If a year ago you had told me that I would find a tech guru--and a new web crush--in a self-described "tubby" Internet marketer from Moonee Ponds, Australia, I'd have told you to go to hell. Internet marketers? Aren't they the smarmy bastards behind those ugly machismo-juiced squeeze pages filled with photos of cars and mansions? Don't they fill my inbox with spam? What could I learn from such a person?

Plenty, it ends up.

I've met few people on the Internet more generous with their time and information than Ed Dale, the driving force behind the Thirty Day Challenge, which started up again yesterday. Besides being a marketer, Ed is an evangelist for all things Apple; an advocate for the thoughtful, responsible use of new Web 2.0 technologies; and someone who understands the nature of gender online. Ed regularly offers lessons and fields a wide range of questions via Thirty Day Challenge TV. During one session several weeks ago, Ed pointed out that all the Internet marketing "gurus" were men, and said he found this to be ridiculous, as 50 percent of the participants in the Thirty Day Challenge (more on that soon) were women, and women's ways of interacting and doing business--through collaboration--were in line with the ways the Web works. As a father of daughters, Ed has a stake in the present and future of women, and although he doesn't always wear his feminist heart on his sleeve, his Internet marketing lessons are decidedly different from other ones I've seen--the subtext is inclusivity, and rather than telling his students to follow a strict system, he encourages creativity of thought and action.

Anyhoo. . . The Thirty Day Challenge is an annual event where Ed and a few of his Internet marketing compatriots offer 30+ days of absolutely free training on creating a business online--and it's a pitch-free zone, so while they occasionally will mention the paid-membership service they also own, they really aren't trying to sell you anything. (I know--when I participated for the first time last year, I was incredulous, too.) The goal of the Thirty Day Challenge is to make your first dollar online, but the people who participate bring to the Challenge various levels of experience.

Thanks to Ed, I have learned tips and tricks related to Twitter, Friendfeed, Tumblr, blogs, Google, Firefox, Flock, and more. Ed has also introduced me to Screenflow, Scrivener, and other interesting software that scratches my creative itch. I understand better how Google's search algorithm works, and I know how to boost my sites' ranking in Google search results using "white hat" techniques.

Have I become wealthy through my online endeavors? Nope. But I haven't been as focused as I might be (2-year-old kid, a puppy, and a full-time job, anyone?), and while yes, it would be nice to earn some extra cash online, I'm really enjoying the learning experience that is the Thirty Day Challenge. The hacks Ed shares are valid for anyone wanting to increase her Internet presence or refine her brand online. I've even used some of Ed's tips in my job consulting with university faculty on improving their teaching.

I've always been an inquisitive and acquisitive learner: I read blogs ranging from the incredibly intelligent and fascinating Muslimah Media Watch to the innovative DIY blog Crafting a Green World to the ranty ed tech and pop culture splendor that is bavatuesdays. I'm better informed about a broader spectrum of subjects because I'm willing to read the blogs of and listen to people who are, on the surface at least, very much unlike me. I love the cacophony of voices and the education I glean from them.

There are many other blogs where I've learned far more than I ever expected to learn from informal writing online, from sources that are, for me, both likely and unlikely. Some of my favorites:

• Beth's Blog on nonprofits and social media
• fresh + new from the Powerhouse Museum in Australia
• BLDGBLOG - "architectural conjecture :: urban speculation :: landscape futures"
• Pruned - on landscape architecture and related fields
• Nancy White's Full Circle blog - "Articles, musings and conversations about online interaction, community, networks, chocolate and life"
• Design Your Life - "Use principles of design to organize and improve your environment at home, at work, and in the world."
• The Boss of You - for women who run businesses

What blogs or other online communities have become surprising sources of learning for you? How is this learning changing your life?

(Don't forget to check out the Thirty Day Challenge. You'll thank me later.)

Leslie Madsen-Brooks develops learning experiences for K-12, university, and museum clients. She blogs at The Clutter Museum, Museum Blogging, and The Multicultural Toybox.