Extend your reach

A pastor friend of mine offers a Saturday morning class designed "help folks reduce daily stresses." When I saw the tweet about it I thought to myself, that's something a lot of people could use. I asked if he'd considered making it a webcast (depending on the class format of course) and he admitted he hadn't. (TDF!)

Then my mind wandered to all the potential webcasts a congregation could make available. Do you want to share the basics of the Christian faith? Webcast an adult information or confirmation class. And what about Sunday morning Bible study? It doesn't matter if viewers are in your city or even your country. The point would be to make the class available to a wider audience. Jesus preached to thousands at a time!

Even a younger person's confirmation class is a potential webcast.

Webcasting is not rocket science.
1) You need a laptop computer, webcam and microphone or a connection to a sound system if you are webcasting something like a church service. (Make sure you have a reasonable amount of light on the main subject for good video.)

2) Set up an account with a free streaming service like Ustream.tv or Livestream.com.

3) Embed the feed onto your website (the streaming service gives you the information)

4) Let people know you are going to webcast and where they can watch. Post the information on Facebook, send out a message on Twitter, promote it on your website, in your Sunday bulletin, announcements, newsletter and the sign in front of your church!

5) Lights, camera, action! Once you are streaming, make sure you welcome the online audience as you would any visitors.

If you are webcasting an instructional class, the viewers have the opportunity to comment in the chat features of the streaming service. This means you can do Q&A with the people in the room as well as online.

With any event or weekly activity, think of ways to extend your reach beyond the four walls of your church or school by thinking digital first.

Fallen and can't get up? Tell your friends on Facebook.

When you read that kids are using social media all the time you have to wonder if it's true. Read this story: http://mashable.com/2009/09/07/trapped-girls-facebook/

What this shows is that a younger person's first priority may not be using the telephone, but sharing information with as many people as possible on Facebook, hoping someone else calls for help.

Is this common? I don't know. If I had a cell phone and could either call or update I would call, but then none of my friend would know I was in trouble. The social networking would be limited to the emergency operator until I was rescued. That loses all immediacy which is the hallmark of social media.

Some say social media is a fad. Others claim it has fundamentally changed the way we communicate. Were the girls in this story just immature or using their primary electronic communication vehicle?

Making the list

During a social media seminar today, Starbucks was used as an example of branding. The company sees itself as a third location: "home, work, Starbucks." The goal is to have people attend Starbucks to consume the brand.

How do we add "church" onto the list of locations?