The trend is clear—social networking is not just for kids anymore. More and more adults are connecting with one another through what has been called Web 2.0. While women are still more likely than men to connect via social networking, men are increasingly using social networking online.
If you are part of that trend, or think you should be, then you will want to find the best social networking sites for fathers. Here is a list of the most popular and specific social networking sites that are appealing to fathers.
General Social Networking Sites
Facebook. Facebook is among the oldest and most popular social networking sites. While MySpace started the trend, it has been eclipsed by Facebook. Recently, I helped chaperone a formal dance activity in which my son was involved. The mom of one of the girls in his group served as unofficial photographer and took hundreds of photos of the five couples. I asked about getting copies, and she whipped out her laptop, connected her digital camera and posted them to her Facebook page as we spoke. More and more dads are using Facebook to connect to their friends, their kids and their kids' friends' parents.
Twitter. I have to admit—I thought Twitter was largely the domain of teenaged girls and their moms until I got to looking around. For heaven's sake, my congressman tweets! The idea of Twitter is to establish an account and send out tweets, or text-based messages limited to 140 characters to your followers who subscribe to your Twitter account. Also known as micro-blogging, the tweeting process keeps people who connect to one another up to date on their activities and thoughts. There is even a list of dads and husbands who are on Twitter to whom you can connect.
MyLife. This service started out as a service where you would connect with classmates, coworkers and old friends based on your school, military or work locations. It is ideal for planning reunions and finding out where your long lost friends have located. But the site has now morphed into a more robust social networking site.
LinkedIn. LinkedIn is social networking for the business community. It is one of my favorites because I can link to all kinds of interest groups (alumni, work experience, common interests and more) and then find ways to connect for general networking, job hunting, finding consulting opportunities and more. While not specifically for fathers, there are a lot of men on LinkedIn. When you import your address book and cross check for LinkedIn members, you will likely be astounded at how many college friends, coworkers, clients and customers are there.
Social Networking Sites Specifically for Fathers
Dadosphere. One of the newer and more robust social networking sites catering to fathers is Dadosphere. There are a number of groups of fathers with particular interests from new dads to NICU dads to business dads to dads of various ages and stages of life. If you have a blog, you can connect it to your profile and promote it with other fathers. This site is fairly new but boasts a strong following among fathers around the world.
SingleDad. This site, as the name suggests, helps link divorced, widowed, and single fathers who are raising children. Registering for the service will let you collaborate with other single dads, help you find activities in your area for dads and kids Again, if you have a blog, this is a good place to share it with other single fathers with common interests.
DadLabs. DadLabs is primarily a media and entertainment company focused on father – child relationships. They write and publish books about fathering and are working on a television program for fathers. Their social networking site allows you to post a profile, connect with friends and add and contribute to their knowledge base.
DaditUp. DadItUp is a great social networking site for fathers. Again, you enter your profile, then search for and add friends. You can post pictures from your digital camera, computer or cell phone and share them with your friends. I have really enjoyed this site.
Fathers Rights Denied. For fathers involved in legal process where they feel their rights are being questioned, this site provides a good social networking opportunity. You can register, post your profile, ask for advice from fathers who have been through or are going through a similar situation, share your stories, and more.
DadDaily. This is one of the better social networking sites for fathers. Similar in many ways to DadItUp, this site allows you to post pictures and videos, have your own blog, share your profile and connect with fathers of similar interests.
YadaHome. YadaHome is predominantly a family organizing site where, after you register, you can post your calendar, to do lists, a grocery list, a journal, recipes, family photos, and more. It has a neat interface for social networking and while it is not exclusively for fathers, there are a lot of dads using this site to connect with other dads. Check it out; I think it is a pretty comprehensive and very user friendly site.
