Dec 23, 2014 / Blogging U.

A Year of Blogging U.

A look back at the year-that-was in Blogging U. — and the incredible impact it (and you!) had.

Looking for registration info for the next round of Blogging 101? Just scroll down!

Blogging U. is about to celebrate its first birthday! We introduced our very first course, Blogging 101: Zero to Hero, in January of 2014.

And what a year! Over 20,000 of you registered for our blogging, writing, and photography courses. We’re still crunching all the numbers, but in just looking at the first few blogging and writing courses, we’re bowled over — you accomplished some seriously amazing things.

This is a site I’d pretty much abandoned, and I was getting tired of hearing the crickets. So glad I signed up to Blogging U. All along there was a community of bloggers out there like me, and I hadn’t met them.

When the statistic elves finish compiling the combined data for all of 2014, will let you know!

In just the first few courses, you published 34,700 posts, left 121,100 comments on one another’s blogs, and liked your co-bloggers’ posts 189,600 times. You generated over 3,000,000 page views for one another. And this doesn’t count your participation on the Commons sites, where you published thousands more posts and comments supporting each other.

I didn’t expect to find a social function here. I thought it was more of a platform to present ideas and not such a rich community of exchange. I’m impressed with the savvy community I have wandered into.

The communities you created were so strong that lots of you created your own sites to keep collaborating. You spawned Facebook groups and Twitter accounts, four private mini–Commons, several group blogs, dozens of community events, and a lot of guest posts — along with thousands of ongoing friendships.

You’re also making the fabric of the blogging community stronger across the board; you’re 10 times as socially engaged as the average blogger. What does that mean? That you’re responsible for 10 times the likes, comments, and follows, which means you’re giving thousands of other bloggers the feedback and motivation they need to keep going.

I’d become stale and hadn’t taken the time to fine tune things that needed tuning. These exercises have changed my style, making it more open and interesting. From a blog that was languishing, I have the joy, inspiration, and playfulness back.

We’ve got big ideas for Blogging U. going forward — more courses more often, and better structures for helping you stay connected with your classmates. We couldn’t do it without you, though. Give yourselves a collective pat on the back!

I’ve started getting up at 5 AM every day to free write for 20 minutes before diving into the assignments. It’s gotten to the point where I wake up multiple times each night to check the time and see if it’s time to get up and write because I’m so excited. I’ve never felt this way before!

And now… the return of Blogging 101!

If you’re new to WordPress.com, a new session of our introductory blogging course starts on Monday, January 5.

My site is looking more and more how I want it to look and I am gaining confidence and followers (up to 423!) by the day. (Sue of Happiness, Health, and Hypnosis)

Blogging 101 is four weeks of daily bite-size blogging assignments that take you from “Blog?” to “Blog!” At the end of the course, you’ll have a blog you’re proud and excited to publish — and that others are excited to read. Here’s how it works:

  • Assignments fall into three broad categories — publishing posts, customizing your blog, and engaging with the community — and are designed to build on one another.
  • We’ll post a new assignment here on The Daily Post each weekday at 12AM GMT. Each assignment will contain all the inspiration and instructions you need to complete it. Weekends are free time (but we’ll suggest some ways you might want to spend it).
  • Participants will have a private community site, the Commons, for chatting, connecting, and seeking feedback and support. Daily Post staff and Happiness Engineers will be on hand to answer your questions and offer guidance and resources.

On Day 30, you’ll have six (or more!) published posts and a handful of drafts, a customized theme that reflects your personality, a small but growing audience, a good grasp of blogging etiquette — and a bunch of new online friends.

Ready to kick start your new blog! Sign up by filling out this simple form:

Note: you won’t receive an automated confirmation email immediately, but you will get a welcome email with complete instructions prior to the start of the course.

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    1. Yes, you are absolutely right; it improvise our interactions & learning.
      Though, till today, I haven’t joined any course offered by WordPress, but going through the success of previous courses in terms of no. of participants, the material created by them and overall satisfaction achieved by most of them. It must be good!!
      So, let us practically experience that satisfaction level by joining it!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Sure.. I was lucky enough to be part of the community after a couple of days of starting my blog. So it was very helpful for me to get started, to go in right direction. I am still having some friends from that time 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  6. This is great. This course will definitely help me to navigate better. Also, if I may ask, how can I make a change or revision to my stats? I posted a new entry yesterday (12/22/2014) and made the necessary changes on the post. But, after posting and receiving views/comments, the stats for the day are reflecting 12/23/2014 instead of 12/22/2014 – Help!

    Thank you,
    Anya N. Burnett

    Liked by 3 people

  7. I did this course last year – and significantly improved my blog. Went from 100 followers to 440 in just one year… I’m signing up right now!

    Liked by 6 people

  9. Hi, I’d like to sign up but there’s no form I can see to fill in. The “Take Our Survey” is the only link appearing below where it asks to fill the form and it doesn’t appear to be opening properly. Any other way of signing up? Regards.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Having just signed up my own self, I just scrolled to the bottom of the grey background, filled in the three boxes there and submitted it, and sometime in the next few days, but before the class begins, you an email with the syllabus and instructions, etc, cheers!.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. It’s the “s” in the “https” triggering a warning in your browser — you can either just delete the “s” (it’s totally safe, I promise), or fill out the form right in this post instead (eg, by visiting the post on The Daily Post rather than using the link in the email).

      Like

  10. I will join this course for the first time. Can’t wait for writing 101 to start. I’ll be there too. This Blogging U. courses help me tremendously to further my writing and social skills. I starting to emerge from my cave. With a lot of trepidation but at least I’m out the door. Let’s see where it will bring me.

    Liked by 4 people

  13. I would definitely recommend Blogging 101 to anyone looking to start a blog from scratch or relaunch a dormant blog. When I started blogging a year ago on the first Zero to Hero course I really didn’t have much idea about what was what in the blogosphere or how to set about blogging. I learned SO MUCH in just 4 weeks, I couldn’t believe it! WordPress isn’t just a blogging platform, it really is a supportive community – thank you WordPress 🙂

    Liked by 4 people

    2. Your true, timely & tremendous comment will certainly encourage to many new bloggers; who somehow still indecisive or in the mental stat of should join or not?
      One thing, I am very much agreed with you; yes, you are absolutely right, wordpress is blogging platform with solid supportive community & entire credit goes to all the staff members; from very beginning they teach, they trained bloggers to develop happy & healthy community.

      Liked by 2 people

    1. I signed up by filling in the three boxes located at the bottom of the grey panel in the center of the page, and then hit submit. you will receive an email prior to the start of the class with a syllabus and any instructions needed.

      Cheers!

      Liked by 1 person

      2. hmmm, well, I dont know if I called it by the correct name or not, but it isnt submit, it is Register I believe. I would send a message to the moderator of the page if you still cant get it to work, they should be able to get you signed up

        Liked by 1 person

      3. If you’re on a phone/tablet, you’ll probably need to try from a computer. If you’re trying to click the link in the email version of the post and are getting an error, it’s because of the “s” in the “https” triggering a warning in your browser — you can either just delete the “s” (it’s totally safe, I promise), or fill out the form right in this post instead.

        Liked by 1 person

  20. I found out this article by chance and It seems you handle issues concerning new bloggers. So Iam thrilled to be part of you. Ainsi, j’espère vivement pouvoir particper à ces ateliers en vue de booster la visibilité et la frenquentabilité de mon blog à travers le know how que vous nous aiderez à developper.

    Liked by 1 person

  23. A trailer gear additionally has centers to shop devices, sticks, hose pipes, chemicals etc, if developed correctly. Power washing machines are extremely powerful and can be dangerous if not made use of correctly. Nonetheless, these tools are additionally used in many applications such as to get rid of mold, crud, dirt, mud, and dust from surfaces and things such as structures and concrete roadway emerges.

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  24. It’s been about nine years since I finished my B.A. in English and I’ve decided to put my degree to good use as a professional writer. So I created my blog for practice and a way to create exposure. So I’m grateful for a class to help me to be a better blogger and writer. Thank you!

    Liked by 1 person

  26. I took the class last year and for some reason the site is still showing up in my list of sites—-and won’t let me “leave” it. Is something wrong? How do I get it off my list?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. To whom it may concern;

      Hello, please remove my name from your list of people who intend to take your class in Jan. to learn more about blogging. I will no longer be able to. Very sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused so late in the game.  Sincerely,Angela Lacey

      Like

  30. I took a course called Blogging 201: Branding and Growth, but I accidentally deleted my account when I had two blogs confused. Is there a way to get that back now? I still would like to read from the commons even though that part has been closed.

    Liked by 1 person