This past weekend I was in Washington D.C. with the other guys from Life of Dad. We were attending the Dad 2.0 Summit. For those who don’t know this is an annual conference where marketers, social media leaders, and blogging parents connect to discuss the changing voice and perception of modern fatherhood. Yet it is so much more than that.
This was my second year attending this conference. My fellow Life of Dad crew members such as Tommy Riles, Patrick Quinn, Ryan Hamilton, and David Guest have been to the other ones from the past years. Recently my co-host of the Life of Dad After Show, Ryan Hamilton and I had one of the co-founders from the Dad 2.0 Summit, Doug French on the show to talk about what we could expect from this year’s conference. If you are a father looking to connect with other dad’s out there you might want to listen to that podcast. Feel free to take a listen here.
At this conference I look forward to have the opportunity to chat with other dads. Not only do we get to discuss fatherhood, but we talk about everything. We get to learn about other parenting styles. It doesn’t matter if you are a working dad, an at home dad, or a divorced dad. We all come together to share our thoughts on fatherhood. Yes, you can read a person’s blog or post on something, but you don’t get a full sense of who that person is until you meet them in person. When you are able to sit down with those dads and talk over a beer or cocktail you are starting to create some very cool friendships.
Some dads countdown the days to the Dad 2.0 Summit as if it were Christmas or spring break. It is not often where all these guys get a chance to hang out and enjoy each other’s company face to face. To top it all off the places where the summit is held each year brings new adventures to the table. Last year the conference was in San Francisco. We were able to get a charter bus and tour LucasFilm Studios. That was bucket list material for me. This year while we were in our nation’s capital we got to hang out at the Smithsonian after hours and get a private tour. You don’t get to experience these things on a regular basis. That is part of what makes this summit so entertaining. 
Dad 2.0 Summit also has educational panels on topics from how you can become a better writer, more tech savvy, and learn more about things in the blogging world that you didn’t know existed. The keynote speakers, the spotlight readers, and special guests like Michael Strahan make you want to attend each and every panel. There is always something going on at the conference.
For me though the biggest joy I get from this conference is the opportunity to hang out with some extraordinary fellow fathers. One day I went for a run with Patrick Quinn to the Lincoln Memorial. The next day I was talking about old school rap with Victor Aragon, Beau Coffron, Adrian Kulp, and Ryan Hamilton.
While I do miss my family when I am away for this yearly conference I feel that attending the Dad 2.0 Summit makes me a better father. I get to learn from other dads, have some me time, and create stronger bonds of friendship that started online or on a podcast. Thanks to Doug French and John Pacini for putting together an awesome conference year in and year out. I am already counting down the days to next year’s conference in San Diego.
