johnporcaro: mktg@large

Wordless Wednesday: Summer Winds Down

 
But who can forget the fun?

Take a Stand Against Bullying

The news about James Jones boarding his daughter’s bus to confront some kids who were bullying her is all over the place.  Every parent has the fear of it happening, and to a large degree, most kids will have to deal with it personally at some point. 

According to the HRSA, 15-25% of kids are bullied with some frequency.

While Jones went a bit far boarding a bus and threatening children, I’ve personally felt enraged when I learn that someone is making my child afraid.

I’m not sure why it happens so frequently on the bus—but I have some personal experience that it does.  Most likely, it’s because there is a lack of structure, the only adult supervisor is driving and can’t deal with every issue (or even hear every conversation).  And while many bus drivers are great with the kids they drive, I’m guessing most of them aren’t taught the skills of detecting and intervening in bullying situations.  We choose to drive our kids to school rather than take the bus if there’s ever any hint of bullying or abuse happening to our kids. 

Like most solutions to problems at school, there really are two approaches that both need to be taken: communication and education of your own children, and doing all you can to make the environment your children is safe. 

Stop Bullying Now is a great resource for both parents and kids who are dealing with bullying.  There are lots of resources available to get educate, role play, and get involved with your school and community to take a stand. 

 

He's the Dad: Paul Banas from GreatDad.com

 
I had the chance to meet Paul at M3.  He seems like the perfect person to be the driving force behind GreatDad.com, being an intelligent, interactive and caring Dad himself. And he always has some great tips himself, from picking up your Lego Advent Calendar early (on my list) to how Moms can get new Dads more involved. 

If you're not familiar with GreatDad.com, check it out.  It's full of great resources, articles, and interesting insight on being a Dad, whether it's for new Dads, Dads of teens, or anywhere inbetween, you'll find something that'll help you be a great dad yourself. 

From Paul's bio:

As a new dad, Paul became very aware that many dads today are more involved in parenting but have limited resources from a man’s point of view from which to better understand the challenges of their changing role. Thus, GreatDad.com was born. “While nothing can imitate or replace the special mother/child bond, dads develop incredible relationships with their children, and it is vitally important that they have a place to discuss the parenting process from a male perspective. Data indicates that fathers today are more involved in family life versus a generation ago, due to factors including post-911 security fears, loss of life long career job security, and increased demands on working moms and dual career families. GreatDad.com enables all dads-working, stay-at-home, single, gay, domestic partners, and more-to find ways to be involved and understand how dads are functioning as parents today.

Paul is a native of Minnesota and has B.A. from University of Minnesota, M.A. from Middlebury College, and MBA from the Thunderbird School of International Management. A published author of fictional short stories, he resides in San Francisco with his wife and two children.

Telling Your Twins Voices Apart on the Phone

I loved reading a blog entry a bit ago on Dad's Guide to Twins, where Joe wrote about How to Tell Identical Twins Apart on a Phone Call.  He offers a lot of advice, including not listening to "the sound of the voice but rather what is being said and how it is said. Pay attention to how your twins sound. Can you tell who is squawking from the other room in the middle of the night? Can you tell who is calling for you from the far end of the house?"

My twins aren't identical.  They're opposite of identical--one boy, one girl. 

As a sidenote, I always chuckle when I tell people I have boy-girl twins, and they ask if they're identical.  My favorite answer, "not when I change their diaper..."  Identical twins: One sperm, one egg.  Not identical twins: Two sperm, two eggs.  Just like any other brother or sister, just happened to gestate together and be born on the same day.  More on that...

Back to the voice on the phone.  Thank GOODNESS my boy twin is going through puberty, because more than once, I've said "Hi, Alex!" when it was Alyssa, and vice-versa.  It's not just identical twins that have the same voice tone.  

Joe's advice is good.  I've learned to really listen more to the emotion or emphasis of the tone.  Alyssa is always cheery and emotive.  Alex is usually more casual and cool--he'll say "Hey Dad", where Alyssa will say Hi.  Subtle, but helpful. 

No matter what, though, I love talking to my kids, whether it's on the phone, on Skype, or most of all in person. 

I Am Not Weird: A Book by a 7 year old with CP

I got to meet Kevin Metzger, and his daughter/author Haley at the M3 Summit last week.   When I met Haley, I was struck by how much courage she has, first, to attend the conference with her Dad, and second, to write about her experience with Cerebral Palsy, all at the age of 7.          

In this video, Drew (aka BenSpark) reads the book to his daughter.  What a great idea!!!  

If you haven't purchased the book, you should!      

I Am Not Weird - A Read To Me Dad Review from BenSpark on Vimeo.

Wordless Wednesday: Descending Into Hidden Worlds

...a great game face, with just a touch of trepidation.  

Nothing makes me more proud of my kids than when they exhibit courage in the face of fear.  

Photo taken of my oldest son, Stephen, rappelling into a Cenote at Hidden Worlds, Cancun, Mexico.  

Thoughts on M3, The Modern Media Man Summit

I wanted to capture a few of my thoughts about the M3 Summit.  I really enjoyed my time in Atlanta, and meeting with so many great men (and women).  

It was awesome to have so many conversations--the face-to-face time really helped me get to know those attending, and certainly will help us all as we build this whole space together.  I left with a renewed sense that we can do some great work together, while building strong trusted relationships with our communities. 

I enjoyed reading everyone's opinions about the show, and there are some good suggestions that will make future events even better.  All-in-all, I think everyone came the same conclusion that there are a bunch of great guys (and gals) working really hard to make this space a great place for the modern media man.  

Thanks to the organizers of the event, especially Donny and Debby.  And thanks for all of you for coming out to hear Stacy and me speak about what we're doing at Dad Central Consulting.    

Here are a handful of blog posts I've read (yes, I actually read them all...), from attendees: 

• Stay at Home Dad in Lansing: 10 – Great things about the Modern Media Man Summit
• Daddy Claxton: Finding my voice
• Rebel Dad: Musings on Modern Media Man
• Clark Kent's Lunchbox: M3 Summit: This Changes Some Things. This Changes Others. This Changes Nothing
• Dad of Divas: I Am Part of the Dad Movement at the M3 Summit
• Real Men Drive Minivans: Chuck Norris and Pay Per Punch Monetization (A #M3Summit Recap)
• Kevin Gainey: M3 Summit Made Me Lazy
• The Exceptional Man: Good Men, Good Stories 
• Ben Spark: I Talked About Photos and Cal Ripken Jr. at the M3 Summit
• The Father Factor: Modern Media Men
• And Triplets Make Six: M3Summit Recap
• Angus Nelson: M3 In Review

If you have any questions, be sure to let me know.  And if you didn't already, sign up for our Dad Blogroll! 

See you all next year!  

Your Shape: Fitness Evolved Looking Better and Better

Your Shape: Fitness Evolved for the Xbox 360 Kinect is one of the products I'm looking forward to the most this fall.   It's the perfect mix of three of my favorite things: Working Out, Playing Videogames, and Men's FItness Magazine.  And knowing that it comes from Ubisoft gives me some confidence that it's going to be solid.  

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I got to try it out at BlogHer, and I was really impressed.  And today I saw some new screen shots Ubisoft published, to announce the partnership with Men's Fitness and Women's Fitness.   

Ubisoft released details of the game, that include keeping track of your stats, like calories and scores. And for the non-timid, all of your stats are uploaded seamlessly online and can be shared with friends and family. I love that you can create challenges among friends and help each other reach fitness goals.

The game comes with hundreds of exercises, and there will be regular downloadable content releases from Xbox LIVE. I can't wait to challenge my friends using Xbox LIVE Multiplayer.  Getting in shape will never be the same!  I can't wait to play it with my kids, but this time, by myself...   

From the Press Release:

The programs from Men’s Health include “The Sleeve-Busting Arms Workout,” and “The Ultimate Men’s Health Fat Loss Workout.” The workout programs from Women’s Health include “The Perfect Legs and Butt Workout,” “The Toned Arms and Shoulders Workout,” and “The Skinny Jeans Workout”. All workouts are designed so that users can integrate free weights into the programs.  Read more...

This post is my own opinion, and I have not received any compensation or products from Ubisoft, nor are they a client of my firm.  

Men's Health and Women's Health Partner to Create Customized Workouts for Your Shape: Fitness Evolved

Fitness Game Delivers Ultimate Workout Experiences Created By Magazines’ Fitness Experts  

SAN FRANCISCO – September 13, 2010 – Today, Ubisoft and Rodale Inc., publisher of Men’s Health and Women’s Health magazines, announced a new partnership to create workouts specifically tailored to men’s and women’s individual fitness goals and needs for the new video game, Your Shape: Fitness Evolved.  Available exclusively on Microsoft’s Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, the game will launch alongside Microsoft Kinect™ for Xbox 360® in November, 2010. 

Bringing together gaming and fitness industry leaders, this partnership marks the first foray into the video game business for Men’s Health and Women’s Health and the first in-game magazine partnership for Ubisoft. Your Shape: Fitness Evolved will deliver dynamic, interactive, customizable and convenient at-home workouts, created by Men’s Health and Women’s Health fitness experts. 

The programs from Men’s Health include “The Sleeve-Busting Arms Workout,” and “The Ultimate Men’s Health Fat Loss Workout.” The workout programs from Women’s Health include “The Perfect Legs and Butt Workout,” “The Toned Arms and Shoulders Workout,” and “The Skinny Jeans Workout”. All workouts are designed so that users can integrate free weights into the programs.  

“Microsoft’s Kinect platform allows us to deliver precise fitness instruction and form-based feedback into the home,” said David Zinczenko, Editor-in-Chief of Men’s Health and Editorial Director of Women’s Health. “We’re excited to partner with Ubisoft to further expand the Men’s Health and Women’s Health brands beyond the pages of the magazines and give gamers everything they need to shape up.” 

“Most people probably don’t associate killer abs and weight loss with video games, but, now they can,” said Tony Key, senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Ubisoft. “The partnership between Ubisoft’s Your Shape: Fitness Evolved and Men’s Health and Women’s Health leverages their fitness know-how to develop the most effective workouts possible.”

As part of the partnership, the game will be co-marketed by Men’s Health, Women’s Health and Ubisoft. In addition, some of the featured workouts from Men’s Health and Women’s Health will be available as a free application on Apple’s iPhone and iTouch devices.

For more information on Your Shape: Fitness Evolved, please visit: www.yourshapegame.com. 

About Ubisoft: Ubisoft is a leading producer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment products worldwide and has grown considerably through a strong and diversified line-up of products and partnerships. Ubisoft has offices in 26 countries and has sales in more than 55 countries around the globe. It is committed to delivering high-quality, cutting-edge video game titles to consumers. For the 2009-10 fiscal year Ubisoft generated sales of € 871 million. To learn more, please visit: www.ubisoftgroup.com.

About Men’s Health: (www.menshealth.com)Men’s Health is the largest men’s lifestyle magazine brand in the world with 40 editions worldwide. Published 10 times a year in the U.S. by Rodale, Men’s Health is the best-selling men’s magazine on newsstands, each month providing its 12 million readers with the latest information on all aspects of a guy’s life including health, fitness, fashion, nutrition, relationships, travel, technology and finance. The magazine has garnered numerous accolades in the industry including several appearances on Advertising Age’s “A List”, Adweek’s “Hot List” and Capell’s Circulation Report, which recently named the magazine “Best Newsstand Performer of the Decade.” In 2007, Men’s Health Editor-in-Chief David Zinczenko was named “Editor of the Year” by Adweek magazine shortly after the title secured the top spot on their “Brand Leaders Hot List” in 2006. The magazine has also received a National Magazine Award in the personal service category. Men’s Health also publishes several branded books, DVDs, special interest publications and the online subscription service www.menshealthtrainer.com.About Women’s Health: (www.WomensHealthMag.com)

Launched in October 2005 and published 10 times a year by Rodale Inc., Women’s Health is a fresh, smart, and inspiring magazine for today's active young women. The magazine and website, WomensHealthMag.com, speak to every aspect of a woman's life, including health, fitness, nutrition, emotional well-being, sex and relationships, beauty, and style.  Women’s Health was recently named “Magazine of the Year” by Advertising Age and, in March, was for the second time included on Adweek’s annual Hot List, securing the No. 2 spot.  These lists recognize ten magazines for outstanding performance in circulation, advertising, and overall buzz within the industry. 

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© 2010 Ubisoft Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. Your Shape logo, Ubisoft, and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the U.S. and/or other countries. KINECT, Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies and are used under license from Microsoft.

M3 Dad Central Consulting Presentation

A few of you have asked for our presentation at M3, so here's a link to our Slideshare.  

The New Hands On Dad Modern Media Man (M3) Summit

View more presentations from Dad Central Consulting.