UPDATE:

Didn’t get registered before classes started? No worries! You can register late through 1/16. There is a $5 late registration fee and you must use this link to register.

What are your New Years’ resolutions? Is this the year that you are going to start that blog, build that web site or figure what in the heck Twitter is all about? If so, I have a class for you!

• Blogging Basics with WordPress
• Blogging for Fun, Fame and Fortune
• PHP 101 for Web Developers
• Advanced Dreamweaver
• Twitter for Business and Pleasure

Classrooms open this week and the first lessons will be posted on Saturday, January 9. Lessons are posted each week during the six-week course and you work at your own pace, at a time that is convenient for you. Instructor guidance and support is available via the class message boards. Classes are only $30 for students new to LVS Online and they are only $24 for returning students.

Registration deadline is January 6, 2010

Hope to see you in class!

Greetings current and potential students and alumni! It is time for me to start planning the topics to be covered for the November session of Blogging for Fun, Fame and Fortune. I have a bunch of ideas brewing from my experiences at WordCamp Portland and my experiences from organizing WordCamp Seattle but I want to hear from YOU!
Please add your suggestions, wants, wishes and desires to the comments of this post by October 16, 2009.

Its a new school year and a new set of student blogs are on the horizon.
Put the URL of your brand new blog in the comments and I will add them to the blogroll. I am always excited to see what you come up with!

Mark J. Carter is the founder of TweetNetworking, LLC and ONE80, LLC. He ran Chicago’s first Twestival (an international event in 150+ cities) and is currently running Chicago’s second Twestival.  He regularly trains companies and individuals how to get real results with social media.

Mark J Carter

With regards to current social media projects: Currently Carter is Director of Social Media for “Saving The World”; a web community founded by NY Times Bestselling author Tim Sanders and runs a social media team for OfficePort; a new, 15,000 square foot “coworking” space in Chicago.

He maintains three Twitter accounts (personal (@mjcarter), cause related (@ChiTwestival) and for a brick & mortar company (@OfficePort) as well as 5 successful Facebook groups and business pages including the TweetNetworking Facebook group (over 1,500 members)

Carter’s social media companies started offline (consulting about how to create pivotal and profitable relationships) and then grew online by applying 7 years of “been-there-done-that” results with business networking/referral systems in the social media realm: How to use Twitter, Facebook and blogs to build your business and brand.

In addition to his consulting business Carter is also the founder of ‘Networking For A Cause’ which solves problems for nonprofits by connecting them with young professionals that can help and: The Young Entrepreneurs’ Alliance; an organization that provides an environment for entrepreneurs to learn from mentors, build momentum and thrive.

I am so pleased to announce that Lorelle VanFossen,  aka the Fairy Blog Mother, will be a guest instructor for the Blogging for Fun, Fame and Fortune class at LVS Online this coming session!

Lorelle VanFossen has been around the WordPress and WordCamp map. She’s presented keynotes and programs at WordCamps in Israel, San Francisco, Hawaii, Dallas, Toronto, Whistler, Portland, and will be speaking in Holland, Israel, and other places in the world in the next few months. She is the host of the Lorelle on WordPress, providing WordPress and blogging tips for bloggers of all levels, and a long time contributor to the Blog Herald. A web publishing consultant, she also serves as the editor-in-chief of Woopra, the hot new web analtyics program that is changing the web, and works with Bitwire Media and hosts the Liz and Lorelle Show podcast with Liz Strauss and featured contributor on WordCast, the WordPress podcast with Dave Moyer and Kym Huynh. Lorelle is the author of the fast-selling book, “Blogging Tips: What Bloggers Won’t Tell You About Blogging”.

Lorelle VanFossen will be a guest instructor, presenting the content for one of the lessons in this six week blogging studio. In addition  to providing her expertise, insight and humor during the written lesson, Lorelle will be available that week of the course to answer your questions on the class message board. This is a great opportunity to interact with Lorelle and I am so grateful that she will be joining us this session.

The first lesson is on 8/29/09. The registration deadline is 8/26/09.

Welcome to Week Two and your new blog!

I will be creating a blogroll of all student blogs this session. Please add a comment to this post that gives us the web address/URL of your new blog. You can also use the comments here to find a classmate’s blog to visit and comment on for the last portion of your assignment.

Get blogging!

If I knew then, what I know now… is the topic for the next Blog Carnival for LVS students, staff and alumni.

How many times have you said “If I knew then, what I know now…”?

What have you learned that has made your life so much easier, more efficient, more fun or more fulfilling?  What do you want to tell the world about, so they can avoid some of the frustrations or heartbreak that you have endured?  Please share your wisdom and inspiration with us!

How it works

1. Publish your art and/or writing to your blog or web site.
2. Go to http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_6139.html and submit the URL of your work by April 8, 2009. In the remarks section, please indicate if you are a LVS student, alumni or staff. It is also a great place to summarize your post. You can type in a sentence or two to introduce your post or I can write the introduction for you.
3. On April 10, a list of all the submissions will appear here with a brief a description.
4. Check out the informative and entertaining art and stories of fellow LVS Staff, Students and Alumni  that will be posted here.
5. Post a link or story on your own blog or website about the carnival, letting your readers know about your participation. This will allow them to peruse the carnival submissions and visit the blogs and web sites of your fellow participants. It is a great way to be discovered!

Tot get a better sense of how it all works, check out last session’s blog carnival entries on Inspiration.

I am really looking forward to seeing your submissions!

The March session at LVS Online is just around the corner. The classrooms open on Monday,  March 9 for the Blogging Basics and the Blogging for Fun, Fame and Fortune classes with the first lesson on 3/14/09.

Registration deadline is March 11, 2009.  Don’t miss out on the fun and information. We have a lot of new material in the blogging studio course, Blogging for Fun, Fame and Fortune this session on blog statistics and monetizing your blog.

Each session the topics for the Blogging for Fun, Fame and Fortune class, are determined by the students.

Here are the proposed topics for the March session:

• Monetization
  • Affiliate marketing
  • Advertising
  • Sponsors
  • Selling your product or service
• Search engine optimization and statistics
  • know your audience
    • who do you want to serve
    • who are you currently serving
  • evaluate where to put your marketing efforts
  • impact of social networks
  • optimizing your content
• Refining your content for quality and interaction
• Technorati
  • Building authority
  • Source for blog topics

In addition to the lessons, all students enrolled in this blogging studio have access to the library, which will contain past lessons on topics like Twitter, 43 Things, image galleries, comment plugins and theme customization for comment threading.

Registration is now open for the March session for the Blogging for Fun, Fame and Fortune class.

Blogging Basics  and Blogging for Fun, Fame and Fortune, LVS Online Blogging courses start this week!

Blogging Basics

The Blogging Basics course is for those brand new to blogging. In this introduction course we focus on creating a plan for your blog, setting up your blogand the basics of good blog writing. We also learn how to make your blog a multimedia experience!

Blogging for Fun, Fame and Fortune

Blogging for Fun, Fame and Fortune is a totally different kind of online course for bloggers. Students offer support and critiques of each others work while building social networks. Although there are short lessons each week, the content of those lessons are determined by the need, interest and the desires of the students. Topics include social networking like Twitter, blog promotion, modifying themes, search engine optimization and increasing conversation. We work together to promote our blogs and to stay on top of the best blogging tools.

Both blogging classes start on 1/10/09, register now!
Here is the registration link for Blogging Basics
Here is the registration link for Blogging for Fun, Fame and Fortune