Saturday, July 9, 2011

SkillShare: A New Way for Philadelphia to Learn

When most of us hear the word ‘learn’, we tend to think paper, pencil, professor, and so on and so forth. We usually don’t think of words like networking, socializing, and sharing. However, this is exactly the mission of a unique new organization that is preparing to launch within the next two weeks in Philadelphia. SkillShare is a community marketplace to learn anything from anyone. By combining the thoughts of people who are eager to learn with those who are eager to educate, the result is a connected and well-informed community of people.

I had the chance to talk with recent Temple grad, Brendan Lowry, who currently plays a huge role in the development of SkillShare Philly, and found out a lot of great information about the organization. A key idea he expressed to me was that everyone, no matter their industry or background has at least one valuable skill to contribute to their community. When you combine that idea with the thought that we all share an innate thirst for knowledge, the possibilities are endless.

Brendan said, “Skillshare’s website is a platform for individuals to seamlessly list classes and encourage interaction”. For example, a PR professional in the city who has experience with social media could post a ‘Social Media 101’ class on SkillShare. Students, professors, and any other SkillShare users interested in social media could sign up for the class. In addition to learning about social media, they would have the chance to network and interact with people from Philadelphia who share similar interests. Check out examples of some SkillShare classes here.

SkillShare Philly is very close to launching, but still needs to be ‘unlocked’ by those in the Philadelphia community. Once this happens, classes will be posted and the learning can begin!

To help launch SkillShare Philly, visit their website here to unlock the city. Also, if you are interested in joining the SkillShare team as a volunteer Community Ambassador, contact Brendan Lowry at LowryBrendan@Gmail.com.

For the latest updates on SkillShare, follow them on Twitter @SkillSharePHI and be sure to follow Brendan @Brelow.

What are some classes you would be interested in attending or teaching?

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Mackenzie Krott.

1 comment:

Brendan Lowry said...

Thanks for the awesome post, Mackenzie. I'll be sure to keep everyone updated on any PR, social media, and/or communications classes that may be taught. We're currently in talks with some pretty influential people in the Philadelphia area.