Dell Looking to Pick Up Women With New Website
Dell has launched a new website targeted specifically at women trying to find their way around technology. However, while the site itself is a pretty decent concept, some of the stuff is slightly off the mark.
Dell launched Della earlier this week and you can’t argue that it won’t help the less tech savvy woman find her way around a computer. That said, we do wonder why it’s directed at females only. Surely there are men who know very little about computers too, right?
Under ‘Tech Tips’ the site explains how your netbook can help you meditate, “bliss out,” create “soothing” slideshows and, with the help of a program called “Remember the Milk,” track your time, keep lists and “send yourself remembers.” What other tips does Della have for women? Well, did you know that your netbook can also help you find, store and organize recipes? It can even show you cooking videos and help you count calories! You can also download meditation podcasts, and watch yoga videos during all those “mini-breaks” you take during the day (which Google Calendars will remind you to take, by the way).
Leaving aside the fact that Dell seems to have suddenly arrived upon the notion that there is an untapped audience out there just dying to get connected, but found that, "Gosh-darn-it, this technology thing is so confusing!" We like the idea of teaching those that aren’t familiar with the ins and outs of a laptop exactly what they can get from their machine. The site does a pretty decent job of explaining the term cloud computing, a phrase that is thrown around a lot these days and likely confuses strangers to computing. Unfortunately, it kind of stops there. When you’re buying a laptop through Della, it offers you a limited number of choices: the Inspiron 15, the Studio 15, the Studio 17 and of course, the Mini 10 and 12. Clicking “Configure” or “Buy Now” sends you to the back to Man World (the regular Dell site).
Dell probably won’t target the man who knows nothing about gadgets, but the company could start by making the Della site less pink. Does Dell think we women are immediately pacified by any brand of rose-colored or fuscia hue? Were there any women on the team who designed this thing? I emailed Dell and asked. I’m not holding my breath for an answer, but I’ll update if I get a reply.
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Jane McEntegart is a writer, editor, and marketing communications professional with 17 years of experience in the technology industry. She has written about a wide range of technology topics, including smartphones, tablets, and game consoles. Her articles have been published in Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, MobileSyrup, and Edge Up.
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bill gates is your daddy Is it going to help them to remember to get in the kitchen and make my dinner?Reply -
doomtomb Why does the news here have to contain the opinion of the writer?Reply
Does Dell think we women are immediately pacified by any brand of rose-colored or fuscia hue? Were there any women on the team who designed this thing?
Sounds pretty feminist to me, so much so, that you are afraid of Dell trying to characterize your sex by making a website with generally feminine colors. That seems to infuriate you that Dell would dare to associate colors with women or make a website targeted at women. Big deal, get over it. Must be another slow news day.
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JMcEntegart doomtombWhy does the news here have to contain the opinion of the writer?Sounds pretty feminist to me, so much so, that you are afraid of Dell trying to characterize your sex by making a website with generally feminine colors. That seems to infuriate you that Dell would dare to associate colors with women or make a website targeted at women. Big deal, get over it. Must be another slow news day.Reply
"Afraid" of Dell trying to characterize my sex? My problem is that I don't think it's right to charactarize either sex. If this were targeted toward only men, I would have had the same problem and asked "what about the women who don't know about tech?" I am not a feminist but I think it's wrong to suggest that women are the only ones with problems understanding tech. -
doomtomb JMcEntegart"Afraid" of Dell trying to characterize my sex? My problem is that I don't think it's right to charactarize either sex. If this were targeted toward only men, I would have had the same problem and asked "what about the women who don't know about tech?" I am not a feminist but I think it's wrong to suggest that women are the only ones with problems understanding tech.They are trying to market the Dell brand to women, I don't understand what all the fuss is about.Reply -
JMcEntegart doomtombThey are trying to market the Dell brand to women, I don't understand what all the fuss is about.Reply
The fuss is that there isn't a similar site for men. Not to mention that they think any woman who is on the site must be into meditating, counting calories and "blissing out." I know plenty of women who don't know anything about computers and would be all for a site that would break things down into layman's terms but would find the implication that women who don't know about computers must be housewives a little insulting. -
JMcEntegart stlunaticMay I use it please?Reply
I guess I walked into that one, but no. It's reserved for people with some sense of decorum. Sorry. -
joebob2000 Am I the only one who sees "An error has occured. please try again." whenever the quote button in a post header is used?Reply
Anyhow, Jane, I think Dell is directing this specifically towards women because they feel they already have a Male-directed site, namely the *whole rest of dell.com*. If they felt that women were comfortable with the site they wouldn't have gone to the trouble of making one directly addressing women.
Oh, and after seeing that last post, good luck with the troll fest!