See Ma, I'm Lernin' !

Hey, folks.

As most of you know, I am a "freelance" graphic designer.
Meaning I am unemployed and looking for work.

So, I have a lot of time on my hands.

I try to utilize it in the most productive way by studying online and taking courses. And that's a good thing, considering how rapidly tech changes and new innovations are brought to the market.

So, I thought I would share some of my sources with my readers.

Of course there are the social networks, LinkedIn, Facebook,Twitter, etc. These sites may not at first seem like training tools. But conversations between your friends and posts by people can introduce you to new ideas and new sites to examine. Great way to keep up with what's hot in the world.

I'm a big fan of Digg and StumbleUpon for news and miscellaneous information. These are great resources for the stories that I pass on here on my blog. They stay tight and provide the reader with lots of sources for photos, news, and oddities of interest.

But right now the best pure training tool I'm using is O'Reilly Media (www.oreilly.com). A publishing company, O'Reilly makes FREE web seminars (www.oreilly.com/webcasts) available to it's readers. These are usually a one hour web broadcast on a particular subject. I've taken classes on geo-locating for your website, public speaking and how to engage your audience, and utilization of social media sites to optimize your companies exposure.
As you take these courses, O'Reilly Media begins to see your interests and then e-mails you when similar subjects come up for study. That way you get the latest and greatest ideas.

Of course, you can go to the website and find other subjects being taught that are outside your normal track. They also sell books and publications on these subjects and sometimes offer discounts if you took the related webinar.

And did I mention that these courses are FREE?

I love the price!


Image Courtesy:
www.toothpastefordinner.com/032007/the-comput