Can you name the tool that boosts your web presence, builds your network, and promotes your business–all for free or very low cost? More professionals are discovering the power of the blog, what Business Week has called “the most explosive outbreak in the information world since the Internet itself.”

If you’ve been watching the blogging phenomenon from a distance and wondering what you can do to catch the wave, then wonder no longer. I will be teaming up with my friend and colleague, the wise, warm, and tech-savvy Tammy Lenski, author of not just one but two successful and highly respected blogs, Mediator Tech and I Can’t Say That!, to host a teleseminar series on blogging for dispute resolution professionals: Building Buzz with Blogs: Internet Marketing for Dispute Resolution Professionals (Even If You’re Not a Geek!).

Tammy and I are really excited about working together on a project that’s been in the works for awhile. (I had a hard time keeping this under wraps, but like a good mediator, I’m good at keeping things confidential.)

Our goal is to make blogging accessible even to the technically challenged and to help mediators take advantage of one of the most powerful marketing and networking tools around. We want you to learn and have some fun, too. And it’s not just for mediators–if you’re a conflict resolution practitioner, educator, or student, or if you come from an allied field like the law–everyone’s invited to this party.

The program officially begins in January 2007, but we’re offering a free, one-hour introduction to Building Buzz with Blogs on Monday, November 27, 3 pm ET (GMT -5). You’ll come away with some blogging basics and one key first step for leveraging your online presence. To participate, all you need is a telephone and dial-in information we’ll provide once you’ve registered (that information which will be kept confidential, of course). If you can’t make that date, no worries–we’re recording the program so that you can listen in later on.

If you’d like to learn more, visit Building Buzz with Blogs for details and a registration link.

Tammy and I look forward to seeing you there.

Lately each addition to the World Directory of Alternative Dispute Resolution Blogs has broken new ground. Case in point: the latest blog to be catalogued, Mastering Mediation: Mediators reflect on learning, teaching & training.

This blog is a joint undertaking by the students and faculty of the Woodbury College masters program in Mediation and Applied Conflict. Mastering Mediation is a public conversation about how we learn to become effective mediators. Edited by Tammy Lenski, a professor at Woodbury and an accomplished blogger in her own right, this blog was created in the spirit of mutual inquiry and exploration that characterizes mediation itself, as the “About” page makes so clear:

We’ve been teaching and learning mediation at Woodbury for more than two decades and have a thought or two about our craft…we hope our musings, reflections and the occasional challenges will make Mastering Mediation a place you want to visit regularly, whether you’re a seasoned practitioner, an ADR trainer, a new professional, or someone considering a move into ADR work. And we hope you’ll leave comments on our articles so that we can build dialogue together about the preparation of professionals in our field.

Congratulations to all of those whose voices are contributing to this new mediation blog.

(And remember, if you wish to add your blog or someone else’s to the World Directory of ADR Blogs, please let me know. It’s a commercial-free site, and there is no cost to be listed. The Directory has information on submitting your blog and submission guidelines.)

Technorati tags: alternative dispute resolution, blogging, mediation, mediation blogs, conflict resolution