Gawker: valleywag, textra

So long and thanks for all the fashion advice

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 19:30:43 EST

NATALI DEL CONTE — I'm busy getting ramped up here at CNET TV but over the break, Owen and Paul asked me to post about what it's been like to be a woman in Silicon Valley. So here's my take. I don't dare speak for all women, but I can speak for myself. And don't worry, I wouldn't dare say anything as banal as "men don't take me seriously because I'm pretty." I can't imagine a more boring sentiment. I will say this though: Since transitioning from print to video, I do receive just as many viewer emails about my hair, makeup, and clothes as I do about tech news:

"The lipstick you wore in Episode 104 was not your color."

My mother begs to differ with you.

"You look pregnant in the dress from Episode 52. Are you expecting?"

Ouch!

"Why don't you just wear T-shirts to blend in more with the geeks, like Cali Lewis or Amanda Congdon?"

Why should I have to?

"Where did you get that black blouse with the flap collar?"

Macy's.

Also, John Dvorak told me not to say my age on TeXtra, because I was getting too close to 30. I don't have a complex about turning 30 and I'm not about to let that Cranky Geek give me one! I'll be 30 in 8 months, John, so there.

I don't take the comments about my appearance too seriously, but I do find them amusing. I have thought a lot about why the tech community has such strong opinions about what I should look like. It has something to do with ownership. It took a lot of patience and hard work to get the industry to take me seriously and now that they have, they feel a sense of all-around entitlement to me.

I accept that but I'm still going to wear red lipstick from time to time. I am a Latina after all. I will, however, shy away from the A-line dresses because I can't say the pregnancy comment didn't leave its mark.

I'm heading to New York on Monday and I'm starting feel a little heartbreak for leaving this place. I don't know how or when, but I'll be back.

Editor's note: Natali and I are at Moose's for her going-away party. Join us!

"Good Morning America" contributor to fill Natali Del Conte's sparkly shoes

Paul Boutin — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 16:00:21 EST

Becky Worley, shown here on ABC's GMA, will replace the supercali-telegenic, expialidocious Natali Del Conte as host of PodShow's near-daily TeXtra program. "Blondes are not traditionally asked to explain the use of nano-photolithography in computer processors," writes Worley, whose video resume includes stints at the Travel Channel, ZDTV and Yahoo Tech. Becky, for what it's worth, I'm a balding middle-aged brunette male and no one asks me to explain nano-photolithography, either.

TeXtra outtakes — the 5-second version

Paul Boutin — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 03:22:28 EST

>

If Natali Del Conte and the bulldog pups had a fight, who would win? We all would. This being Thanksgiving Day, I give thanks to Keri Walker at Apple for sending me the copy of iLife I used to edit and post this video. Apple has truly, deeply changed my life and annoyed the hell out of my neighbors, beginning with this clip. There will be oh so many more.

Natali Del Conte makes a cute mistake

Tim Faulkner — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 18:44:25 EDT

What is more appealing to the predominantly male tech audience than a hot girl talking tech in a video podcast? A hot girl making silly mistakes, of course. Grown men love to ogle hot girls making silly mistakes. "Oops, she's so cute." We're not saying it's good, or right, or proper. We're just saying that at the request of her Web admirers, former TechCrunch writer Natali Del Conte, host of PodShow's Textra, took a break from her vacation to satisfy their prepubescent desires with the above blooper reel. While Del Conte has failed to catch on like other vlog hotties, this video, devoid of useful content, will surely provide a minor bump to her usual traffic. As well as producing other minor bumps.