pageoneresults - 3:57 pm on May 26, 2010 (gmt 0)

tell me more. Online - or in person? What topics? Certification?

Can I send you a bill afterward? :)

Okay, let me preface this with the fact that I have 6+ years working within a Distance Learning Environment not to mention 15+ years of fora browsing and participation. I remember SEF well. :)

I currently Administer a team that manages a large online distance learning program for an accredited college. It's been a learning experience to say the least, pun intended. We manage upwards of 500+ enrolled and active students at any given time. We've grown from being a small local college to now being recognized as the leader in distance learning in this particular niche.

So, what can WebmasterWorld do? You can be the one to set the benchmark in this industry moving forward. You would use the offline (traditional) to fuel the online. For instance, we record all local events at the college. Those are then utilized for streaming video instruction via the Distance Learning modules and there are a bunch of them! We have events throughout the week so there is quite a bit of material being recorded that can be used for the online educational streams.

Think about it, you've already got both parts of the equation in place. Now they just need to be melded together to create an educational resource that I think COULD be unmatched in the industry. WebmasterWorld have quite a few quality folks around this neck of the woods and if the financial incentive is right, you could rock the house.

I focus on the financial aspect because most Mentor types are not going to give their time away for free, not in this type of environment. This is a for profit venture for all involved, not just WebmasterWorld. You need to share with your contributors, tutors, mentors, whatever they want to be called. We can't have any Gurus though. ;)

Certification

Brett, I'm glad you brought this up. If there are a group of people I would support in setting up a Certifying Body for the SEO Industry it would be you and a list of others that I have in mind.

This one is a bit more involved I think. First, I'd recommend that you become accredited as a training authority in our industry. That's going to take a little money and some business expertise to set up. Once you're accredited, then you can obtain WebmasterWorld.edu and go from there. I personally would support any efforts put forth by the WebmasterWorld community as a whole. I like the folks over here even though I tend to piss most off. Don't take it personally! ;)

Yes, you COULD become the first Certifying Authority in this space. You've got some catching up to do though as others have already gotten involved with local colleges and have their training programs approved for CEU credits. And then there is another group who have set up their training via an online college, I'm sure you're familiar with them? Good group of folks too.

Again, you've got the components, now you just need to bring them together, organize and take things to a whole new level.

Topics? Pffft, you've already got an outline of topics with the Forums Index. Just take those that are the most popular and start implementing training programs as quick as you can! :)