As Social Media enters more corners of our everyday lives, the need for improving our general media literacy is increasingly important. While we have discussed the impact of Social Media on the organization and marketing in particular extensively, we feel the time has come to explore the role of Social Media in the family.
We are most especially interested at this time in learning from the unique perspective of dads who blog – aka “Daddy Bloggers”. We’ve heard a lot from mom’s who blog over the past few years, but the dad’s have been, well, let’s just say shy. But no more, as dads start to step up to the virtual plate and take their place at the social media dinner table.#DadsTalking, Dad-o-Matic, Cast of Dads, The Dadvocate Project and many other efforts are starting to put a spotlight on dads who blog.
So this fall, Social Media Club is hosting a series of events in 12 cities across the country entitled “Social Media + Family“. Sponsored by the all new 2011 Chevy Cruze, we will be facilitating a conversation among insightful dads who blog and among the local social media community to discuss if and how social media is bringing dad’s closer to their families and keeping families more connected, or making their lives more challenging.
The emergence of The Social Family is bringing a whole new set of efficiencies to communications between family members, and making it easier to keep in touch across long distances. It is also not without its own set of challenges, from the common “my kids won’t friend me on Facebook” to more dangerous issues such as child safety, cyber bullying and online stalking. With every increase in the level of public disclosure we make about our lives, we are at once becoming more connected to our broader community and providing potential evil doers with insights into our homes and our family life.
Where to draw the line and how to be mindful of all these potential challenges takes real effort. So together we will find out what every social family should know. Beyond this, Dads have their own unique set of issues as ‘modern media men’, which are not yet as widely discussed or understood. That’s part of the reason we are having this conversation now.
Beginning on September 8, 2010 in Atlanta before the Modern Media Man Summit and concluding in late October, Social Media Club’s founder, Chris Heuer, will travel around the country facilitating these conversations with the local chapters in 12 cities. While all dates are not yet final and registration isn’t opening until tomorrow, we will be visiting: Y We will be visiting the following cities, please click the links below to register.
- Atlanta – Wednesday September 8 – Recap Post + Video
- Minneapolis – Wednesday September 22
- St Louis – Thursday September 23
- Phoenix – Thursday September 30
- New York – Monday October 4
- Denver – Wednesday October 6
- Seattle – Monday October 11
- Detroit – Monday, October 18
- Cleveland – Thursday October 21
- Washington, DC – Monday October 25
- Baltimore – Tuesday October 26
- Boston – Thursday October 28
More details will be posted soon, including event registration pages and logistics details for venues, etc. We are following our new policy such that events are free for all professional members of Social Media Club. We are asking that non-members pay a $10 fee, which will go LetsCureCP.org – or you can make an additional donation in an amount of your choosing. Each event includes at least 2 free drinks and appetizers. We hope to be livestreaming from each of the events in case you can’t make it out, but want to pay attention. It should be interesting to learn from the differences and similarities of each of the different cities, so you might just want to listen to them all.
While Chris is in town, he will also be hosting a separate Lunch event for dads who blog, called appropriately enough, Dads Who Lunch. If you are a dad who blogs who happens to live in or near one of the towns mentioned above, you can request an invite to join other dads who blog for a special community lunch. These lunches are also being hosted by Chris and also sponsored by the 2011 Chevy Cruze. While space is limited, a few participants will get a chance to have a VIP test drive loaner car for a few select bloggers, giving them a chance try it before anyone else can buy it.
Having support of Social Media Club and its mission to explore issues such as this couldn’t come at a better time (GM is also now a corporate member). As we grow from a very loosely joined grassroots organization into the industry’s global professional trade association, Chris will also be talking to the issues that arise in developing our new official chapter program, and talking about the importance of having members participate in our fall conference and annual membership meeting, Social Media University.
It’s an exciting time in social media, its an important time in our lives and a perfect time to have this conversation around our national and global network. So please join us this fall in a city near you, or if you can’t be there in person, join the conversation online, with Social Media Club.
About Chevy Cruze (our sponsor for this event series)
Earlier this year, President Obama called the Chevy Cruze “the car of the future”, because it’s the car that has something for the entire family. It’s the only car in its segment with a 5-Star safety rating, and it comes with an unprecedented 10 airbags, providing you peace of mind while hauling even your most previous cargo. Its upscale amenities like Bluetooth, turn-by-turn navigation and 18” aluminum wheels let parents and children ride in style. And with hybrid-like fuel efficiency and a headline-making sticker cost of only $16,995, the Chevy Cruze is giving the modern family what it deserves – something that appeals to the entire family