Even though the conference kicked off a week ago, we’re still buzzing about the 2013 Dad 2.0 Summit. And so are you, judging from the flurry of recaps we’ve been reading. (Thank you for these; all candid feedback, both complimentary and “constructive,” is extremely helpful. This is your conference, and we want it to grow with the community as much as possible.)

Below is a list of recaps we’ve already seen. If we missed you (or you post something subsequently), drop us a line at info [at] dad2summit [dot] com, post it to our Facebook page, or give it a Twitter shout-out, and we’ll be sure to add you to the list:

And a bonus write-up on the front page of the February 24 issue of the Sunday New York Times Business Section!

Also: If you’re interested in using any part of your post as a testimonial for us (or would like to provide something else), please let us know.

Thank you for all your support!

Team Dad 2.0

This is why having a Title Sponsor like Dove^® Men+Care^® is so cool.

Dove^® Men+Care^®, an official corporate partner of the NCAA, is giving one lucky Dad 2.0 Summit attendee a slam-dunk prize: a trip for two to the 2013 NCAA Final Four in Atlanta!

We’ll be announcing eligibility details during Registration tomorrow. In the meantime: Check your calendars, call the sitter, and follow the @DoveMenCare and @Dad2Summit Twitter feeds for more details on how you could be packing your bags for a five-day, four-night stay this April to see the four best NCAA^® Men’s Basketball teams compete for a national championship!

UPDATE: Here’s all you  have to do to be eligible to win:

• Go to dovedadcare.splashthat.com and enter your e-mail and social information;
• Share a photo at the Barbershop Experience in the Dove Men+Care suite with the #DadCare hashtag and mention @DoveMenCare; and
• Share a photo at a “Lord of the Sword” session with the #DadCare hashtag and mention @DoveMenCare.

We’ll be announcing the winner on Saturday afternoon!

Many of you are already checking into your flights that will take you to Houston. And when you get here, Honda, our vehicle sponsor, will be providing the complimentary ground transportation to get you to the Four Seasons!

Here’s the deal: Honda has graciously offered to use three of its show vehicles to bring Dad 2.0 Summit attendees from both Hobby and George Bush Intercontinental Airports. Seats are limited; rides will be allotted on a first-come, first-served basis on Thursday, Jan. 31, from 10am. to 4pm., and they will leave nearly every hour. At each airport, Honda will have a driver waiting for passengers:

• If you’re flying into Houston Hobby Airport, proceed to the main Baggage Claim area and look for the person holding a blue Honda sign.
• If you’re flying into George Bush Intercontinental Airport, proceed to the Terminal C Baggage Claim and look for the person holding a blue Honda sign just inside the ground transportation exit. (The Terminal C Baggage Claim is accessible from all terminals via the TerminaLink train inside the airport.)

But wait, there’s more!

We know what you’re thinking. The service stops at 4pm (that’s because the cars will need to be detailed and prepped for display at the opening party), and “seating is limited.” Therefore, the show Hondas will not be able to accommodate everyone.

If one of those people is you, fear not!

From 10am to 6pm tomorrow, just head over to the nearby SuperShuttle desk, mention that you’re part of the “direct bill” account with the Dad 2.0 Summit, give them code 050DAD42333, and you’ll receive a free ride to the Four Seasons! Honda wants you to arrive at our Welcome Party refreshed, relaxed, and ready to check out its new line of 2013 vehicles.

Good news, part 3: If you arrive after 6pm, you can take advantage of our discounted rate on the SuperShuttle by presenting the code H7U9R at the counter. (Note: We realize this is complicated, but we think free/cheap travel costs are worth it.)

If you have any questions, feel free to call Sponsor Communications Coordinator Laurie White at (240) 205-3832.

We hope you enjoy your ride into town, compliments of Honda! And as you’re riding, please feel free to tweet about your experience in the Honda transportation by using the #HondaDads hashtag.

Where will you be exactly a week from right now?

If you’re coming to the 2013 Dad 2.0 Summit, you’ll very likely be watching finalists Jim Higley, Christopher Lewis, Rob Rosenthal, and George Teh cooking live in the ReadySetEat Great Dad Cook-Off, for the benefit of Chairman Jim Lin and a team of celebrity judges led by Chef Aaron McCargo, Jr.

You, however, will not be the usual casual bystander. No, sir. Because after these four dishes have been created, assessed, and digested, it will be up to you to help choose who will win the $3,000 Grand Prize!

And since this is the ReadySetEat Cook-Off, it’s time to start with the “Ready” part: How to vote!

Each contestant has been assigned his own hashtag below:

• Lewis: #RSEDadofDivas
• Jim Higley: #RSEBobbleheadDad
• Rosenthal: #RSEShortOrderDad
• Teh: #RSEGeorgeItMom

(If you have any trouble remembering these, don’t worry. They’ll be emblazoned all over the event, as well as at the ReadySetEat booth the next day.)

Once the Cook-Off starts, you’ll be able to vote for your favorite dish by publishing tweets using the hashtag of your choice. Voting will be fast and furious, and be governed by two major rules:

1. Only the votes cast between 6:00pm on Thursday (when the Cook-Off begins) and 11:59pm on Friday will count toward the contest; and
2. Each unique Twitter handle will be limited to a total of 10 votes (after that, the votes will be discarded).

Them’s the rules, folks. Follow them well, and arrive in Houston ready to taste, vote, and be merry. The Chairman will be pleased.

On the heels of our blockbuster announcements that Mayor Annise Parker and Jeff Pulver will be opening our conference, we’re very excited to reveal these entrepreneurs, industry veterans, and leading voices in our space who’ll be speaking at the 2013 Dad 2.0 Summit:

• Alan Weinkrantz | Entrepreneur and Startup Consultant
• John Soule | Divisional VP and CMO, Sears Automotive
• Diane Davis “Momo Fali” Lang | Director of Social Media, BlogHer
• Abby Penich | Director of PR and Social Media, ConAgra Foods
• Phil Lempert | SupermarketGuru
• Jason Kravits & Matt Servitto | Lords of the Playground
• Adam Keats |  SVP Digital, Weber Shandwick
• Dwight Edwards | Senior Pastor, Water’s Edge Church
• Barry Calpino | VP for Breakthrough Innovation, Kraft Foods Group
• Kevin Brown | Commercial Program Manager, Kimberly-Clark
• Lisa Belkin | Senior Columnist on Life/Work/Family, Huffington Post

That’s makes a grand total of 65, with just one more big announcement left: Our closing speaker!

This is going to be a very news-heavy couple of weeks for all of us, and all of you who intend to join us in Houston in 16 days. We started it off yesterday with announcements that we’ll open our conference with the estimable one-two punch of 1) a welcome address from Houston Mayor Annise D. Parker and 2) an opening keynote from Internet pioneer and investor Jeff Pulver. We really couldn’t be more thrilled, because Ms. Parker is so personable and smart (check out her appearance on The Colbert Report last summer), and she believes in what we’re trying to achieve. And although Mr. Pulver’s #140Conf is just the latest in a string of his Internet-based success stories, his primary focus has always been to use technology to help forge human relationships.

We also have important news about attendance. As you may have seen, we sold out of our initial ticket allotment on Friday afternoon. (Yes!) And after a supplicatory meeting with the Four Seasons, we were able to release 25 more tickets. But that’s it. After we reach 225 attendees, which will likely happen by the end of the week, that’s it. We have to shut the window and implement a wait list.

When the Big Weekend comes, we want you inside with us, watching the Great Dad Cook-Off, checking out our breakout sessions, tasting our specially-made “Dad Brew.o” from Buffalo Bayou Brewing Company — and making connections that could amount to something new and interesting over the next year.

Because we agree with Mr. Pulver: The strength of our message and our conference comes from community. Many dads arrived in Austin last year unsure of Dad 2.0′s potential benefits, and several will come to Houston to discuss how those benefits turned out to be pretty substantial.

Who knows? At Dad 2.014, that could be you.

Good news, everyone: The Mayan Apocalypse didn’t happen. The sun rose, the Winter Solstice arrived, and the kids went off to what is likely their last day of school in 2012.

And you know what? We at Dad 2.0 are sort of done with 2012 as well, since we’ve been in 2013 mode for a few weeks now. We’re ready to move on, announce more speakers, solidify our programming, and work with our sponsors. And sell the last few tickets we have.

That’s right. As we expected, Dad 2.013 tickets are selling fast, and we’re going to sell out sooner than last year. We also know that all of us are running around like crazy, crossing everything off our lists and getting ready for big, family gatherings.

That’s what makes our year-end “10 for 20″ promotion stand apart from all those e-mails telling you to HURRY and NOT MANY LEFT and HOLY SMOKES BUY THIS OR THE WORLD WILL END. We’ve got a better idea.

We’ve got 10 days left in 2012, and we think each of those should provide an opportunity to save on your full conference pass to Dad 2.0. So our 20% discount (10 days for 20%! get it?) will be valid for all 1o days until 2013 dawns. It starts now, in time for all the holiday gift-giving, and lingers on, after you’ve scooped up all the wrapping paper.

Here’s the deal: If you go to our Registration page and use the promo code “10for20,” you’ll get a 20% price discount on a full conference pass to Dad 2.013. And just so you can order in complete relaxation, the sale will be live until midnight Eastern on Dec. 31.

Hope to see you in Houston, and Happy Holidays!

Team Dad 2.0

• Mark Vander Ley | Publisher, Parenting Boys, Raising Men
• Dave Taylor | Publisher, Ask Dave Taylor and Go Fatherhood
• Jim Silver | Editor-In-Chief, Time To Play
• Gerome Sapp | Founder & CEO, Fluencr.com
• Chris Read | Publisher, Canadian Dad
• Troy Pattee | VP for Marketing, Mom It Forward; Publisher, Dadventurous
• Polly Pagenhart | Publisher, Lesbian Dad
• Kevin McKeever | Publisher, Always Home and Uncool
• Kipp Jarecke-Cheng | Group Director and Head of Global Communications, G2 Worldwide; Publisher, Lazy Dad’s Guide to Everything
• Whit Honea | Publisher, Honea Express
• Hogan Hilling | Author, Columnist
• Jim Higley | Publisher, Bobblehead Dad; Radio Host; Author, 25 Life Lessons I Forgot I Knew
• Andy Herald | Co-Publisher, How To Be A Dad
• Tariq Hasan | IT Manager, FedEx Services
• Fred Goodall | Publisher, Mocha Dad
• Carter Gaddis | Publisher, DadScribe
• Shannon Carroll | Conference Programming Manager, BlogHer; Publisher, Whiskey In My Sippy Cup
• Rob Candelino | VP for Marketing – Skincare, Unilever
• W. Bruce Cameron | Humor Columnist; Author, 8 Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter, A Dog’s Purpose
• Tracy Beckerman | Author, Lost in Suburbia

This brings the total of speakers to a Nifty Fifty (the full list is available here), and there’s much more to come. We’ll be completing our roster with our third announcement early on in the new year!

As we’ve said many times before, until we’re blue in the keyboard, the bedrock of all the commerce that will be brokered at the Dad 2.0 Summit is the eloquent voice of fatherhood–in blog posts and videos, over the radio waves, even in books and screenplays. That’s why we’re asking five men to present their unique, “three-headed” perspectives (as fathers, content creators, and social media professionals) on dads and blogging, in a session we’re calling “TEDnite” (because each presentation will be 10-15 minutes long–shorter than TED, longer than Ignite).

We’re excited and honored to announce that these five fortunately fast-witted fellows are:

• Caleb Gardner, The Exceptional Man
• Alan Kercinik, Always Jacked
• Jim Lin, Busy Dad
• Ted Rubin, TedRubin.com
• David Vienna, The Daddy Complex

We’re also proud to champion our content by asking five bloggers to read their posts in our Dad Blogger Spotlights. When we asked for submissions last month, the quality and quantity did not disappoint. The selection process was arduous, but we’re delighted to announce the winners:

• Carter Gaddis, DadScribe
• Black Hockey Jesus, The BHJ.com
• Whit Honea, WhitHonea.com
• Kevin McKeever, Always Home and Uncool
• Chris Read, Canadian Dad

Congratulations and very big thanks to these men for their writerly skill, their willingness to share their stories, and their commitment to the dad-blogging community!

After much fanfare and foodfare, and lots of fastidious, painstaking, culinary scrutiny from the ReadySetEat Test Kitchen, the semifinalists for the Great Dad Cook-Off are set! Each of these men submitted a recipe that comprises seven ingredients or fewer and can be prepped and cooked in 30 minutes, because we’re not all gourmets. When we dads cook for our kids on a typical weekday night, we’re interested in nutritional, convenient meals at which our kids won’t wrinkle their noses.

And here they are!

• Mike Adamick | Bibim ‘Papa’
• Jim Higley | Peter Pan Pasta: Chicken Satay with Sesame Noodles and Veggies
• Andy Hinds | Zesty Panko Schnitzel
• R.J. Jaramillo | Pizza Chicken Nuggets
• Christopher Lewis | Red, White, & Bean
• Robert Rosenthal | KnockWurst Your Socks Off
• Jason Sperber | Teriyaki Salmon with Kale Mashed Potatoes
• George Teh | Italian Restaurant-Style Spaghetti Dinner

Now, the ball is in your court. (Or better, the fork is in your hand.) Each of these men has won a free full-conference pass to Dad 2.013, but you get to decide who will get free airfare to and from Houston and a free room at the Four Seasons, and who will compete LIVE for the Big Grand Prize at the Dad 2.013 Welcome Party on Thursday, January 31st!

All the recipes are listed here, on the ReadySetEat Facebook page, along with the means to vote. You can vote as often as you like (limited to once per day) until the polls close on Monday, January 14. (Voting will be transparent, and shenanigans could lead to disqualification–remember, the Chairman is watching!) So try all the recipes, vote for your favorites, and Good Luck to all!