I wrote a post a couple of months ago about Natali Del Conte. A number of my readers used the comments section of that post to voice their opinions on Natali and her work. In fairness, most of the comments were negative toward Ms Del Conte – and now I would like to set the record straight.
Natali Del Conte – The comments
The negative comments about Natali Del Conte were pretty-much about two things. Firstly, that Natali referred to clothing too much, for a tech news Journalist. Secondly, some suggested Natali lacked ‘tech knowledge’ when speaking, unscripted, on shows like Buzz Out Loud..
If you are Natali, looks matter!
OK – it’s a sad fact that much of the way we are ‘judged’ these days is by how we look. This is even more the case for people like Natali Del Conte; who appear in front of the cameras every week as part of her job. With Natali’s appearance such an integral part of her work as a presenter / broadcaster – it’s obvious she is going to focus on how she looks and what she wears.
Natali Del Conte is what I call a ‘real person.’ She speaks her mind – and if she has been figuring out what to wear in front of the cameras that day – that’s what you will hear. It really is that simple!.
Natali’s ‘tech industry knowledge
I have followed the tech industry since the late 1970′s. The comments about Natali lacking ‘tech knowledge must have come from people who know nothing about Natali Del Conte’s work or professional background.
For example, many people don’t know that before fronting the insanely popular Textra and Loaded, Natali was a highly respected ‘Tech Journalist at Techcrunch. Natali has ALSO written for respected publications like MarketWatch. If you want to know about the quality of her work, ask yourself how come she has risen so far, so quick! There’s no magic here – it’s just hard work and talent!
I have been reading Natali’s stuff for years and can assure you she knows her subject REALLY well. More than this, Natali allows her personality to come through her writing AND her comments when appearing on podcasts / videocasts etc. This brings me on to my final point….
Natali Del Conte – 100% ‘real’
Natali appears on the Internet and your TV screens, doing something that NO OTHER ‘tech profesisonal I know does; other than perhaps Robert Scoble..
I have either spoken to or corresponded with most of the best known people in tech news. Most are a total waste of space – real ass-holes! They have an on-screen persona that’s often funny or down-to-earth, but in reality, most are total dicks!
I know from emails I have received from Natali, that she often works 16 hours a day. Fortunatly for her, she can use all this time ‘perfecting her craft’; because she has no need to waste time perfecting ‘the role of Natali Del Conte.’
With Natali Del Conte; what you see, hear and read is very much what you get! If you like that – great – if you don’t like it – at least respect the fact that you are not being fooled.
On a personal note, I would like to thank Natali for her emails and for being ‘real’ enough to get in touch with me BEFORE this blog started getting any coverage..
Photo credit: Natali Del Conte – natalidelconte.wordpress.com
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I would agree with pretty much all these posts. You would think that in this day and age people would understand that the days of pocket protectors and pimple popping nerds are over. The tech industry has entered the mainstream, driven by the likes of Natali, Morgan Web and other well dressed articulated women knowledgeable about the industry.
Lol The angry posts… probably republicans…lol
“However, could the wonderful Ms Del Conte have just scored a major FAIL? You see, rather than simply ignoring (or un-following), people that were eating into her time, (like everyone else does), Natali has manually BOOTED most of her fans and viewers from her Twitter ‘follow’ list – Yes, including me!”
Seems like you were the one that was critical of Natali to begin with…
I don’t even know Natali on a personal level, and she’s always written back to me whether it’s Facebook or Twitter (when I made suggestions or comments about tech stuff) and she’s always super nice, and like you said, 100% real.
To those people who made negative comments: You’ve just been Loaded.
Here, here. The tech community needs more like Natali, Cali, and Molly. They know their stuff, they provide useful (and often succinct) opinion, and they make the room a whole lot brighter.
Watch Loaded and wait for Natalii’s closing sentence for each segment. Very often it is the most efficient, real world assessment of the subject.
…and Veronica (sorry about that).
Hey Jim, my comment was not in response to your previous post, i was just making a general comment overall about Natalie. I mean, it was her Twitter that re-directed me to your post about her. Haha. And I just wanted to give my two-cents agreeing with pretty much what you said.
Can’t wait to explore more of the site tonight when i get home from work. Looks pretty good!
To answer your open question: Other than Cali Lewis, I’ve never received responses from other “celebs” online. Which I’m not surprised about at all. Not everyone has the same schedule.
Ack, sorry. I spelled Natali’s name wrong earlier.
Blaming MS Word!!
Good point Bhaber – You are absolutely correct!
I was removed from Natali’s follow feed and blogged about it; as I said in my post, it was negative.
I then found out why – and it made sense to me. You see, unlike other people with large numbers of followers, Natali actually read and responded to all those she followed!
The only other people I know who do this are Cali Lewis and Veronica Belmont!
OPEN QUESTION:
Which ‘tech celebrity’ replies to you on twitter?
Give them some ‘props’ here!
Hi Peter,
Thanks for the comment!
Yes, as I said in my previous comment about the way Natali replied to all her twitter followers, she is perhaps ‘over’ approachable and has paid the price.
I myself blogged about Natali, when she stopped following her fans – without realising she only did it because of the massive number of messages she was getting – which as you know, she replied to.
Thanks for the comment!
Hi PJI,
Thanks for the comment!
I know Cali, Molly and Veronica read this blog (as they have all commented here) and I’m sure they will appreciate your thoughts.
C’MON READERS:
SOME MORE ‘NATALI LOVE’ PLEASE!!!!!
Yes! I can’t believe there were negative comments about her. Just because she is pretty doesn’t mean she doesn’t have tech cred. I listen to BOL everyday and she *does* know what she is talking about. In fact, I prefer her unscripted! My one (and only) complaint about Natali is that on Loaded she sounds too scripted on certain “aside” comments. But she always knows her stuff and has well-reasoned opinions.
Hi Kevin,
Thanks for the comment!
I agree 100% about Natali sounding better without a script!!
Jim Connolly
How could anyone ever say anything negative about Natali? I’m really surprised by that.
As Rocky Said; “Absolutely!”
Thanks for the comment!
I enjoy Natali Del Conte’s broadcasting style, Not every one has to be nerdy or be cranky sounding! Besides she is even brave enough to go on Redeye!
Natali is a very good tech journalist. It is clear she works very hard at her job. She knows of what she speaks. The most glaring gaff I’ve heard from her, was when she was a guest on The 404. Everyone on that podcast, including Natali, seemed clueless about eInk. I was surprised since she has a Kindle, but maybe no time to use it. I sent her a short e-maiI about that to the effect she was certainly going to hear about that. I Guess a public figure is going to catch “some” flack, and perhaps a woman tech journalist even more so. Sad, isn’t it?
Dana
I also knew of Natali as a by-line before seeing her on video, must of that writing is still out there for any who care to look.
and
I second(3rd,4th?) the she’s best in interactive rather that scripted presentation. Even though she writes the script
Jim – very good point. Being responsive & engaging her listeners goes a long way!
@john
@Dana
@william
@bhaber
Thanks for the comments.
I know Natali will be thrilled to see so many positive and constructive comments regarding her work.
She gets waaaaaaaaaaaay too much flack and I’m glad that we have been able to show her that there’s a lot of people who appreciate her and her work.
You guys rock – thanks for your comments!!!
Jim
I think Natali has a disadvantage because she is stunningly beautiful, now as a married geek I tend to first look past that part, but often I find myself watching her on tv or online and when it is over I realized I was too busy looking at her and had no idea what she was just saying *lol*
Upon digging though she really do have knowledge, but we got to remember newscasters don’t know everything they talk about to the core, so why would Natali?
So will go with Natali 100% 100% stunningly distracting and it is meant as a “unsolicited” compliment.
Just so you know, Natali is monitoring this post and will see your comment. She’s a very savvy tech journalist and I know she will appreciate your comment.