using Twitter at work and ministry

We've mentioned Twitter several times here at Digital, and I still describe it as "text message blogging" rather than the techie-sounding "microblogging." [ht: Linda Stanley; cf. How to use Twitter, Twittering your testimony, Westwinds Church tries Twitter Sunday, Twittering for Jesus]

At one of the blogs at the New York Times, a guest post by a Web 2.0 consultant, Sarah Milstein unpacks How Twitter Can Help at Work. The article mentions 5 ways to use Twitter in your career or business:

1. Share ideas. ... note cool work-related things you’ve discovered — a great article, a new Web site or an intriguing idea.
2. Show respect. ... “retweet” something interesting somebody else has Twittered.
3. Build your brand.
4. Engage customers. Run contests, solicit feedback and thank customers for supportive messages.
5. Provide customer service.

Signing up for a Twitter account takes about 15 seconds. If you first want more detail on how the service works, check out the Wikipedia entry or the “Twitter in Plain English” video. Still on the fence? Chris Brogan has 50 good ideas for using Twitter in business.

Read the full article for context and many real-life examples.

Most of us readers here are involved in ministry as staff or volunteer. I don't know how much Twitter is used in the church ministry context; yet, I've heard of one church that prohibited their staff from Twittering.

Here at Leadership Network, we are sometimes described as a ministry to churches and pastors. We partner with churches all across the United States and Canada with a team of 12+ directors scattered around the country (and an admin support staff at our Dallas headquarters). We've been staying connected by weekly phone calls and quarterly team meetings -- the team only meets face-to-face 4 times a year.

Our team also blogs over at the Learnings blog to share with each other and the public about things we're learning first-hand. Twitter has helped us connect in an informal way with each other and the public too. Here's the ones I know of: Todd Rhoades, DJ Chuang, Greg Ligon, Linda Stanley, Dave Travis, Sherry Surratt, Eric Swanson, and several staffers too.

How do you use Twitter at work? At your ministry? And, yes, if you Twitter, you can add a comment with your twitter ID.

-- DJ Chuang, Director at Leadership Network

Comments

[Joe]

It might be interesting for a church staff (esp the one that's prohibited from Twitter) to try out Yammer.

[Pastor Dale]

I just started a couple Twitter groups for the benefit of the church around the world. http://twitter.com/prayingvoices is a place to post prayer requests. If you follow it, you can pray for those people throughout your day as the requests come in. http://twitter.com/bibletalk is for discussing the Bible. Pick a section, verse, etc., and offer your thoughts, or ask a question about it.