Women in 2.0: The Sarah Lacy Aftermath

I didn't want to rehash SXSW. But after reading both Kara Swisher and Mike Arrington's take on it, I find myself in strange company, because I agree with both of them, and this apparently puts me in the minority.

Two years ago, I would have sold my soul to attend SXSW. The past two years, it's seemed less and less about tech and more and more about a four-day-long party with the “cool” kids. Is it making up for time spent as the computer nerds in high school?

What happened at the keynote was a disgrace, and as far as I'm concerned, a blight on the web industry. How cute everyone was with their Twitter use during the keynote. How positively edgy and anti-establishment. And then to heckle a speaker? So cool and anti-establishment.

Here's the problem; Mark Zuckerberg is an absolutely HORRIBLE live interview. Weren't these bloggers the ones who chortled with glee after his Lesley Stahl interview? And while the Zuckerberg fanboys are still seeing hearts today after their hero descended from the mount to speak to them yesterday, the reality is that he still isn't riveting live. If I had $5 for every time he repeated his “help you communicate more efficiently” mantra yesterday instead of answering an actual question like “Why do you think people are spending more time on MySpace than Facebook?” I could buy myself an island somewhere. I'm failing to see how zombies are helping me communicate more efficiently.
Worse yet, in my opinion, was the number of blogs who then raked Ms. Lacy over the coals, some going so far as to say BusinessWeek should fire her after the debacle. Most offensive of all in the comments and blogs I've read over the past couple of days were the women who agreed, citing a nervous giggle and hair-twirling as “embarrassing to women.”

Sarah Lacy is a respected tech journalist for a national magazine. I'm a technology writer for a mid-sized tech blog. And instead of supporting her as one of the few women who's broken that glass ceiling at a national publication. CEOs talk to people who don't live and die by the content on Techmeme. Sure, she plugged her book. If I had a book coming out, I'd be wearing a sandwich board with LEDs as I walked around town.

The prevailing wisdom in 2.0 is that women should know their place, and that's to listen to the men who know better. I found it ironic than a commenter on Rex Hammock's blog referenced Kathy Sierra's appearance at SXSW. I already spoke to how I felt about Kathy Sierra's handling of that situation, but after being so afraid she wouldn't go to ETech and shuttered her blog, she makes an appearance with Gary Vaynerchuk at SXSW? What I found ironic is that Robert Scoble, one of the Twitter pack at the keynote, was one of Kathy Sierra's biggest supporters.

What was the difference? That Kathy acted like she needed protection and the big, strong tech guys could come to her defense? While shortly after the SXSW keynote Sarah was matter-of-fact, pointed out that this is essentially what tech is like for women, and went on about her business, showing up at the Gawker party that night? Neither situation should have warranted the news coverage, and I don't think either would have if a woman wasn't the main topic. I find it depressing that that was the biggest news that came out of SXSW. And I certainly hope this sort of thing isn't the next Twitter.