Fathers Rights

Okay, so last time I said I would make some posts about Social Networking and how this can help you in enforcing your father’s rights.  If you haven’t heard about social networking, that’s okay.  It’s a pretty new term.  But the idea is as old as people!

I went to whatis.com for a definition (whatis.com calls itself the “leading IT encyclopedia and learning center”).Their definition is “the practice of expanding the number of one’s business and/or social contacts by making connections through individuals. While social networking has gone on almost as long as societies themselves have existed, the unparalleled potential of the Internet to promote such connections is only now being fully recognized and exploited, through Web-based groups established for that purpose.”

Got it?

Yeah, me neither.

Okay, here is what it means for you.

The Internet is used by most people for either information or entertainment.  Want to learn about a company? Look at their website.  Want directions to your friend’s house or the courthouse?  Look up one of the map websites.  Want to watch a funny video or your favorite show’s last episode?  Look it up on a video site.

Now, one thing you may notice on these websites is a COMMENT box or a GUESTBOOK link or something like that.  This ability to comment on stuff, to comment on other people’s comments, or to follow other people’s links is the beginning of social networking.  Social networking is using the Internet to connect with and hold conversations with other people.

The Internet makes this very easy.  Blogs, social sites like Facebook and MySpace, groups and forums – all of these are social networking.  The key to social networking is to find the most convenient and efficient way for you.

Fathers can use social networking to connect with other fathers and discuss their situations.  You can use blogs or groups to compare experiences and bounce ideas off each other.  You can discuss strategies.

You can also use social network sites to see what your ex is doing.  Is the mother of your children posting on MySpace? Check it out.  Is she posting to a bulletin board for mothers?  Read what she is saying.

One problem that many fathers face is they have been isolated in their marriage or in their relationship.  Social networking allows fathers to meet each other and connect in a co-operative way, without the embarrassment or awkwardness of discussing their problems in a bar or (ugh) in a “group.”

I encourage fathers to search out groups, blogs, forums, and the like on the web, and to start conversations with other fathers.  In later posts we will discuss etiquette, but for now, follow this rule: don’t talk about your problems right away.  Introduce yourself (NO personal identifying information!!! You don’t need identify theft on top of your other problems!).  Get to know other people there. Don’t pop in with “My name’s Jim. Help! I’m getting screwed!”

This blog is an example of social networking.

Here is a group I started for fathers: Dads In Court

And remember:
The Father’s Rights Library would make an excellent topic of discussion.
Check it out.  2 Volumes - litigation and discovery - for the cost of less than 10 minutes with a lawyer.

Hi all.  Over the next few days and weeks, I am going to post a series about Web 2.0 or social networking, and how fathers can use this to connect with other fathers in similar situations.  You can meet and discuss child custody issues, family law court strategy, child support, custody evaluations, parental alienation. Social networking is more familiar as MySpace, FaceBook, YouTube, and sites like this.  But these sites only scratch the surface of what social networking can do for you.  Saying social networking is just MySpace is like saying medicine is just the thermometer.

These sites got popular with teenagers and college kids, who are familiar and comfortable with technology and these forms of communcation.  But social networking has grown far beyond simply putting a blog about “what I did today.”  Ning.com,f or example, is a social networking site that lets you buuild your own social network!  Secondary sites, like Digg, StumbleUpon, and other sites, highlight various postings to other readers.  So the social networking sites are all networked together.

Social networking also includes blogs, commenting on blogs, using RSS feeds to keep up to date on new posts, etc. It includes forums and groups and membership sites.

So how does all this help you, Dad without custody trying to see his children and get his child support corrected?  Imagine telling your situation to 300 or 400 fathers in similar situations, and getting feedback and advice.  Or imagine hearing another father talk about his problems, and you being to help him and his kids out. That’s what social networking brings to the table.  Communication and co-operation.

So watch this blog over the next few weeks.  I don’t have an outline of what’s going up here.  This isn’t some pre-packaged course.  It’s just my thoughts and experiences from playing around with these sites.  Yor comments and feedback are more than appreciated. 

Oh.  The Father’s Rights Library would make an excellent topic of discussion.
Check it out.  2 Volumes - litigation and discovery - for the cost of less than 10 minutes with a lawyer.

It is a few days after New Year’s Day, andI am looking on the web for ideas for posts for this blog.  What’s happening in the news, maybe.  What are some current strategies in court.  And who is the one person in America who has her finger on the pulse of trends, and who actually sets trends?  OPRAH!

So I actually went to oprah.com.  As painful as that was, I decided to check out the site. Well constructed. Colorful in a girly kind of way.  So I typed in “fathers” in the seaarch box, and sorted the entries by relevancy.  Here are the top 10:

Here’s a Happy New Year to all the fathers out there.  If you are seeing your kids on a regular basis, without interference - enjoy those times.  If you are a father who is being denied visitation, or who has his parenting time interfered with - hang in there!  There are many people supporting you.

I encourage all the fathers to join forums, use Facebook or MySpace or other sites to connect with each other.  Offer each other support, tips, insights, and maybe even a sympathetic ear. This year, one project I want to get rolling is using social network sites and groups and forums more to get you guys talking to each other.

Here’s a toast to all the fathers out there and a heartfelt wish that 2009 is the year that you have the happiest and best times with your children!

Oh.  Buy my book.
The Father’s Rights Library.