Blogging is not a very linear process. In some ways, it is like concentric circles, with layers of complexity and customization. In other ways, it is more like a tinker toy model of different pieces that connect to each other in a myriad of ways.  This makes blogging interesting but also very challenging to teach. The entire time that I was working on the lessons, up until the moment they were released, I struggled with the order of the topics and how in depth to cover them. I chafed when I had to keep saying wait until week X to answer your questions as some roared on ahead  while others needed a lot more details on topics that I barely had time to mention. As our maiden voyage of this course is drawing to a close, I continue to struggle with those questions.

I will be revising this course based upon student evaluations. I always tweak my courses based  upon student feedback and most time there is consensus amongst my students. This time I am inviting your feedback in the form of a conversation. I would really like to know what you thought about the order of the topics and the depth with which they were covered. Because this is not a linear topic, I am expecting less consensus in this course. That is evident in the evaluations that I have received so far.

Here are some of the questions that I hope you might tackle in your comments:

• Too much content or not enough?
• Should it be divided into two classes? If so how? personal and business blogging? blog writing and social networking? building a blog and building a theme?
• Did the order of topics make sense? What did you wish you learned earlier or later than was presented?
• What did you wish I had covered in less detail?
• What did you wish I had covered in more detail?
• By waiting to introduce social networking until week 5, do you think you will have enough time to at least try it out before the class ends? Realize that internet social networks, like all networks, take time to develop

Thank you I am looking forward to this discussion

Registration is now open at LVS Online and the time is now to sign up for May session classes.  Join us on the inaugural voyage for Blogging for Fun, Fame and Fortune. It is designed for beginning bloggers, as well as those that want to improve the content and increase their reading audience.  During this course, there will be guided instruction and lots of student participation to develop your own personal blogging community. We will be using the WordPress 2.5 software package to power our blogs, and you will learn how to customize your blog to fit your style and your message.

At only $25 for this 6 week online class, you can’t afford to let this opportunity pass you by!

Blogging is taking the world by storm! The heart of its power lies in its immediacy of publishing information, the ease of setting up and maintaining a blog and its interaction with its users. Blogs are used for everything from private family updates to journals to product reviews to photo journals to political podiums. As well as being a satisfying outlet on a personal level, blogs can be powerful business tools. Businesses, from freelancers to large corporations like Boeing, are using blogs to promote their products/services, gain and maintain customer loyalty, obtain customer feedback, and communicate news to their customers.

During this course, you will learn about the art and science of blogging. We will use the popular and FREE WordPress software to install and administer our blog. We touch upon styling the blog to match your style and topic. We will cover how to write engaging titles and blog posts, how to use blog directories, how to build authority in the blogging world and how to share your blog with others. We will focus on the interactive nature of blogging and how to increase participation on your blog without a lot of spam.

Not all blogs will gain you fame and fortune but they all can be fun! For those blog topics that are conducive to it, we will also cover revenue streams like tip jars, affiliates, advertisements and sponsorships. Some bloggers, Like SimpleBits and Lockergnome, have turned their blogs into fulltime businesses.

For more information and to register for the class, please follow this link: http://www.lvsassociates.com/register/product_info.php?products_id=256