I’ve been in online media for over 10 years and since then have had to learn many tools. In the last 5 years alone I’ve learned adCenter, the Ad Intelligence plug-in and more recently the Atlas Media Console, Atlas Import tool and much more. I joined the Atlas Learning and Development team in September of 2010 and was in the same boat as many of our current customers then and now; learning the Media Console. My background was in search and display, but had never used a 3rd party ad server. I knew it was going to get interesting!

My learning methods were pretty much trial by fire; I shadowed a few people, watched all the videos and read the manuals but after 3, 6 and even 9 months, I still found myself asking a lot of the same questions over and over again because I wasn’t using the console every day due to the nature of my new role. My knowledge of the Media Console was clearly a work in progress and admittedly still is. Looking back now I would have done things differently and more efficiently. It’s one of those “If I knew then what I know now” kind of moments. I want to share these tidbits with others who are still learning or are curious to know if there are any best practices to learn more efficiently in a shorter amount of time.

Here’s my top 5, in no particular order, tips that may help you in your learning journey as they’ve helped me:

1. Watch your coworkers, not in a creepy way – Seeing tasks done in real-life is invaluable and inspiring. Watching someone you’ve just met or barely know try to solve a problem in the Media Console can tell you a lot about how the Media Console works (and how smart and efficient your coworkers are!). It’s like being the second born; all of the mistakes were made with the first and you can look like a smartie-pants because you’ve learned from your big sibling’s mistakes.

2. Go in and go often, like that social networking site you’re always on – Log into the Media Console and poke around as often as possible. You don’t need to create or edit anything, but at least repeat what you’ve learned the previous day or week, even if you’re never going to use it. Ask around to see if there is a test advertiser set up for you to play around in. It really is like starting to exercise: Once you do it once, even twice, it’s easy to keep it up. Pretty soon you’ll be craving to do it first thing in the morning with a heart rate monitor on and protein shake at the ready.

3. Ask more questions, thoughtful questions – Don’t ask to challenge, but ask to learn. Why did you just choose Javascript over iFrame? What’s the difference? When would I use iFrame? And so on. If you follow what everyone else is doing without asking why, then you’ll find yourself in a pickle when more complicated tasks come up. I like pickles, but some are a mixed bag full of sour and spicy, you just don’t know if you can handle it or not. Not even the smell test can help you decide.

4. Use Client Center, really use it – I’ve only had it bookmarked for the past 4 months and now I access it more than two times a week. I even have specific pages bookmarked so I can look like a plum genius when someone IMs me a question. Don’t have any idea what I’m talking about? You’re seriously missing out. Seriously. It was made for you and includes a training application, job-aids, articles and a full support system. Here’s how you get in on all the Atlas Learning Goodness. If you are denied access, don’t fret, email ITS@Microsoft.com and tell them Karen sent you. They’ll give you a back-stage pass.

5. Teach others, share the Atlas love – Once you’ve learned something, anything, then show it or share it with others. It helped me retain that information and also helped me learn more- guaranteed. I even did this with my manager and it spawned a lot of “did you know” conversations that increased the wow-factor of my Atlas knowledge. For example, did you know that the ad serving process typically occurs within 10 milliseconds? WOW.

As I enter year two, my hope is to practice the tips I’ve given you here in order to focus on making Atlas and all future Atlas products a better experience for you. What (or who) has helped you in your learning journey?