A few months ago, Morra Aarons at techPresident and Blogher started a discussion about women and political blogging. At first I rolled my eyes and cited a few statistics from Pew and IPDI about men and women using the web for the same activities at equal rates. Then the NYT Caucus Blog delved into the topic a bit more. Earlier this week, I took a more irreverent stab at it, but some of the comments at the NYT have a point.

Men and women are using the Internet at the same rate for gathering news, sharing videos, checking e-mail and blogging. We know what people are doing online, but do we know why?

There's a perception problem that far more men are engaged in online politics. Sairy at Blogher does a rundown of leading women, but note that most are grouped together at sites like Blogher or specific policy issues. Women are engaged online, but in different places than political blogs. They're hanging out at mommyblogs, feminist websites, cancer support groups and craft forums. While the focus of these blogs and forums may not be political, their insights and topics reflect what women encounter in their daily lives, and politics play a major role. They care less about the horserace and more about the big-picture issues.

What does this mean for campaigns? We've understood this in the media for a long time. There's a reason why candidates and their spouses share cookie recipes, tour the country talking about education and fight for the covers of women's magazines. Female voters respond to these efforts, yet web communication is still one-size-fits-all.

Elizabeth Edwards gained the favor of Democratic women a long time ago with her involvement on the web. She and Hillary took in rave reviews for stopping by the Blogher conference while everyone else failed to have a presence. What about Republicans? Yesterday, the Romney campaign launched AnnRomney.com and is on the right track. There's also Jerigirls.com, started by female Thompson supporters and devoted to all things Jeri Thompson. Does it take a female web director, like Mindy Finn at the Romney campaign, or a dedicated female supporters to reach women on the web?

Blogger outreach and community building are more important than ever. Women aren't going to pick up on the blow-by-blow updates that political blogs cover, yet they will discuss them when it relates to the issues that they care about. They enjoy policy discussions when there's a human interest angle. They don't want soft news, but more interesting packages of news that are deserve our valuable time. If you're still confused, realize that Madison Avenue has spent the past 100 years and billions of dollars trying to grasp how women think.

I can't emphasize the impact of community enough. Mommyblogging started when moms connected with each other through their blogs. Free Republic has recipe threads, and iVillage hosts thousands of message boards. We think about the web in flat, equal terms with every blog or web site connected through a series of social networks or blogrolls. In reality, especially with women, the web is a group of clusters ranging from Blogher to neighborhood listserves like Capitol Hill Mommies. Finding these clusters and understanding how your candidate and his or her issues fit into them can make the difference.

We do this with outreach. Why did Hillary speak at a hairdresser convention? She went where her supporters where. It's time to mimic this on the web.

With the most basic software, it's possible to target the female vote, but it takes time, staff resources, a bit of creativity and the willingness to try to understand women.