Want to learn about business blogging?

Did you see the article in the Sunday Times last weekend about business blogging and how companies are making use of this wonderful tool to build buzz about their business?

Today I came across a programme about business blogging that is being offered here in Ireland and publicised by a very reputable organisation.

I don’t know about you, but when I see someone teaching a subject about which I am passionate, I am always interested to learn a little more about what the programme is about and who is the person teaching it so that I can assess if it is something I would benefit in attending.

So I headed over to Google to find out a little more about the company behind the training course on business blogging and about the instructor.

And what did I find?

Well firstly, the company providing the training course does not have a business blog - or any kind of blog.

Secondly, the instructor leading the programme could not be found in the first three pages of Google under their own name and I could not find a blog that they authored either.

Did you realise that in order of 35% of people will be searching for you, not just the company you work for through the search engines.

I know you might not like to think about it, but it is important to “ego surf” and check what comes up in the search engines about yourself. You see searching people on-line is like doing an on-line reference check. So recommend that you check out your personal brand in the search engines once a month to ensure hat what people find about you on-line accurately reflects your experience and expertise.

If we are looking to build our reputation as the person to speak to with expertise in a particular area, it is important that we build our personal brand on-line.

Now coming back to the course about business blogging - what impression does this leave you with if the “expert” training company and facilitator can not be found to have a blog but they are teaching the subject of business blogging?

Are they going to be sharing the “theory” of blogging versus the real results you can achieve through business blogging and even the mistakes that many of us have made?

One think to be sure of is that if you come to PodCamp Ireland, the people who will be speaking will be doing so from personal experience not just the theory of social media. We have people attending who have extensive experience in podcasting, social networking, podsafe music and business blogging all attending the event and there will be plenty time to mingle and ask them questions.

And remember there is no cost for attending PodCamp Ireland. Can you think of a better way to spend a saturday in September if you are interested in exploring the world of new media?

And if you want to get started right away, head on over to a series of podcasts and resources about the world of Web 2.0 brought to you by yours truly and some fellow business bloggers and podcasters.

Oh and by the way, before you register for a course or even hire an expert in a field in the future, you just might want to to check out that they do implement what they teach and are not just going to teach you the theory of how something works.