Socialdad.ca

I’ve been a blogger, social media specialist and content creator for years, but I’ve always seen other people in my field as the competition. 
That was until I made the shift, and found my niche as a Dad Blogger. 

A couple of years ago, I was at a conference that was talking to an audience of new bloggers about how to talk with brands. As I was there representing a company looking for bloggers, I was there just to mingle. When the speaker announced that (at the time) around 4 million mums in the US described themselves as bloggers and we’re of huge influential value to brands, I thought “What about the Dads?”

Skip ahead to a month ago, when my daughter turned one, and my social media/travel blog was getting stagnant. I thought I could provide a little insight into new fathers who might find what I’ve picked up, useful. 

What was I getting myself into? Is it going to be a viciously competitive battle of the Dads? Who can get more traffic? Who’s working with the big brands and teaming up with the big-name Mommy Bloggers?

It turns out, no. The groups for Dad bloggers on Facebook are full of help, chat and support for topics such as a GoFundMe page for a fellow Dad Blogger who has fallen on hard times, workshops, or asking for moral support when ‘I’m pretty sure a spider bit my kid!’ – we were all waiting for news on that one, though so far so good. 

As you may know, after university it’s almost impossible, for busy Dads and introverts to make another best friend. That last person in your life started off as being selected by a computer to be your roomate on campus and if you’ve drifted apart, then that’s it. 

Loneliness and feelings of isolation are very real in men after they hit their 30s. Not in all cases obviously, but it’s not uncommon. That life of heading to the gym, hanging out with friends at the pub or making random plans last-minute have subsided to spending time with your partner, quiet evenings after a busy day at work, and taking your children out on errands, or to play. Don’t get me wrong, these are now my absolute favourite ways to spend my time, it’s just that those times are hard not to miss. 

That’s where the support of the Dad Bloggers is so welcome. In just a few weeks, I’ve been accepted into the Dad Bloggers, The Dad Network Parent Bloggers, Canadian Dad Bloggers and Vancouver Rad Dads Facebook groups. I’m even number 54 on the DroolingDaddy.com list of Canadian Dad Bloggers! 

Together, we’re opening up the stigma that Mums (or Moms to my N.American friends) are the only influencers in the house. We love our partners and are ever-grateful to them for bringing the best little thing(s) into our lives. And we have a voice too. Brands – are you listening? We do the shopping too, we clean up the stink, we proudly wear our little ones against our chest when we leave the house. 

Are you a Dad-Blogger? Say hi and leave a link to your space in the comments. We’re in this together and we’re nailing it!