When Nicole-B (Purplegirl) asked a question about tagging, I went to her site to see what the problem was and clicked on one of the links she had made to see if it was working properly.
There was no problem, but the link did show how the face of business has changed with social networking tools and the web.
The link was to Carol Daunt Skyring’s blog in which she proudly proclaims that she has reached number 1 ranking in Google for “Videoconference“.
I searched a bit deeper and discovered that Carol is an Australian entrepreneur who heads up LearnTel a 5 person team of consultants not aligned with any particular brand of equipment and works with all major service providers. Like most overnight successes, it has taken Carol 20 years to reach the top - she started in 1986. Her media page shows that she is a recognised international expert on the effective use of videoconferencing for teaching. She works with lecturers, teachers, trainers, health workers and management from government departments and private organisations throughout Australia, New Zealand, USA and Europe.
Her blog is posted in Edublogs, so we share the technology and opportunity.
Prior to embarking on a second career about 20 years ago I was told that if I wrote something every day within a year I would be knowledgeable, within 5 years an expert and within 20 years the world authority.
I lost sight of the goal for a while, as one does. But it is great to know that Carol has done just that. Her Masters degree was gained during the twenty years and she is now working towards a doctorate.
I am astounded by the amount of talent in our EMT group and feel confident that in twenty years time there is every chance that someone I met on this group will get primary ranking on Google.
Tags: , Learntel
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April 3rd, 2008 at 7:23 am
Thanks for the coverage John. Just to correct one thing - I don’t have the doctorate yet - I’ve just started.
I think what’s even more remarkable about my blog stats is that it took 18 months to get 2000 readers & just 2 months to get to 2500. It now seems to be growing at about 150 per month (there was obviously some exposure somewhere that caused the 250 per month spike.)
I agree about regular posting. I believe 2-3 times a week is good - not too much for people to keep up with, but enough to stay in their minds.
Happy blogging
Carol
April 3rd, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Hi John,
Two things,
1. We need to be wary I feel of our interpretation of google rankings. What can we really assume just because a page has a high ranking? Is it is a sign of credibility? Is it a sign of being a leader in the field? Maybe. But it could also be a sign that there are lots of good resources on that site so lots of people have linked to it - one of the things that helps you jump up the rankings. I did a course where we went through 20 different things you could do to improve your google ranking - so perhaps a high ranking is not as indicative as it might seem of value. I think that it is Carol’s experience and qualification that are the key indicators. I also think her blog readership is a much more important statistic. You can manipulate the rankings to some extent but unless what you say is valuable, people will not sign up read it.
2. I also took this message to heart: ‘If I wrote something every day within a year I would be knowledgeable, within 5 years an expert and within 20 years the world authority’ - the version I read some years ago was not specifically talking about writing, but it said if you spend 15 minutes a day improving your knowledge and understanding on your specialised topic area - you will quickly become an expert. It has been 8 years since I started my business I really have taken my interest in study skills for students a long way. Through writing resources, developing sessions and other materials, I have actually become an expert in this area. Another 12 years then I will be heading towards world authority? That would be cool.
And I also agree with Carol, 2-3 times a week posting is enough, I have subscribed to blogs or email lists where so much comes through that you start not even bothering to see what it is about - too overwhelming.
Prue
April 3rd, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Prue
You’re right. Which comes first the credibility or the Google ranking?
Often they are not related.
But it is still nice when someone who displays credibility, as Carol seems to, gets the ranking too.
Incidentally I had never heard of or seen anything about Carol before a totally unrelated search while checking out a tag. Now I have added to the list of people that I will look to for information in an area of expertise that I hope to need more of soon.
Maybe serendipity is an important ingredient of bricolage.
April 5th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Hey Guys…
have you not made the connection yet?
Carol & I run the Learning Technologies User Group (LTUG) - quite a coincidence?!!
Drop by and join up if you like - Associate Membership is free! - Oh - and we have a Ning too!
Carol & I do regular webinars on technologies in education - it would be great to have you guys along!
ABB
http://ltug.org
http://learntug.ning.com