Hey everyone! The ‘Memoirs Dating Game’ contest is going ahead full-steam now with seven published entries. We’ve got some great stories up – from crazy experiences to tear-jerkers, we’ve got a little of everything. We are still accepting entries so if you have more stories to share or you know someone that does, encourage them to enter! Voting ends on Valentine’s Day, 2/14/12.
Voting Clarification
Voting Method 1 – Social Sharing
There has been some confusion about voting that I wanted to clear up. There are two ways you can vote for your favorite post: using the social sharing buttons at the top each post (they look like this):
This is a screen shot - don't click here
If you click the button below the counter you will be prompted to log into that service. You must have an account with each service to place a vote using that method. If you have a Facebook account (for example), then click the Facebook share button to share the post with your friends on your Facebook wall. If you don’t have an account for that service (such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, etc) then you can either create an account to vote OR you can vote using the second option below.
Voting Method 2 – Leave a Comment on the Post
If you don’t have accounts on the social media sites or you’d like to leave an additional vote, you can leave a comment (or start a discussion!) using the comment form at the end of the post. Enter your Name (optional), Email Address (required) and your comment and, once approved, your comment will be displayed at the end of the story. The comment form is almost all the way at the bottom, so keep scrolling until you see this:
Hello there all you fabulous people! The launch day for my ‘Memoirs Dating Game Contest’ is almost at-hand. So far I have a few best/worst stories that have entered the contest but we need more! Have I mentioned that there are over $500 in total prizes including $100 PayPal cash to the top vote-getter? Yep, you get $100 free and clear (minus PayPal’s fee) if you win the contest. And that’s just the cash. I’m also currently in talks with additional sponsors so I may be adding even more ‘stuff’ to the prize vault.
Don’t forget - you DON’T have to be single to enter!
Maybe your ‘best’ story is the story of how you met your hubby or wife. Or maybe it’s one of your craziest dates from ‘back in the day’. We want to hear your stories and we’re willing to show you some love in return.
You’ll definitely want to get your story submission in early – the longer it’s up, the more changes you’ll get votes on it. Use the form at the end of this post to submit your story.
The Dating Game Contest – Prizes
For the Winner
Once the winner has been determined, per the method described above, the winner will receive ALL of the following:
$100 in cold, hard (PayPal) CASH.
A FREE 6 Month Membership to eHarmony.com. (A $180 value)
A personally autographed copy of the book, Memoirs of a Dating Dad signed by me, the author. (A $30 value)
For the Second Place Recipient
A personally autographed paperback copy of the book, Memoirs of a Dating Dad signed by me. (A $30 value)
A FREE 3 Month Membership to eHarmony.com. (A $120 value)
For the Third Place Recipient
A personally autographed paperback copy of the book, Memoirs of a Dating Dad signed by me. (A $30 value)
A FREE 1 Month Membership to eHarmony.com. (A $60 value)
For ALL Published Dating Game Story Participants
A free eBook copy (in PDF format) of the book, Memoirs of a Dating Dad. (A $5 value)
For full contest rules, be sure to check out the official contest notification on my original post, here.
We’re entering the final stretch of the Memoirs Dating Game Contest! All dating story submissions must be received by Tuesday, February 14th at NOON Eastern Time. The contest voting officially ends Tuesday, February 14th at 11:59PM Eastern Time. You still have time to submit your best/worst story or vote for your favorite of the stories submitted. Don’t forget, each comment you leave on the story also counts as a vote!
With over $500 in prizes including $100 in cold, hard (PayPal) CASH, you won’t want to miss this contest!
Love is in the air in February and some extra bling could be in YOUR pocket! Memoirs of a Single Dad is hosting our second-ever contest. We all know February is the month of love – you know, with Valentine’s Day and all. What better month to host a contest about love, dating and relationships than February? I can’t think of one!
“So, what’s this contest?” you ask? It’s simple – share your own personal best (or worst) dating story for a chance to win some awesome prizes! You don’t have to be single to share a story – it could be the story of how you met your significant other or just a crazy/funny/romantic date from your past. From LAST first dates to stories of epic date failures, we want to hear them all (and we’re willing to reward you for them)! The full contest details, prizes, rules & submission form are listed below, so check them out.
The Dating Game Contest – How to Enter
Entering the contest is easy, use the form below to send me your very best (or worst) dating stories. I’ll post the story up and Memoirs of a Single Dad’s readers will ‘vote’ for the best. The story with the most votes when the contest ends on February 14th, 2012 is the winner! Don’t worry about making the story pretty – I’ll edit the stories and dress them up so they’re sure to impress your fans.
Voting Details
Once a dating game story has been posted, readers will be encouraged to vote on each story. ‘Votes’ will be counted as any (and all) of the following related to that post:
Comments on the post
Tweets of the post
Facebook Shares/Likes of the Post
LinkedIn Shares of the Post
Google+ (+1) Shares of the Post
StumbleUpon Shares of the post
Reddit Shares of the Post
“Diggs” of the Post
Each comment, share, like, tweet, etc counts as ONE vote. Comments made on the post by the person that submitted the post do not count as votes, however, likes, tweets and other social shares do! So, if you “Like” your post, and ten of your friends “Like” your post, you’ll have 11 votes right there! If you submit a post, share it with your friends and followers as often as possible and get them to vote for you! I’ve conveniently placed vote counters at the top of each dating story post so everyone can see their progress. The winner will receive the grand prize for the contest. There will be 2nd and 3rd place winners as well, which are all described below.
The Dating Game Contest – Prizes
For the Winner
Once the winner has been determined, per the method described above, the winner will receive ALL of the following:
$100 in cold, hard (PayPal) CASH.
A FREE 6 Month Membership to eHarmony.com. (A $180 value)
A personally autographed copy of the book, Memoirs of a Dating Dad signed by me, the author. (A $30 value)
For the Second Place Recipient
A personally autographed paperback copy of the book, Memoirs of a Dating Dad signed by me. (A $30 value)
A FREE 3 Month Membership to eHarmony.com. (A $120 value)
For the Third Place Recipient
A personally autographed paperback copy of the book, Memoirs of a Dating Dad signed by me. (A $30 value)
A FREE 1 Month Membership to eHarmony.com. (A $60 value)
For ALL Published Dating Game Story Participants
A free eBook copy (in PDF format) of the book, Memoirs of a Dating Dad. (A $5 value)
The Dating Game Contest Rules
The Dating Game Contest (the “contest”) is a competition designed to entertain readers of Memoirs of a Single Dad with dating stories. Anyone (with a dating story) can enter. You may submit more than one dating game story with a maximum of five (5) entries per person. We’d prefer your story be original and not published elsewhere on the web, but if it is already published, please provide us with the URL in your submission in the field provided.
Memoirs of a Single Dad is the primary sponsor of this contest. eHarmony.com has also provided prizes in the form of free memberships for contest winners.
There will be three (3) total winners selected. In order to be eligible for payment, the winner must have a valid PayPal account (and email address) to receive the prize. No alternate considerations for the cash prize will be considered. Memoirs of a Single Dad reserves the right to add or remove prizes from this contest at any time and without notice, so check back often!
By submitting a dating game story, you agree to allow Memoirs of a Single Dad to use, copy, modify and edit the story as needed and publish the story on this or other websites. Everyone that participates and has at least one dating game story published on Memoirs of a Single Dad’s website will receive a free copy of the ebook, Memoirs of a Dating Dad. The entry deadline for story submissions is Tuesday, February 14th at NOON Eastern Time. Any submissions received after that time may not be included.
The Dating Game Contest will begin at 12:00 midnight Eastern Time (ET) on Wednesday, February 1st, 2012. The contest will end at 11:59 pm Eastern Time (ET) on Tuesday, February 14th, 2012. Winners of the contest will be notified on Wednesday, February 15th, 2012 by Email.
Judging of dating game stories will be a simple vote count. Votes will be tallied by the social sharing icons located at the top of each dating game post entry and by the unique comments left on each post. Post entrants comments on their post do not count as votes, however, their own social shares do count. One comment or social share, as tracked at the top of the dating game story post is equal to one vote. The story with the most votes at the end of the contest will win. There is no monetary value associated with each vote. In the event that there is an exact tie for first place, Memoirs of a Single Dad reserves the right to choose the winner between those stories with the most votes. Memoirs of a Single Dad is not responsible for discrepancies in or failures of the social sharing plugin counters.
This contest is considered null and void if fewer than five (5) approved dating game stories are received and published by the deadline, so make sure to tell your friends to enter with a story, too!
You must be 18 years of age or older at the time of entry to participate. By submitting a story you agree to be bound by all contest rules. Void where prohibited.
The earlier you get your story in, the more chances you have of racking up those votes, so don’t delay! I will do my best to get your stories posted as soon as possible so that you can receive as many votes as possible.
I really try not to self-promote too much, but sometimes ya just gotta. I’ve been nominated as one of Parents (magazine) best Daddy Blogger sites and I’d really like to win this! Being featured on a site like Parents would be an awesome early birthday present for me (its in September, FYI). If you support single parents – single moms and dads included, please vote! An increasing number of parents are single or will be single and I think single parent blogs could use more exposure.
As an added bonus, if I make the published list for this contest as one of the top Daddy Bloggers, everyone that leaves a comment on this post will receive either a Memoirs of a Single Dad swag item (one of my designs from CafePress.com) or a $15 gift card of their choice – up to the first 20 comments! So help me get out the vote and let’s win this thing!
As a single mom, I’ve grown a bit of a thick skin. Not much gets to me any more. I’ve been there for my son when he was sick, woke up night after night in 2-hour intervals for months to feed him and have changed more poopie diapers than I care to remember. Being a parent is a LOT of work and being a single parent is even more! But you know what? When I see my little Chunky Monkey’s face, when I see him smile or hear him laugh and now that he’s talking when he tells me “Tank yooo!” he truly makes it all worth while. I am inspired by my son (both of my sons) every single day to be the best mom, the best personal chef, the best chauffeur, the best cleaning lady, and even the best diaper-changer in the whole world.
A Contest From AOL: What Inspires You to Be Legendary?
Ethan With a Big Smile
AOL, in conjunction with Jeep, have asked this very same question of women around the US – “What inspires you to be legendary?” They know that it is passion that drives us to be legendary in our own right, no matter what that passion is – from travel, to cooking to parenting and more. AOL and Jeep have teamed up and to create the site http://www.jeeplegendarylife.aol.com/ to ask that very question AND to give away some awesome prizes as well.
Contest Prizes
Everyone that visits the site above and creates an Inspiration Board will be entered into a weekly drawing for a $50 gift card as well as the grand prize – a $4500 gift card! Create your own Inspiration Board and share what inspires you to be great and lead a legendary life. It takes only a few minutes and enters you in the drawing for the weekly and grand prizes.
This contest will run between June 6th – June 30th. See the contest website for full details.
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post and I was compensated by the advertiser through my affiliation with Single Edition to write this post. I was provided with the subject matter to write about, but the content of this article are my own thoughts and opinions. Please read my Disclosure Policy for more information.
A few weeks ago I was asked to read a wonderful new children’s book, Monday is One Day by author Arthur A. Levine, published by Scholastic. I was touched almost immediately just reading the description because I’ve felt the very same feelings the author must have felt when writing the book. I felt that hole in the pit of my stomach every day. I longed for the next time I would see my son again when I was away from him; I’m so glad an author was able to put those feelings to words so eloquently. Monday is One Day makes for an excellent bed time story – especially for parents that are apart from their children during the day.
The book is a love note written from a working father to his young son. One by one, the days of the week roll by. Monday is one day, Tuesday is blue shoes day, and Wednesday is halfway day.
One by one, the days of the week roll by. Monday is one day, Tuesday is blue shoes day, and Wednesday is halfway day.
With monster roars and splashy puddles, with crazy ties and hugs, kids and parents count the perfect small moments of their weekday time together, looking forward to the weekend, when the days will be all theirs.
Book Giveaway
As a promotion for the release of the book, I have been allowed to give two copies of the book away to my readers. Simply add a comment to this post as an entry into the contest. You can also receive one additional entry if you Tweet this post and indicate that you’ve done so in a second comment. I will randomly draw the winner from the comments entered using Random.org. The contest will begin Thursday, May 19th and will conclude Tuesday, May 31. The two winners’ information will be given to the publicist contact and the books will be sent directly from the publicist. Happy commenting!
Not long ago, Memoirs of a Single Dad was asked by Amy over at Mom Select to host a Green Lantern party for the upcoming movie release, due in theaters June 17, 2011. Woah, really? Are you kidding?! Superheros and 8 year olds are the PERFECT combination – not to mention I admit I’m also a bit of a comic and superhero buff myself as well. Ok, so I admit I was as excited about the party as my son was.
Mom Select and Mattel sent over a huge box of toys, the Green Lantern animated movie, hard-cover comic books and Green Lantern Power Rings – basically everything we needed to not only host a party that would make the neighbors green with envy, but also get the invited guests more excited than if they just gulped down an energy drink! We whipped up some party-inspired dishes, watched the movie and staged battles and contests with our awesome movie-inspired toys. Be sure to check out the photos and video from the party below.
Green Lantern – The Giveaway
But wait…want to know the best part? You, my readers also have a chance to get in on the Green Lantern action with our toy giveaway! That’s right, I have the following prize package that I will giveaway to two lucky readers:
1 Green Lantern Action Figure – Tomar-Re Scorpion Assault
1 Green Lantern Hard Cover “Secret Origin” graphic novel
1 Green Lantern light-up Power Ring
Please note that these toys do contain small parts and should only be given to children over the age of 3. A photo of the toys is displayed at left.
Two giveaways consisting of 3 toys each will be given to two randomly-drawn people that post a comment on this blog post. The contest will end Friday, May 20th at 11:59pm and the drawing will be held Saturday, May 21st and announced as a new post on this site. While additional comments are allowed, they will be excluded for the purposes of this drawing. In other words, more comments does not increase your chance of winning. I will do my best to ship out the prize packages to the winner but please remember this is a giveaway and I am shipping on my dime.
A lot of discussion has been swirling as of late in the blogosphere about bloggers’ motivations for their sites. Do bloggers do it for the love of writing or for monetization purposes – to make money off their blog (or ‘fame’, fortune and other spoils)?
Bingo Cards by sarae via Flickr
Memoirs of a Single Dad would like to propose a blogging contest to answer this very question. The best part? There are no wrong answers! This contest would benefit all participants in at least two distinct ways:
Fostering open, honest and friendly discussion on a much-debated blogging topic.
The ‘winner’ would be able to select from their choice of blogging spoils, for love or money (see below – The Spoils).
Contest Rules
New, simplified rules:
Limited to 25 entrants.
Write a minimum of 400 words answering the question, “For Love or Money – which motivates you to blog?”
Create a link (anywhere) from your site/post to this site/post.
Contest starts Wednesday, April 20 2011
Contest closes Saturday, April 30 2011 or when 25 blogger are participating.
Prize drawing to be held May 1, 2011. Memoirs will place the blog entries in a chronological list and use Random.org to randomly draw the winner of the contest (maximum 1/25 odds).
Add your link to the list at the bottom of this page
Contest Details – The Spoils
Memoirs will sponsor the contest by providing a choice of one of the two prizes listed below:
For the ‘money’ crowd…
A $50 (USD) gift certificate to the blogger’s retailer of choice (Amazon, Walmart, Target, Best Buy).
OR (for the ‘Love’ crowd)…
A $50 (USD) charitable contribution to the charity of choice for the selected winner.
Questions About the Contest?
Any questions about the contest can be directed to daniel at memoirsofasingledad.com. Please have mercy on me as this is my very first (of many) contests.
Memoirs of a Single Dad reserves the right to amend the rules and conditions of this contest at any time and for any reason. Any rule changes will be posted here and marked as such.
