At Kidoinfo we like to share; connecting parents with information, new ideas and their local community. I created Conversation events so parents would have an opportunity to meet in real life, learn about an issue and talk about how it relates to their world.

Based on the success and feedback from last year’s Conversations, I am pleased to announce the topics for the 2010-11 season. This year we will again invite you to join the conversation early by submitting your ideas and questions concerning each topic.

FALL: November – “Traditions”
Traditions connect your children with your personal and cultural history and form the memories they will later pass on to their friends and families. Families decide how to carry on, blend or create new traditions. This discussion gives panelists and attendees a forum to share their traditions and learn something new to share with their loved ones in the upcoming holiday season.

WINTER: February - “Parenting Simply”
Parents are busy juggling work, home and child-care and today’s children seem to be scheduled from birth. What do parents and kids really need? Can parenting be simplified to create a satisfying lifestyle for you and your kids? Panelists will share online tools and offline tips to foster balance and peace of mind.

SPRING: May – “Community Minded Kids”
How can we instill volunteerism and community activism in the next generation? A panel discussion with projects, online resources, and examples of how families can create meaningful connections to their communities and impact real change in the world.

We are still finalizing dates, locations and panelists for each event. If you have panelist recommendations, suggestions for any of the conversations or an idea for a future topic, please contact me with “Kidoinfo Conversations” in the subject line. If you would like to sponsor one Conversation or the whole series, please click here for Sponsorship details.

PAST EVENTS

How Parents are Using Social Media
• Event Page
• Online Resource Guide

Raising Kids in a Digital World
• Event Page
• Online Resource Guide

The definition of an “aha movement” from the dictionary:
aha moment:  n. Definition: a sudden understanding, recognition, or resolution; also called [ aha reaction ]  Example: Once she had that aha moment, she knew how to proceed. Etymology: 1939

The aha tour bus sponsored by the Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company, was recently in Providence recording people’s stories about their aha moments. These stories are meant to be amazing, uplifting, inspirational  and allow a glimpse at a pivotal moment in one’s life when we discover the possibility of something more.

I was asked to share my story of starting Kidoinfo – using social media to connect parents with their community. May aha moment was realizing the power of this collaboration makes Kidoinfo a place for many voices not just mine. Thank you all for making Kidoinfo what it is today.

Listen to more aha moments recorded in Providence.

Despite the heat, we had a great turnout on Tuesday at Burnside Park for the first Kidoinfo Providence Storytime. Thank you to Jennifer Smith and Deb Dormody of Greater Kennedy Plaza and the City Providence for supporting this event! I enjoyed sharing my sons’ copy of Little Pea and meeting the illustrator Jen Corace.

Here’s a recap below in this weeks edition of Mayor Cicilline’s Providence City News:

Mayor David N. Cicilline and Greater Kennedy Plaza partners are pleased to announce KidoInfo Providence Storytime in Burnside Park! This week, the Mayor joined Anisa Raoof (publisher of Kidoinfo) and Jen Corace (illustrator of Little Pea, Little Oink, and Little Hoot, Mathilda and the Orange Balloon).

“KidoInfo Providence Storytime is the latest event in the summer initiative designed to foster a lively, fun atmosphere in the heart of our City,” said Mayor Cicilline. “I couldn’t be more delighted that this effort introduces the joy of reading to children of all ages, and at the same time promotes Creative Capital artists like Jen Corace.”

The Kidoinfo Providence Storytime is an all ages storyhour held outdoors in Burnside Park downtown every Tuesday from 10am – 11am throughout July and August.  Families bring a blanket and enjoy different weekly storytellers near the fountain in Burnside Park.

Kidoinfo (the popular parent guide) will feature books from local Rhode Island authors and illustrators each week this season.  Guest authors, illustrators, storytellers and performers will make books come alive for families and children.  Local businesses and organizations such as Books on the Square and the Providence Community Libraries and Providence Public Library will also be participating, making this a rich community event!

Click here for the Story Time schedule of events. And for more information about weekly programming, visit the Greater Kennedy Plaza website.

Photo Credit: Michael Christofaro

How do we shape the next generation to be conscientious online, creative and savvy users of digital media? Join us for a lively panel discussion about Raising Kids in a Digital World moderated by Michelle Girasole of The Sassy Ladies.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010 from 6:30 – 8:30pm
The Speakeasy at Local 121, Providence, Rhode Island
Tickets are $15. Includes appetizers. Cash bar.
Register Now

Meet the panel:
• Kate Macinanti
• Dr. Alice Wilder
• Jen Robbins
• Trevor O’Driscoll

Raffle to support Kidoinfo’s free content. Chance to win 1-year membership to Providence Children’s Museum, handmade book from Rag & Bone Bindery, Kidoinfo totebag filled with CD, t-shirt and toys, $75 gift-certificate towards Juice Box Art and more!

Diaper Drive: We are supporting the Mother’s Day Diaper Drive. Want to join us? Bring in new disposable diapers for families in need. Collected diapers will go to the RI Community Food Bank for distribution.

Today meet Alice Wilder, another panelist from the upcoming KidoConversation, “Raising Kids in a Digital World”. Please join us on Tuesday, May 25, at Local 121 for a fun night out; bring a friend or come solo. Click here for details.

Kidoinfo: What neighborhood do you live in?
Alice Wilder (AW): I live in New York City right near the beautiful, ever-changing Lincoln Center.

AW: I was born in Hartford, CT. and grew up in Glastonbury, CT., an incredible family-oriented, play-in-the-streets kind of neighborhood – do those still exist?

Kidoinfo: How long have you been in NYC?
AW: I moved to NYC for Graduate School at Teachers College, Columbia University in 1991 and never left – so now I feel like a native New Yorker.

Kidoinfo: What is your current state of mind?
AW: Excited about all of the Possibilities!

Kidoinfo: Who’s in your family?
AW: My mom, my brother, sister-in-law, nephew, incredible friends and their many children that I am fortunate enough to be an “Aunt” to!

Kidoinfo: What trait do you most admire about your family?
AW: Playful:  Play to learn is my life and all the members of my famly exemplify that!

Kidoinfo: What is your favorite thing to do?
AW: Learn:  In all of its different forms – in play, through culture, in work, in relationships…

Kidoinfo: Where is your favorite place to hang out?
AW: My favorite place to hang out is wherever there are people that I like to hang out with:  in Providence, NYC, CT., Brooklyn, Nashville, Seattle, Los Angeles, Mass., New Hampshire, Amsterdam, England, all over the world!

Kidoinfo: Where would you most like to live?
AW: Where I am, in New York City with a house on the Ocean somewhere!

Kidoinfo: What do you like to do in your free time?
AW: Since I do not have kids I have lots of time to do things I love to do – bike riding, going to movies, seeing shows, going to the museum, going for walks, playing on my computer – but mostly I like to go visit my friends and their kids.

Kidoinfo: What is the most overrated thing about parenthood?
AW: The idea of ‘Balance’

Kidoinfo: What is your most treasured possession?
AW: My health.

Kidoinfo: What superpower would you most like to have?
AW: If I could fly I would be so happy!  I love the feeling of freedom and speed!

Kidoinfo: Who is your favorite fictional mother or father?
AW: Well, this answer may only make sense to me, because he isn’t a fictional father, he is a real father. But my answer is, Tom Hanks – or what I imagine Tom Hanks to be as a father.  The movie ‘Big’ changed my life and Tom Hanks’ character is what I modeled my career after.  So my answer is either what I think Tom Hanks is as a dad or what I think the writer of Big is as a dad OR what Tom Hanks’ character in ‘Big’ was like as a father!

Kidoinfo: What are you going to do now that you have answered these questions?
AW: Get on a conference call about another talk I have to give next week:  140 Character Conference.

Read more in this series here.

Today meet Jen Robbins, another panelist and parent from the upcoming KidoConversation, “Raising Kids in a Digital World”. Please join us on Tuesday, May 25, at Local 121 for a fun night out; bring a friend or come solo. Click here for details.

Kidoinfo: What neighborhood do you live in?
Jen Robbins (JR): I live in Seekonk, just a mile over the MA border. I used to drive through Seekonk and think, “who would ever live in a town called SeeKONK!?  Apparently, it’s me.”

Kidoinfo: How long have you been in Rhode Island?
JR: My husband and I moved to Providence a few days before the overhyped Y2K New Years’ Eve. Nothing bad happened. We’ve been in Seekonk since 2003. It’s hard to believe that I’ve been in the Greater Providence area for more than a decade. Before that I spent a decade in Boston with a year in Nashville sandwiched in-between.

Kidoinfo: What is your current state of mind?
JR: Challenged.

Kidoinfo: Who’s in your family?
JR: My husband, Jeff Robbins, and my 6 year old son, Arlo.

Kidoinfo: What trait do you most admire about your family?
JR: Creativity and humor, hands-down.

Kidoinfo: What is your favorite thing to do?
JR: I like making things… all sorts of things, whether out of paper, thread, playdoh, or pixels.

Kidoinfo: What is your favorite place to hang out?
JR: I’m not sure I get to “hang out” anymore. But one of my favorite places in town for dinner with my family is the Red Fez.  I love the food, the scene, and the music. We go early when it’s still light out, sit upstairs and keep feeding the pinball machine for Arlo until his mac & cheese arrives. There aren’t many places where I can feel like my old self yet meet all the needs of eating out with a small child. Thanks Fez!

Kidoinfo: Where would you most like to live?
JR: I’ve been feeling very connected with New England lately, but California always whispers.

Kidoinfo: What do you like to do when you are not with your kids?
JR: I’m a big music fan, so my favorite recreational activity is to see loud bands play at small clubs. Usually, that means a trek to Boston. Through my “Cooking with Rockstars” project, I’ve become friendly with many musicians in the indie music scene.

Kidoinfo: What is your most treasured possession?
JR: Well, if we rule out my son as a “possession,”, some things in the running would be my rock with a perfect star shape through the middle that I found when I was 10, my signed Todd Rundgren album cover, my photo albums, and my computer.

Kidoinfo: What superpower would you most like to have?
JR: The ability to manipulate time, including both traveling back and creating more of it.

Kidoinfo: What are you going to do now that you have answered these questions?
JR: Work!

Read more in our Meet a Parent series.

Today meet Trevor O’Driscoll, another panelist and parent who will participate in the upcoming KidoConversation, “Raising Kids in a Digital World,” on Tuesday, May 25, at Local 121.

Kidoinfo: What neighborhood do you live in?
Trevor O’Driscoll (TO): East Side. Some say it’s Mount Hope or Summit or something.

Kidoinfo: Where were you born?
TO: Philadelphia.

Kidoinfo: How long have you been in Rhode Island?
TO: On and off for college, grad school, and grownup life…11 years.

Kidoinfo: What is your current state of mind?
TO: Huh?

Kidoinfo: Who’s in your family?
TO: My wife, Vanessa, and my 18-month-old daughter, Oona.

Kidoinfo: What trait do you most admire about your family?
TO: They’re funny and like to read.

Kidoinfo: What is your favorite thing to do?
TO: Fix something in the house and then calculate how much money I just saved.

Kidoinfo: Where is your favorite place to hang out?
TO: Favorite or frequent? I spend a lot of time at Home Depot. But when things are nice and relaxed, and I’m just chatting with my students, my classroom is pretty good.

Kidoinfo: Where would you most like to live?
TO: This place is pretty good. But better weather would be nice. San Francisco?

Kidoinfo: What do you like to do when you are not with your kids?
TO: Play and watch baseball, ride my bike, make some furniture, eat Vanessa’s cooking. Internet.

Kidoinfo: What is the most overrated thing about parenthood?
TO: Sippy cups. They all leak.

Kidoinfo: What is your most treasured possession?
TO: A Detroit Tigers team photo with my great uncle and Ty Cobb.

Kidoinfo: What superpower would you most like to have?
TO: Who doesn’t want to fly?

Kidoinfo: Who is your favorite fictional mother or father?
TO: Atticus Finch. Or maybe Cliff Huxtable.

Kidoinfo: What are you going to do now that you have answered these questions?
TO: Sleep.

Read more in our Meet a Parent series.

I look forward to seeing/meeting many of you at the upcoming KidoConversation, “Raising Kids in a Digital World” on Tuesday, May 25, at Local 121. KidoConversations provide us the opportunity to come together around a certain topic — meet in real life, talk about it and think about how it impacts our lives as parents. Bring your questions, and playdate or business cards. We’ll provide some food, name tags, and the chance to hang without your kids. Not signed up yet? Click here.

In anticipation of the upcoming “Raising Kids in a Digital World” event, I invite you to get know some of our panelists better through Meet the Parent interviews. Today, meet Kate Macinanti.

Kidoinfo: What neighborhood do you live in?
Kate Macinanti (KM): It’s called Kingston Woods. It’s a fairly new neighborhood in South Kingstown, down near URI.

Kidoinfo: Where were you born?
KM: I was born @ Kent County Hospital in Warwick @ Midnight on the dot during a blizzard.

Kidoinfo: How long have you been in Rhode Island?
KM: With the exception of 4 years when I was @ college in Massachusetts, I have lived in RI my whole life.

Kidoinfo: What is your current state of mind?
KM: Foggy…my allergies are out of control this season.

Kidoinfo: Who’s in your family?
KM: My immediate family consists of myself, my husband Brian, our 15 year old daughter Orianna, our 7 year old daughter Jessica and our 5 year old son Joseph. However, we have a myriad of “friends who are Family” known as our Extended Framily that we always include.

Kidoinfo: What trait do you most admire about your family?
KM: We are all determined individuals who, when we know what we want, we do what we need in order to get it (within reason of course).

Kidoinfo: What is your favorite thing to do?
KM: All five of us are martial art students at our local dojo. My favorite thing to do, is train, as a family…on the mat…all at the same time.

Kidoinfo: Where is your favorite place to hang out?
KM: Gabrieles Martial Arts dojo in the South County Commons. We are there 2-4 hours a day, 6 days a week. It is the “home” of our Extended Framily.

Kidoinfo: Where would you most like to live?
KM: My “dream” is to have two residences. One will be  in Killington, VT and the other will be determined by where my kids reside. My husband and I will then share our time together between the two…depending on the weather of course.

Kidoinfo: What do you like to do when you are not with your kids?
KM: If I have a good book on hand, I love to read when the kids are not around. If I’m between books, I spend a lot of time online networking and researching whatever pops in my head.

Kidoinfo: What is the most overrated thing about parenthood?
KM: Honestly, I can’t think of anything “overrated”…but I can think of oodles of things that are “underrated”.

Kidoinfo: What is your most treasured possession?
KM: Nothing tangible. All my treasured possessions are personality traits, gifts and abilities.

Kidoinfo: What superpower would you most like to have?
KM: The power to Teleport to any destination.

Kidoinfo: Who is your favorite fictional mother or father?
KM: There are simply too many to mention for so many different reasons. I will say that I prefer the characters who are not portrayed as “dim-witted”…that’s pretty annoying.

Kidoinfo: What are you going to do now that you have answered these questions?
KM: Log on to work to check some emails before I head off to the dojo with my husband and son to get a great Muay Thai workout under our belts.

Read more in our Meet a Parent series.

From Anisa Raoof:

I am looking forward to the upcoming Kidoinfo panel event, Raising Kids in a Digital World on May 25, 2010 from 6:30-8:30pm at Local 121 in Providence. This topic will address the ways in which we can educate, guide and shape the next generation to be conscientious online and savvy users of social media and technology tools.

I invite you to shape the conversation and submit your questions online in advance for our panelists. This is a broad topic and although we cannot cover it all in one evening we can start talking, sharing ideas and connecting with others around what the digital world means for our kids.

I want to know what are your thoughts on this subject? Are your kids online yet? Are you concerned about safety? Play? Education? Do you share your laptop and smartphone? Do you have rules at home about screen time? What do you want to know? I will select as many questions as possible to be answered during the event.

To learn more about the event, panelists and how to sign up, please click:
Raising Kids in a Digital World

If you need more information, please contact me by email: anisa at kidoinfo dot com

One of my favorite things about social media is the influence it has on my real-life world. I built Kidoinfo using social media tools and it has allowed me to meet, connect with and form a community with amazing parents and businesses.

The first Kidoinfo event, Parents Using Social Media, was standing room only at Bravo Brasserie in downtown Providence. Mary-Kim Arnold expertly moderated a lively discussion with our four fabulous parenting panelists: Katy Killilea, Michelle Riggen-Ransom, Erin Barrette Goodman, and TJ Sondermann. TJ swept in at the last minute to replace Alex Taylor who was sick. Alex was missed but TJ was a stellar stand-in. To those who attended, I loved having the opportunity to meet you in person for the first time or reconnecting with familiar faces. Thank you to the sponsors—your support made the event possible. If you missed the event, I hope to see you at the next one. I am including a list of our panelists’ Top 10 Social Media Resources along with links to a few articles recommended by Mary-Kim Arnold. Over 40 people filled out a survey praising the panelists for their fine presentation and asking for more events in the future. Just some of the suggested topics include: how to monitor/protect kids online, juggling work/life balance, and connecting work-at-home parents. Please share your favorite resources, what you liked about the event, and ideas you may have for future events.

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PANELISTS

KATY KILLILEA

• Read Bio
• Read Meet a Parent Interview

• Top 10 Resources
This is an honest list of what I use most often. It goes without saying that Kidoinfo is my primary source for family stuff.

For cooking inspiration
1. 101cookbooks.com—simple good food
2. coconutandquinoa.wordpress.com—to help me work in obscure ingredients
3. wednesdaychef.typepad.com—fun criticism of newspaper food columns
4. smittenkitchen.com—great for baking especially

For chilly nights
5. ibex.com—to envision being swathed in fine merino wool from head to toe

To stay informed
6. nytimes.com—especially the “dining and wine” and “books” parts
7. hulu.com—more and more often we rely on John Stewart for the day’s news (in the case of hulu, it is yesterday’s news)
8. wbez.com—I listen to Chicago Public Radio in the morning. Because of the time difference, it is one hour behind WRNI and allows me to catch more of Morning Edition before the BBC comes on. No offense, BBC.

For music
9. lala.com (will play whatever you want, for free, and not illegally)
10. kcrw.com—this is what pandora would play if pandora understood me

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MICHELLE RIGGEN-RANSOM

• Read Bio
• Read Meet a Parent Interview

• Top 10 Resources

Social media
1. twitter.com/mriggen
2. facebook.com/mriggen

Parenting (sort of)
3. http://mimismartypants.com/

Work
4. http://mashable.com/
5. http://blog.hubspot.com/
6. http://www.chrisbrogan.com/
7. http://smallbiztrends.com/

Other/Fun
8. http://www.poptech.org/blog
9. http://www.etsy.com/
10. http://perezhilton.com/

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ERIN BARRETTE GOODMAN

• Read Bio
• Read Meet a Parent Interview

• Top 10 Resources

1. Wordpress – This is the blogging platform I’ve been using for almost two years. (Before that I was on Blogger.) I am very pleased with all that it can do, especially now that I am starting to connect with other Wordpress users and learning more about all the various features and plug-ins.
2. Picnik – Free online photo editing. Sort of a Photoshop-light. Lots of fun features! Great for adding special effects or text to your photos and also for making photo collages.
3. Flickr – This is where I upload and store all of the images I use on my blog. I have my account set so that only I can download the full-size version of my image. Visitors to my flickr site only have access to a smaller, lower-resolution version. I highly recommend that all parents who are sharing images of their children and their home online use some kind of photo-editing program to reduce the size of all photos. Otherwise (with most blogging platforms) people can click on the image posted on your blog and get a GIANT version of the photo, which may contain personal details that can present safety concerns (a street sign that shows where you live, your street number on your house or mailbox, your license plate etc.).
4. Feedburner – This allows readers of my blog to receive my posts via e-mail. It also allows me to see how many subscribers I have, when they subscribed, and what their e-mail addresses are.
5. Google Alerts – I use this to filter the news I want so I don’t get bogged down by everything else. I have Google Alerts set for terms like: Family Yoga, Kids’ Yoga, Birth Network, CSA, Farmers Market, etc. This allows me to get a quick look at what’s happening around the world in my specific areas of interest. I also have Google Alerts set for my name, my website URL and my blog name, which lets me know when someone writes about me online or links to my site.
6. Constant Contact – I mainly use Constant Contact to promote my events by sending out e-postcards/invitations. I have also used it successfully to solicit feedback through post-event surveys. I currently do not publish an e-newsletter for myself, but I have designed them for other people/organizations/small businesses.
7. Soule Mama – This is one of my favorite blogs to read. Author Amanda Soule has been blogging for over five years. (I had the pleasure of interviewing her for kidoinfo.com last year!) Even if the content is not your cup of tea, she provides a wonderful model for a beautiful, creative, professional, family-friendly blog.
8. Scott Noelle’s Daily Groove – I’ve been a subscriber to Scott Noelle’s Daily Groove e-mails since our first child was a toddler. I love his format. It is easy for me to gobble up each morning while making my family’s breakfast, but stays with me throughout the day as I digest the power of his pleasure-centered parenting messages.
9. The RI Birth Network – I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to spread the word about this wonderful resource for expectant and new parents in Rhode Island. The Birth Network site has an extensive member directory that allows parents to search for the services and providers they need.
10. Local Harvest – This is a site I frequently link to from my blog. It is a great place to find farmers markets, CSAs, and restaurants that feature local foods. You can also search their events page to find local food and farming-related events in your community or sign up for their “keep me posted” feature and get listings of local events delivered to your in-box.

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ALEX TAYLOR

• Read Bio
• Read Meet a Parent Interview

• Top 10 Resources

1. Flickr is a huge community of people making images with cameras of all sorts.
2. Moo makes beautiful (mostly paper) things out of your photos.
3. Dropbox is an easy freemium tool to share files (text, photos, whatever) between computers and access them online.
4. Make Magazine is full of inspirational projects.
5. Delicious Bookmarks is a great way to organize bookmarks in a way that is easy to search and share with others.
6. Posterous is a really easy (but powerful) way to start a blog.
7. School Closings seems to be the most direct and clean way to find out what schools are doing about the weather.
8. Providence Daily Dose provides a local news alternative to the Projo.

These two I helped out with:
9. Twalala is a Twitter client is a way to filter out tweets you aren’t interested in.
10. Minivite is a simple way to share information about an event with others.

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TJ SONDERMANN

• Read Meet a Parent Interview

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MODERATOR

MARY-KIM ARNOLD

• Read Bio

• Resources

1. Faux Friendships, from The Chronicle of Higher Education: http://chronicle.com/article/Faux-Friendship/49308/
2. The Evolution of Social Technology, from The Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gina-bianchini/the-evolution-of-social-t_b_433815.html?view=screen
3. Social Media and Young Adults, from The Pew Center: http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Social-Media-and-Young-Adults.aspx
4. Cross-Generational Dialogues on the Ethics of Digital Life that you can download from the Macarthur Foundation site. (scroll down – midway – pdf) http://digitallearning.macfound.org/site/c.enJLKQNlFiG/b.2029245/k.C6EC/Library.htm