New Site Serves Up News Women Want

Remember when your Mother used to give you a fly by kiss on the cheek that sounded like a "smack" or you got your hand smacked for trying to grab an extra cookie? There's a new social media site aimed at women to "hit " or "smak" you with the news that really interests you.

Launched in May, www.SmakNews.com is designed to encourage women already blogging and to foster new talent. A woman might be inspired to blog by initially just "talking Smak" where she posts a comment about an article or her answer to a question. If other readers like the kind of "Smak" she talks, they can follow her posts in a Twitter-like fashion.

SmakNews combines some features of several popular social media sites to provide a destination where women can share interesting links, create original blog posts, etc. One example is the site's Twitter-like ability letting users "Talk Smak" about a topic. They can talk "Smak" about anything they encounter, even if it isn't on the Smaknews site as a blog entry or linked story. The user simply shares a sentence with a link and begins generating a discussion around it with other users.

Women can share links to interesting stories on the web whether it concerns the President having a date night with his wife in the Big Apple or a picture of Brad Pitt hitching a ride with a paparazzi after his car broke down. Users can write their own article or merely pose a question to the community to begin a dialogue. Every post allows others to react to an article or question with Smak Talk. And what woman doesn't like to talk?

Rather than asking for a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" on an article, Smak News requests emotion, mood-based or sassy feedback. Users can weigh in on whether a story is: "hot," "lol," "lame," "inspiring," etc.

Another nice feature that distinguishes SmakNews from Twitter is that users can choose either to follow a user's Smak activity or to follow certain types of stories. The user gets a Smak Feed which essentially satisfies a woman with whatever news she craves whether it's Celeb Smak (Celebs in Love, Celeb Break-ups, the Baby Bump, etc.) or for Her (covering beauty, sex, style and romance).

Executive Editor, Gina Mom, sees SmakNews as a site where women can "let their hair down. A place of their own to have fun discussions about celebrity news, entertainment, fashion and beauty." Mom says users will ultimately be able to guide the site in the direction they desire as new topics interest them.

And even though the site is designed for women, a few enlightened males blog on the site. For guys wondering what women really want, a visit could prove educational.

Comments

[aarony]

It like TMZ, Cosmopolitan, and Digg formed a niche social network for a very active and interested demographic. For being a relatively new website and already getting mentioned in HP I wouldn't be surprised if it became a major online hub for women...

The site design and layout makes it almost to easy to navigate through while still looking very professional. Web designers take notes!

[Merlin7]

I'm just an average guy, but if I were a woman I'd be infuriated by the site and by this article. Both seem to confirm just about every negative stereotype of women. ("And what woman doesn't like to talk?") Gardner also says "Smak News requests emotion, mood-based or sassy feedback."
Wow. Do the gals over at Smak News also have pillow fights in their pajamas? Might as well.
I get the impression that the topics covered at this site will include lots of diet issues, celebrity gossip and relationship problems. Listen carefully and you can hear the ghost of Bella Abzug screaming.

[Terry Gardner - Huffpost Blogger]

Merlin, I think even Bella Abzug occasionally needed an escape. For in depth news, I recommend the LA Times, the New York Times, Huffington Post, etc. I was merely letting people know about a different kind of site aimed at women. I'm disappointed you don't like pillow fights - they can be a lot of fun . . . as long as you're not allergic to down.