Events and Conferences

Bloggie Nominations Are Open

Nominate yourself and all your favorite blogs for the 2009 Weblog Awards. Nominations are open January 1-12. You can vote on the finalists from January 22-February 2, and the winners will be announced in March at SXSW. There are tons of categories to choose from, and besides the “Best New Weblog” category the only requirement is that the blog fit the category and have been around sometime in 2008.

Here’s the list:

• Best Web Application for Weblogs
• Best Australian or New Zealand Weblog
• Best Asian Weblog
• Best African Weblog
• Best European Weblog
• Best Latin American Weblog
• Best Canadian Weblog
• Best Photography of a Weblog
• Best Art, Craft, or Design Weblog
• Best Food Weblog
• Best Fashion Weblog
• Best Travel Weblog
• Best Weblog About Music
• Best Gossip Blog
• Best Entertainment Weblog
• Best Sports Weblog
• Best Weblog About Politics
• Best Computer or Technology Weblog
• Best Topical Weblog
• Best Teen Weblog
• Most Humorous Weblog
• Best Writing of a Weblog
• Best Microblog
• Best Group Weblog
• Best Community Weblog
• Best-Designed Weblog
• Best-Kept Secret Weblog
• Best New Weblog
• Lifetime Achievement
• Weblog of the Year

Take a Class: Managing the Blogosphere

I’ll be teaching a course at UBC this spring called “Managing the Blogosphere.” It’s part of a series of courses on social media taught by some of the most prominent of Vancouver’s social media tech space. If you’re interested in taking the class, here’re the deets:

The blogosphere is where social media combines with content to produce ground-breaking outreach and impact for your organization. This course explores the theory of why blogging is todayâ€(tm)s most popular area for businesses to spend marketing dollars, and gives you some of the hands-on skills you need to get started yourself. Set up a blog, develop content, learn about RSS, comments, and integration with social networking sites like Flickr, Digg, del.icio.us and others. Topics also include reaching out to bloggers who can help you accomplish your marketing and business goals. The class includes real-world case studies and a forum for brainstorming and discussion.
3 Wed, Mar 4-25, (no class Mar 18), 6:30-9:30pm; UBC Robson Square. $375+GST

Registration is via the UBC site.

Asia Pacific Corporate Blogging Masterclass

Exciting news! Susannah Gardner will be traveling to Malaysia and Singapore at the beginning of November 2008 to teach a masterclass level course on corporate blogging. The course is sponsored by Salvo as part of their corporate communication series, and is aimed at helping businesses develop their own blog as a two-way communications and marketing tool. The conference is primarily intended for business executives who recognize the promise of blogs for viral marketing and public relations, managers who want to improve their organization’s online presence, or professionals who are interested to learn how blogging and search engine optimization works.

This will be a basic level course for participants who have no prior knowledge of blogging (but you do need to be interested!). Participants will be given the opportunity to develop a blog and write content from scratch. A Certificate of Completion will be issued to all those who complete a minimum of 90% of the total hours of the Masterclass.

Malaysia: 3rd and 4th November 2008, Grand Millennium Kuala Lumpur
Singapore: 6th and 7th November 2008, Royal Plaza on Scotts

Masterclass-At-A-Glance
Day 1
9:00-10:30 Introduction to Blogs
10:45-12:30 Blog Tools and Techniques
1:30-3:30 Using Blogs for Marketing
3:45-5:30 Blogging and Your Company

Day 2
9.00-10:30 Blog Best Practices
10:45-12:30 Writing Effectively
1:30-3:30 Comments and Community
3:45-4:45 Blogs and the Law
4:45-5:30 Wrap Up Discussion

Please .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)  if you are interested in attending: 
Tel: +65 6297 8545
Fax: +65 6336 3779