Business Women on the Web

Some ``techie'' trend setters are women, and this summer Forrester Research interviewed 100 of them to draw a bead on how women will be using the Internet and online services this year and through the turn of the century.

The research outfit in Cambridge, Mass., predicts that more than 18 million women in the United States will be ``wired'' by the year 2000.

Forrester used interviews of so-called ``early adapters,'' plus previous statistical analysis and additional research from Internet service providers and content developers to identify trends and help companies predict what Internet products and services might be popular because of them.

According to Forrester analyst Kate Delhagen, women's online use is being spearheaded by three groups:

-- College students, who are more likely than ever to bring a modem-equipped computer with them to campus and use the Internet for classes and communication;
-- Working women employed by companies building corporate intranets, internal computer networks based on Internet protocols;
-- Stay-at-home moms who've stopped watching ``Oprah'' during the kids' nap time to log on and chat with friends, balance their checkbook or read an electronic newspaper.

Delhagen also has high hopes for WOW Factor, a launch pad that's set to debut shortly to help female small-business owners get onto the Internet.

As the Internet moves from being a ``Gen-X'' hangout to a mass medium, major consumer marketers are beginning to set up shop. Delhagen predicts a continued increase in the number of companies setting up Web sites targeting women.

Some of those companies include publishers Conde Nast, whose Epicurious travel site offers a travel-planning concierge and destination database, and Hearst, whose HomeArts HomeArts site includes a searchable database of 2,000 recipes.

Another is Clinique, which has launched a Web site http://www.clinique.com/ and will offer Internet tutorials and give away software at its department store cosmetics counters.

But not all women want to go online to find out about cooking or skin care. Forty-four percent of the ``early adapters'' Forrester surveyed said there was no difference between what men and women do online.

Some of the most popular sites among female Internet trend setters aren't targeted to women. Instead, they provide information or services in a gender-neutral setting that make women feel comfortable, Delhagen said.

Please send your feedback and comments to Jerry Kain at jpkain@aol.com

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