It's amazing how fast a year can go by.

Last week(Monday, Oct 29), our sister site, SeoTrainingDojo.com, celebrated it's 3rd Birthday!

A lot has happened since turning two. I was just joining the team here at SNC and at the Dojo. It's been a great experience for me, sure, but watching the Dojo grow has been even better.

We've grown our knowledge base to include Google patents, algo updates, panda and penguin updates, and so much more.We've greatly expanded our membership, bringing in tons of new idustry pros with tons of great ideas, and really making a professional community where everyone has something to offer.

The most exciting things, however, are brand spankin' new! I'll try not to come off as promotional or pitchy, but let's face it, when something is awesome, it's awesome.

Socialize

While we've built a formidable repository of reading, resources, videos, podcasts and more... the one thing that has emerged as our strong suit is networking. From members crowd-sourcing on the forum and chat room to them actually hiring each other and working together, it's become the most valuable asset we have.

If you're familliar with our chat room, you know it's pretty decent for meeting new search geeks, sharing content and discussing topics, but it's not optimal for a true social experience. This year we're going to start putting more emphasis on the social networking elements of the community. By default when you log in it will now default to your social stream;

You can navigate from the top menu or use the side menu that isn't all that unfamiliar with websites like Facebook or other social networks you may already be using. You can manage your friends list, start and participate in groups, post images and more.

These changes will make it easier than ever to get to know other members and grow your own personal network. You can now start a group and invite other members to come hang out with you. It is the complete social package, and a free added bonus for members.

Congrats, It's a Blog!

Another thing that we've added by popular request is a new blog on the SEO Training Dojo for the members to use. We've just launched last week, and the inaugural post is from our own master and commander on a recent topic we covered in the Friday chats; What to track in case of lost traffic; a forensic blueprint.

The blog will be open and available for any of the members to use. We'll certainly be keeping an eye on it, but just like Search News Central, we believe that heavy handed editorial muzzling should be kept to a minimum. We always encourage our members to feel free to put their thoughts out there.

Who Likes Presents?

What's a birthday without presents? A very say birthday indeed. That's why from now til November 16, the Dojo is offering new members a 25% discount on all their membership plans. Grab the discount code from the bottom of the aformentioned blog post.

This is a really good offer, considering what you'll get out of it. Not only is there access to a weath of knowledge and resources, but big time $$$ in savings in tools and other goodies from our sponsors.

Well, what are you waiting for? It's time to Celebrate! At least head over and check it out. Take it from a member: you will not be disappointed!