BitchBuzz (Calm Down! It's the Name of the Site!)

I've long thought a cloned-me could only make the world a worse place, and I know there are a good many Twitterers who agree with that statement. However, I couldn't help but wish there was a little more of my time to go around when the ladies behind a new women's blog, BitchBuzz, asked if I wanted to be a contributor earlier this week. Happily I'm more than gainfully employed with my assortment of jobs, so I  sadly have no time to take on any new projects. Still, I plan to make time to read the site regularly when it launches in about an hour.

From the release:

"BitchBuzz is a feisty new website that serves as a sexy, smart alternative to the women's weblogs and magazines of today. Founded by Cate Sevilla, former editor of Dollymix and author of the popular blog CupCate.com, BitchBuzz provides refreshingly uncensored views on pop culture, sex, relationships and everything in between.

From reviews on the hottest films and gadgets, to advice on how to best organize your home office, BitchBuzz is the ultimate lifestyle guide for all things creative, fierce and female. It is BitchBuzz's mission to provide women with a website that's real, honest and entertaining. They don't just promise their readers that they’re different and won’t patronize them like other female-oriented media: they actually do it.

... They're not interested in being perfect feminists, or perfect women: they craft, they bake, they have good sex, buy the latest technology and they blog."

The style, tone and look (and likely content) are completely different but is the mission statement that far from Julia Allison's NonSociety? Both say they attempt to drop the perfect routine and show people what their lives are about, reclaiming the good things and bad things about femininity, rather than hiding them. (As I've told both Julia and Meghan, I worry they play up the glam too much on their site, making it less relate-able than the girls are in person.)

Gawker's Jezebel has a similar intent, and I'm not sure they've nailed a must-read women's site for me either. (Although Olivia adores Jezebel, so maybe it's for the young ladies?) My thoughts aside, both NonSociety and Jezebel have people who love the sites and people who loathe them. People who say they help women and people who say they set women back. No doubt, BitchBuzz will get the same thing-- from the name alone. In my book, that says they're doing something right. Blogs are supposed to evoke conversation and as female-owned blogs start to rise to the top as fully-intended media operations, they need to stand up to the criticism (which will be brutal) and push boundaries. Those who are most successful will get paid. As I wrote in this post, the time seems to be perfect to steal ad dollars from glossy women's magazines.

[SIDE NOTE: Booooooooooo to BitchBuzz for opting for the less popular Plurk badge over Twitter on the front page.]

Comments

[Leah Culver]

I keep wishing feminist blogs will pick Pownce for short posts since one of the three co-founders is female. *sigh* that would probably be sexist.

[maria]

I don't think comparing NonSociety & Bitchbuzz is necesarily fair; Bitchbuzz is going to be a competitor to a site like Jezebel, a place where women can come read stories that matter to them in a voice they can relate to, whereas NonSociety has no clear mission, and is, right now at best, an aggregator of content for its three contributors. I can't even tell you how many people I've showen NonSociety to, who aren't familiar with Julia Allison's notoriety, and they have no absolutely no idea what the site is really aiming for.

[sarah lacy]

@maria:

i get what you are saying and don't necessarily disagree. i did note that it's just the stated mission statement that's similar-- not the content or material or look of the site.

i think the nonsociety crew would be the first to say they're still figuring it out, too.