In a recent article about women on the web, ABCNEWS.com cited a study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project which found that teenage girls were outpacing boys in the area of online content creation — blogging, posting photos and social networking. Thirty-five percent of all teen girls blog, while only 20 percent of teen boys do.

“This is debunking this myth that boys are the ones that are driving the train when it comes to Internet use. Girls are absolutely sitting in the engine … and doing a lot of communicating,” said Amanda Lenhart, a senior research specialist at Pew.

The trend extends to adult women as well. A recent study by Solutions Research Group found that women are larger consumers of online video and online games and more likely to participate in social networks.

Though these findings probably don’t surprise any of you (after all…here you are - on the internet!), it is good news. As companies take stock of these emerging trends and realize that women are a force to be reckoned with when it comes to generating content and opportunities for networking on the internet, we’ll have more choices and our demographic will be better served.

Shine by Yahoo

On Monday, Yahoo launched Shine, a site that incorporates a mix of original content in the form of blogs, articles and videos. So far, most of the site’s content comes from the 15 Hearst and Conde Nast publications Yahoo has partnered up with (i.e. Glamour, Good Housekeeping), but they do allow individuals to maintain their own blogs and post topical articles to a variety of forums such as fashion and beauty, healthy living, parenting, sex and love, career and money, food, and more (check out my blog on Shine here).

My take

The site is still new, and since most of its content seems to come from magazine editors, it doesn’t appear as fresh or unique as it could be, but every day it seems go get better. And, if you like current snippets of information delivered to your computer rather than buying an entire magazine…the site might be for you. The Shine fashion and beauty editors were kind enough to feature one of my articles in fashion and beauty, so it’s nice to see that they’re open to more unconventional sources of content. And every now and then they sneak in a picture of one of their staffers (trying french braids, no less) so it’s kinda fun. Check out Shine here.

Wowowow.com

Last month, a website targeting women over 40, Wowowow.com, was launched. Its 15 founders are all high profile, successful women such as Leslie Stahl, Candice Bergen, Whoopi Goldberg, Peggy Noonan, and Marlo Thomas. Wowowow attempts to appeal to women of that generation by providing a forum for an otherwise overlooked demographic.

The site features a mixture of blog-type columns written by the site’s founders as well as polls and forums. Wowowow will no doubt be competing with iVillage and other websites dedicated to women in some content areas (i.e. horoscopes, love and marriage, health and fashion), but Wowowow differs in that it also offers political commentary and is willing to tackle serious topics such as racism, ageism, and adultery, and delivers them in a way that seems more like an intimate conversation between friends.

As the New York Times’ Stephanie Rosenbloom puts it, “the chief appeal may be the glimpse it promises into the personal lives and believes of a groups of businesswomen who broke through glass ceilings. The site fundamentally trades on their celebrity and sophistication.”

My take

Though they say they’re targeting women over 40, I’d be surprised if any of the 15 founders were actually in their forties. It definitely seems more like a site that women of my mother’s or grandmother’s generation would appreciate. I do think it’s strange, however, that while they tout their higher level of sophistication to sites like iVillage (Juliet Buck, a contributing editor to Vogue and a consulting editor to Wowowow, called iVillage, “like Macy’s”, and she didn’t mean it in a good way), they decided to feature horoscopes and whether your local weather will result in “good hair” or “bad hair” for the day, and they did so prominently on the site’s header. It detracts from their sophistication and seems a bit outdated. Also, the only ads currently featured on the site are for diamonds, diamonds and more diamonds (Tiffany & Co.). That comes off as a bit elitist to me. What do you think? Check out Wowowow.com here.

PoshMama.com

As previously mentioned, women are more likely to join social networking sites than men, most likely because women enjoy a sense of community that’s relative to their lives and look to such communities for help with balancing the multiple tasks in their lives (work, parenting, personal). I’ve joined a few online communities but have found that PoshMama.com is by far the one I’d recommend to my friends.

My take

Posh Mama is an online magazine and social network exclusively for women (if they find out you’re a man, they’ll kick you off). The network is the most supportive and interactive community I’ve experienced so far (not to mention the most fun). Posh Mamas share information on fashion, beauty, style, home interiors, art, book reviews, author interviews, fitness, nutrition, unique products for women, cool gadgets, high-tech toys and important product recalls. They read each other’s blogs and support each other’s business ventures. They’re definitely a bunch of “cool broads”. Check out Posh Mama here.

Have fun surfing!