DevDad - A stay at home Dad, Geek Style
I don’t remember how I stumbled the DevDad (A stay at home Dad, Geek style) blog but I’ve been visiting pretty much a daily basis since that first click about 3 weeks ago.
Ever notice how some blogs are sticky like that? When I visit a blog, I like to know who I am reading. What does this person stand for? Are his or her values in alignment with my own, can I learn something, can I be entertained… whatever it is, there has to be some sort of connection even if I never end up contacting that person or even commenting on their blog.
The DevDad blog is sticky because it’s not just a URL, it’s a channel into someone real… in this case, a young stay-at-home geek dad and his happy family. Nice smiles all around. You just want to root for them even though you don’t really know them.
What I liked the most about DevDad is the way he was so open about
a) working from home
b) being a stay-at-home dad/entrepreneur
It really made me reflect on our own situation here …
I started my business (Avoxtar inc) about 5 years ago. On the day I finished my business plan, surprise! I found out I was pregnant. I was thrilled to become a mother and wholeheartedly embraced that new chapter in my life.
As a businesswoman though, I worried that people would think I was unprofessional if they called and heard my son crying in the background. I pretty much kept those two parts of my life separate… to my business relations anyway. So much so, that my mentor never realized I was pregnant even though we met on a monthly basis… I was pretty good at hiding my tummy behind big binders, chairs and my laptop bag. I think he figured I was eating a lot… lol
I was also great at doing the 50 yard dash to the balcony in sub zero temperatures when the phone rang… just in case my son would gurgle or laugh or cry or something…. Eventually, I did tell my good clients and it worked out pretty well. Seems nutty when I think of it now. I was so happy to be pregnant but worried that “men” would see me as a mommy and not the bold business woman I was BK.
I chuckled when I read this post of how to deal business calls with a toddler running wild. (The picture of his daughter in an angel/bug costume is too cute.)
I wonder how DevDads family is reacting to him being at home with his daughter during the day. My husband stayed home for the first 4 years of our son’s life while I worked in my home office … boy did he hear some comments… from my parents, his parents, our friends, even other moms in the park. It didn’t really bother us though… we like being outside the box… sheeple we are not! We spent all our time together as a family and my husband and I were both there for all our son’s milestones and daily little miracles.
I think it’s great that more and more Dads are staying home with their kids. And I think it’s awesome that more and more geeks are having kids… soon my son will be able to teleconference with other kids who are at home instead of being in daycare. Kudos to DevDad an all the other dot com parents out there.
5 years ago, some of my clients wanted me to build websites that made them look like large businesses even though they often operated alone from their basements… I guess, we could call that old-school by todays standards.
Now, there is an open, honest, WYSISYG approach and I think it’s fantastic. Green flags all around.
Times are changing folks, and it’s all thanks to people like Mike from DevDad and his generation. 2.0 is not just about technology or new platforms. It’s about people opening up to the world… and it’s a new way of doing business.
Oh yeah! I remember how I originally found his site way back when… he’s giving away a Canon PowerShot SD750 during in a contest called the Stay At Home Dad Digital Camera Give-Away.
Ok, I’m sensing a recurring theme here today. After entering a blog naming contest to win an iPod. I am now entering a contest to win a new digital camera. Again, it’s pretty last minute, but you have a few hours to register for a chance to win. Visit the DevDad link above for details and good luck!
