Blogging... Twitter... Facebook... RSS... Wikipedia... Flickr.... YouTube... Social Media... Tweet-up....

When people talk about using social media tools, do you feel like you missed the first day of school and can't catch up?

This five-week webinar series is specifically for professionals at Jewish organizations who want to learn the ropes of using social media tools at work. Over the course of the class, you'll learn to navigate specific sites, improve your search skills, how to automate alerts, and have a solid foundation for using social media. We'll also review case studies of how Jewish organizations are using different tools to reach their audience.

Leah Jones will be teaching the class. She's the founder of Natiiv Arts & Media and the former Digital-Culture Evangelist at Edelman PR. She specializes in coaching people in the use of social media and has worked with journalists, accountants, musicians, clergy, PR professionals and theaters since starting her company in January of 2009.

Each class will last one hour, beginning at 11AM Central/Noon Eastern and the schedule of topics is below.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010: Working Vocabulary

Get all of the terms people use to talk about social media defined and lay the foundation for working in the space.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010: Search & RSS

Do you always turn to Google and MSN when you're looking for information online? In this session, you'll learn about a variety of search engines and get your search skills tuned up. After that, Leah will teach you how to automate searches using RSS.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010: Twitter

The micro-blogging site seems to be in the news every week, but why do people really use it and how can it help you build relationships, find sources and connect with your readers?

Tuesday, May 4, 2010: Blogs

While blogs are starting to feel like old media to some people, the easy to update platform is still relevant and useful. We'll cover finding blogs, writing your own blog and comparing different blogging platforms.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010: Facebook

This isn't the only social network, but between personal profiles and fan pages this is the top site for keeping in touch your organization.

What do people say about Leah?

“I recently took Leah's social media class for Jewish professionals. Though I was already familiar with a lot of the platforms discussed, the class inspired me and deepened my knowledge. I have begun to use twitter because of the class and it has really added an important (and fun) element to my rabbinic community organizing efforts. It is clear to me that these web 2.0 tools are important for Jewish leaders as we work to vivify the Jewish Community. If we want to enlarge the tent pegs and drive them firm, we must use every resource at our disposal. Leah Jones understands this and she is here to help.”

Rabbi Michelle Pearlman, Temple Shalom, Boston

"Leah's program was thorough, thoughtful and far more useful than I anticipated. Even though I was familiar with some of the content by virtue of my tech beat, Leah put a fresh spin on how to use and tap into the power of social media. I've used many of the techniques she showed me, impressing many people in the process. I consider Leah my social media tutor."

Eric Benderoff, former technology columnist at Chicago Tribune

Tickets are non-transferable and there are no partial refunds for missed classes.

Tech Requirements

You will be supplied with a web address for GoToWebinar in advance of the Webinar.

To attend a Webinar on a PC, the following is required:

• Internet Explorer® 6.0 or newer, Mozilla® Firefox® 2.0 or newer (JavaScript™ and Java™ enabled)
• Windows® 2000, XP, 2003 Server or Vista
• Cable modem, DSL or better Internet connection
• Minimum of Pentium® class 1GHz CPU with 512 MB of RAM (Recommended) (2 GB of RAM for Windows® Vista)