Wired magazine is examined to determine if it is educational and forward-thinking or soft porn stuck in the digital stone age. An analysis of the last 32 covers found that 3 featured women, 2 with naked women and 1 with a cancer patient. This raises the question of whether Wired needs a different perspective at the top as their portrayal of women may not support their advancement. The lack of women in leadership roles in tech startups is an ongoing issue Wired could help address with more inclusive coverage.

1. LAD I ES
the
A modest digital-stone-age
manifesto…

2. Marketing and
Tech Executive Female
Led marketing
for Fortune 50
and High Tech
Start ups
Educated
Who am I?
40(ish)
Always
(trying to)
Learn

3. Wired is the first word on how ideas and innovation are changing the world.
Each month in the magazine and every day online, the editors deliver a
glimpse into the future of business, culture, innovation and science.
…And that is why Wired is my go-to-source for technology:
(lifted from their website. They also talk about gobs and gobs of
fancy magazine awards they have won to prove their forward thinking and innovation)

4. …and
I
Innovation and forward thinking is why

5. Innovation and forward thinking is why
Wired. Cover story. Nov 2010

6. Since I Love Wired Magazine, I threw it in my briefcase as good reading
material. I took it with me to a client meeting…

7. “Is that
magazine
Educational? or
Soft Porn?”
My client saw the magazine and said….

8. That got me to thinking….
Is Wired Magazine Educational or Soft Porn?
Is Wired Magazine a forward thinking magazine in the new digital era?
Or a backward thinking magazine stuck in the stone age?

9. So I wrote to Wired and asked them……

10. My response so far….

11. …So I looked at the last 32 covers as a guide…

12. ..searching for additional cues

13. Good news : Last 2.5 years there have been
three women on the cover! (yeah!)
1) Picture of a naked woman 2) Another picture of a naked
woman 3)Picture of a female cancer patient (oh).
(Wired Magazine has featured over a dozen (fully clothed) men including executives, comedians, and
celebrities)

14. Perhaps the Top Brass at
Wired Magazine could use a
Different Perspective?
Top brass at Wired Magazine

15. Or does it matter?
Employed persons by detailed occupation, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 2008,"
Annual Averages 2008 (2009).
Women lag behind in leading start ups and lag behind employment in high tech
The “where-are-all-the-women” meme is a familiar one, and not confined to the
technology world. But in start-up land, where the good idea is supposed to trump
social status and everything else, the lack of women in positions of authority
stands out.
Addressing The Lack Of Women Leading Tech Start-Ups. Wall Street Journal, August 27, 2010
WSJ, August 27, 2010

16. Wired magazine clearly loves the ladies.
But do they support the ladies?
men, picture your kick butt technology advanced daughter,
sister, wife, girlfriend or mom taking one of these covers to ANY
place of business…do they look smarter?

17. Is Wired a forward thinking magazine
for the new digital era?

18. Or is Wired a backward thinking magazine
stuck in the stone ages?

19. Sound off at
www.digitalstoneage.wordpress.com

20. credits
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/woodypics/3880194821/