WebNewser Announcements

WebNewser parent mediabistro.com doubled its pleasure when it comes to covering Twitter, announcing its acquisition of Twitter analysis and commentary blog Twittercism.com from Shea Bennett, who will remain on board. Twittercism.com joins AllTwitter, which mediabistro.com launched in November.

Alan M. Meckler, chairman and CEO of mediabistro.com parent WebMediaBrands, said:

Shea Bennett has been covering Twitter for more than two years on Twittercism.com, and we will now combine his well-known analysis and commentary with our blog AllTwitter to create what we believe to be the most complete coverage of the evolution of Twitter and its rapidly expanding social-media business model. We are excited to continue building on our leadership in covering the huge growth of social media through our various social-media blogs including All Facebook, SocialTimes, and AllTwitter, as well as our SocialTimesPro research service and social-media events.

Writing and Editing for the Web: These are important skills to possess in today’s media environment, and those who act before 5 p.m. ET Monday can possess them for 25 percent less, or apply that discount to any class being offered by mediabistro.com.

The course runs for four Wednesdays, April 13-May 4, from 6:45 p.m.-9:45 p.m. each day, and the cost before the Valentine’s Day discount is $350, but using promo code LOVE25 before 5 p.m. Monday will slash 25 percent off that number.

DoSomething.org editor Betsy Fast will be the instructor, and Writing and Editing for the Web will focus on the basics and definition of usability; rules to follow when pitching to online editors; how to come up with interactive elements; an overview of trends, including online video, social networking, and blogging; and where the new jobs are.

Brush up on your knowledge of location-based applications including foursquare and Gowalla with Understanding foursquare and Other Geolocation Applications, a one-hour Webcast from WebNewser parent mediabistro.com Thursday at 2 p.m. ET.

The Webcast will cover: the basics of foursquare, Gowalla, and similar apps; what these apps mean for how you present yourself and distribute content online; dos and don’ts of geolocation networking; using check-ins as valuable analytics; and how your company or business can engage users in real-time with simple social-networking techniques.

Instructor Sree Sreenivasan teaches social-media workshops at CNN, WNBC, The Boston Globe, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He is also a judge for the Shorty Awards, and he was named one of AdAge‘s 25 media people to follow on Twitter, and one of 22 professors in the “Top 100 Twitterers in Academia” by OnlineSchools.org.

Sreenivasan will be joined by Shane Snow, who has covered geolocation applications and other new-media technologies for outlets including Wired, Mashable, Gizmodo, and Fast Company. He also designs infographics for companies including Mint.com, MTV, and Gizmodo.

The fee for Understanding Foursquare and Other Geolocation Applications is $30 ($25 for AvantGuild members).

Laurel Touby, founder of WebNewser parent mediabistro.com, will receive the Women’s Leadership Exchange Compass Award at the Women’s Leadership Exchange Conference Tuesday at the Metlife building in New York, during the event’s luncheon.

The award was granted “for shifting the paradigm of how women are perceived in the world,” Women’s Leadership Exchange said.

WebNewser’s parent company, mediabistro.com, has launched a new blog covering the ins and outs of one of the Web’s hottest platforms: Twitter.

AllTwitter will provide news, tips and opinion and about the social media platform.

Twitter has become one of the most popular social media platforms available, with celebrities, government officials and ordinary people all embracing it with gusto. Traditional media companies have embraced it as well, using it to drive engagement to their brands.

“AllTwitter is a natural extension of the Mediabistro blog network and our strong focus on social media with the AllFacebook and SocialTimes blogs,” said Alan M. Meckler, Chairman and CEO of WebMediaBrands. “AllTwitter is devoted exclusively to the rapidly expanding marketing and business opportunities created by Twitter.”

More information can be found in the press release, after the jump.

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SpaFinder search-engine-optimization and social-media manager Gracey Newman will lead a course for WebNewser parent mediabistro.com‘s MB Learn initiative, Understanding Search and Online Marketing: How to Drive Traffic and Optimize Sites Through SEO, Social Media, and Blog Outreach, for six Wednesdays starting Nov. 3 and running through Dec. 15, three hours each Wednesday (6:45 p.m.-9:45 p.m.) in the Midtown East neighborhood of Manhattan, and students who sign up today (Monday, Nov. 1) will be eligible for a 25 percent discount off this course or any other online or in-person course, workshop, or seminar.

Understanding Search and Online Marketing will cover topics including: optimizing blogs or Web sites for search engines; writing good content for the major social news-aggregation platforms; determining the most important factors of search rankings; reporting on Web traffic and keeping Web site code clean; reaching out to bloggers and other Webmasters to have them link to your site; and managing SEO and social-media projects.

Understanding Search and Online Marketing also counts toward the Mediabistro Digital Journalism Certificate.

If silly policies and regulations at your place of work have you feeling down and thinking of Dilbert strips, Hacking Work: Breaking Stupid Rules for Smart Results, by Bill Jensen and Josh Klein, might just be the cure.

The premise of Hacking Work: How you can get a lot more done at work if you weren’t worried about running ideas through the “appropriate channels” first and if you just went ahead and did it.

If this interests you, go ahead and buy the book. But if you really want to follow its message and avoid the “appropriate channels,” our sister blog, MediaJobsDaily, has a little proposition for you:

Share your favorite workplace hack, a la Hacking Work, with us, either in the comments or on Twitter (just send us a Tweet at @MediaJobsDaily). This could be anything from a time-saving computer trick to your secret method of hypnotizing your boss that lets you leave early on alternating Thursdays.

You have until Friday, Oct. 15, to enter. You don’t have to attach your real name to the hack to enter, but if you win, we’ll want to share the hack and confirm (privately, if you’re worried about getting busted by your boss) your name and details.

The winner will be chosen randomly from all submissions (though of course we reserve the right to toss out obscene or fake submissions), and we’ll send you a copy of the book!

WebNewser parent Mediabistro announced the official launch of Mediabistro Creative Pro, an online training program aimed at advertising and design professionals and co-presented with Miami Ad School.

Mediabistro Creative Pro offers video tutorials, portfolio critiques, and live Webcasts, featuring experts from top agencies including Ogilvy, McCann Erickson, Organic, SapientNitro, StrawberryFrog, Mr Youth, and Sterling Brands.

Mediabistro also established a Facebook page and Twitter account for Mediabistro Creative Pro.

mediabistro.com is offering users who enroll in one of its multiweek courses the opportunity to receive free self-paced courses, as well, a $179 value.

For example, those who enroll in its Copywriting for the Web course — which focuses on creating copy for Web sites, emails, e-newsletters and social media — can enhance their experience by adding the New Media: 6-Session Self-Paced Course, or choose from five other options, free-of-charge.

The only restriction: Enrollment must occur by Aug. 27.

Angela Riechers wants bloggers to Blog Smarter.

Who is she? Riechers is an art director, educator, and consultant with 15 years of professional experience designing national magazines including More, O at Home, The New York Times‘ T Magazine, and Harper’s, and her writing appears online on AIGA Voice and Design Observer. She has also taught graphic-design courses at the City College of New York and the School of Visual Arts.

In Blog Smarter with Angela Riechers, she offers tips on blogging including how to develop a personalized logo and how to defeat writer’s block.

Blog Smarter with Angel Riechers is just one of the selection of videos available via mediabistro On Demand, and for a limited time, annual subscriptions are $147 ($127 for AvantGuild members), which includes complete access to tutorials on software, career, and professional-development topics, as well as videos from mediabistro conferences, and interviews with new-media thought leaders. Annual subscribers save 36 percent on the monthly rate.

The offer expires March 31.