Happy Twitterversary Sowhatfaith I joined Twitter one year ago today, which makes today my first twitterversary. Initially, I tweeted sparingly (between 31 and 56 times a month). Once I felt more familiar with the discipline , I tweeted a bit more (between 89 and 97 times a month). Last month I fully embraced tweeting and posted more than ever by some margin (276 tweets). This month I am on pace for about the same number of tweets as last Read More …
Social Media
Happy Social Media Day! (#0110)
Mashable, one of the best known Internet news blogs, has proclaimed June 30 as the first Social Media Day and invites everyone to celebrate “the revolution of media becoming a social dialogue.” One way they suggest to celebrate is by participating in one of over 600 meet ups. According to blogger Vadim Lavrusik: Today we acknowledge and celebrate the revolution of media becoming social. A day that honors the technological and societal advancements that have allowed us to have a Read More …
Reflections on Year One (#0102)
As I began to read more and more blogs and participate in social media, I wanted to create a site to share some of my thoughts. Sowhatfaith.com started one year ago today when I launched a shell of a website and a simple introduction: Welcome to the site that continually asks the critical question, “So what?” when it comes to issues of faith. This is not the place for answers. It is a place to find encouragement for asking the important so what questions and responding with Read More …
My Experiences with Tweeting in Worship (#0092)
A few weeks ago, I wrote Tweeting in Worship to highlight the expanded usage of Twitter in corporate worship and consider some of the possible benefits. To move from that theoretical exploration toward an experiential appraisal, I tweeted in worship services on two consecutive Sundays in congregations affiliated with different denominations. Shown below are my unedited tweets with time stamps: May 9 - Emmanuel Lutheran Church (ELCA) Bountiful God, Read More …
Why I Am Not Quitting Facebook (#0088)
Facebook Privacy Concerns Facebook continues to evolve and some of the most recent changes surrounding the privacy of information are a bit unsettling. More specifically, over time, users have had less and less control over what information is public and what can remain private. Matt McKeon, a developer with the Visual Communication Lab at IBM, recently posted a series of images that clearly depict the radical change in privacy over time. The first and last images (click Read More …
Tweeting in Worship (#0086)
Tweeting in Worship For years, church growth teams/committees (also known as evangelism, marketing/public relations, and outreach) have struggled with how to invest limited dollars to market the church to the larger community. Interestingly, research continues to show that word of mouth produces far greater results than direct mail, television/radio/newspaper ads, or other traditional marketing. Of course, this means motivating those already active in the community to share their experiences Read More …
Religion with Relevance / The Language of God (#0080)
On Friday, April 16 the United Church of Christ launched a new marketing effort within the framework of their popular Still Speaking campaign. An undated letter published several weeks prior to the launch explains this new commercial, The Language of God, will be different in "how it will be carried / launched / delivered by you. For the first time, we will be relying on a grassroots, viral campaign to 'spiral' our message across the internet via web-based ads, Facebook, YouTube, Read More …
Online Churches Draw Believers, Critics (#0051)
Earlier this week, Anne Hammock wrote an article for CNN about online churches. Online Churches Draw Believers, Critics explores a topic that is drawing increased attention from both sacred and secular media as more and more people participate in online worship and discipleship experiences. She writes, "Internet pastors and parishioners cite their 24-hour access to interactive tools and social-networking platforms to show their online experiences are as meaningful as those that take Read More …
Review of The Social Media Bible (#0018)
Safko, Lon and Brake, David K. The Social Media Bible. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2009. ISBN: 978-0-470-41155-1. Meet the Authors Lon Safko is an innovator and professional speaker with more than twenty years experience in entrepreneurship, marketing, sales, strategic partnering, and e-commerce. He is the founder of eight sucessful companies, including Paper Models, Inc. and LonSafko.com. David K. Brake is the CEO and founder of Content Connections, a company that uses Read More …
Review of Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day (#0017)
Evans, Dave. Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day. Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2008. ISBN: 978-0-470-34402-6. Meet the Author Dave Evans is a social media expert whose passion is tapping the power of the social web and applying it to business. In 1994, Dave cofounded Digital Voodoo, which provides strategic marketing services for clients wanting to tap the power of the social web. In 2005, he cofounded HearThis.com, a podcasting service firm focused on social media Read More …