About twenty-four hours ago, I was elated when I read Seth Fiegerman's Mashable piece relaying big news: Twitter released a robust analytics dashboard to all users. I immediately logged in to my account as directed, and was quite impressed by the data available. In fact, I was so delighted I passed the news of this new feature on to multiple colleagues. Within a few hours (thanks to seeing multiple tweets on the topic appearing in my stream) I realized that this new feature had Read More …
Social Media
Ministry Leaders & Social Media (#1101)
BSM Almost all current ministry leaders completed their formal education BSM (Before Social Media). Most pastors, musicians, and educators learned a great deal about their professions, including how to communicate information about such with constituents and (ideally!) to a wider audience of prospective participants. Reality Check What happens when the communication and marketing channels they know best no longer resonate with their constituents? Increasingly people want to Read More …
The New Front Door (#1098)
A recent short video produced by the New Media Project features three pastors sharing their experiences with new media. While each short presentation offers helpful insight, one provided a compelling visual image for the role of new media. Eugene Cho, founding pastor of Quest Church, considers new media to be the church's new front door: . . . the front door of our churches have now changed. The front door is no longer the front door. In fact, I would tell you probably Read More …
Goodbye Blackberry, Hello S4 (#1079)
For the last several years I have been a Blackberry user addict. Day and night, my Blackberry has been within arm's reach. During this phase, I transitioned from writing most of my e-mails on a computer to composing the vast majority on my Blackberry, eliminated my land line at home and relied on my Blackberry, placed my files in the cloud, enabling easy access on my Blackberry (thanks Dropbox!), joined the social conversation, especially via Twitter, and experienced Read More …
Successful Blogs (#1070)
Srinivas Rao recently shared "Six Pillars of an Effective Blog." The list includes wisdom about focus, style and a few additional resources effective blogs should include. More specifically, Rao suggests effective blogs know their purpose/message/mission, include an optional e-mail newsletter, provide a free e-book/manifesto, are based on a product/business model, emphasize good site design, and engage in effective self-promotion. So What? While there is no Read More …
Your Church’s Facebook Presence (#1067)
Monk Development's "2013 State of the Church Online Report" contains data gathered from a diverse group of "over 50 churches spread across the United States" that seek to serve their congregation's through the web (p.2). As I reviewed the report, I found myself returning again and again to a statistic that provides a benchmark for congregations seeking to develop a presence on Facebook. According to Monk's research, "the average for likes vs. total weekly attendance (TWA) is Read More …
Church Marketing Shifts (#1062)
Lindsay Christian's recent Capital Times article, "Marketing God: Churches Turn to the Web, Social Media to Attract Members," explores how many congregations in her area have shifted their marketing time and monies from print efforts to online endeavors. Christian's piece effectively explores how a significant trend has impacted congregations in her community. To highlight the significantly diminished return on investment and increasing irrelevancy of print advertising (especially Read More …
Facebook Personality Test (#1039)
You Are What You Like offers a free personality test. Rather than asking you a series of questions to determine your personality, the app analyzes your likes on Facebook. Curious to learn more, I authorized the app and received my report: So What? Provided you are yourself on Facebook rather than one who seeks to create an alternative or idealistic version of who you wish to be/become, the test is nearly impossible to fake unlike other types of personality tests that allow Read More …
How to Become Pope (#1022)
Almost two weeks ago, C. G. P. Grey uploaded their latest video to YouTube. This five minute educational video explains the path one must take if one seeks to become Pope. It has already been viewed in excess of 1.5 million times. So What? Since a new Pope is elected so infrequently, most people outside of the Catholic Church are not familiar with the process. This video provides a good basic overview. How many men have served as Pope during your lifetime? (check out this Read More …
1,000 Posts (#0999)
In June 2009, some 44 months ago, I launched this blog. My initial goals were quite modest: Learn more about blogging and social media by deepening my own engagement Share my thoughts on timely topics with an emphasis on raising questions rather than offering answers Encourage conversation about matters of faith that matter (within and beyond the congregation I was serving) After a few months of posting on an occasional basis, I began to be more intentional about when I posted. Read More …