The best way to deliver your information to the world requires the best content management. We explore WordPress as one of the tools you can use. We stick to Open Source solutions that run on Linux utilizing MySQL.
We now have 2 Seminars!
The original Blogosopher- or “Blogosphere” (for those with Dyslexia), is a 3.5 hour seminar on how to make the Internet work for your business. At the bottom of this page is an outline of some of the subjects we cover.
It’s new name is Websitetology 101
You will leave the seminar able to build an effective site- that you can maintain yourself, and knowing the tricks to search engine optimization so that your site will be found.
If you wonder if the seminar is for you- see this post:http://blogosopher.com/?p=9
The new seminar- is all WordPress- Websitetology WP advanced
We spend 3.5 hours learning all the tips and tricks of WordPress- a very cool and easy to use Open Source (free!) Content Management System that is designed for Blogging- but offers so much more, it’s really a fantastic way to build and maintain a website for business.
Each seminar is $79 if you register 12 hours in advance (you can do that on this site- at the sign-up page) If you walk in, it’s an additional $15 for onsite registration- cash or check only.
We highly recommend taking both classes- the first one is the big picture course- where you learn about the web, types of sites, how search works, how to compete with the big boys- and outsmart them, and be highly visible online- as well as an intro to a really great piece of software- WordPress.
While we concentrate on using a Blog (short for weB LOG) to build traffic to your website- you will learn how to analyze site stats (and all sites should have stats- you just may not know about them) to refine your content. We will teach you how your site design can be optimized for search engines- which will drive more than 70% of your traffic to your site (without having to pay for it) if you do things right.
Internet novices to people who already have successful web businesses have come to learn about how this Blog technology is changing the web. The Blog software we demonstrate, Word Press, is very smart, server side software, that makes it easy for anyone- to build and maintain a professional looking website- that can be updated at will. The code it generates meets all W3C standards, it notifies search engines and your customers that you have new content with out you doing anything other than adding content. We introduce you to RSS which will change your online relationship with your customers- and how you use the web.
If some of this didn’t make sense to you- don’t worry- it will after the seminar.
The WP Advanced site- was developed because some people just want to learn about the WordPress application in depth. We cover each part of the software in depth- including multiple authors, trackbacks, pings, password protection, dissecting themes, key plug-ins, and how to get help when things go wrong. While some attendees feel very comfortable with the interface and the program, many asked for a more relaxed look at WordPress so we created the WP advanced class for them.
If you have a group and want to arrange for short introduction to Blogs and how they win the search game- we can work a group rate- or if you want to host the seminar for your professional organization (ad club, Chamber of Commerce etc.) we can split revenues with you.
Instead of giving away trash and trinkets- or “promotional items” to your clients- help them grow their business by hosting the seminar for them- as a sponsored event- or by buying them admission at a discount. Please contact the chief Websitetologist at [email protected]
Websitetology Topics
What is the internet:
- Types of servers
- Domain name
- Hosting
Types of sites:
- Static/dynamic/live
- W3C, 508 (screen reader)
- HTML/Flash/CSS
- Communities: AOL, Yahoo groups, Wikis, BB’s, NewsGroups (Etiquette)
Software:
- Browser wars
- Why Firefox.
- What is open source?
Hosting basics:
- Serving platforms
- Control panels
- Stats
- Connectivity/redundancy
- URL registration
- How to look things up
All about E-mail:
- E-mail broadcast
- What is SPAM/ CAN SPAM
- HTML e-mail
- Opt-in
- Good e-mail etiquette
Search:
- Search=Use=commerce
- Google, Yahoo, others
- “Search Engine optimizationâ€
- How search ranks
- How web stats can unveil business for you
Blogs:
- What they are- and aren’t
- Web Log=BLOG- journal
- Active web site- Back end database
- Content management system
- Interaction- live.
- RSS
Why Blogs are important:
- Updated frequently
- Good clean code
- Low cost
- High interactivity
- Interaction
- Integration into a static site
Blog Options:
- Blogger, Moveable Type, TypePad, WordPress
- Themes- CSS
- Extensions/Plug-ins
Content:
- The holy grail of the Internet.
- Writing for an audience
- Style
- How to attribute content
- Links
- Format
- Promoting your site
- Inviting your reader in.
- How to analyze your content
- How to analyze your keywords
What is a blogosopher?
- How do you contribute to the community?
- How do you get started?
some student feedback:
Saw this in use on The Gem City blog– and thought it was cool- it’s in his right sidebar. We’ll look at it some more- but, seems like a really easy way of doing what Dayton Most Metro has done with mapping- and this lets anyone and everyone post!
About – Platial.com
Platial enables anyone to find, create and use meaningful maps of Places that matter to them. We hope it can connect people, neighborhoods, cities and countries through a citizen-driven common context that goes beyond geopolitical boundaries. We are building it, because we adore Places
It works with other CMSs but- we are most likely to like it on WordPress.
I learn a lot from D’Arcy- even though I’ve never met him.
About a year ago, he switched his blog to Drupal from WordPress- and I felt kind of left out- no longer was I recognized on the comments- and I stopped getting an e-mail when more comments were made. The content lost some of the community. There was one post about one of D’Arcy’s friends, Sammi- getting hassled by cops because of “profiling” for terrorists- I felt I was a big part of a conversation about if the post should stay up- or not.
So- today, D’Arcy recognized that WordPress does some things way better than Drupal – and made the switch back:
Switched back to WordPress at D’Arcy Norman dot net
I’ve been using Drupal for my blog for just over a year now, and it’s been a really great platform to work in. I use it pretty much all day for projects at the U of C as well. But it just feels a bit lacking in the area of managing a personal blog, compared with WordPress which is built solely for that purpose.I’ve been missing things like email subscriptions to comments, and some of the other niceties that WordPress has had nailed for a long time, but are missing in Drupal.
If uber geek, D’Arcy can’t make Drupal sing- at least for the community parts- I’m pretty sure others can’t.
I feel like I’ve just been let back into D’Arcy world- and am very happy.