We considered lots of ideas, of course, most of which centered around the flow of the conference. If you’re a dad blogger, and you’re coming to Dad 2.0, you’re very likely investing in the business of creating your content, and looking for brand partnerships that will generate some sort of return. And even though ROI is important (because I without R leads to lots of IOUs), too many people try to achieve it way too quickly, and in the wrong order. There are several horses before this cart. Before you sell your content, you have to work on it to make sure it’s good. Before that, you have to discover what it is you have to say about being a dad. And before that, you have to insulate yourself from some of the crummy stereotypes about manhood and instead resolve to change them, by word and by example.

Dad 2.0 has been set up with a loose flow designed to mirror this sequence, from man to dad to writer to viable business owner. What sort of pithy tagline could we use to encapsulate that?

And suddenly, the title suggested itself, based on the books of our keynoting bookends. In “Uncertainty,” Jonathan Fields talks frankly about confronting fear and doubt whenever you try anything new–especially if that anything is a life change, like becoming a husband, or a father, or an entrepreneur. And in “Enchantment,” Guy Kawasaki explains the tenets of any social media partnership, and how it can endure.

How “on the nose” is that?

We may arrive in Austin uncertain as to the true potential of dad blogging, but we all hope to leave enchanted with the idea of taking it as far as it can go.

“From Uncertainty to Enchantment.”

Be there!

• Paul Banas | Founder and CEO, Great Dad
• Lisa Belkin | Senior Columnist on Life/Work/Family, The Huffington Post
• Susan Can | Director of Corporate Equity, Johnson & Johnson
• Jonathan Fisher | Chairman and COO, Brand Extract
• RJ Jaramillo | SingleDad.com
• Marc Nathan | Founder, Bulldog Financial
• Stephen Newman | CEO, CultureMap.com
• Manny Ruiz | PapiBlogger.com
• Bruce Sallan | Author, A Dad’s Point of View
• Jeffrey Sass | JeffreySass.com
• Glen Stansberry | Co-founder, Gentlemint
• Michael Stern | Senior VP and Group Account Director, Zócalo Group
• Matt Thomson | VP of Platform & Business Development, Klout

And delivering our Opening Keynote … Jonathan Fields!

Jonathan Fields is a dad, husband, New Yorker, author and speaker, serial wellness-industry entrepreneur, recovering S.E.C./mega-firm hedge-fund lawyer, slightly-warped, unusually-stretchy, marketing and innovation consultant, venture partner, and book-marketing educator.

His latest book, Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt Into Fuel for Brilliance, provides an in-depth, provocative, and highly-practical approach to embracing uncertainty as a catalyst for innovation.

Fields is regularly featured as an expert in the media, including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, FastCompany, Inc.com, Entrepreneur, USA Today, Reuters, People, CNBC, FoxBusiness, CBS Radio, Vogue, Elle, How, Self, Fitness, People, O magazine, and thousands of websites. BusinessWeek named him one of the 20 people every entrepreneur needs to follow on Twitter (@jonathanfields).

This concludes the speaker-announcing portion of our program. And if you’re wondering where all these ridiculously talented peoplefolk fit into our schedule, we’ve annotated our Schedule page to include who’s speaking when and where. Plan accordingly!

17 days in the blink of an eye,

The Dad 2.0 Crew

• Shawn Bean | Executive Editor, The Parenting Group
• CC Chapman | CC-Chapman.com
• Adam Cohen | DaDa Rocks
• Jamie Grayson | TheBabyGuyNYC
• Craig Heimbuch | Editor-in-Chief, Man of the House
• Alan Heisterkamp | Director, MVP Leadership Institute at the Center for Violence Prevention
• A.J. Jacobs | Author; Editor-at-large, Esquire
• Adam Keats | Senior Vice President, Weber Shandwick
• Donny Killian IV | Manager of U.S. Operations, Movember
• Andrew Mellen | Entrepreneur, AndrewMellen.com
• Casey Petersen | Director of Social Media Analytics, Collective Bias
• William Pollack | Author, Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons From the Myths Of Boyhood
• Jerald Reichstein | President, Bouncing Pixel
• Stephanie Smirnov | President, DeVries PR
• Jeremy Adam Smith | Editor, Rad Dad; Publisher/Contributor, Daddy Dialectic
• David Wescott | VP for Social Media, APCO Worldwide

Great names, and lots of great expertise to be shared. Truth be told, we’re a little gobsmacked.

And there’s much more to come!

• Atlanta: February 9, SweetWater Brewing Co., 5-8pm
• Houston: February 9, The Stag’s Head Pub, 6-9pm
• Los Angeles: February 21, Lucky Strike, 7:30-10pm

At each event, you’ll be able to meet area mom and dad bloggers who are planning to attend Dad 2.0, and one lucky so-and-so who attends will win a free conference pass! Will that so-and-so be you?

Big communities start with little ones, so we’ve organized several Dad2Meetups leading up to our conference on March 8-10. We’ve structured these events to have precious little structure. Just a casual, open-house-type event lasting from 7pm to 10pm, where you can drop in when it’s convenient, drink if you’re thirsty, eat if you’re hungry, and chat if you’re somewhat extroverted.

And: We’ll be giving away a free Dad 2.0 conference ticket at each event to a lucky, random attendee. All you need is a business card and a pulse. (Both of which are negotiable.)

• New York: January 26 (tomorrow night!), Jake’s Saloon
• Austin: February 1, The Cedar Door
• Chicago: February 15, Johnny O’Hagan’s

And Angelenos! We’ve got February 21 scoped out for the LA meetup. Stay tuned for the venue announcement!

Yours with bent elbows,

Dad 2.0

Fittingly, nine months after we announced that the Dad 2.0 Summit was on its way, we are very proud to reveal the topics of our 12 panel discussions. This is probably the closest any man can get to experiencing childbirth. (Except, of course, it’s absolutely not. Not even close. Shut up, already.)

Here’s what we’ll be discussing in March:

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?

Thanks for all your support over this amazing gestation period. We can’t wait to hear its first words!

Have a cigar,

The Dad 2.0 Team

• Jason Avant | Publisher, DadCentric
• Robert Candelino | Marketing Director (Skin Cleansing U.S.), Unilever
• Catherine Connors | Director of Community, Babble.com
• Charlie Capen & Andy Herald | How To Be A Dad
• Guy Kawasaki | Alltop.com
• Jim Lin | Busy Dad
• Missy Maher | Executive VP for Consumer Brands, Edelman
• Ron Mattocks | Clark Kent’s Lunchbox; Director of Social Media Strategy, Lynton Web Solutions
• Clay Nichols | Dad Labs
• John Cave Osborne | JohnCaveOsborne.com
• Polly Pagenhart | Lesbian Dad; Conference Programming Director, BlogHer
• Manny Puentes | Chief Technology Officer, Lijit Networks
• Matt Schneider & Lance Somerfeld | Co-founders, NYC Dads Group
• Jason Sperber | Daddy in a Strange Land; Publisher, Rice Daddies
• Alisa Volkman | Co-Founder and VP for Sales Strategy & Brand Development, Babble.com
• Roland Warren | President, National Fatherhood Institute

Huge thanks to all of these professionals who will add terrific value to our conference!

And we’re not done yet! Stay tuned for Round 3,

Movember is over, and what began with a bang ended with a KABOOM. When it came time to let our upper lips breathe free again, our dad blogger team had raised over $19,000! And as if that weren’t enough, we were able to partner with Philips Norelco, who created the Stachetacular Shave-Off and donated $15,000 to our fundraising efforts! To everyone who joined the team, and who supported it with donations, posts, tweets, status updates, thank you. This is was a huge group effort, and you all helped create something truly remarkable.

Our First Round of Speaker Announcements!

As promised, we’re ready to announce the first 20 speakers who will be appearing at the Dad 2.0 Summit:

• Mike Adamick | MikeAdamick.com
• Jon Armstrong | Blurbomat.com
• Megan Berry | Senior Marketing Manager, Klout
• Doug Block | Writer/Director, “The Kids Grow Up”
• Kristen Chase | Publisher and CEO, Cool Mom Picks & Cool Mom Tech
• Ken Denmead | Editor, Geek Dad
• Bruce Fretts | Articles Editor, TV Guide Magazine
• Caleb Gardner | Edelman Digital
• Rufus Griscom | CEO, Babble.com
• Whit Honea | WhitHonea.com
• Jim Higley | Bobblehead Dad
• Andy Hinds | Beta Dad
• Anne S. Lewis | Film Journalist
• Frederick Marx | Writer/Director, “Boys Become Men”
• Julie Marsh | VP of Operations, Cool Mom Picks & Cool Mom Tech
• Stacy Morrison | Editor-in-Chief, BlogHer.com
• Michael Spohr | The Spohrs Are Multiplying
• Dave Taylor | AskDaveTaylor.com
• Karen Walrond | Author, “The Beauty of Different”
• Danielle Wiley | Principal, Sway Group

We’re very excited to welcome such a diverse and accomplished blend of writers and media professionals slated to lead our conversation about how dads are rewriting our roles, both in our families and among the parent blogging community. And we’re just getting started! We’re still finalizing our content schedule, and we’ll announce the next wave of speakers soon after the new year.

Get Your Pass, and Save Some Cash

Tickets and rooms are going briskly, so if you haven’t booked passage to Dad 2.0, Seize the Now. Our Early Bird rate of $299 will be in effect through the end of the year—and remember when you subscribe to our newsletter you will be able to shave 10% off of that. Sign up now! It makes a great holiday gift for the dad blogger in your life.

Rooms At The Inn

One thing we can’t emphasize enough: the block of rooms we’ve reserved at our super-discounted rate of $199 will sell out. We’ve added spillover nights on Wednesday, March 7, and Sunday, March 11, and they’re already almost gone. If you going to Dad 2.0, you want to stay at this resort; otherwise, you’ll have to stay a ways down the road, and you’ll need a car to get there. Once you register, we’ll send you the URL to our booking site so you can reserve your room. After such full days of programming and fun, you are not going to want to have to drive home.

Roommates At the Inn

For those of you who have asked about finding roommates, we’re happy to announce that we’ve created a private Facebook group for attendees to use to get to know each other before the event arrives. After you register, you can request to join our private Dad 2.0 Summit 2012 group. Once you’ve joined, introduce yourself! It’ll be a great tool for coordinating travel, meeting other attendees, and reconnecting with conference buddies.

The Summit Is Coming; It’s Practically Here!

As the cold descends upon us (and it’s everywhere—even Austinites are scraping frost off their windshields!), we’re starting to get a warm fuzzy feeling about how great this conference is going to be. The people, the venue, the discussion—it’s less than three months away! We’re thankful for all the great news we’ve been able to share with you over the past weeks, and excited for what the new year will bring.

Best wishes for a happy and safe holiday, and we’ll catch you back in 2012!

Team Dad 2.0

The result of this partnership will be a Shave-Off Party hosted on a micro site, using Norelco products to remove the moustaches we’ve grown over the past month. Participating team members will shoot videos of the MOmentous de-MOing and upload them to a dedicated microsite. Stay tuned for more details!

We’re just thrilled to be part of this effort, and we’d like to celebrate our philanthropic windfall by offering a one-day $50 discount to attend the Dad 2.0 Summit in March! Simply go to our EventBrite registration page and use the code CYBERDAD. That’s all there is to it. This offer ends at midnight Eastern tonight.

Also: Baby Shower For Guys is donating $500 to our team in the name of whomever wins its Moustache Challenge. Click here and vote for Charlie Capen, Whit Honea, or our own Doug French. Thanks for your support!

Announcing: Our Conference Timeline
We’re still finalizing the details of our breakout sessions, but today we’re announcing our Conference Timeline, in order to help you plan your travel and accommodations. If you’re booking your flight, we recommend that you arrive Thursday afternoon, March 8, in time for an awesome Welcome Party and the official start of our programming. Your departure might be extended if you’re planning to attend South by Southwest immediately after Dad 2.0, but regardless our conference will conclude with a final event on Saturday night in Austin that you won’t want to miss.

Staying at the Resort
If you haven’t yet booked your room at the Lost Pines Resort, you can use this dedicated website to reserve it at our deeply discounted rate of $199 per night. We stress again: the Grand Hyatt is a very popular destination in March, and we have only a limited number of rooms available. So please book early! And if you want to bring the family, this is an ideal destination for the whole crew.

Also: we’re starting to hear requests to match attendees with roommates at the conference. We hear you, and we’re working on a system to facilitate it!

Remember to Use Your Newsletter Discount!
All newsletter subscribers get a 10% discount off our Early Bird rate of $299, which is in effect until December 31, 2011.

Mo Moustaches, Mo Money
Since we last wrote of Movember, the month when men all over the world are growing moustaches to raise money for prostate and testicular cancer research, we’re overjoyed to report that our team has grown to 65 members. And as of this writing, the Dad 2.0 / Man of the House / NYC Dads Group / DadCentric / DadLabs team has already raised over $11,500, and the greater network of 533 men, to which our team belongs, has raised almost $70,000! Thanks to all of you who have donated, posted, re-tweeted, and blared our cause to the rooftops. Your help is quite literally paying off!

Stay tuned here, Facebook, and Twitter for more details.

See you in March!
Team Dad 2.012