Digital @ Leadership Network

7 other church tech blogs

There are a number of other great blogs on the web that add more perspectives about church and web technology, as we do here at the Digital blog.

Here are 7 church tech blogs that are being mentioned today:

• ChurchCrunch - exploring the intersection of technology and the church
• Church Tech Matters - a site for tech volunteers
• BetaChurch -design and technology for the church's mission
• Church Technology Review -church meets Internet, websites, technology and web 2.0
• Church Tech Today - technology for today's church
• Geeks & God podcast - encouraging ministries to use technology more effectively
• Mobile Ministry Magazine -the intersection of faith and mobile technology

Of course, the contributors here are all active bloggers themselves and worthy of link love. Most of them blog about a wide variety of other topics at their own blogs. You can click-thru to see for yourself:

• Aaron Linne
• Cynthia Ware - The Digital Sanctuary
• Dawn Carter
• Dean Peters - Heal Your Church Website
• DJ Chuang
• Greg Atkinson
• Greg Davis
• Jim Walton
• Joe Suh
• Mary Beth Stockdale
• Matt Kerner
• Steve Knight - Kingdom Journalism
• Todd Rhoades - Monday Morning Insight

Any others you'd like to add? Add a comment below.

// DJ Chuang, Director of Digital Initiatives at Leadership Network

welcome our new Digital contributors

You may have noticed a few changes here at the DIGITAL blog as 2009 has gotten under way. The blog's catch phrase was re-adjusted to = church tech blog for non-techies. This more clearly captures our intent in the first place, and I hope you find it more inviting too.

Plus, we've invited new contributors to this blog! You may have already noticed some new names and new voices chiming in. Here's an intro to each of the new contributors. (You'll also want to view the list of all the contributors.)

Greg Atkinson lives in Dallas, where he served previously as the Director of WorshipHouse Media, after having served as a worship pastor for 11 years. Greg is now on staff at Bent Tree Bible Fellowship and continues to consult, teach and write about innovation, technology and social justice. You can connect with him through his daily blog at GregAtkinson.com.

Dawn Carter is the Teaching Leader for the Moms with A Purpose Bible Study at Sandals Church in Riverside, CA. She heads up Marketing and social media initiatives for Riverside-based 360Hubs, a software firm specializing in Internet Campus and secure social networks for churches. She blogs from her personal website about the high calling of being a mom and more. She has a passion for connecting things: broken people with recovery, technophobes with technology, our hearts to our doctrine-filled heads, God’s love with the unlovely.

Greg Davis has been working as an SAP consultant for the past 10 years and applying his passion for technology, communication and media in the local church for the past 4+ years. He is resides in Wilmington, DE with his wife and 2 kids. He can keep up with Greg at his Technically Speaking blog.

Matt Kerner is the pastor of creative arts and college ministry at Schweitzer UMC and focuses on using technology to connect the Gospel to new generations. He's worked in technology environments both in ministry and the marketplace. He lives in Springfield, MO with his wife Sarah and their dachshund Lucy. His personal blog is at kerner.net

Mary Beth Stockdale is the Connect Director at Suncrest Christian Church, where she oversees the Small Group Ministry and works to engage newcomers into the church family. She has recently begun to explore social media and technology as tools for keeping the Church relevant in today's culture. She is passionate about church leaders sharing their wins and working united as a true Body, and expresses this in her blog, breaking point. She lives in Schererville, IN.

Jim Walton has been involved in church technology for 5+ years in a variety of ways, both volunteering and consulting. He created and wrote at ChurchTechMatters.com for 4 years, writing about all aspects of tech in the church, both his own experiences and what he saw others doing. He can be found writing at blog.jimwalton.org .

A big thank you to each of them in advance!

You can show your appreciation for these contributors by adding your comments as they blog about practical ways to use digital technologies. Technology is an ever-developing fast-changing arena, and I confess it's hard to keep up with it all. Our hope is that the DIGITAL blog will help you keep up and understand how these tools can be used to multiply your ministry impact.

// DJ Chuang is a Director at Leadership Network, launching digital initiatives, and connecting multi-site churches and Asian American pastors.

Tech Tuesday: how does duplicate content affect search engines?

This Digital blog is a team blog, with multiple contributors. The idea here is to provide one blog that gathers insights from a plurality of perspectives about how to use technology for ministry, and explain it to non-techies. (Each of our contributors have their own personal blogs too, so it'd be too much to ask them to generate entirely original content for yet another blog.) Or to say it another way, this blog provides both aggregated content and original content, with the aim of providing our regular readers with practical ways for using technology.

This week's Tech Tuesday question is on the other side of being "non-techie," and much more technical.

At the urging of ChurchCrunch.com, an excellently church tech blog by the very technically-competent John Saddington, he raised a red flag in Duplicate Content is Costly - A Blogger Bedtime Story about lessons learned regarding Google search results.

So I asked 2 other web developers, "Question about SEO-- does (occasionally) cross-posting on 2 blogs badly affect one's Google result ranking (search engine optimization, aka SEO)?"

Here was their responses:

• "occassionaly no, but frequently yes. I would define 'frenquent' as at least daily. don't worry about getting tagged by google unless you are doing it a BUNCH. They're worried about real spammers"
• "if there is a link back and forth you should be fine. might be better if one was a summary."

Here's an excerpt of what Google say about Duplicate Content::

In the rare cases in which Google perceives that duplicate content may be shown with intent to manipulate our rankings and deceive our users, we'll also make appropriate adjustments in the indexing and ranking of the sites involved. As a result, the ranking of the site may suffer, or the site might be removed entirely from the Google index, in which case it will no longer appear in search results.

Hmmm.. from what I can tell, the answer might be, "it depends." How Google ranks its results incorporates over 200 factors. Duplicated content is one of them.

What has your experience been with aggregators, cross-posting, or mirroring content?

// DJ Chuang is a Director at Leadership Network, launching digital initiatives, and connecting multi-site churches and Asian American pastors.

Blogging: Find Your Niche

Early in my blogging career, I started reading some blogs and that inspired me to start my own.  That went well for a short time but I guess I lost interest.  About a year later, I returned and started another blog and was enjoying myself as I just wrote random stuff about me and my life.

But as I did this, it became apparent that I was writing more and more about technology in church and I decided I should have a blog dedicated to that topic.  So, I started yet another blog, but now with a focus.  I viewed it as a short term thing and figured once I got it out of my system, it would fade away like the other two blogs had done.  4 years later, I guess my passion is here to stay.

Little did I know, I had found my niche and that helped me to write more effectively.  It also helped me to stay interested in writing because I was writing about what I knew and the more I wrote, the more I learned and the more connections I made in my "niche" world.

I've seen a lot of people become interested in blogging and seen quite few even start a blog, but many of them do not last.  I have considered what gives a blog the ability to last and I believe there are several factors but it seems that the blogs that last, oftentimes do so because the author has found their niche.

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, a niche is "a place, employment, status, or activity for which a person or thing is best fitted". In writing terms, write about what you know and what you are interested in. Don't try to be something in your writing that you are not in real life.

For example, if you are a pastor, write about what you are studying and teaching or write about how you are seeing lives changed in your church.  If you are a children's pastor, write about ways that you have successfully reached kids with your object lessons.  If you are interested in media or technology in church, write about that.

Finding your niche is not difficult but it might take some soul searching and prayer to fully understand it. You actually may not know offhand what your niche could be and that is ok.  However, what you will find once you start blogging about what you know, in your niche, so to speak, is that you will begin to connect with other like-minded people, people that share your passions and maybe even have the same questions you have. Eventually, you might even find a community in your "niche".

Do you know what your niche is?

Are you blogging about it?

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.

The State of the Church Online, Part 1: Social & Community Networks

Just before I left for Innovation3, I was contacted by my friend, Drew Goodmanson of Monk Development (and elder/pastor at Kaleo Church in San Diego).  Drew is someone I really respect, both as a Christian leader and as a savvy business person.  He was one of the first people I discovered who was using the Internet (and SEO) to reach people for Christ.  You can read his story elsewhere online but I'm inviting you to help him & those who are studying social media and the Church by taking this simple 5 minute survey.  Here's an overview....

Are churches using the internet to gather, disciple and build community?

In the last couple years a number of new private church community networks have been launched in addition to numerous social networking sites.   We are still very early on in understanding what churches are doing effectively online.

We invite you to participate in this first survey of several that examine the State of the Church Online.  This survey in particular begins by examining what churches are doing with social and community networks.  How pervasive are the use of these web applications?

Future surveys will expand to examine what Christians are doing with social networks, how churches are using their websites and other online strategies.  Our prayer is that these studies help bring clarity and guidance for churches to pursue excellence online to the glory of God.

This survey is being led by Kevin Ring.  Kevin brings years of experience from Bainbridge Consulting leading qualitative research projects - designing and executing customer/competitive research and analysis across multiple industries, focused on Fortune 500 companies including Google, Yahoo!, Citibank, Hewitt Associates, Gallup, Bank of America and others.

The survey is free and takes very little time to complete.  Feel free to leave your name here (below in the comments) if you participate.

Link to it here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=bQWu6K2vXJyKE1aGHWr8_2fg_3d_3d

Cynthia Ware - The Digital Sanctuary

12 live bloggers at Innovation3 Gathering

To provide blog coverage for the Innovation3 Gathering this week (Tues 1/27 to Wed 1/28), we have 12 live bloggers who will provide updates during the 26-hour action-packed gathering. Some of them will "live blog" with a daily summary, some will post several blog entries each day, some will be live-blogging like a court recorder. Here's a list of those bloggers and a link to their blogs:

1. Tony Morgan    tonymorganlive.com
2. Carlos Whittaker    ragamuffinsoul.com
3. Cynthia Ware    thedigitalsanctuary.org
4. Rhett Smith   rhettsmith.com
5. Charles Lee    charlestlee.com
6. Kent Shaffer    churchrelevance.com
7. Mark Burleson    thoughtcoffee.net/blog
8. Scott McClellan    www.collidemagazine.com
9. Scott Williams    bigisthenewsmall.com
10. Zac Smith    hello-righton.com
11. Greg Atkinson    gregatkinson.com
12. DJ Chuang    djchuang.com

There will be other bloggers in the audience too. The above bloggers are the ones we've tapped to be particularly active in their blogging and twittering activities during Innovation3. A special thanks to each of them in advance!

For the very latest on Innovation3, subscribe to the following feeds:

• hashtag #i3 - live tweets & chatter by attendees at Innovation3
• twitter.com/innovation3 - announcements during the Innovation3 Gathering (twitter id = @innovation3)

// 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.

church tech blog for non-techies

I was going to save this post for later, until everything was done. But this is the 21st century, and this is blogging. So it's okay to share about things that are still under development and not quite finished and final.

Astute observers here will have noticed that this DIGITAL blog has a new look. 2009 is a new day and this is a new day for DIGITAL as we make a few housekeeping adjustments that we believe will serve you better.

We've reimagined this blog's byline / slogan / mantra: church tech blog for non-techies. This blog's intent and focus remains the same, since launching in September 2007. This blog explains how to use technology to multiply the church's impact. This blog answers questions like, "I am a senior leader of my church but not the techie. What do I need to know in the tech world now and for the future? What do I need to understand?"

We're grateful for the team of contributors who have a finger on the pulse of the latest technology trends and will explain what that means for the church. Each of them have a passion for the church and use various technology in their lives and ministries. We'll glean from their experiences, examples, and perspectives on implications.

This blog is a labor of love as our contributors are volunteering to be a part of this effort, and you can show your appreciation by your regular readership and adding comments. We'll introduce the contributors, as the roster gets finalized.

There are a number of noteworthy church tech blogs elsewhere on the internet, and we'll mention them here in a future post. What we're aiming to accomplish here is to take the jargon out of the tech-speak and geek-talk, and to write in plain everyday English. When we're out of line and revert into tech-speak, calll us on it by adding a comment, and someone will jump in and translate.

Your feedback is welcomed; please add a comment below.

// 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.

campus pastors who blog

Blogging is certainly a great way to connect those who attend campuses at different locations of a multi-site church. Noticed last week Jason Curlee tweeted, "I'm looking for blogs to follow of an Multi-Site Campus Pastors shoot me a link if you have some". That prompted me to wonder just how many campus pastors at multi-site churches have a blog.

I'd imagine there's probably hundreds of them out there in the blogosphere; this is my starter list of one's I follow and one's I found quickly (in no particular order):

• Jorge Molina (Homestead Campus of Christ Fellowship Miami)
• Jason Curlee (Bay Area Fellowship)
• Scott Williams (NW OKC campus of LifeChurch.tv)
• Jeff Bell (Elkhart campus of Granger)
• Don Graffam (White Bear Lake campus of Eagle Brook Church)
• Tim Boucher (South Bend campus of Grace Community Church)
• Chad Roberts (Dickson campus of Cross Point Community Church)
• Brian Duncan (Kannapolis campus of High Rock Community Church)
• Ron Loflin (Denton campus of High Rock Community Church)

Of course, Internet campus pastors count too -- let's defer that for a separate list. And then, there are blogs for multi-site campuses, usually used for campus-specific news and announcements; and there are blogs for multi-site directors that oversee all of the campuses of a multi-site church.

Are you a campus pastor who blogs? Or, do you know a campus pastor who blogs? Add a comment and add to the list!

-- DJ CHUANG, Director at Leadedrship Network

[photo credit: antonymayfield]

Internet Ministry Conference 2008 Underway

The annual Internet Ministry Conference is well underway.  Calvin College is hosting this year's event and our sessions are designed to give us a chance to absorb all there is to learn about ministry online.  The speakers are hand-picked experts in the field of internet ministry and literally I wish I could hear them all.

Last night our keynote was Gabe Lyons of the Fermi Project.  Taking a prudent inventory of all the technology we are using and combining it with excerpts from the book unChristian, the book Lyons co-authored with David Kinnaman, made for an evening of heady reflection and thoughtful evaluation.  As a parting gift he gave everyone the book The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture (I interviewed it's author, Shane Hipps, last year here).

Today Dr. Quentin Schultze (who I recommend here often) will present the morning devotional. Following devotions we'll head into 3 days of internet-related ministry tools, skills and best practices.

Some sessions include: 

David Russell of NCC - Crafting Usable Websites

Dr. Dave Bourgeois of Biola University - Best Practices in Internet Ministry

Kent Shaffer of Church Relevance - Internet Ministry Marketing and Tailored Internet Ministry

Brad Abare of Church Marketing Sucks & the Center for Church Communication along with Michael Buckingham & Holy Cow Creative & also CCC will help us define our Personality and, shall we say, frustrate, educate and motivate us towards better online practices.

I'll speak on Thursday about Your Spiritual Gift Mix Online (how to successfully be yourself online!) so make sure and let me know if you'll be here and we can connect.  If you're anywhere near Grand Rapids swing by.

If you use Twitter, don't use #IMC08 (that's a marketing conference),  instead use #IMC2008 to follow status updates.

-- Cynthia Ware, The Digital Sanctuary