Gaga for Googlefest

The Lowcountry can't seem to get enough Google guidance.

In February, some 600 small-business owners piled into Charleston's Memminger Auditorium for the Internet giant's "Get Your Business Online" tutorial. They learned how to build simple websites and use Google's advertising and marketing tools.

But several people couldn't make it, and they called or wrote in to The Post and Courier later that week wondering when the next such event would be. Well, there's good news and bad news.

There is a sequel of sorts, it's called Googlefest, it's free, and it's this Thursday at Trident Technical College's main campus on Rivers Avenue in North Charleston. And this time it's not only for businesses but also for nonprofits and educators.

Morning lectures will address topics like the "Future of the Cloud," and the afternoon features smaller-group sessions for each of the three types of attendees: Google Analytics and Drive for businesspeople; AdWords for nonprofits; and "40 Ways to Use Google in the Classroom" for educators.

"Googlers" from New York and California will once again be on-hand to answer questions and conduct demonstrations, according to Eric Wages, operations manager of Google's Goose Creek data center complex.

Wages said the idea behind the latest program is to unite communities of users and target their particular issues and "just to get more people at once."

"We get a lot of requests for training," Wages said. He expects "many hundreds" to attend.

The bad news is the event requires preregistration and is already oversubscribed.

But all hope is not lost. There is a waiting list. To join the queue and for the full agenda, go to https://sites.google.com/site/googfest/.

"It's going to be quite a spectacle," Wages promised.

Contact Brendan Kearney at 937-5906.