Lynda.com cashes in on success.

Lynda.com is acquired by LinkedIn for $1.5 billion.

Wow. This is a wonderful success story. Lynda Weinman started doing what she did well and managed to keep it getting better and growing.

Our experience with Lynda goes way back. After years of learning print design software by reading thick manuals and asking colleagues how they did things, it was a relief when Lynda burst on the scene with clear and well-structured video courses on software and other technical skills.

In those days (around 2000 maybe) you bought the DVD and watched the course either on your TV or computer.  We had dozens of them, including the one to the right. However, it was with common access to broadband speeds that Lynda.com became a powerhouse of learning.

For us, the increasing complexity of building websites made these video-based courses perfect for helping get to the next level of skills needed to survive in the market.

In our world, not understanding your tools makes you unproductive and therefore unprofitable. Thanks, Lynda, for helping us get through the fog of confusion that each new technology forced into our lives.

The really smart thing Lynda.com did was to realize that they could go beyond the technical topics. They realized that most people did not actually know how to use Microsoft Word! From that realization came training on topics as diverse as "How to run a meeting" and "How to use you iPhone". I think this is what interests LinkedIn.

For me, the best part of the Lynda story was that I always appreciated their "authenticity." The courses they offered came from personal knowledge and the desire to help others. Of course, it helps they made a few bucks in the process. That is how we reward such a good product.

Bonus Tip: Learn a little HTML, it could you make your life easier.

Are you a website editor or blogger frustrated with your admin tools?

To do your job well, you need to have a command of basic HTML. This basic knowledge will allow you to fix the mistakes that the embedded editor of you CMS creates, as well as add simple layout enhancements. You will be better equiped to break the limitations of your website system — knowledge is power.

It is less complex than you realize, you just need a clear explanation along with some samples. Take this course from Lynda.com: HTML Essential Training.  It is a 6 hour course and will cost you no more than $25. If you are afraid that is too much effort, you are doomed to badly spaced content, columns that do not align and other nuisances that embedded editors are so bad at.