The Importance of Continued Education

by Dave Snyder

One of the biggest concepts that Jordan and I agreed on when we began Search & Social was the importance of continued study in our field.

We are both of the self education mindset, and mix our studies with testing to hone our search and social media skills. The importance is obviously there for us since a quarter of our business is based on consulting, but even if you are an affiliate marketer or in-house SEO, keeping abreast of the changes in our industry is of vital importance.

I mentioned this once on Twitter and Rae Hoffman, someone I respect immensely retorted, “Don’t study so much that you lose your street smarts.” Which is sound advice.

Because in the end the Internet Marketing game is about a mix of knowledge, talent, and a unique kind of savvy.

But this post is about continued education, not savvy.

What are some things you should focus on as you continue to grow your knowledge set?

First place your current current knowledge status, and for God’s sake be honest with yourself. If you are a new to the game then embrace that, if you are a ten year veteran embrace that. There are resources out there for every learning level.

Once you have placed your learning level choose 5 to 10 blogs to read regularly that fit within your level. Obviously a blog like SEO Theory is more for higher level Internet marketers than lets say Search Engine Guide which is designed for small business owners getting a feel for the industry.

I am not saying empty the rest of your RSS reader out.

I am saying chose a collection of blogs to focus your study on each day. How long should that study period be? That is really up to you and your schedule.

Another great continuing education strategy is to utilize you social web to grow your knowledge base. Ask questions via Twitter, begin polls on FriendFeed, or start a group on Facebook. Invite people you respect and want to learn from. Use your social web as a teacher.

This blog is one way Search & Social is looking to provide an outlet of continuing education to the community. We are hoping to explore search and social media news, offer insightful commentary, and columns from guests that are experts in their vertical in the industry.

We are also bringing our commitment to this ideal to a live conference we are holding in October called Scary SEO. This is going to be a small, intimate event, with limited seating. The sessions are being designed around cooperative learning concepts, and we have an impressive speaker list. We have delivered this all at a ticket cost of $200 for two days (including breakfast and a great lunch) to give people who normally can’t justify the big ticket prices of some conferences that chance to learn from some of the industries best minds. The event is October 24th and 25th.

Finally, I am also beginning a study group for Internet marketers on our site, so that learners of various levels can get together and share information. The group will be hosted at imstudygroup.searchandsocial.com (just a blank blog now) via wordpress. Each week someone will volunteer to lead the group, share an article or white paper they found interesting and why, and each week everyone in the study group will reply to the leaders comments or questions, and add an article they found similar to the leaders. This will allow for high and low level learners to see how topics resonate with each other, and offer everyone involved intensive reading on the topic covered each week. If you would like to be involved in this group please email me at dave[at]searchandsocial.com with your name and a topic you would like to lead. The study group will be left public, but if you want to share in the group I will need to confirm your topic first.

This groups first “session” will begin next Monday, and will be led by yours truly. So be sure to email me with your interest to participate, or simply sign up to the feed now. You can also add into the discussion @imstudygroup (Twitter.com/imstudygroup) on Twitter.