Suzanne Kantra on Stepping Out of the Big Brand Shadow to Create Tech Content for an Overlooked Audience

Suzanne Kantra knows gadgets. After spending 16 years writing about technology at Popular Science and another three as the tech editor at Martha Stewart Omnimedia, Kantra says she’s tried a lot of cell phones, tons of food processors and too many laptops to count. Which is why, she says, she’s good at her new job.

In fall 2008, she teamed up with Toby Grumet Segal, another editor with a tech background, and Josh Kirschner, who has the finance background to make sure a new project could get off the ground, to develop Techlicious.com, the tech site specifically for women.

Also on Mediabistro

How to Actually Land a Job Through Social Media

Got a Job Offer? What to Do Next (+ Thank You Email Templates)

The self-funded venture launched June 9 with its debut batch of tips and how to’s, buyers guides and reviews, and aggregated “fab sites” for techies on the Web. Fresh from the launch, mediabistro.com caught up with Kantra to hear her insights on why women need their own tech source and what it takes to see a project realized.

What is it about the tech community that intimidates women, or makes technology less approachable for them?

I think that anybody wants to have technology made easier for them. No question. But you need to apply it to their everyday lives. Can dads take photos of their kids? Absolutely. But statistics show that women are the memory keepers. And our site is not about pink. Can a guy go on and get great information? Absolutely. It’s sort of like reading a cooking magazine — do men not like great recipes? Of course they do, but it’s sort of been a traditional women’s role.

It’s also about creating an environment. You look at Gizmodo, and it tends to be snarky, fast-paced, and not made for the unfamiliar. It’s implied that you can just learn the basics on your own, on the side. It’s very hard-core, as opposed to saying, ‘We don’t always have to use all the acronyms, and we can reach women at a lot of different levels.’

Where did the idea come from? What made you want to start a whole new project?
I had been working part-time while I was at Martha Stewart [Living Omnimedia], and then worked from home when I was on maternity leave there. I realized that I really liked the autonomy and flexibility of working from home.

But I didn’t want to stop working, or to give up tech. Previously, I had worked at Popular Science for 16 years. When I went to Martha Stewart, I had the tech background that allowed me to take the service approach, to write about how readers can use technology to make their lives easier, and to live better, more beautiful lives.

But tech wasn’t the most integral part of that company. So when I left Martha, I thought it would be great to work from home to create something where tech was the big focus. I love technology, and I enjoy connecting with people and helping them with tech questions and recommendations. Here we’ve tried to create something that was dedicated to tech from a woman’s service perspective.

So that service background really informed Techlicious.

Absolutely. From a content perspective, we’re looking at delivering actionable items. We’re focusing on doing shorter, tip-based things, and presenting it in a way that people feel they can actually do that. We have short video tutorials, for example, one on how to convert your photos to an email-friendly size and format.

You see that it’s easy and we give you a little checklist on how to do it. We also try to be aware of the fact that people are using different platforms and operating systems. So by having combinations of those things, it makes people feel that they can do it.

What kind of products do you cover?

If it runs on a battery or plugs into an outlet, we’re interested! That means kids electronic toys, kitchen appliances, outdoor gardening, cameras and laptops, and GPS systems.

When you look at a product, you’re interested in how you, specifically, can use it. And the roles that women take on in their lives are different from men — mom, daughter, memory keeper. There are different roles that women take on. When you think about how tech is used by women, it makes sense that it would be different from how men use it.

Studies have shown that women are more impressed by functionality — they ask, what can it do for me? Men are more attracted to the flashy features — it’s not as much about solving a problem for them. Obviously they’re also attracted to things that work well, that are easy to use, but for women, that functionality is really more key.

What sites informed or inspired Techlicious?
I don’t think that there’s anyone doing women’s tech; we’re really doing something new here. Sites like iVillage, BabyCenter, Consumer Reports and Consumer Search all have a few features of our site, and we’ve looked at them extensively. There are some good Web sites out there, but we’re doing things differently.

We’re really a content portal, as opposed to a blog. Techlicious is not about disposable content. We’re creating a foundation of resources and information that people can come back to. We have a blog section, too, for things that are in the news and very immediate — the mandatory transition to digital television is one example. We put information on how to handle that issue on the blog; that wouldn’t be a main core for the site, because it’s such a here-and-now problem, so that’s what the blog is for.

What’s it like to move from established venues like Martha Stewart, Sirius Radio and Popular Science, to your own startup operation?
Before, with Martha Stewart especially, I had a big brand behind me, and it was about representing the brand, and delivering out what the brand promises. Now I get to figure out what the brand stands with, and then act on that. I don’t think that I could do this without my background — I do have connections in the industry. I’ve built a reputation as someone who gives good recommendations.

I have the background to be able to ask the questions that make sense and put it in context. And manufacturers are looking for the audience we reach. It’s about helping readers make smarter decisions so that they feel good about purchases. Techlicious benefits the consumer, because they’re satisfied with what they’ve bought. And especially with the economic climate we’re in, you want to feel good that you made the right choice and that you didn’t waste your money.

Can you describe the reader reaction to the site? Do you think Techlicious is making the bigger, older tech blogs nervous yet?
We haven’t made a big PR push yet, but we’re starting to build relationships. We’re trying to be very careful that we get everything right. When we put up a guide, it’s been well-researched. If you look at a lot of Web sites, they’ll do aggregations of professional reviews, but we want to give a fuller picture.

So we look at consumer reviews as well as professional ones, checking out how products performed from reviews on sites like Amazon. Or we’ll tell readers that it’s a new product, so you can’t expect there to be a consumer-reviewed history for it.

You’ve been writing about technology for nearly 20 years. How has reporting on the subject changed?
I got into technology right out of college by starting as an editorial assistant at Popular Science. I had always been drawn to gadgets and technology, playing computer games and all that fun stuff. It was just something that I developed an interest in.

It’s changed a lot in the way that it’s been covered. Tech had been seen as a man’s domain for a long time. When I started, there weren’t a lot of women reporting on it, and it wasn’t covered in women’s magazines. I think people — men and women — do now understand that it’s a part of their everyday lives.

Sometimes, people say that they aren’t tech people, but then when they stop and think about the tools in their everyday life, they do make a lot of decisions on that. I ask, “Did your husband pick out your phone for you? How about your camera?” And the answer is always, “Oh, of course not.”

I need to educate people and say, ‘Look, you’re already doing this. So why not make the best decision possible?’ And there are more tech stories in women’s outlets than there used to be — some great stories that pop up in parenting magazines and so forth — but it’s very sporadic.

How important is product testing to Techlicious? What are you evaluating when reviewing a gadget?
We do experiential reviews for products. We don’t do lab testing — noise testing, speed testing, and all those lab things. We’re not out there to take the place of the hardcore review sites, like CNet.

As consumers who have used a lot of products, we know how to test gadgets. Our writers probably look at hundreds of cell phones every month! So we care about usability, interface, design in general, and what’s new about a product, and then we bring those features, which regular consumers might not even know are there, to light. Our reviewers do have that kind of background. Things like smile detection on a digital camera, for instance — we can tell you the basics and then apply them, explaining how it works and what our experience was when using it in tons of products.

What’s the oldest or most obsolete gadget you still have lying around? Have you acquired any bizarre products because of your job?
Unfortunately, I don’t hold on to stuff that isn’t useful to me. With the lack of space living in Manhattan, you can’t! But one thing I’ve had for years now is the MariVac vacuum marinator. You put your meat in there, screw on the top, put it on its back, and the vacuum mechanism sucks out the air and reduces the amount of time you need to marinate your meat. Instead taking a full day, I can do it in 10 minutes. We covered it in Popular Science when it first came out, and I still have it and use it.

Another thing I’ve kept is from back when Microsoft used to make kids toys. I have a little table with a round, interactive toy in the center, and buttons and a little music thing, and all three of my kids have now used it.

What’s on the horizon for Techlicious?
I like working from home, but I do miss the office sometimes. When I look long-term, hopefully this will grow into a nice big company. My dream is for us to have office space in the city that’s nearby, and then people can have that kind of fluidity where they can choose to come to the office, or not. They’re grownups and know they can do their jobs.

In the industry, people have been very supportive. It’s difficult when you don’t have the traffic yet, but we’re working on creating relationships with big companies who everybody’s heard of. We’ve been very happy with the reception in that regard.

For now, we’re waiting to get some feedback from consumers and concentrating on building more content. We launched with a good set of content, but it’s always going to cry out for more. There’s never enough on the Web.

Five tips for launching a niche Web site:

1. Know your niche. Kantra’s been in the tech biz for almost 20 years, so she says it’s no coincidence that she recognized what the market was missing and knew how to fill in the gap.
2. Stay up to date — to the very second. “One thing I’ve found frustrating about researching products on the Web is that they tend to be very outdated,” Kantra says. “So much has happened since 2005 and 2006… models get replaced so frequently.” Tech writers have to stay current — and keep readers up to speed — to maintain their edge.
3.Work your contacts. Kantra met her co-founders and many of her writers because she’s worked with them, in some manner, before. When she was ready to launch Techlicious, they were there to join her.
4. Ditch the jargon. You’ll widen your readership if you don’t assume they all know acronyms, Kantra says. Not everyone knows what a GIF file is.

5. Feed the beast, healthfully. It’s a truism because it’s true: On the Web, content is king. But that doesn’t mean that quality has to be sacrificed for quantity, Kantra says.

Megan Stride is editorial assistant at Portfolio Media’s Law360.