SharePoint 2013 is part of Microsoft’s recent “era of productivity” software rollout.

“The new products are aimed at providing organizations, IT professionals and executives with improved opportunities for managing IT functions, expanding productivity and increasing revenue,” NetCom explains in an announcement. “NetCom Learning has been hosting a series of technology events as part of Microsoft’s What’s New in Microsoft Technologies providing an overview of the new products and capabilities.”

“Microsoft SharePoint 2013 training at NetCom Learning provides IT professionals with key training in IT communications for their professional development and provides the expertise their employers need to increase productivity, improve work collaboration, share knowledge within an organization, and move to a Cloud environment,” says CEO Russell Sarder.

Prerequisites include MCSA Windows Server 2012 certification (which covers Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012), Administering Windows Server 2012, and Configuring Advanced Windows Server 2012 Services.

More details in the release.

The DMA Search Engine Marketing Council has quite a bit going on between sessions on search marketing, informational events and there will be presentations on the DMA search marketing certification program as well by the coordinator of that program, Dr. Amanda Whatlington. There’s also a one day seminar here in NYC after the DM Days event, “Search Engine Marketing – The Basics” on June 27th from 9-3:30.

My session is tomorrow am right after the keynote which is all about social media, “Next Gen Interactive: How Marketers Are Optimizing the Power of Social Media to Connect and Deliver Results”. It’s an interesting idea, a keynote presentation about social media to a group of direct marketers. We’re just making great headway with search engine optimization with this community, so helping everyone get up to speed on the notion of social media should be a great experience.

The biggest challenge the DMA’s Search Engine Marketing Council faces in this regard is how to best provide insight and actionable information in a context direct marketers can relate to. The good news, is that we have several long time search marketers on hand to help with panels such as “Popularity Online: Winning Search and the Social Media Contest“. The session includes includes Heather Lloyd Martin, Detlev Johnson, Mike Moran, Jeanette Kocsis and myself.

My small part of this session will deal specifically with social news and bookmarking services as one thing direct marketers can do now, to start exploring social media channels. The SEO sessions we did at last year’s DM Days went pretty well, so I would expect nothing different this time around.

If you’re in New York this week and going to the DM Days event, contact me via the form on this blog, I’d love to meet some direct marketers or search marketers with an interest in social media.

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If you’re like, me, and don’t do a whole lot of PPC, this could be tough. (I mainly do basic audits as a value add to SEO consulting). I retook the test late last week, and thought I’d put together a quick post on some resources for learning adwords more effectively, and help for taking the test. Many folks will likely be retaking the test soon, since it’s 2 years after the program launched, and it is a requirement to retake the test to maintain your status.

Firstly, you should probably study a little bit. The Adwords learning center is really impressive now. Since I’ve done my fair share of google bashing, I must take this opportunity to say that whoever is in charge of the learning center is doing a kickass job. It’s jampacked with information in both text and multimedia form that is really helpful for improving your adwords skills. There has been a TON of updates in the last few years in terms of functionality, terms of service, and add on tools and services to the adwords program. The learning center really helped me to wrap my mind around some of these that I had ignored when they were launched (hey, they launch something new weekly if not daily – there’s only so much time in a day to check out the new stuff).

Some of the things I learned while studying in the Adwords learning center and taking practice quizes:

1. You can use ONE exclamation point in ad text
2. You can use superlatives like "best" if they are backed up by a third party
3. When you opt-out of the Google search network, your ads still show on Google search results pages, but do not show on Google’s search partners.
4. Embedded match allows the ad to appear on all variations of the keyword except for the exact match of the keyword.
5. Embedded match utilizes phrase match, exact match, and negative match.
6. In order for a site-targeted image ad to appear on a page, its CPM must outrank the eCPM of the top four keyword-targeted text ads
7. In Google analytics – Use the Product Merchandising reports to see which keywords resulted in sales of a certain product.
8. In Google analytics – Pages with the highest $Index are those pages which were commonly visited prior to high-value conversions during the same visit.
9. Tagging your links helps to get information in your reports about your various marketing efforts. Analytics offers 5 campaign tracking variables. The 5 predefined variables which Analytics offers are Campaign, Source, Medium, Term, and Content.
10. When editing keywords using the Find and Edit Keywords Tool, the AdWords system considers the edited words as new keywords.
11. Site Exclusion is applied at the Campaign level.
12. The Keyword Grouper in the Adwords Editor regroups keywords from one ad group into more granular ad groups

Secondly, take all the practice quizzes. The are very useful in gauging the areas you might be weak (I realized there is a lot of cool functionality in G analytics that I hadn’t used at all). Many of the questions are almost identical to these.

Thirdly, when you’re ready to take the test – open a few browser windows. Open your adwords account, the learning center, and a tab or two to do searches. You can find a lot of answers that you may be up in the air on this way. Being able to look stuff up is one of the real benefits of taking a test online. My retention skills aren’t always that great, but my search and find skills rock. There’s also questions about where stuff is in an account that you can double check by opening your account. You can also search for parts of the questions and find them on various google FAQ’s, or look up the respective topic in the learning center which is very well organized.

Fourthly, after studying for a day or two, you should be able to cruise through about 70% of the exam without thinking twice about the questions. However, you need a 75% to pass, so take your time on the rest. In the prometric test, you can mark items for review later. Cruise through the 60 – 70% of the test, and don’t waste time on those you don’t know. Take your best guess, and mark it for later. With this approach, you should be able to get through the entire 111 questions in about 30 – 45 minutes tops. You’ll then have anywhere from 20 – 40 questions to revisit, research, and answer with another 45 minutes or so to finish. Use your time effectively.

You’ll find out your results at the end of the test. I ended up with a 90%, and was pretty happy with that from a couple days of review, and fairly minimal hands on experience.

More resources for learning about effective PPC marketing with Google Adwords:

• Google Adwords blog
• PPC tools
• Shimon Sandler – PPC guru
• Brad Geddes aka eWhisper – Adwords genius
• Andrew Goodman – paid search legend
• WMW Adwords library, and forum
• Adwords forum at SEW

Do you have any special tidbits you picked up recently on Adwords or PPC in general?

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What training and certification guarantees can the school give me?

Expectations

Fulfillment is a function of expectations. As you invest and build your IT career, get your expectations right. Don’t invest based on unrealistic expectations.

Certification success isn’t dependent on training alone. If training is a route you have chosen, it should be part of your high quality preparation effort. Training is a major part of exam preparation, but achieving certification isn’t dependent on any one tool. It depends on the quality of all aspects of your preparation. As you attend training classes are you also investing in other aspects of certification such as reading and practicing?

High Quality Effort

Furthermore, training quality isn’t a one-way street. Training quality depends on you and the training institution. There are no guarantees. Results will only come from high quality effort from both parties. The training school must have the infrastructure and facilitator that will deliver. A competent training school with a good grasp of the certification will impart what it considers to be the right combination of theory and hands-on exercises.

Choosing a reputable training company is therefore important. Though infrastructure is important at training centers, as mentioned earlier a lot however depends on instructor support and quality, as well as the institution’s professional focus. Reputable training organizations have first-class instructors who can deliver knowledge in a way that makes sense to students. Good facilitators are able to relate what is being taught in class with practical, everyday activities. Sound training institutions are learner centred and results-driven.

Who is Teachable?

However, even if your training school is world class, your input is critical. The hard truth about training is that results are conditional. Training won’t work without the right attitude and motivation on your part. Nobody can learn for you. You need to be teachable. Are you teachable or just going through the motions. Are you learning or masquerading as a learner? The training institution is excellent, but are you teachable? The best training school cannot learn for you. Do you know what it means to be teachable?

Being teachable means being strong in the areas that matter – before, during and after the training. Do you display humility in class and in your interactions with fellow students and the instructor? Do you have an enquiring mind? You must have the desire to learn. How hungry are you for knowledge and wisdom?

Learning can be tough and stressful. How ready are you to make sacrifices? Showing up at the training school everyday isn’t enough. Are you sufficiently motivated to make the effort? How seriously do you take assignments and practice? You must possess the drive and motivation to achieve and advance. This requires commitment plus effort.

Being teachable means ignoring distractions and focusing on what you are learning. How wisely are you investing your time? Do you focus on the main issues or are you more interested in flashy gimmicks and where you can hang out? Make sure your focus is on substance, because the right focus leads to achievement and fulfillment.

Do you admit your mistakes or shortcomings? You can’t change what you don’t accept. Everybody makes mistakes. If you don’t admit your mistakes, you can’t learn from them. In the words of Denis Waitley, “There are no mistakes or failures, only lessons. ”

Right effort

What does training guarantee without the right effort on your part? What training gives you depends on how teachable you are. In the right environment, your effort is your guarantee. For example, before you started the class, what did your preliminary preparation entail? How much background information do you have on the training or certification? I’m always amazed when people register for a course without even reviewing the course objectives.

Being teachable means recognizing that no training program can teach you everything. Training and certification prepare you for opportunity. Guarantees shouldn’t be your focus. Lifelong learning is your responsibility. There are no guarantees. Step outside your comfort zone and take calculated risks.

The purpose of Training

At the end of the day, certification isn’t the sole purpose of training and other preparation resources mentioned previously. You aren’t investing in certification for the sake of certification. Keep perspective. Your career is more than cramming for the “latest and hottest” certification. If you cram and pass an exam, you have the certification, but be honest, what really do you have? Certification can’t give you what you don’t have.

Training is important, certification is important, but what are putting into your learning network? Are you only certificate focused? Do the group exercises help in building your personal network or is the certificate your sole interest? Is the training giving you ideas on how you can contribute and solve problems? Will the training improve the quality of your work experience? Are you opening your mind creatively to other career opportunities as you learn? Is the course helping in honing your learning ability? Are you using the program to improve your soft skills?

Do you want to grow, do you want achieve, do you want to make a difference or is the certificate your only goal? Drop that certificate mentality! Certification is of no value without a career focus. Certification or not, can you make progress if you’re not teachable? Being teachable means making the most in terms of career impact from your learning investment.

What you put in is What you get out

Relying solely on technical skills and amassing multiple certifications for your career growth is wasteful. Pass your exams, get certified, but never forget that the aim of training is deeper than certification. What you put into the classroom will determine what you’ll get out of the experience. “Most people only find what they are looking for.” It’s not just about the certificate. The aim of training is career achievement and fulfillment. With the right career focus, you are not fixated on training and certification. Therefore as you learn, you should be able to distinguish between what you must master to pass exams, what you can use in the industry and what you will need in future. Understand such differences. Being teachable improves your chances of passing the exam and also helps you in developing important work/industry skills and knowledge.

Know how and Know why

Getting results in IT varies from person to person. Building an IT career requires a working combination of creative effort, attitude and career focus. Before you invest in training, I strongly advise that you get expectations right. Don’t invest if it all seems hazy to you. Instead ask questions, listen to instructors, talk to students and attend seminars such as the FREE IT Career seminar (http://www.jidaw.com/netseminar.html) that treat such issues.

I hope you find this useful and wish you the best in your IT Career.

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Jide Awe is the Founder/CEO of Jidaw.com (http://www.jidaw.com)

The courses follow 3 distinct tracks of study:

Certified Search Engine Optimizer, consisting of:

• SEO101
• SEO201
• Any other SEC certification course (e.g. Web Site Copywriting, PPC101, Web Site Usability, Link Building, Keyword Research)

Certified Pay Per Click Marketer, consisting of:

• PPC101
• PPC201
• KWR101

Certified Search Engine Marketer, consisting of:

• SEO101
• SEO201
• PPC101
• PPC201
• Any other SEC certification course (e.g. Web Site Copywriting, Web Site Usability, Link Building, Keyword Research)

The Search Engine College remains the only online educational facility that I’m aware of that includes website usability with its SEO/M education. This school has always understood how the two skillsets work together.

Courses are designed for immediate employment in the industry. Fees are reasonable.

Kalena Jordan, Director of Studies for Search Engine College, claims that the Certification Pathways are a first for the search industry.

“Most of our tutors have worked in an agency or corporate environment, so we understand what drives employers and what they expect from SEO/SEM employees. Completion of one of our Certification Pathways indicates to a potential employer a graduate’s proficiency in the very latest search engine algorithms, guidelines and methodologies taught within our curriculum. I’m not aware of any other institution that has developed courses so specifically aimed at gaining employment for graduates within the search industry”.

For additional information, please read Search Engine College Certification Pathways.

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Uability Consultant, Kimberly Krause Berg, is the owner of UsabilityEffect.com, Cre8pc.com, and Cre8asiteForums. Her background in organic search engine optimization, combined with web site usability consulting, offers unique insight into web site development.

Configuring a port with PortFast is one way to get around that, but again, you can only use it when a single host device is found off the port. What if the device connected to a port is another switch?

A switch can be connected to two other switches, giving that local switch a redundant path to the root bridge, and thats great – we always want a backup plan! However, STP will only allow one path to be available, but if the available path to the root switch goes down, there will be a 50-second delay due to the STP timers MaxAge and ForwardDelay before the currently blocked path will be available.

The delay is there to prevent switching loops, and we cant use PortFast to shorten the delay since these are switches, not host devices. What we can use is Uplinkfast.

The ports that SW3 could potentially use to reach the root switch are collectively referred to as an uplink group. The uplink group includes the ports in forwarding and blocking mode. If the forwarding port in the uplink group sees that the link has gone down, another port in the uplink group will be transitioned from blocking to forwarding immediately. Uplinkfast is pretty much PortFast for wiring closets. (Cisco recommends that Uplinkfast not be used on switches in the distribution and core layers.)

Some additional details regarding Uplinkfast:

The actual transition from blocking to forwarding mode takes about three seconds.

Uplinkfast cannot be configured on a root switch.

Uplinkfast is configured globally. You cant run Uplinkfast on some ports or on a per-VLAN basis – its all or nothing.

The original root port will become the root port again when it detects that its link to the root switch has come back up. This does not take place immediately. The switch uses the following formula to determine how long to wait before transitioning back to the forwarding state:

( 2 x FwdDelay) + 5 seconds

Uplinkfast will take immediate action to ensure that the switch upon which it is configured cannot become the root switch. First, the switch priority will be set to 49,152, which means that if all other switches are still at their default priority, theyd all have to go down before this switch can possibly become the root switch. Additionally, the STP Port Cost will be increased by 3000, making it highly unlikely that this switch will be used to reach the root switch by any downstream switches.

And you just know theres got to be at least one option with this command, right? Lets run IOS Help and see.

SW2(config)#spanning-tree uplinkfast ?

max-update-rate Rate at which station address updates are sent

When there is a direct link failure, dummy multicast frames are sent to the MAC destination 0100.0ccd.cdcd. The max-update-rate value determines how many of these frames will be sent in a 100-millisecond time period.

Mastering the details of UplinkFast, BackboneFast, BPDU Guard, and Loop Guard are vital to your success on the CCNP exams, and one or more of these features are in use on almost every network in the world. Learn these features for success in both the exam room and the real world!

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Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage (www.thebryantadvantage.com), home of FREE CCNA and CCNP tutorials and daily exam questions, as well as The Ultimate CCNA and CCNP Study Packages.

For a FREE copy of his latest e-books, “How To Pass The CCNA” or “How To Pass The CCNP”, and for free daily exam question, visit the website and download your copies!

Sun’s philosophy is that certification is central to the learning process as it provides validation of skill sets required for the specific job roles.

Which certifications are available?

Sun offers the following certifications for professionals in Java technology:

– Sun Certified Java Associate (SCJA)

– Sun Certified Java Programmer (SCJP)

– Sun Certified Java Developer (SCJD)

– Sun Certified Web Component Developer (SCWCD)

– Sun Certified Business Component Developer (SCBCD)

– Sun Certified Developer for Java Web Services (SCDJWS)

– Sun Certified Mobile Application Developer (SCMAD)

– Sun Certified Enterprise Architect (SCEA)

The SCJA certification has only one exam that covers basic knowledge of OO concepts, the Java programming language and general knowledge of Java platforms and technologies. For more information, you can refer to SCJA exam (http://www.whizlabs.com/scja/scja.html) details.

The SCJP certification, which is the most popular of all certification exams, is for programmers experienced in Java programming language. It has one exam that covers the fundamentals of the Java programming language. For more information, you can refer to SCJP exam (http://www.whizlabs.com/scjp/scjp.html)Details.

To achieve the SCJD certification, a candidate must successfully complete two elements: a programming assignment and an essay exam. This certification covers advanced Java concepts and APIs. For more information, you can refer to SCJD exam (http://www.sun.com/training/certification/java/scjd.xml) details.

The SCWCD certification is for developers specializing in the application of Java Server Pages and Servlet technologies used to present Web services and dynamic Web content. For more information, you can refer to SCBCD exam (http://www.whizlabs.com/scwcd/scwcd.html) details.

The SCBCD certification is for Enterprise JavaBeans developers who are responsible for designing, developing, testing, deploying, and integrating EJB applications. For more information, you can refer to SCBCD exam (http://www.whizlabs.com/scbcd/scbcd.html) details.

The SCEA certification is an advanced certification for professionals aspiring to be J2EE enterprise architects, who are responsible for designing and architecting J2EE compliant applications. For more information, you can refer to SCEA exam (http://www.whizlabs.com/scea/scea.html) details.

The SCDJWS certification is for developers who create Web services for applications using Java technology components and the SCMAD certification is for developers who create mobile applications using Java technologies for cell phones or “smart” devices. You can find more information about these exams at SCDJWS exam (http://www.whizlabs.com/scdjws/scdjws.html) and SCMAD exam (http://www.whizlabs.com/scmad/scmad.html) details.

Which certification is right for me?

If you are planning to enter a career in application development or software project management using Java technology, SCJA would be the best choice.

Achieving the SCJP certification provides clear evidence that a programmer understands the basic syntax and structure of the Java programming language. If your aim is to demonstrate superior programming skills in J2SE, this certification would be right for you.

Once you have the basic certifications, you can pursue advanced certifications that help enable career growth into more specific job roles like Mobile Application Developer or Business Component Developer according to your area of interest. All the specialized certifications (other than the Enterprise Architect, which is an advanced certification) mandate you to be a Sun Certified Java Programmer as a pre-requisite.

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Seema Manivannan has a Bachelor of Technology degree in Electrical and
Electronics and a PG in Advanced Computing. She holds SCJA, SCJP, SCWCD,
SCBCD, and IBM 484 (J2EE) certifications.

Whizlabs is one of the global leaders in IT certification preparation
industry. Whizlabs Java certification (http://www.whizlabs.com/jwhiz.html
) exam preparation kits are considered the best in the industry.

The author can be contacted at (authors@whizlabs.com ).

View their website at: http://www.whizlabs.com

If you haven’t heard of the site, they’ve been around for ages thoroughly testing various aspects of web marketing. As a result, they have some pretty impressive best practices developed.

Outside of Google’s Advertising Professional, what other PPC or Paid Search certification programs have you used? I am curious what others’ experience has been.

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Lee Odden is President and Founder of
TopRank Online Marketing, specializing in organic SEO, blog
marketing and online public relations. He’s been cited as a search
marketing expert by publications including U.S. News & World Report and
The Economist and has implemented successful search marketing programs
with top BtoB companies of all sizes. Odden shares his marketing
expertise at Online Marketing Blog offering
daily news, interviews and best practices.

There was one particular line that really stood out to me: Betting on change is always the safest bet available. That describes life perfectly, but it also describes a career in Information Technology perfectly as well. There is no field in the world that has the constant and never-ending changes that IT does. And every single one of us can look at this as a massive opportunity for personal and professional growth.

Is that how you’re looking at it? I remember when I passed my first certification exam, the Novell CAN, back in 1997. Man, I thought I knew it all then. J But I quickly learned that you’ve got to keep learning in IT. I also learned that if you’re willing to put in the work and make the sacrifices, there’s no other field with the limitless potential for growth and excellence.

Like everyone else, my career has had its ups and downs, but I always kept learning and growing. Today, I’ve got my dream job, working with students and customers just like you – to help you create your own future.

The next 18 months are filled with endless possibilities, particularly with the rapid growth of VoIP and Microsoft Vista on the horizon. There will be those who rationalize their inertia, saying “I’ll never have to support those, so I don’t need to learn them.”

There will also be those who see VoIP and Vista as enormous opportunities to learn and advance in their careers and their lives. These people will get started today, learning the fundamentals of Cisco and advancing their networking knowledge in order to be ready for opportunities as they come along.

You can’t start studying and learning when the opportunity arrives – you’ve got to be ready when opportunity knocks. If you’ve been putting off studying for a Cisco or other computer certification – and I know the summer is a really good time for putting off studying – get back on track today.

Because you never know what opportunities are going to come along – but you do know that when they do, you’ve got to be ready to take advantage. After all, opportunity really does knock only once!

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Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage (www.thebryantadvantage.com), home of FREE CCNA and CCNP tutorials and daily exam questions, as well as The Ultimate CCNA and CCNP Study Packages.

For a FREE copy of his latest e-books, “How To Pass The CCNA” or “How To Pass The CCNP”, and for free daily exam question, visit the website and download your copies!

To help you review these important concepts, heres a quick look at the basics of RIPv1, RIPv2, IGRP, and EIGRP.

RIPv1: Broadcasts updates every 30 seconds to the address 255.255.255.255. RIPv1 is a classful protocol, and it does not recognize VLSM, nor does it carry subnet masking information in its routing updates.

Update contains entire RIP routing table. Uses Bellman-Ford algorithm. Allows equal-cost load-balancing by default. Max hop count is 15. Does not support clear-text or MD5 authentication of routing updates. Updates carry 25 routes maximum.

RIPv2: Multicasts updates every 30 seconds to the address 224.0.0.9. RIPv2 is a classless protocol, allowing the use of subnet masks.

Update contains entire RIP routing table. Uses Bellman-Ford algorithm. Allows equal-cost load-balancing by default. Max hop count is 15. Supports clear-text and MD5 authentication of routing updates. Updates carry 25 routes maximum.

IGRP: Broadcasts updates every 90 seconds to the address 255.255.255.255. IGRP is a Cisco-proprietary protocol, and is also a classful protocol and does not recognize subnet masking.

Update contains entire routing table. Uses Bellman-Ford algorithm. Equal-cost load-balancing on by default; unequal-cost load-sharing can be used with the variance command. Max hop count is 100.

EIGRP: Multicasts full routing table only when an adjacency is first formed. Multicasts updates only when there is a change in the network topology, and then only advertises the change.

Multicasts to 224.0.0.10 and allows the use of subnet masks. Uses DUAL routing algorithm. Unequal-cost load-sharing available with the variance command.

By mastering the basics of these protocols, youre laying the foundation for success in the exam room and when working on production networks.

Pay attention to the details and the payoff is “CCNA” and “CCNP” behind your name!

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Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage (www.thebryantadvantage.com), home of FREE CCNA and CCNP tutorials and daily exam questions, as well as The Ultimate CCNA and CCNP Study Packages.

For a FREE copy of his latest e-books, “How To Pass The CCNA” or “How To Pass The CCNP”, and for free daily exam question, visit the website and download your copies!