I'll give you my opinion here: It's not so much about the content, as it is about the community that evolved around the content.

For me, Hacker News is a great example of this. Why do we need Hacker News when we've already got Proggit (i.e. the Programming sub-Reddit)? Truthfully, Reddit's social news technology is more advanced than HN, and there's a lot more people and stories there. Right?

As you'll probably agree...no, not exactly. What sets HN apart (for now) is that it's smaller, more serious, and arguably more intelligent than Reddit's. I see the same links posted here as I do on Reddit; the key difference is the conversations that ensue and in particular the tone of those discussions.

This is long-winded way of saying "girl stuff" isn't about having gossip and fashion articles, but more about a culture evolving around those stories. I do think that the male-dominated culture surrounding sites like Digg, Reddit, and even HN can be off-putting to women.

I think you hit the nail on the head. Social news sites are only worthwhile insofar as your interests and participation align with the interests and participation of your peers on the site.

The author is really saying two things:

- "I'm not interested in the articles that make the front page of Digg": a terrific reason not to use Digg.

- "If women had a Digg of their own, the articles on it would be much more relevant to me." Probably somewhat true. But I know plenty of female geeks who wouldn't give a shit about anything on weheartgossip or kirtsy.

The real goal here is to find a quality community that appeals to you. Unfortunately, this is not all that easy: not only are most people morons, you need a lot of people to be active in the same place for a social website to be worth visiting.

I do think getting the communities to form is a challenge, and I think the challenge is even more difficult amongst non-nerd demographics.

I actually set up a slinkset site, http://www.bababase.com, a few months ago based on the very premise we're discussing, but I've had a tough time finding a way to get traction amongst a non-nerd crowd! (Moms, in this case.)

Moms are incredibly active on the web. All you need to do is get in with the "Mommy Blogger" crowd, which is quite large and influential, and tends towards activism.

iVillage is filled with moms, as are wahm message boards, etc., etc. Your audience is there, and they want what you've got, I'm sure.

You're totally right, and I appreciate the encouragement actually.

I'm really not the world's most phenomenal marketer or community organizer. It takes a lot of those two competencies to be successful in a social application endeavor. :/

Incidentally, girl geeks I know seem to be drawn toward MetaFilter and Fark (!?).

I agree that MetaFilter is great. There's something about the monetary barrier to entry that keeps people from spouting nonsense that may get them banned or actively disliked.

Yeah, they somehow managed to create a culture of militant literacy. Not bad.

On a somewhat unrelated note, my wife and sister absolutely love The Howard Stern show. I'm amazed after all these years his show and success are still criticized as being too male-centric and shallow. Real fans of HS tune in to hear what Howard/Robin/Artie/Fred and the rest of the crew are up to. The strippers and pron stars are just accessories to the real show (also, anyone familiar will know that there's more peen shown on Howard TV than female bits)