We have been working on ParentPower for several months and we have talked to many bloggers in the community for their input. We want to especially thank the focus group participants for their great suggestions for improvement.

We have added over 200 bloggers into the index already and hope that the community will add many more fantastic parent bloggers over the next few weeks.

We hope that during our Beta phase you will continue to help us make a number of tweaks to our offering. Be sure to give us your feedback. We have set up a survey at PollDaddy, and you can access us directly at myvoice [at] parentpowerindex dot com, or on Twitter at Twitter.com/ParentPower.

ParentPower is broken down into two parts, the Desktop Application and the Index and Headlines. Here is some information about each of them.

The Desktop Application and Reader

The ParentPower Desktop Application is designed to make your life easier and to help you find great content fast. In the ParentPower button you can find the index, blogger headlines, BlogHer Mommy and Family, Sk*rt Family and Parenting, and CNN Health/Parenting.

In the menu there are quick links to Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Flickr and Sk*rt. And we have put together a list of links that you might find useful such as movies, traffic, shopping and more.

On the left sidebar, the application includes games, parenting videos and podcasts - which you can find in the media feeds on the Menu. Plus, we are known for delivering the weather.

We have also included an RSS reader that you can customize. If you aren’t using an RSS reader, it is a powerful and simple tool. If you do have an RSS reader, you can use this one for specialized tasks and to cut down on clutter in your main reader.

The Index and Headlines

Rankings. Some people like them and some people don’t, but we have seen first-hand how they have enabled other communities to easily discover and enjoy bloggers. In fact, we have taken this a step further and put together a Headlines page, so that you can quickly get a snapshot of what is happening in the Parenting Blogosphere. We hope this brings great visibility for the bloggers in the index and for parents looking for parenting tips and other information. Plus, it means you don’t have to be a top-ranked blogger to get noticed. We have put together a primer on using ParentPower to promote your blog.

Index Methodology

The Index uses a percentile ranking system that uses Technorati inbound links and rank, Bloglines subscriptions, Alexa rank, Google PageRank, and Yahoo inbound links. All of these are averaged and each blog is given a percentile score. We adjusted the formula so that the blog defaults to its highest possible rank. As you will see, many blogs have identical positioning on the index. You can read more about the ParentPower methodology on the page we put together for that purpose.

In the case of the ParentPower application, we are not offering a user’s guide. Quite honestly, one is not really necessary - as you will soon discover. However, we certainly recognize the need to provide some basic background on the application and its features.

Take a look at the diagram below of the application face features.

ParentPower Application Face Features

Starting from the Video Tap and going clockwise:
Video Tab:This tab will appear when there is a video to view.

Minimize Button:
When clicked, the application will minimize into your Windows Task Bar. While minimized, you will see the Current Temperature and the Yahoo Search window in your Task Bar. The ParentPower icon will appear in the System Tray.

Weather Reporting Locator:
Choose the location from which you want to receive your weather information.

Portal Button:
This button, named “ParentPower” opens the Portal Window of the application, which provides one-click access to the ParentPower Index, ParentPower Headlines and social networking sites.

RSS Reader
Click this button to a preloaded customized RSS reader. You can also load your own RSS feeds.

Yahoo! Search Window
Quickly search using Yahoo, can assist you with online search. Simply type your search phrase into the box and press the magnifying glass.

Ad Spot:
This area displays rotating images from our sponsors. We encourage you to support them by clicking on their image to visit their website.

Interests Button:
Click this button to open a web page filled with links to various information such as shopping sites, movie showtimes and locations, travel prices, health tips and the lowest gas prices in your area.

Show/Hide Alert Bar: Click this to open and close the Alert Box.

Menu Button: This button displays a list of commands and shortcuts you can use to access help, view videos, access social networking sites, and contact us!

Current Conditions Display: Click the navigational arrows to display the following weather conditions for your locality:

• Current Temperature (in degrees Fahrenheit)

• Wind Speed (in Miles Per Hour)

• Wind Direction

• Barometric Pressure

• Humidity

• Dew Point

• Time the application was last updated

Alert Notification Signal: When new alerts are available, a plus sign (+) blinks to let you know! Click the plus sign to see a list of current alerts. Alerts will be items such as exercise videos, cooking sessions, sponsor news and more.

First, there are two ways to access videos in the ParentPower application. On the upper left side of the application there is a blinking “+” symbol. When you click on that a list of available videos, games and any existing weather alerts, will appear. You can click on any of these links.

The other way to access videos is through the MENU link on the front of the application face. When you click on menu you will see all the video and media feeds available.

As for uploading videos or other content - the current Beta version of the ParentPower Desktop Application does not do this. However, if you spot content you would like us to provide in the application, please send us an email at: myvoice@parentpowerindex.com

You also can access our YouTube channel and share videos with us there.

Do you ever find that you need to visit three or four websites just to get the information that you need? As a busy parent, it can be very frustrating to get it all done every day.

The ParentPower application does all the heavy lifting for you, bringing all the information that you need right to your desktop and allowing you to easily discover new parent-focused content.

We worked hand-in-hand with parents and bloggers to develop the content for the ParentPower application and the Index. Our goal was to help busy parents find great content fast and to simplify their informational needs, while providing fresh exposure for parent-focused blogs.

Through ActiveAccess, ParentPower pulls in your favorite social networks and any RSS feeds that you might want to follow - from blogs to mainstream media. The application also comes preloaded with headlines from the ParentPower Index.

ParentPower is a free service and is easy to install. Try it and see if it doesn’t become a faithful standby on your computer.For recommendations - contact us at: myvoice@parentpowerindex.com

For technical support - contact us at: support@parentpowerindex.com

If you have general questions or comments about the application, or you want to discuss parenting issues we invite you to send us a Tweet or contact us VIA Google Talk (you will need to set up an account for Twitter and Google Talk if you do not have one).

You can IM us through Google Talk at: parentpowerindex@gmail.com
This feature will be available from 10:00 am to 3:00 PM Eastern time.