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WowOwow, a network for women, launched today on the 100th anniversary of International Woman’s Day. And in contrast to the information we shared yesterday about younger women becoming more prominent on the Internet, this network is going to other end of the spectrum and focusing on women over 40.

Rafat Ali of Paid Content reports that the site currently has self-funding of $1 million dollars, all raised from the five well-known media women behind the site: Liz Smith, Lesley Stahl, Peggy Noonan, Mary Wells and Joni Evans. If their names don’t ring any bells with you, don’t fret. While they are famous in certain circles, they aren’t exactly household names. To offer a few brief resumes, Liz Smith has been a gossip columnist in New York for many years, Lesley Stahl is a renowned journalist and regular fixture on 60 Minutes, Peggy Noonan writes for the Wall Street Journal. They are some very serious names with a lot of influence behind them.

The site, which is lacking a good deal of content at the moment, is aiming to be “a party—disguised as a website,” according to the CEO, Joni Evans. It certainly looks like it has some promise, with some very well-known women signed up as commentators such as Candice Bergen, Marlo Thomas, Lily Tomlin, Whoopi Goldberg and others. All in all, it appears slated to be a mix of serious issues with casual things thrown in such as “Hair Day Weather” forecasts for large cities around the world and horoscopes.

Visually the site is very clean. Almost too clean. While a lack of clutter is always nice, you almost suffer “snow blindness” from the amount of white on the site. And though the use of red ink is a nice touch, it strangely also appears to be excessively employed on the page. Whether this contrast shows to be a distraction for users, only a real-world trial can tell.

The site has great premise, and certainly addresses an underserved demographic, for sure. But it currently lacks some much-needed “oomph” to really get the ball rolling. Hopefully new material will appear in short order as the site starts to grow and finds its distinct voice and place.

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