Classes run each Saturday

Schedule:

We’re moving and will be posting our new schedule very soon. Looking forward to our Social Media Certificate program launching in January!

In the meantime, we are offering Twitter in 120 Minutes on December 5th.

The Social Media Certificate consists of the following courses, taken in any order:

• Blogging for Beginners (or practical equivalent, decided by interview and website examination)
• Pimp My Blog
• Introduction to Social Media
• Any one of: Twitter for Beginners; Intro to Facebook; Gmail and Google
• Tools; Intro to Tumblr; Dashboards for Productivity
• And any one of: Internet Drama; Reputation Management; Connecting
• Online Event Marketing On Social Media

So basically it teaches blogging, some SEO, the concepts of social
media, an introduction to several different platforms, and an
examination of some of the social/relationship issues that lie at the heart of these tools. Separately the courses would be $750, but if you sign up for all of them at once (which of course you can’t do right now, because I haven’t yet scheduled them!) they’re $500. The certificate is awarded upon completion.

To register, please email bloggingclasses AT gmail DOT com in advance to make sure the class is not sold out. When your registration is confirmed, please pre-pay via the Paypal button in the top right-hand corner of the blog. Paypal will give you a receipt and I will email you one as well.

Blogging for Writers

Learn how to get the most out of blogs for promotion, sales, networking and (unexpectedly) to improve your writing.

In this hands-on workshop we’ll  cover setting up a blog, connecting with and managing an audience, using the blog for promotion and sales, and how a blog can make you a better writer, working our way through writers’ exercises and gathering feedback from the class. Be prepared to participate!

The discipline of a daily blogger is a prerequisite to developing a body of work that functions as your online portfolio. Use your blogging as a tool to develop a powerful, confident voice and tackle writing challenges in a supportive, low-pressure environment. Includes exercises and benchmarks to help you analyze your progress and keep your work growing after the class ends.

Offered online, and in abbreviated form (an afternoon sampler) at the Surrey Writers’ School this coming Spring.

Blogging for Beginners:

Start from scratch and learn to post text, video, audio, and images. Basic copyright and blog etiquette, intro to sidebar widgets, categories, custom headers and design, and what on Earth to put IN the blog. Also where to find technical help. By the end of the workshop you’ll have a fully-functioning WordPress.com blog with several blog posts already up.

This one is running every fourth Saturday, beginning Saturday, May 30 from 10-2, $150 pre-registered, and only eight spaces are available.

To register, please email bloggingclasses AT gmail DOT com in advance to make sure the class is not sold out. Please pre-pay via the Paypal button in the top right-hand corner of the blog when your registration is confirmed. Paypal will give you a receipt and I will email you one as well.

Pimp My Blog

Practical tips and tools for increasing your readership and influence, and applies to any blogging platform (with the exception of Tumblr, which is really only good for talking to the voices inside your head in my opinion). It includes a very basic intro to social media like Facebook and Myspace for promotion.

This course is repeated every four weeks; the next one is Saturday, May 30th.

This is a $150 course, also from 10-2. There are only eight places in each session.

Twitter in 120 Minutes

A hands-on seminar designed for beginning Twitter users who want to learn effective ways to manage their accounts and stay efficient.

What:  a two-hour introduction to Twitter and TweetDeck,
When: 12-2pm, Repeats every fourth Saturday
Where: Tradeworks Training Society, 2nd floor, 87 West Pender Street, Vancouver at the corner of Columbia and Pender in Chinatown
Why: learn powerful applications that can save you time and help you get the most out of Twitter
How: much? $75

The basics of Twitter and the applications of two Twitter tools will be reviewed in the first 30-45 minutes with a hands-on session in the remaining 1:15, where the instructor will be available to guide participants through the basic elements of using TweetDeck and Power Twitter.

Class size is strictly limited to 8: please email bloggingclasses AT gmail DOT com to pre-register. Payment in advance via Paypal or by special arrangement.

Advanced Twitter Tools

Taught by Raul Pacheco, PhD, this hands-on workshop will introduce you to several Twitter apps and their specific uses. Power up your social media skills, manage multiple accounts, and communicate more effectively to the right people with a selection of Twitter add-ons and power tips.

Tuition is $75 for this two-hour course, which is repeated every four weeks. Class size is strictly limited to 8, as this is a hands-on course with individual attention: please email bloggingclasses AT gmail DOT com to pre-register. Payment in advance via Paypal or by special arrangement.

Introduction to Social Media:

A two-hour, intensive introduction to MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other popular social media platforms. Covers the etiquette unique to each, how to set up your profile, privacy concerns, how to promote via social media and how to connect with real friends. This course is not a hands-on, lets-get-you-signed-up-on-Facebook course; it’s more to make you aware of all the different services out there and to give you some perspective to make an informed choice about your participation in the social media space.

This is a $75 course, from 10-2, and classes come up once every four weeks. There are only eight places in each session.

Please email bloggingclasses AT gmail DOT com to pre-register. Payment in advance via Paypal or by special arrangement.

Introduction to Gmail and Google Tools:

Presented by Raul Pacheco

This is a two-hour, intensive course in getting the most from Gmail, Gtalk, Google Documents, and related Google tools. You do not need a Gmail account to take this course, although you should think ahead of time about which Gmail username you’d like to practice with. You can register one account to learn with and when you’re ready can make a more permanent account once you’re confident with the tools.

The class is offered from 10-noon at Tradeworks Training Society in Chinatown. The course is offered every four weeks, so if you can’t make it go ahead and join our mailing list or add this event to your Google Calendar.

This is a $75 course. There are only eight places in each session. Please email bloggingclasses AT gmail DOT com to pre-register. Payment in advance via Paypal or by special arrangement.

Coming Up:

to be scheduled:

Blogging as Writer’s Practice

Introduction to Tumblr

Personal Blogging/Journaling

Social Media Concept Jam

Using the Web to Go Global

Guided Photowalk

Podcasting Basics

Mobile Video

Etiquette in Social Media

LinkedIn: connecting to work

Blogging for Business (by arrangement)

• What: a hands-on, blog building workshop including advice on how your organization can get the most impact from social media and blogs.

• When: TBA

• Where: Tradeworks Training Society, Downtown Vancouver

• Why: Learn to use a blog to raise your professional profile, spread your company’s message, and connect with clients and the media. Get a blog up and running in one day with personal instruction in a small, intensive workshop.

With class size limited to 6, this will be a program of personalized, intense learning. During the workshop you will create a blog, customize the design, and publish several draft posts including various multimedia formats such as video. You will leave with a functional, professional blog and the skills you need to run and promote it.

This workshop also covers important business blogging issues like:

> what blogging and social media can and can’t do for your organization

> blogs as sales tools

> posting rich media like podcasts, video, and images

> accepting paid advertising: pluses and minuses

> basic copyright law and accepted practices

> solving basic technical problems, where to find help

> privacy, confidentiality, and the internet

> balancing accessibility and professionalism online

> SEO, publicity, and building your media presence

Tuition is $250 per participant. Please pre-register via email at least seven days before the class. No late registrations will be accepted. Computers are provided; you may bring a laptop if you prefer. Presented by raincoaster media ltd, in partnership with Tradeworks Training Society.

Contact or 778-235-0592, bloggingclasses AT gmail DOT com .

Upcoming Courses: Corporate and Nonprofit Blogging, Pimp My Blog (blog
promotion), Blogging for Business, Audio Podcasting, and Photoblogging (online and in
Montreal, courtesy Neath of Walking Turcot Yards). Please email bloggingclasses AT gmail DOT com to be put on the notification list.

Blogging for Nonprofit Organizations (by arrangement)

• What: a hands-on, blog building workshop including advice on how your organization can get the most impact from social media and blogs.

• When: to be announced

• Where: Tradeworks Training Society, Downtown Vancouver

• Why: Learn to use social media and blogs to complement your organization’s mission. Get a blog up and running in one day with personal instruction in a small, intensive workshop.

This workshop covers blogging issues like:

> what social media can and can’t do for your organization

> posting rich media like podcasts, video, and images

> basic copyright law and accepted practices

> solving basic technical problems, where to find help

> privacy, confidentiality, and the internet

> balancing accessibility and professionalism online

> SEO, publicity, and building your media presence

Tuition is $250 per participant. Please pre-register via email at least seven days before the class. No late registrations will be accepted. Computers are provided; you may bring a laptop if you prefer. Presented by raincoaster media ltd, in partnership with Tradeworks Training Society.

Contact or 778-235-0592, bloggingclasses AT gmail DOT com .

With class size limited to 6, this will be a program of personalized, intense learning. During the workshop you will create a blog, customize the design, and publish several draft posts including various multimedia formats such as video. You will leave with a functional, professional blog and the skills you need to run and promote it.

Why blog? Check out the creative, effective ways that other nonprofits are using blogs to distribute their message independent of the mainstream media:

> 10 reasons every nonprofit must have a blog

> 10 ways nonprofits can use blogs

> blogging basics for nonprofits

> the nonprofit blog exchange

> net2learn blogging for nonprofits

> how nonprofits can use social media

> should your nonprofit have a blog?

Upcoming Courses: Corporate and Nonprofit Blogging, Pimp My Blog (blog
promotion), Blogging for Business, Audio Podcasting, and Photoblogging (online and in
Montreal, courtesy Neath of Walking Turcot Yards). Please email bloggingclasses AT gmail DOT com to be put on the notification list.

More Courses: Corporate Blogging, Blogging for Nonprofit Organizations, Blogging for Entrepreneurs, and Photoblogging (online and in Montreal, courtesy Neath of Walking Turcot Yards). Please email to be put on the notification list for dates.

Bio: Lorraine Murphy has been blogging for many years, and her flagship blog, raincoaster, is ranked in the top 20,000 blogs in the world. She maintains The Shebeen Club Blog for the literary group of the same name, running through rain for students of her course Blogging to Personal Growth, and Blogger’s Blurt, a resource for beginning WordPress bloggers. She mommyblogs at TeenyManolo and celebrityblogs at Ayyyy!. Ms Murphy is the author of Terminal City: Vancouver’s Missing Women and a former Small Business Columnist at Business in Vancouver newspaper and Occupational Pursuit magazine. As one of the cornerstone volunteers in the WordPress.com technical help forums, she has long experience helping beginning bloggers develop fluency and achievement online.

Contact us below for more details:

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