Why Dads Should Attend Mom Blogging Conferences

by Troy Pattee on May 3rd, 2011

My lovely wife, Jyl (shown in the pic on the right), co-organizes the annual evo Conference—an event, focusing on the evolution of women in social media. When she asked me to speak last year, I was down. I even wore my ski helmet during the presentation. But speaking is one thing and attending—being a dad in a sea of primarily mom bloggers for 3 days—is quite another. What would I do to entertain myself?

As much as the unknown caused me anxiety, the thought of free babysitting and a much-needed dad break was more tempting, so I went. And to my surprise, it was fun!

But, I was in my home state. With my own car. I had freedom and babysitting. Who could argue with that?

Then, Jyl asked me to be her roommate for the awesome Mom 2.0 Summit in New Orleans. And not only that, but when she registered us, she split us up, with her attending a service project (sponsored by Dr Pepper Snapple) and me going on a Jazz tour (sponsored by PBS Kids) one afternoon.

As I looked back on my experience at both the evo and Mom 2.0 conferences, Jyl and I both have come to the conclusion that dudes and dads should go to women and mom conferences and here’s my thoughts on the matter (you can read her thoughts and enter her giveaway by clicking here)…

10 Reasons for Dads to Attend a Mom Blogger’s Conference

If you’ve never been a minority, now’s your chance!
Just think of all the free feminine hygene and baby product samples you could get. Your wife will love you!
As it turns out, agencies and brand reps give you much better customer service and product insight than a store employee ever will. Big shout out to Microsoft for providing on-the-spot trouble shooting.
Frequent flier miles. What’s not to love about flying to a conference that helps you earn a trip to Belize? Thanks, Delta! And thanks, Jyl, for letting me take your free upgrade so I could nap all the way home!
When men put together a conference, it includes hot dogs and brewksies. At mom blogger conferences, the food not only tastes great, but they make it look pretty (one dessert—sponsored by Almond Accents—was actually topped with cotton candy!). And even McDonald’s was classy with their fruit-infused flower arrangements. Yes! I, a regular dude, noticed the flower arrangement.
Women love to include activities in their conference mix. So, instead of seeing the inside of an expo center for 3 days, you actually get to go on the mountain or, as was the case with Mom 2.0, walk the French Quarter.
You get to feel like a movie star, taking a picture on Got Milk’s step and repeat with Taylor Swift.
Because of the small number of us dads, you walk away with a lot of other dad friends from similar backgrounds. What up Caleb, Doug B, Doug F, Whit, et al?
As a stay-at-home dad, my interaction is often limited to dirty shirts (laundry), numbers (homework), and hungry kids (meal time). At blogging conferences, I get to meet the person beind the avatar and have conversations in more than 140 characters. A special shout out to my new friends: Erin and Ellen. And to Karen Walrond, for singing me Happy (belated) Birthday!
If you think the free products are just for the gals, think again! Dads get awesome swag too! I think I may have dodged the shopping bullet for the rest of the year! I got an HP Mini Laptop from @HP_PC to tweet from while at Mom 2.0 and it literally made my trip. My other laptop is 18.5 inches. HP saved me so much back pain! Not only that, but the computer rocks too. Check out the details below for how you can win one of your own!

The Giveaway

Giveaway Prize

One lucky winner will receive an HP Pavilion dm1 powered by AMD VISION. Here’s more details:

11” display, just over 3 lbs and about an inch thin—no more lugging around a heavy computer
dm1 has enough memory to hold mom’s favorite photos, music and videos
CoolSense technology knows if the notebook is on your lap or the countertop and adjusts its temperature accordingly
Built-in webcam for video chatting with loved ones
The dm1 is available at HP Home & Home Office now at a starting price of $449.99

Giveaway Requirements

For a chance to enter and win a HP Mini Laptop, complete the following requirements and leave a separate comment for each on this post, including links to your original tweets (required).

Follow @dadventurous on Twitter.
Like the new Dadventurous Facebook page: http://facebook.com/dadventurous.
Tweet the following:
RT @Dadventurous GIVEAWAY! Enter 2 win an HP Mini Laptop from @HP_PC http://bit.ly/lUEvsA PLS RT

Terms and Conditions

This giveaway is being run in conjunction on this post at MomItForward.com. You may enter to win on both sites, but only one winner will be chosen. You must follow the rules on each giveaway in order to qualify. Winners will be selected randomly throughhttp://random.org. No purchase necessary to enter. Giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 8, 2011. See all terms and conditions here. This giveaway is available to U.S. residents only. Entries that do not include a link to their original tweet will not be considered.

Disclosure: HP provided me with an HP Mini Laptop for review in conjunction with this giveaway. They also may have saved me from years of back pain and subsequent doctor’s visits. Shout out to the HP team on both counts!