Title

I love the library.

Social Media (and muffins) in Real Life

Did you know the Long Lunch PDX class Social Media in Real Life has a SIX page handout?

True! In addition to three hours of relevant and timely  “real life” explanations about foundation social media topics, at this Saturday’s class we’ll pass out six pages of everything we covered, PLUS how to get into a special collection of links to information I put together. These links not only support what you’ll learn in class, they also include advance topics not covered that are written by the most knowledgeable  social media professionals on the Web.

Here is what Melissa and Michelle (your friendly Long Lunch PDX teachers) will be talking about:

• Using free (or nearly free) online tools to connect with potential clients and find like-minded folks
• Unique cultures and usefulness of social media sites such as LinkedIn Flickr, Twitter, Delicious and Facebook
• Writing compelling content, how much and how often you should write, and where to get great ideas that will entertain your readers
• Difference between keywords and hashtags
• Tracking blog visitors
• Using RSS feeds to syndicate blogs

Still not signed up yet?

Did I mention that delicious, homemade muffins will be served? (We know learning minds need fuel.)

Please join us!

$65 (three-hour class) taught by Michelle Anderson and Melissa Lion.

Register for class: March 21st, 10am-1pm

Social Media in Real Life - March 21

Feeds for Free – RSS Feeds in Real Life

The online world is changing at blazing-fast speeds. Every day untold numbers of blog posts are published, Web sites are launched, and files are uploaded and shared. The Internet is unquestionably saturated by content ranging from images of cute ninja kitties to genealogy databases to social networking sites for skeeball players. However, despite the fun places to visit online, and the great source of information it provides, much of what is on the Internet is just noise. In fact, it is now so loud and big that no one knows exactly how big it is.

With all that Internet noise, how will you know when the Web sites that you love to visit have updates? One option is to bookmark (or save) your favorites in your browser, so you’ll have the links readily available for when you want to go back again. The problem with this idea is that have to keep going to the Web sites to see if anything has changed. You will also have to remember what it looked like the last time you visited, so you will noticed what’s different.

But what if you were able to go to one place on the Internet to see if this week’s image of adorable ninja fuzziness had been uploaded? (Of course kitty is featured executing a mid-air roundhouse and sporting a terrycloth headband.) And what if, while you were in this one place where you could see that the ninja kitties Web site had uploaded a new image, you also saw that your sister updated the family history database, and that the local skeeball club won the regional championships last weekend.

Not only is that a better idea than managing links in bookmarks, it’s entirely do-able and totally free.

Quick Question About Creepy Twitter Followers

A week ago Melissa Lion and I taught a class called Social Media in Real Life to 15 pairs of information-hungry eyeballs (next class March 21st). Melissa is a polished presenter with experience in teaching at the university level, while I, on the other hand, have done most of my teaching to small businesses owners one-on-one and (long ago) to groups of children.

You could say I was a wee nervous.

So, I decided to begin the next three hours sharing relevant social media information by asking a question about a topic I can talk all day about. Show of hands, I asked. Who has a Twitter account?

Six people in the room had accounts, two of them being Melissa (@melissalion) and myself (@mediaChick). Although they had heard of Twitter, most attendees had not signed up for that odd 140-character-limited microblogging service. The popular reason for hesitation in joining Twitter? What is the appeal in hearing the boring minutiae of a stranger’s day? What’s the benefit to ME?

This was my perfect segue into explaining the benefits of using social media in real life, with Twitter as a starting point.

So, what is Twitter anyway?

New Class for February

Social Media in Real Life

This is a class on using social media in real life. We’ll cover what social media is and how to use free (or nearly free) online tools to connect with potential clients and find like-minded folks. The unique cultures and usefulness of social media sites such as Flickr, Twitter, Delicious and Facebook will be outlined. Focusing on blogs in particular, you will learn how to sit down and write compelling content, how much and how often you should write, and where to get great ideas that will entertain your readers. Storytelling basics will be shared. Find out who’s visiting your site and where they come from, what keywords and hashtags are, and how to manage the syndication of your blog posts, tweets and other online “lifestreams.”

$65. Three-hour class taught by Michelle Anderson and Melissa Lion.

Lunch provided by Silicon Florist.

Please register here.

February 21st, 10am-1pm

322 NW 6th Avenue, Suite 200
(between Everett + Flanders)
Portland, Oregon 97209
503.517.6900

Michelle Anderson (@mediaChick on Twitter) is a media switchboard operator. She listens to people and connects them with the tools they need to tell a story, enhance business relationships, or share an idea. In addition to managing and contributing to several social communities, she’s a media consultant, an author on many blogs, and bakes goodies so sinful they should be outlawed. She also writes deeply personal essays and too-short stories with abrupt endings.

Melissa Lion is a professional writer. Large multi-national corporations pay her to write novels, book reviews and blog content. She is very grateful to the global economy. She also stands in front of large groups of people and talks about narrative and social media. Buy her books, read her blog and sign up for her classes.

Narrative in Social Media Class on Saturday

Authenticity is key to succeeding in social media. People want to hear a voice, an actual person telling a story. But how does one craft a narrative day after day, post after post?

On Saturday, January 31st, learn narrative tools necessary to create your story for social media.

Register here.

A sneak peak at the topics covered:

Long Lunch PDX Classes

Write Right All Right

This two-hour class is an introduction to crafting narrative for the internet from idea to execution, with some glamorous grammar thrown in. Writers will learn to use the elements of narrative for various social media sites, gain confidence and tap into latent creativity necessary to generate words daily. This class is geared toward people wanting to improve their web presence, gain an engaged audience and create compelling content.

Writers leave with a firm grasp of the language, narrative and social media tools with which to lift their voices above the noise of the internet.

$45. Two hour class taught by Melissa Lion.

Please register here.

January 31st, 10am-12pm

322 NW 6th Avenue, Suite 200
(between Everett + Flanders)
Portland, Oregon 97209
503.517.6900

Glamorous Grammar

Sure you’ve used spell check and that email has none of those pesky red squiggles beneath the words, but is the language really clean and correct? Is your your a you’re? What about that which? Is it making you loose or lose your mind? After this class you too will want to abolish the incorrect whom and myself won’t be a mystery.

Class includes a Long Lunch Grammar Cheat Sheet — no memorization (or sentence diagramming) required.

$25, includes Long Lunch Grammar Cheat Sheet. One hour class, taught by Melissa Lion. Bring your lunch!

From Idea to Execution

This is a five-week series dedicated to moving from a vague idea of wanting to write to actually putting words on the page. Class covers generating solid, reasonable ideas, developing the discipline to write, breaking through writer’s block, crafting a narrative and the nuts and bolts of getting published.

By the end, students will have a specific tool set to accomplish writing goals.

$125 for series. One-hour classes taught by Melissa Lion. Bring your lunch!

Crafting Narrative for the Internet

To rise above the slush pile of the internet, ones narrative, whether for a blog post, a Facebook page or the sum of ones tweets, must be cohesive, nimble and accessible to an audience. Narrative follows a simple structure of rising action and denouement. The protagonist, whether that person is you, a company or a fictional character all must experience conflict and resolution, and more conflict to maintain the audience’s attention.

This is a three-part class covering the craft of narrative for the internet and social media. It’s a step-by-step guide for establishing voice, creating story and maintaining that narrative in the long run.

Three-week series for $100.

One-hour classes taught by Melissa Lion.