Just an appreciation of the sponsors of the Dad 2.0 summit, who are making it possible for me to attend the conference this year (they haven't paid me to attend, but the price is low primarily because these brands realize that dad bloggers and the dad blogging community is important to be a part of)
That's not a small realization.
Over the weekend (and perhaps further) I want to give these guys props and some social media love for being in the right place at the right time, and putting their money in the right place.
Looking forward to meeting you all, perhaps working with you in the future. Most importantly, thanks for being a forward thinking (and dad-thinking) business!
The first day of Dad 2.0 2018 in New Orleans was pretty darned great, and I recapped it in all of its glory here:
Here's my recap of Day 2.
NO LOWLIGHTS, ONLY HIGHLIGHTS For Day 2, I can't think of any Lowlights at all, so they are all Highlights. (Well, the two lowlights are my fault, not the conference.) And they weren't lowlights as much as disappointments.
I wasn't able to book any time with the fabulous haircut/beard guys at the Dove Men+Care Suite as it was all sold out, and so for the first time that they've offered it I haven't availed myself of their services.
There was a really good looking workshop on how to be a Kia Influencer that I was closed out of, because I acted a little late. I ended up taking a Kia Stinger around town, and had some fun. I also met with all the sponsors, and for the first time ever was not scrambling to finish my Sponsor card.
On to the Highlights
HIGHLIGHTS
SHORTFORM KEYNOTES
The day started with what Dad 2 calls Short Form Keynotes. About 20-25 minute speeches from 3 keynoters, and all 3 were great.
"Twitter gave me two important things I didn't know I needed: Feedback and Focus."
"Going viral is not something that happens to you, but something that you make happen."
"Some of my jokes are real, some are made up, but all are relatable to anyone who is raising a child."
Jorge Narvaez a Latino blogger from San Diego, tore at the hearts of everyone in the room, as he related why he started blogging, telling the story of his dad putting a gun to the head of his mother. He needed to be a better father than his father, and heal the hurts of his childhood. He then sang a heartwrenching song. My best take away from him (aside from being vulnerable and authentic) was this question that he asked: "What is your sacred purpose? Why are you here right now? " Deep and heady stuff.
Jorge was one of the inaugural students of Reality Changers, a foundation to help inner city youth change their reality. And read this article about Jorge in the Huffington Post
Here's a video of Jorge singing a portion of his song:
Stewart Reynolds Canadian blogger and Youtuber better known as Brittlestar came back with the message that nobody is ready for anything, and that you should just start doing work and sucking and then getting better at it as you go. He was effortlessly funny and made all of his video work seem natural and effortless, which it clearly was not. Three quotes from his talk:
"Life is like punk rock. You don't wait to go on stage. You just go on stage, you suck, and then you get better."
"Just start. Whether it's a blog or a vlog or a podcast or a book. The clock is ticking. You are running out of time. What are you waiting for?"
"No one is really ready for anything."
All three of these guys were very inspirational and made the hard stuff that they do look super easy.
INFLUENCER MARKETING: SAVING THE HUMAN TOUCH
Left to right: Alice Chase, David Kargas, Staci Salazar and
Angus Nelson
Angus Nelson of Life of Dad did a fantastic job moderating a panel on how to make your intangible qualities, rather than your google analytics, the focus and the main portion of your work as an influencer. This may have been the best moderated panel I have ever seen, with Angus asking tough direct questions to panelists, and cutting them off closely if they started to stray from the topic. As a result, we got a lot of takeaways from the panel and from Angus, and with a laser-like focus. Alice Chase and Staci Salazar were two of the bloggers, and brand marketer David Kargas of Clorox rounded it out. David had a couple of great things to say about how Clorox looked for influencers, mostly that they were looking for relationships, not analytics.
I had a few takeaways from the panel as evidenced by this tweet from the panel:
#takeways: Quality matters. Nothing Beats Authenticity. There are no tricks or cheats. Step Outside your comfort zone. Don't be afraid to ask. The worst they can say is no. #dad2summit
I also gleaned a couple of great nuggets from Angus directly:
"Marketing is when they call you, and sales is when you call them."
"It is in the darkest part of the cave that we find the best treasures. Don't be afraid to look in the dark."
"Your value statement is this: I am x_________ that does y_________ for z_________ so that they can superpower _________ ."
All in all it was a great session, and very useful on a number of levels.
VIDEO AND INSTAGRAM PANELS
I attended two other panels on being a YouTube Influencer and being an Instagram influencer. Both of them had some good insights on what not to do, and a little bit about pricing and equipment. Neither of them was as well organized or as insightful as the first panel, but they were still worthwhile. The Youtube panel in particular, had some great community about not getting ripped off-- after all, a brand will spend $50,000 on a video commercial without even blinking ,but if you ask for $1000 for a video you made for them that took 15-20 hours of planning/shooting/editing, they look at you like you are being way too greedy. You need to budget your time properly when doing this kind of stuff. Another insight was about the importance of sound quality in your videos, which is often overlooked.
I also watched the two remaining spotlight bloggers, who were equally great as the day before. (shoutouts to Patrick Riccards and Andrew Knotts
for their excellent work)
All in all, I thought these were highlights.
FINAL KEYNOTE: Jaime Kasap, Google Education Evangelist
The final keynote was pretty powerful. Jaime Kasap, an immigrant kid from Hell's Kitchen (his mom was from Guatemala and his dad from Syria) lived in pretty abject conditions and pulled himself out of poverty via education. He's now the chief Google Education Evangelist, and speaks on behalf of Google and helps implement Google into schools worldwide. Read an interview with Jaime here
He's a wonderful speaker, very funny, a little sarcastic, and very insightful.
He had a lot of wonderful things to say, including these gems:
Skills thought to be needed in the workplace by survey.
"All jobs are being affected by automation, not just factory jobs. Automatic cash registers will replace supermarket cashiers. There will still be jobs at the supermarket, but they will change (and you will need different skills). Maybe there will be food experts/salespeople in the aisles, upselling you recipes."
"Current education is set up as an individual sport, but it needs to be a team sport. collaboration is a word, not an idea. We currently encourage kids to take individual tests. If I came to the CEO of Google and said, here's my business plan, I did it all by myself, I didn't get any input from stakeholders or customers or team mates, how long do you think I'd keep my job?"
The skills that kids actually need in a digital world.
"Constant iteration is a fact of life in our world today. Google updates their search engine 600+ times a year. "this Google Pixel2 is the worst technology my daughter will ever see. It's her Commodore 64."
"To get teachers on board with change, we need to present the change as exciting and helpful. If the metaphor is travel, and we said to teachers, "We are going to allow everyone to fly on private planes from now on" would they be on board? Of course! But if they perceive the change as a greyhoud bus, well, good luck."
"We are asking kids the wrong question about their future. It should not be "What do you want to be when you grow up?" It should be "What problem do you want to solve?"
MARDI GRAS
I didn't spend a lot of time outdoors taking in the sites, as I was pretty tired. It was a great time to be in New Orleans-- it was the start of Mardi Gras, but it was not yet full blown. The energy was palpable
THE SPONSORS
I had some great interaction with sponsors, including Dove Men+Care, who had a fantastic room filled with stories of Dads. they included one of my stories/songs that I made up for my son, and I ended up with a nice memento of it as well.
I was also really fortunate to win a set of Harmon Kardon headphones from Kia! ( I chose the headphones, because I have plenty of Alexa based bluetooth stuff going on in my house!)
@dadapalooza Congrats! You’re the winner of a @HarmanKardon Soho wireless headphones or Onyx Mini Bluetooth speaker. Please stop by the Kia suite to claim your gift. #KiaDad#Dad2Summit
So that was a long summary, but totally worth it. Another Dad 2.0 is in the books. The nexst one is in San Antonio in February 2019. Will I see you there? I've already bought my ticket!
I had a blast in Houston hanging out with dad bloggers of all sorts, chatting about blogs and sponsors and vulnerability and the Superbowl and our kids. As mentioned previously, I was at the second annual Dad 2.0 Summit (I was also at the first with my wife and son. This time I was flying solo)
In case you don't know, Dad 2.0 is an annual conference that is an open conversation between dads and brands. Some of the best and most influential Dad bloggers descended on Houston to talk about their work, meet with brands, talk about the changing perception of Fatherhood.) The conference is not a "Best practice for being a dad" conference. (although tips were exchanged) It was about being a better dad blogger, and being more vulnerable.
One of the founders, Doug French, said in the opening remarks was that this was where the Expectations get a little lofty. I think the conference really did a great job of connecting and inspiring all of its participants. I had a few moments that I thought were great, and I'd like to share them.
I'm not going to go over the program (you can get that at the Dad 2.0 Website http://www.dad2summit.com) (and if that doesn't work-- I've saved it for posterity here )
And if you want to find out what other people thought about the conference, look below:
(I'm sure there are others that we can add to this list (and if you add them in the comments, I'll add them up here!)
Before I talk about the event itself, I want to say a personal thank you to the sponsors.
The NYC Dads Group guys get a little famous (with some
Photoshop trickery from Dove Men+Care)
There was lots of events from some of the amazing sponsors (including more Dove Men Care product than I know what to do with.) Some of this stuff, I didn't even realize I was supposed to know about!) And Dove, as the title sponsor, also gave away free shaves and haircuts, shoe shines, and a chance to play foosball. If you've never been shaved by a professional barber-- I highly recommend it.
Food and snacks were sponsored by ConAgra and Kraft Cheese, there were special smoothies by Jamba Juice, and a whiskey/bourbon tasting and craft beer tasting. Honda test drives, a trunk organizer from Sears, a free smoke alarm from Kidde, and free turtle wax from Turtle wax. Oh yes, and smoothies from Jamba Juice!
Thanks for all the schwag. But more importantly, thanks for being in the dad space. Lots of companies probably should be, but are not. I can tell you, I personally respect and think more highly of your brand partially because of your involvement in events like this. (And yes, I like free stuff too. But more importantly, the personal connection.)
MY FAVORITE PARTS OF THE EVENT
Getting a haircut/shave.
For me, there were several highlights to the event. I loved all of the panels and Keynotes that I attended, and thought there was a lot of valuable information floating around the air of the Four Seasons Hotel.
•Hanging Out. As a dad and dadblogger, I don't interact with other dads as much as I would like. I make efforts, but am not always as successful as I would like. This was a good chance to make some strong connections with guys both local and not so local. Having a shave, having a dinner, having a late night conversation-- all of it was great.
• Brene Brown, speaking about vulnerability, and the need to dare greatly.
She's a funny, amazing speaker, and everything she says has the ring of authenticity about it. I saw her at the Mom 2.0 conference, and was moved and amazed by her then.
You can get her book Daring Greatly from Amazon, or you can just view her TED talk. After you view it, you are going to want to buy the book!
Here's one of her TED talks. It will blow you away.
• Whit Honea, reading one of the posts he wrote about his son confusing the word Dump Truck with Dumb Fuck, and the honest love of his child and the great writing that he put into it. "Look at that Dumb Fuck. How come he's so dirty?" It was hilarious and moving and wonderful to hear.
Follow Whit's blog: http://www.whithonea.com/.
Read Whit's very funny post: http://www.dadcentric.com/2009/04/potateo-potato.html
• Jeff Pulver, founder of Vonage and a few other companies, talking about how his loneliness as a child led him to seek out other people around the world as a HAM operator. As he explained it in his keynote, it became clear to me that HAM RADIO was the twitter of the 1970's. Jeff had lots of bon mots, and he was a great speaker and made lots of great connections.
Find Jeff online: http://pulver.com/jeff/ and http://www.jeffpulver.com
• Gerome Sapp. Former Professional Football Player. I talked to Gerome for some time about his work and about the NFL, and how hard it is for many players to hold onto their wealth. He's now the founder of http://www.fluencr.com, a company that rewards influencers and gives them the perks that celebrities and athletes used to have all by themselves. Gerome was really smart and on top of it.
I'm looking forward to attending Dad 2.014 when it happens next year!
As I've done in years past, I'm going to be attending the Dad 2.0 Summit in Washington DC this weekend. I've attended every year they've had it. I think it's the best blogging conference that I attend (and I've attended quite a few over the years, although I've been slowing down the last couple of years.)
You can read my roundups and takeaways of previous conferences, but I think it's the best primarily because of the size. It's small enough that you (and by this I mean me) can really make connections with other bloggers and with brand representatives. I'm not a blogger with a huge following-- I have a couple of hundred loyal followers, but it's not like I'm a blogging celebrity. And I'm not writing this blog to make money. I make a little here and there, but most of what I make goes into either the hosting costs or attending conferences like this!)
I write to share my ideas and opinions, and to bond with other families who might be interested in engaging in conversation. And this conference is great for that.
The big difference for me is that of course this is aimed at me directly as a dad. (Most of the blogger conferences are aimed at women-- there's a huge disconnect sometimes in the message.)
Just some of the great Dad Bloggers I've met through Dad 2.0. I'm in the Green Jacket 4th from the right.
There's also a social element, and I look forward to seeing these guys who I have met and hung out with multiple times over the years. I've made some real friends at the conference.
I'm also looking forward to meeting new guys, so if you are new to the conference, please stop me and say Hi!
Of course, a conference like this needs SPONSORS. The conference cost would be a lot more (and probably a lot less interesting) if the sponsors didn't show up.
Below is the list of BRANDS/SPONSORS who will be in attendance: (some of them are in-kind sponsors or media sponsors- I think that means they didn't pay anything to attend, which is perfectly okay with me, as long as they are bringing something of value to the conversation.)
Many of these brands are in it for the long haul. They've sponsored multiple years, they've really tried to engage with dads and issues around being a dad, and they are in general good people.
If you're already a fan of these brands, give them some twitter love, and if you don't yet know them, get to know them. They are on the side of the good guys, and dads everywhere will thank you. (At least this dad will!)
Since I've become a dad, I've sought camaraderie within a number of organizations and groups that cater to dads.
I also belong to a number of mom communities, and general parenting communities as well, but the dad ones speak a little more to me, have helped me find my Tribe of Dads
Here's a list of just some of the Dad Communities I belong to:
City Dads Group http://www.citydadsgroup.com
When I was a newbie father, I discovered a cool meetup group that had started a few months before I became a dad-- the NYC Dads Group. Founded by Lance Somerfeld (and then quickly joined by his partner Matt Schneider) the NYC Dads Group went from about 100 dads when I joined to a 22 city network of dads that number in the thousands.
When I lived in NY I was very involved in the organization (I was one of the first co-hosts of its podcast The Modern Dads Podcast, and I still occasionally contribute) I was the cultural coordinator, so organized a few meetups, and as well I was a pretty frequent contributor to their blog.
Since I've moved to Chicago, I've become involved in the local chapter Chicago Dad's Group, and write for their blog (local and national) and also do some cultural coordination. Of course, my son is older now, and my need for hooking up with other dads has lessened a little bit. It's still a great organization, and I think an essential group to belong to if you are an involved dad or a primary caregiver, especially a newbie. Although it's organized online, the heart of the group is face to face meetups.
I've attended every one of these blogging conferences so far. Founded by Doug French and John Pacini, it's an annual conference where influencer dads (bloggers, youtubers, snapchatters, periscopers, tweeters, facebookers, and instagrammista's) meet corporate brands and have conversations about influence, about policy and culture, and about working together. I'm a tiny fish in this pretty large pond (but still a pond compared to the Ocean that is Mom blogging conferences, including its sister conference http://www.mom2summit.com, which I've also attended.) I love going every year because I love the dads that go, and some of the guys I've met at this conference have turned into relatively close chums (considering they live around the world) It's really a must-go conference for me. Life Of Dadhttp://www.lifeofdad.com
Life of Dad is a blogging platform and community. They offer a forum, a blogging platform, a podcast, a videocast On their site you can start a blog, start a conversation, watch a video, and meet hundreds of other parents. I've met most of the founders at Dad 2.0, and they are good guys. I've also recently started working with them as an influencer partner-- ie, they occasionally put me up for blogging or other influencer work. If you don't have a dad blog yet, I think it's a great starter place to check out and see if you like blogging. There are lots of helpful people on site, and the community is great.
Started by sadly now-deceased friend Oren Miller (Blogger Father), this group has grown to over 1000 guys all who have blogs. It's a closed group, meaning you have to be approved, and primarily to do that, go to the site, and send a message, with a link to your blog. The basic rules of the conference are to not be a dick, and for the most part, that works. There are share threads (threads where you can share your blog posts) and lots of helpful people. It can get a little raucous, and occasionally a little dick-jokey, but it's one of the best ways to meet a whole bunch of dad bloggers all at once. National At-Home Dad Networkhttp://athomedad.org/
This is a conference and advocacy group that helps connect at-home dads with each other, with best practices, education, support, and community. It has an annual conference every year (but sadly I've never gone-- it always conflicts with something-- in the past it was the Jewish holidays-- this year it's my hard fought tickets to Hamilton.) I know a lot of the organizers, and they are smart, compassionate, and very eager to help. If you are an At-Home Dad, I can highly recommend this group.
These are great resources to start with if you are a dad looking for your tribe.
Please list links to your community(ies) in the comments!
I'M at Whole Foods today, eating breakfast and typing on my brand new Ipad keyboard. It was a gift from my wife for my birthday.
It's a cover, it's a keyboard, and it's super cool. Because I have a mini, the keyboard is kind of smaller than normal, not quite what I am used to, but I feel like I am getting the hang of it, and I am apologizing in advance for any spelling errors or mistakes. It's the keyboards fault, I swear!
If this were Beardvember I'd be feeling like I am already there, but the moustache takes longer to grow in, and is (in my experience) a bit harder to make cool. I'm still trying to decide what kind of soupstrainer to grow. Not quite sure-- I think I may have to create a photographic survey of top moustaches to grow. My wife is not particularly fond of the moustache, but she understands my impulse for charity. After all, if growing facial hair were an Olympic sport, I might have a chance of medalling. (Instead, I'm just meddling. Or is it middling?)
Eye on the prize. Eye on the prize.
And it's a little weird that I am 2 days in to my moustache growing extravaganza and already I've got my eye on the prize. (as if there were a prize)
Well, actually there is-- if you donate to my Movember, I might get free tickets to the http://www.dad2summit.com and maybe even win a Microsoft Surface!
Look right if you'd like to donate. (and click on the moustache drawings)
If you are reading this blogpost, you probably already know all about Dad bloggers and the Dad2 Summit in Austin. If somehow you discovered this post in some bizarre way, and it has escaped you so far, let me fill you in.
There have been lots of Mom blog conferences (esp. Mom2, and Blogher (which is not specifically for moms, but it's pretty big)-- so finally, there is one for the dad-bloggers. And I'll be there! (I'm actually going to be there with my wife and child)
Here's the recently announced topics that are going to be discussed at the conference:
I haven't figured out which one's I want to go to yet.
Return on Engagement: The Great Debate Over Measuring True Reach
Advertisers in social media measure ROI by engagement and influence, not simply by raw traffic statistics. A cottage industry has evolved around addressing this challenging need, and opinions as to the reliability of statistics vary widely. To what extent can we depend on measurement systems, and to what degree will brands rely on them to quantify their investments? And how can these companies measure reach without influencing it?Embrace the Longview
Newer members of the parent blogging community might not remember that long-ago era when Ree Drummond was just some mom in Oklahoma. It took time, creativity, and diligence to convince brands to invest in mom blogs, and our panelists were there, making it happen. They’ll discuss how, in many ways, dad bloggers are on a parallel track, and how commitment and vision can overcome the stiffest barriers to entry.Entrepreneurs’ Round Table
Starting and growing an online business can be thrilling and exciting, whether you are selling advertising space, services, or products. If you’re taking your approach to entrepreneurship more seriously, our panel of leading venture experts will walk through the decisions behind their successes and help you find the right path toward yours.Know Your Audience: Gender Politics, Role Reversals, and What Men Read
The population of online dads is growing, but the vast majority of parent bloggers–and parent blog readers–are moms. Our panel will discuss the blurring of gender roles in parenting, the opportunities and limitations of being a man writing for a predominantly female audience, and how dad bloggers can grow their male readership.
Masculinity and the Freedom to Self-Define
It’s a new world, with new rules, new modes of masculinity, and new definitions of fatherhood. Boys need strong male role models, but how can men proactively fulfill that role without a clear definition of what true manhood is? This panel will discuss how a father can interpret current definitions and decipher the lessons of his own upbringing to determine his own masculine code, and the best way to live up to it.
Dads On Screen: The Evolution of Stereotypes, and How Writing Can Overcome Them
After veering from faultless to hapless, the image of fatherhood finally appears to be swinging back. How have dads, as portrayed in films, TV shows, and advertisements, evolved over the past 30 years? Filmmakers and media critics will weigh in on the gap between perception and reality, and discuss what men can do as writers to influence positive and responsible representation of fatherhood.
The First Rule of Write Club: Write Well
It takes a strong commitment to find your writing voice. And once you find it, how do you differentiate it for different purposes? Our panel of prolific and successful multi-site writers will discuss the challenges of the creative process: developing a writer’s discipline; maintaining consistency and quality; and juggling multiple diverse assignments at once.
Show ‘Em You Mean Business
You’ve worked hard to develop your voice and engage your readers, and you’re ready to forge relationships with brands. Whether pitching or responding to a potential business partner, you need to show marketers what they’re investing in. This panel of seasoned pros, on both sides of the deal, will show you how to create the media kit and sell sheet that will satisfy what brands are looking for.
Pack Mentality: Dads and the Power of Community
Mom bloggers have established themselves as an estimable media force in large part because of the community of friendship and support they’ve created. Dad bloggers can learn a great deal from the moms’ example, and the preponderance of group dad blogs (and the diverse individualism within) suggest great potential. But are we capable of the same type of bonding?
Dads and Technology: Much More Than “Boys With Toys”
Technology affords parents and children unprecedented enjoyment and convenience, but keeping up with the latest gadgetry (and related parental controls) can be a huge challenge. Join our team of technology experts as they discuss the latest trends in gaming, social media, and opportunities to use technology to our parental advantage.
The Myth of the Mancession: The Fundamental Shift in Men’s Roles in the Household
Research shows that the increasing number of primary caregiving dads is not an economy-based blip. Our role in the modern family is fundamentally shifting, and brands are taking notice. Our panel of analysts will present the results of their exhaustive, granular studies and make the case that Dad’s increased role in parenting and purchasing decisions is here to stay.
Pitching Dads to Brands: Casting A Wider Net
Recently, dad bloggers have experienced a strong tailwind of support, as prominent parenting sites have been hiring more dads and advocating for their inclusion in content campaigns. What is the state of the dad blogger in the Momiverse, and what does Disney’s acquisition of Babble mean for the future? Are dads making inroads, or is the road ahead longer than we think?
I'm very excited to be hanging out this weekend with a coterie of the top Dads in the country. Most of them are bloggers, and once a year they (we) gather at Dad 2.0 to chat, cajole, meet with brands who are interested in the dad space, and learn to be better people. And if the companies have schwag, well... you know, we follow the path of least ethical resistance. (I'm bringing an extra bag!)
The weekend is now officially sold out. It's in Houston, and I'm travelling sans wife and kid (last year, I was there with them, and I think I will officially have a different experience. More in the hang out and schmooze kind of way.
Anyway, you can count on a couple of dispatches next week about my experience at Dad 2.0. And if you are interested in the short term, you can follow the twitter hashtag #dad2summit for all of the details and round the clock excitement.
I put out a call recently on one of dad blogger groups to see if any of my dad blogging friends are doing charity work or donating time in their community. I was frankly blown away by the response that I got. Despite everything else that dad bloggers are doing --writing blogposts, changing dirty diapers, doing copious amounts of laundry, cleaning up toys and making meals and snacks for the family, they still are finding time to do good in their community as well. It's not always big things. Some of the folks are doing something as simple as participating in races to raise money for causes, others are participating in their PTA, or donating some time to a charity. Many of the dads are on boards of non-profits, and a few of them have run for political office or even started non-profits. Many of the guys formerly worked for non-profits, or are working for them now.
I'm not slouching particularly myself (I recently joined the board of the Edgewater Development Corporation to help support small retail businesses in my neighborhood, I am a participant in discussions of the curriculum and marketing at my son's Sunday school, I administer a small family fund that my mom set up when she died to integrate arts into academics in Rhode Island, and I have taken over the facebook and website of our school's PTA. ) I say this not to TOTALLY toot my own horn, but to say it's possible and necessary to give back a little, even though sometimes those small commitments can add up.
I had nearly 40 responses to my request, and I posted a handful of these just to give you an idea of the scope. These are just a few of the bloggers/dads that I know that are doing good. Also, you should note that this is not the sum total of what these guys do. I am sure that they are also doing other good stuff. This is just what they are organized about!
If you know somebody else or would like to add your name to this list- put it in the comments below!
SOME DAD BLOGGERS WHO ARE DOING GOOD WORKS AND GIVING BACK TO COMMUNITY
Aaron Del Mar holds political office in Cook County. He also has a business helping non-profits plan fundraising events. which specializes in event planning, promotions, and marketing for fundraising events for non-profits. He also started a great non-profit called Fathers Helping Fathers, which gives free legal advice to dads in danger of losing custody to their children. http://fathershelpingfathers.com/
Victor Aragon Victor runs for charity and recently became an ambassador for the St. Jude's Heroes program http://www.fandads.com
City Dads Group The City Dads Group (over 30 chapters strong) organizes lots of ways for dads to give back, which does a lot of good stuff, including hosting Lemonade stands for Alex's Lemonade Stand, food drives for Good+ foundation , fielding a giant Movember team, and a lot more. http://www.citydadsgroup.com
Whit Honea Whit works with Charlie Capen and Carter Gaddis on Dads 4 Change, a website that helps showcase great projects and causes for dads to support. http://www.dads4change.com
Michael Moebes is on the board of a local theater, the local bar association, his law school’s health law society, and the local conservancy (overseas creation of parks /greenspace) http://www.dadcation.com
Buzz Bishop Buzz has been running half marathons to help extinguish diabetes. By the end of the year he will have raised over $100,000 lifetime! http://www.dadcamp.ca
Jeff Bogle and Brent Almond administer the Oren Miller scholarship program for Dad 2.0 Summit, which gives first time attendees who need a boost the chance to attend Dad 2.0. https://www.dad2summit.com/scholarship/
Kevin McKeever Each year, Kevin (of Always Home and UnCool) raises money for Juvenile Myositis (Cure JM Foundation) https://blogonkevin.blogspot.com/
David Stanley is a Jewish guy teaching high school science in an Islamic academy. He also wrote a book about his battle with melanoma. http://dstan58.blogspot.com/
Well, my favorite conference just ended, and assuming I get back safely (there's a windstorm alert for the Midwest, including Chicago, and that has already stranded a few guys). My flight is still scheduled to depart, but trying to go with flow! You get what you get and you don't get upset applies to adults as well as children, you know.
I've been to all 8 Dad 2.0 summits, and have already bought tickets for the 9th (schedule and whereabouts unknown-- they've earned my trust enough that I will go anywhere. If you want you too can buy tickets for $99 at http://www.bit.ly/dad2020 through Monday 2/25. After that tickets will go away for a few months)
Here are some of my biggest takeaways from this year's conference.
Paid Paternity Leave.
I took the Dove Men Care Paternity Leave Pledge this year. Being a self-employed guy, I didn't think much about paternity leave. When I had a kid, I just stopped doing work, and sucked it up, and my wife picked up the slack.
Not everybody can do that, and not everybody has a job that allows paternity leave, let alone paid paternity leave. And even those that do, there's a stigma against it, so much so that many guys who are eligible don't take it for fear of damaging their career. Seems crazy!
Dove is working to make Paternity Leave part of the fabric of our society, and remove the stigma attached it. (Which once again shows that Dove gets the long game of marketing much better than almost any other company. They are doing good, knowing that they are aligning with creating a better society, with the knowledge that they will in the end be rewarded for that, even if that reward isn't immediate. #welldoneDove. )
They have a new program where they are giving away one million dollars to dads in a grant program for guys who may not be eligible for leave. They started it last Tuesday, and they already have over 1200 applicants.
I participated in a conversation sponsored by AARP about their new program Disrupt Aging.
They are trying to include many voices in the process to combat agism and the common tropes and stereotypes about getting older. There were many guys and a few women at the conversation, and it was videotaped for a future video (that I might have a snippet in)
I loved having lunch with this great group of guys and participating in the conversation. They asked us what are the biggest problems/easiest solutions to combat ageism, and I talked about staying flexible, not being rigid in my ideas and not calcifying thoughts/concepts/practices. It's easy to get stuck in a rut and think you know how things can go, but things can go all kinds of ways, and you have to be flexible about them.
Their campaign is online here: https://www.aarp.org/disrupt-aging/ and they have a great book by the CEO on the topic. Can't wait to read it.
Blogger Spotlights and Dad Voices.
A number of the guys at the conference are amazing writers, and the conference spotlights them through the Blogger Spotlights, and the unjuried Dad Voices. These guys are funny
Here are some that I loved along with links when appropriate for you to read them.
I very much enjoyed David Stanley's sonnets for his dead dad. There's something very powerful about the sonnet form, and David writes honestly and well and in mostly iambic pentameter about his dad. It was beautiful, honest, and strong. I especially loved the sonnet about giving his dad his very last bath. Poignant is the word. You can read his sonnets on his blog http://dstan58.blogspot.com/ and below I videotaped one of them.
Jason Green read a hilarious blogpost about why he should be People's sexiest man of the year. What was great about it was that he put himself up against the guys who have won, and emphasized that being a good dad is what is sexy. Do you think that George Clooney has dishpan hands? Dishpan hands are sexy. It was really great and hilarious, and his delivery was great too! You can read his post here: https://thejasongreene.com/2017/11/16/my-bid-to-be-the-sexiest-man-alive-for-2018/
Aaron Gouviea told the story about how his tweet rage against the kids who bullied his 6 year old for wearing fingernail polish had both negative and positive consequences, including being featured on a neo-Nazi website as cuck of the year (bad) , and getting on Good Morning America and a book deal writing about Toxic Masculinity. (good) I already knew the story and I was still tearing up.
Dad Voices
At the Dad Voices program, a late night uncensored daddy slam where guys put their names in a jar, and they are read out until everybody who wants to has had a chance to read, some amazing personal posts and some incredibly funny posts were read.
One guy (didn't catch his name) told a chilling story about how his family escaped a burning airplane in a hailstorm in Mexico, with tears streaming down his (and many audience members) eyes.
A new friend (and not a dad) Sally Spencer-Thomas, who is an expert on male suicide and prevention from Denver, told the chilling story of how she first heard about her own brother's suicide. Her website is https://www.sallyspencerthomas.com/
I read a piece I wrote about how I feel guilty about not going to Yom Kippur, but I had some synagogue-ish feelings while watching NYPD Blue. (This was my first time reading, and I was worried people wouldn't like it, but I was wrong, people liked it! #validation)
And so it goes: I can't mention everybody whose work I loved. (I'm looking at you Cort Ruddy, Victor Aragon, Andrew Knott, and probably 25 people more) There were dozens of great dads and writers sharing stuff, and this is probably my favorite part of the conference. Meeting those guys, feeling a camaraderie with them, and getting inspired by them is probably my favorite takeaway from Dad 2.0.-- and what will keep me coming back.
(buy on Amazon here) He was very very funny, but also insightful. A couple of the takeaways. 
• Brene Brown, speaking about vulnerability, and the need to dare greatly.
I participated in a conversation sponsored by AARP about their new program