus tweet ridiculous, sexist stuff. That's one reason why less than 10 percent of venture capital-backed companies have female founders and there is a massive gender gap in tech." There are plenty of industries where there is a huge discrepancy between the g…

Indeed. Despite the fact that women's fashion is far more lucrative and with a larger market, the majority of top end fashion houses are headed by men or whose label is a man's name.

Indeed, but they are men who have made it their life's mission to understand their audience needs and enjoy everything that comes with that. I think the issue is young men in tech (and many other indistries) presuming that everyone is just like them and have their needs and interests.