I was not as engaged in social media yesterday as I am most days, but noted one recurring theme: Facebook changed everyone's e-mail address. If you don't already know, be advised that your new e-mail address appearing on your timeline is an @facebook.com account. If you would like to restore your prior account simply Go to your profile page Click on About Click on Edit in Contact Info Click on the menu beside each e-mail address listed and choose your desired setting So What? I Read More …
Facebook Bible/Book Study? (#0755)
Many congregations offer fewer opportunities for adult discipleship during the summer months. With more and more adult learning and growth opportunities moving from an on campus (church building, someone's home, or a coffee shop) to either a blended (part on campus and part online) or online format, perhaps summer is the ideal time for your congregation to try something new online (or expand its existing efforts). There are so many possible ways to begin that many people get hung up Read More …
Review of Viral (#0743)
Meet the Author Leonard Sweet is the E. Stanley Jones professor of evangelism at Drew University and visiting distinguished professor of Evangelism at George Fox University, was voted one of the 50 Most Influential Christians in America, and continues to write and speak prophetically about the church. An ordained United Methodist pastor, Sweet has authored over 20 books and 600 articles, and is perhaps best known for his forward thinking ideas about the church. For Read More …
Facebook’s Future Viability (#0732)
Facebook is everywhere I turn lately. I continue to encounter: news, news and more news about and leading up to the IPO; blogs and news stories on how the Instagram acquisition will not happen soon as was originally indicated; information that all is not well with online ad revenues, especially compared to Google; and people who are passionate about the future of Facebook, especially from those favoring both extremes. With this in mind I was intrigued to learn the Read More …
Being and Becoming Virtually Religious (#0681)
“Virtually Religious: Technology and Internet Usage in American Congregations," the latest Faith Communities Today (FACT) report, provides insight into the current role of technology in churches by means of an aggregated data set that includes responses from over 11,000 congregations affiliated with over 120 denominations. Congregational use of technology continues to increase: During the most recent decade (2000-2010) congregational use of email and websites more than doubled: email Read More …
Women Are Smarter Than Men (#0655)
Jeff Bercovici's recent article on Forbes.com explains the key findings of the latest poll by the Pew Internet & American Life Project: When it comes to managing their social media profiles, women, on average, behave more like mature, responsible adults while men act like impulsive adolescents. Some of the gender differences include: Allow only friends to view content: two-thirds of women - less than half of men Have deleted people from network: 67% of women - 58% of men Read More …
Within 24 Hours (#0598)
It has been several years since I made a resolution to begin a new year. This year, however, I opted to make a few resolutions. One resolution is to reply to e-mail within 24 hours. While I have generally done so, I have not always sought to provide feedback to all people within that time horizon. So What? Because I currently have multiple employers (and in boxes) and a varied schedule, e-mail is often the easiest way to reach me. Rather than use different rules to guide Read More …
The Day My Blog Didn’t Appear on Facebook (#0555)
Social media is designed to be social. With so many users leveraging multiple channels, many tools exist to make it easier to share information across channels. While I no longer use Facebook as much as I once did, I have continued to import my blog posts as notes. A few days ago, I received the following message when I logged on to Facebook: Changes to How You Share Content in Notes You currently automatically import content from your website or blog into your Facebook notes. Read More …
Teens & Social Networking (#0551)
The Pew Internet and American Life Project released "Teens, kindness and cruelty on social network sites" last week. Educators, parents, and those who work with teens in any capacity should consider the report a must read (click here to access the full 86 page report). It reviews the multi-stage research that began in December 2010 with a meeting of experts to help refine the project, continued with focus groups of middle and high school students in January and February of 2011, Read More …
Do You AudioBoo? (#0524)
Earlier this week I discovered AudioBoo. I invite you to listen to a two minute message I just created using that tool: My Initial Experience with AudioBoo (mp3) So What? AudioBoo seeks to "be the one platform you use when you want to record audio, share it or keep it safe for the future." Currently you can record new content from your computer or iPhone, Android and Nokia devices. Soon, you will also be able to do so using Blackberry and Windows Mobile. AudioBoo Read More …