using web technologies at Innovation3

During the Innovation3 Gathering, we used a number of web technologies at the conference, connecting both those present in person and those who watched main sessions and interviews from remote. This blog post gives a brief overview of what we used and how it worked. Only the first two items below were planned; the rest were spontaneous experiments that happen to work very well.

• Webcam - using an off-the-shelf Logitech webcam, we live-streamed video interviews with a number of the presenters. And, for live-streaming the main sessions, a standard video camera was set stationary to shoot an HD video monitor. Both live stream videos were broadcast using Web Church Media (which also powers Shapevine). Special thanks to Web Church Media for providing the personnel and customized technologies for Innovation3 Live-streaming!
• Blogs - we invited 12 bloggers to provide coverage during the event, and they blogged up a lot of notes; several even "live-blogged" like a court recorder. Other attendees blogged too.
• Skype video call - during the "Technology, Blogging, and Social Networks" breakout, we had to improvise because 2 out of the 3 scheduled presenters couldn't attend. So we pulled-in Cynthia Ware and Kent Shaffer, along with the previously-scheduled Tony Morgan. While the trio was preparing on-the-spot, we were able to connect in Bobby Greunewald and Terry Storch from LifeChurch.tv via Skype Video, and Cynthia interviewed them about digital technologies! We could bring in special guests from remote and breakout participants could experience using technology (instead of just hearing about it).
• Ustream.tv - in the tech breakout, we also setup a MacBook Pro and live-streamed video to about 60+ viewers from elsewhere, while 30+ sat in on the breakout in person. We recorded most of the session as well (parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) using Ustream.tv.
• Tokbox - when the Skype video call ended, I pointed a webcam on the breakout presenters for a "watch party" at churchtok.com. About 10 people stopped in to watch the breakout together. Maybe there's something to sharing an experience online with others at the same time.
• Twitter - we had 2 scheduled "tweetups" and a handful of other spontaneous tweetups. This turned out to be a great way to connect people during the event, for them to find each other, jot down quotes, and have side conversations. And, by using a "hashtag" #i3 in their updates, twitterers generated a lot of buzz during the event, so much so that it was on the home page of search.twitter.com as a top trending topic!

What's so amazing is this: blogs, Skype, Ustream.tv, Tokbox, and Twitter are all FREE! And, all of the live-streaming during the tech breakout was done over wifi (not a wired Internet connection).

I know this is a church tech blog for non-techies, so we can explain in more detail about any of these items -- just add a comment with your questions, and someone will jump in to answer. At this time, I wanted to first give you an overview.

And earlier today, we used TokBox for a quick video conference debrief about the above items (note: the audio portion wasn't working for all of us, so that was disappointing. One of the big issues with using internet is how the connection can be unreliable -- a subject for a future post):

 

So, what do you think? How can these technologies add value to a conference event? What about adding value to your church and/or ministry?

// DJ Chuang is a Director at Leadership Network, launching digital initiatives, and connecting multi-site churches and Asian American pastors. He joined the Leadership Network team through a partnership with L2 Foundation.

Comments

[Robert E Tozier]

All that live innovative tech stuff was interesting on your web site, but you should know - -

As I looked through some of the live conversations, I found a link that turned out to be a series of near-explicit erotic photos.

Gave me a disturbing look at innovation.

[djchuang]

@Robert, thanks for bringing that to our attention. On the #i3 live page, we did have conent we could manage (video) and moderate (chat room), and content that was just live from the open internet.

The content live from the internet, e.g. live twitter updates with the hashtag #i3 and flickr photos, could be misused and that's the risk of connecting to the unmoderated world wide web. Caution noted.