Thursday, May 26, 2011

Are You Kidding Me?

I’m zipping around the Internet when I come across an article titled, “Barnes & Noble Successfully Markets ‘Simpler’ eReader to Women.” I skid to a stop and think, “What?”

The first line in the article is: “Why do women hate technology so much?”

I’m now asking, “What women?”

The article quotes Jeremy Peters in a New York Times article:
"So what about the small fortune that publishers have poured into developing tablet editions that dazzle the senses with sleekly produced animation, live video and audio? They’re fine for the men, but a lot of women think there is nothing wrong with plain old words and pictures."
Okay, now they’re just pissing ticking me off. There are indeed people who just want to read; it’s not just women, like Peters is implying. And to say that women hate technology and want simple devices to read simple books and magazines is a slap in the face.

What women have they been talking to? Not my generation. Not even my mother’s generation. Sheesh. Are you kidding me?
Posted by Helen Ginger at 5:10 AM
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39 comments:

  1. Judy Croome | @judy_croome5/26/2011 5:36 AM

    Sheesh! What century is that guy living in? Doesn't he know we got the vote decades ago and -gasp- some women are more technically minded than their brilliant PhD husbands? Yes, my husband can't even use a CELL PHONE, let alone an e-reader (no matter how simple!) How patronising he is!

    Judy, South Africa

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  2. Laurita5/26/2011 6:15 AM

    Wow. That's really all I can say to that. Now I do like the simplicity of my Kindle, but that's because when I read, I don't want all the bells and whistles and distractions. It's not because I'm afraid of the technology. That would so put me off buying from B&N (if I was inclined to buy from them in the first place).

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  3. Alex J. Cavanaugh5/26/2011 6:39 AM

    That's condescending! Yes, I am more of a tech geek than my wife, but she knows how to operate my iPad.

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  4. Mary@GigglesandGuns5/26/2011 6:51 AM

    Ok, I can't write the program or change the code because that doesn't interest me. On the other hand it's this great grandma who has the newest gadgets first in this family and teaches everyone else how to use them.
    That guy sounds like one threatened little man to me.

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  5. Sue5/26/2011 6:55 AM

    I really want to reframe that to something like: "the razzle-dazzle devices appeal to those who suffer from ADHD as it appeals to their short attention span. On the other hand those who prefer to concentrate on meatier tomes without undue distraction ...

    *sigh, I'd love more technology, but funds are tight. Sue

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  6. Joanne5/26/2011 7:36 AM

    What is it with so much of publishing and technology that so many attitudes just won't budge from, say, the 1980s? I don't get it.

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  7. Jennifer Perry5/26/2011 7:38 AM

    Before leaving a comment here I always read everyone else's comments. You know why. Straight From Hel has brilliant followers with snap and style - and I love being in your company.
    Now, however, I'll just hold my thought because you all said it so well, especially giggles and guns and sue.

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  8. Les Edgerton5/26/2011 7:41 AM

    It's pretty safe to say that the Kindle folks are rubbing their hands in glee over this guy! I'd guess he just kept bazillions of people from ever buying B&N readers! Ol' Jeremy must have gotten straight off the short bus to go pound out this article...

    Perhaps someone should do him a kindness and send him a current calendar...

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  9. Katie O'Sullivan5/26/2011 8:00 AM

    I'm not even sure what to say to this, except you shouldn't have crossed out pissing. The guy is out to lunch. I'm sorry I already have a Nook, now, if that's what they think of women...

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  10. Miriam Forster5/26/2011 8:09 AM

    ALL WOMEN HATE TECHNOLOGY!

    Except for blenders. And washing machines. And vacuum cleaners. Those adorable, simple women....

    Sheesh.

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  11. Jacklyn Cornwell5/26/2011 8:28 AM

    This guy must be in cahoots with the guy who said men don't read. What is with the gender branding? Most women I know are more tech savvy than many men and love their tech. A new Blackberry or tablet is grounds for big celebration. The idiot quotient just got bigger.

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  12. Liza5/26/2011 9:03 AM

    I hope to goodness he wrote that as a provocative piece to generate readers. How could anyone be that obtuse? Don't answer that.

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  13. Gayle Carline5/26/2011 9:45 AM

    As a former software engineer, all I can say is, "WHA-huh?" I like my Kindle. I like my Droid. I don't like that guy.

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  14. Lauri5/26/2011 9:50 AM

    Sadly there are plenty of people who are THAT obtuse. :(

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  15. Gayle Carline5/26/2011 9:52 AM

    ACH! I just found out the author of the article is a GIRL! Oh, I am so disappointed.

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  16. Christopher Hudson5/26/2011 9:59 AM

    Ooooo, Mr. Peters seems to have struck a nerve. Stupid man. Truth is that I represent the demographic that needs simpler technology.

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  17. Sage Ravenwood5/26/2011 10:59 AM

    I'm betting by now he's eating his words. I do have a Nook - a gift given to me by my daughter. I had noticed the newest model they just released and the only thing that drew my attention was the battery. The newer model is supposed to have a 2 month battery life.

    How would that interpret into wanting things simpler? I apparently have enough brains to know the technology I'm working with...Sigh. Forget eating his words, this guy should be eating his shorts. (Hugs)Indigo

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  18. Court Ellyn5/26/2011 11:34 AM

    Yeah, the writer of the article is female.

    How dare she! This made me so mad I thought my heart would burst out my ears. Shall I set up an account at Salon just so I can rant? No, better to move on or I might break a nail or smear my lipstick or something. Sheesh.

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  19. L. Diane Wolfe5/26/2011 12:06 PM

    The author of this article is about to get a lot of hate mail! Wow, I know lots of men who are just as technology stupid. Can't believe the writer is a woman. Bet my new IPhone would really confuse this woman.

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  20. CA Heaven5/26/2011 12:46 PM

    Your post reminds me of when we moved to Colorado (for a one-year stay) some ten years ago. We had to buy a car, of course. I asked the car dealer if he had manual stick shit cars, cause that's what we were used to. The car dealer replied: "I recommend you buy an automatic, because then your wife can drive too". Guess who got pissed >:D

    Cold As Heaven

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  21. Helen Ginger5/26/2011 1:24 PM

    I know what you're saying, Sue. I'd love an eReader, but just can't justify the cost.

    Y'll are all making me laugh, especially you, Miriam!

    Uh, what would that be, Karen? (Just kidding.)

    I don't know if others blogged about this, but if y'all are any indication, women are not scared of technology, nor are they stupid. I'd call for an "amen" from the crowd, but I've already gotten a ton of them here!

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  22. Jacklyn Cornwell5/26/2011 1:28 PM

    I'm always surprised, although I shouldn't be, when someone claims that men or women just can't grasp something. I know far too many men who are clueless about technology and too many women who are just as arrogant as that woman, like the reviewer who said women just don't get into fantasy unless there are naked men. Uh, no.

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  23. Helen Ginger5/26/2011 1:53 PM

    Cold as Heaven...who? ;-)

    Are there naked men in fantasies? Man, I gotta branch out in my genre reading.

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  24. Jacklyn Cornwell5/26/2011 2:08 PM

    Ginger, there are naked and half-clothed muscular men in dramatizations of fantasy novels. The reviewer claimed that was the only reason HBO deigned to add them so as to garner female viewers who would not otherwise be interested in fantasy. Ha! I was interested long before that and a lot of women fans of fantasy novels and TV were quite outraged by the comments.

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  25. Golden Eagle5/26/2011 3:17 PM

    Good grief. Yes, some people know how to do all kinds of stuff with their gadgets, but that DOESN'T mean a whole demographic likes "simple" things.

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  26. Southpaw5/26/2011 5:43 PM

    Agreed! How incredibly insensitive.

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  27. Simon Hay5/26/2011 5:48 PM

    Yikes! Everyone has said what I was going to say. I did have a dream that featured a naked man and a woman with an iphone on rapture day ... the end of the world!

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  28. Jemi Fraser5/26/2011 6:23 PM

    Yikes!! Sad, really. When are we going to get past all of this silliness?

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  29. Carolyn J. Rose5/26/2011 7:35 PM

    Simple? Yeah, I want it simple. I want it so simple even my husband can do it.
    (LOL - hope he doesn't happen across this comment or he'll never program the DVD for me again.)

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  30. Helen Ginger5/26/2011 8:47 PM

    You all are so funny - and rightly outraged.

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  31. Talli Roland5/27/2011 9:50 AM

    OMG.

    Seriously?

    OMG.

    Word defy me, Helen!

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  32. The Old Silly5/27/2011 11:37 AM

    Ha! Anyone care to place a bet on what gender the inventers of this new and easier technology were? (wink)

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  33. Jennifer K. Oliver5/27/2011 12:12 PM

    That is one of the most ridiculous ideas I've ever heard. These people are so out of touch with, um, the entire world. Yikes.

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  34. Helen Ginger5/27/2011 1:08 PM

    Sorry for the late response. I had to get my son to tell me how to start up this computer thing.

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  35. Stacy S. Jensen5/30/2011 8:34 AM

    Speechless.

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  36. Amy5/30/2011 8:43 AM

    Some females play the game. They need to make money. Sounds like the author either had to swallow her pride to pay the bills, or else she's been brainwashed into misogyny.

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  37. Glynis Jolly5/31/2011 11:43 AM

    Helen, I'm one of those women who like the words and pictures. However, I don't expect everyone (women especially) to be like me. I knew plenty of women who like the videos, audio stuff, AND the flash whatever. I'm just not one of them. We are terrific because we're individuals with our own likes and dislikes. Jeremy needs to realize this.

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  38. Hilary Melton-Butcher6/01/2011 3:00 AM

    Hi Helen .. love the post?! but particularly everyone's comments - Jeremy is he a person?

    I hope he apologies somewhere along the line - men are so chauvinistic ..

    Cheers Hilary

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  39. Laura Eno6/01/2011 7:50 AM

    I think everyone's already said it...unbelievable.

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