The sandbox for iGoogle opened yesterday. Should be exciting to see new apps for Google’s Open Social. I am really interested in the idea of spiritual communities launched natively through phone and web apps and I think this one could be a part of the scheme of things.
Are you also thinking about online spiritual communities? And the potential of Web 2.0 for Church 2.0? Love to hear what you are thinking. Send me an email. I may want to ask you some questions.
Also, any readers out there who are considering attending the Graphing Social Patterns Conference next June or attended the GSP West Coast conference last month?
What about Google’s Developer Event in San Francisco in May?
Are you at Web 2.0 Expo right now???? [Lucky sod!]
Come forward please. Come on up to the front. Yes . . . I see that hand . . .
Technorati Tags: web 2.0
just attended ad:tech in SF – waste of time. thinking about google i/o in may. see you there?
graphic social patterns east coast in june seems more likely.
let me know if you are going there.
Andrew,
Mustard Seed Associates will be having a little get together tomorrow evening, talking about Mission and Technology, with Thomas Knoll. And word on the street is that they’ll be streaming it.
I just got an e-mail with the following info:
Our community conversation on social media/technology and mission is this Wednesday at 7:00pm PDT. We will be streaming the conversation live, so if you don’t live around Seattle, you can still participate online! Simply visit our website (http://www.msainfo.org) to listen in and live chat.
Cheers.
I highly recommend Graphing Social Patterns. Been to the 2 previous ones, and was one of the winners of the hackathon contest at the 1st GSP 🙂
Andrew:
I’m pretty obsessed with New Media/Web 2.0 right now. I’ve just been so impressed with the ability to connect and mobilize people so rapidly. It’s such a great catalyst as well. I’m gathering with some New Media/Web 2.0 people from So Cal and from Dallas in a couple of weeks…just to chat informally.
I want to attend the GSP conference…but we will see.
But I will see you at GodblogCon…let’s talk more over a good cheap pint at some casino off the strip…haaa.
later,
rhett
by the way…for those reading the comments…the GodblogCon is in Vegas…just wanted to clarify…otherwise the casino off the strip might come across weird, or inappropriate 🙂
rhett
I’ve tried to be a part of online communities. What I find is most of those involved have similar interests and beliefs. I’m not against them at all…I just find that old fashioned face-to-face communities with people in your who many not be like you, or hold the same opinion and/or beliefs you do have a potential power that online communities lack at times. I can easy choose to remove myself from a virtual community…physical community it isn’t always that easy. I also find it easier to ‘hide’ how I’m _really_ doing in virtual communities. Of course, this might just be how I enter into the experience.
Thanks for the post Andrew.
I’ve been thinking about using the web to facilitate community and mutual support and encouragement amongst worship leaders here in France, where the church is typically fragmented and there is relatively little in the way of inter-church or inter-denominational relationships.
My original thought was to launch a blog for worship leaders, with posts designed to provoke thought, discussion etc. However, I’ve recently become aware of how easy it is now to set up social networks, so am wondering whether I should instead launch a network for French-speaking worship ministries.
My biggest doubt is this: are such online communities genuine, value-adding resources which bring something to their members that other resources can’t (or don’t) bring, or are they just the result of everyone jumping on the Facebook bandwagon? I’m on Facebook myself, but my perception is that for many people it is really a distraction and potential major time-waster.
I’d be interested to know of any similar Christian social networks that are making a real positive impact rather than just being a gimmick. And if so, what are the secrets to their success?
Rob. good questions.
as for french speaking, you might want to talk to my friend Eric Célérier who runs the TopChretien.com web portal in France.
topchrieten.com
Thanks Andrew. I’m very familiar with topchretien, which is a great site. Might think about getting in touch with Eric.
(Sorry about the double post before…)
Andrew,
This is a subject that I’m really digging into right now, myself. A lot of my thought has been sparked by a little confab that happened here in NC back in February with Doug Pagitt and Tim Conder. I blogged about it here:
http://www.knightopia.com/journal/?p=867
Anyway, if you read the last section, you’ll see the part where it gets into organizing the church in a social networking kind of way (at least, there’s the beginning of some thoughts there on that).
I’d love to chat with you more on this. I wish I could go to that GSP conference in June, but it’s not likely. I hope you can go … and blog it for the rest of us 😉
Shalom,
Steve K.