Download Here is the PDF Document…Social Media for the

for the Church
(a book in beta.)
By Duncan Grant Edward Robinson
1
Introduction ................................................................................................................... 3 YouTube. ...................................................................................................................... 4 Facebook. ..................................................................................................................... 6 Twitter. .......................................................................................................................... 7 Theology, Story and the Art of Communication .......................................................... 11 First Communication ............................................................................................... 11 Now Storytelling ...................................................................................................... 13 Connecting with the Religious Anomaly. ................................................................. 21 Online Passion aids offline connections. ................................................................. 22 Shared Cultural Affinities. ........................................................................................ 22 Some Key Theological Takeaways ............................................................................. 23 Social Media and Church Practically .......................................................................... 30 Who is the church is trying to reach? ...................................................................... 30 What the church is trying to achieve? ..................................................................... 32 Connecting with the Indigenous Culture. ................................................................. 34 Here are some practical steps for connecting with Social Justice as a Church. ..... 36 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 38 Bibliography ................................................................................................................ 40 Website Articles (checked 2/11/11) ......................................................................... 41 Info Graphics ........................................................................................................... 42 Resources ................................................................................................................... 43 Appendix 1 – Expanded Histories ........................................................................... 43 Appendix 2 – Resources ......................................................................................... 47 2
Introduction In 2004 Mark Zuckerberg along with his co-founders launch Facebook in their
dorm-room in Harvard. Their mission “Giving people the power to share and make the
world more open and connected”1. With over 400 million active users using Facebook
today posting 35 million status updates2, Facebook has started a social media
revolution. Twitter isn’t far off the pace, with 106 million active users and 300,000
signing up every day3 social media is an important part of peoples lives. YouTube was
launched in 2005 and 1 year later was bought by Google for $1.65 billion4 today
YouTube gets over 2 billion views every day. The social media revolution isn’t just
significant for the Church it needs to be a important part of our ministry. If our goal is to
present the gospel of Jesus to people as much as possible, social media now opens the
doorway for us to do this far more broadly than we ever have before. Social Media
should be an important part of our discussion when we look at pastoral ministry in the
church. In this paper I will discuss the theology, importance, concerns and strategies for
engaging and leveraging social media within a church context. Amidst a rapidly
changing technology driven landscape, Social Media and its value for Church is a very
important conversation for new and old churches alike.
Social media, broadly speaking refers to any website or application that are used
for social networking. More specifically the term social media refers to the use of web-
1
2
Information page on facebook http://www.facebook.com/facebook?sk=info
http://www.website-monitoring.com/blog/2010/03/17/facebook-facts-and-figures-history-
statistics/
3
4
http://www.website-monitoring.com/blog/2010/05/04/twitter-facts-and-figures-history-statistics/
http://www.website-monitoring.com/blog/2010/05/17/youtube-facts-and-figures-history-statistics/
3
based and mobile technologies to connect communications into an interactive dialogue.
Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein defined social media as “a group of Internetbased applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of web
2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user generated content.”5 Social media
allows the amateur to broadcast like a professional. It relieves the bottlenecks
characterized by mass media and places the ability to produce and distribute content to
a large amount of people firmly in the hands of the amateur, and domain previously
reserved for media professionals. Effectively making everyone a media outlet.6 The rise
of social media has been nothing less than meteoric. For this next section we’re going to
examine 3 specific social media institutions, specifically on the Internet detailing the
history and success of these pillar social media institutions. We will look at YouTube,
Facebook and Twitter examining the history and development of each.
YouTube. (For a more expanded history see Appendix 1)
YouTube has allowed people to publish, then filter. Previously there was a divide
between personal communication and publishing. These 2 concepts were separate
functions, they now shade into one another. Before you use to edit out the mediocre,
and then publish. Now because of social media institutions like YouTube this filtering is
increasingly social and collaborative and happens after the fact.7 As a result of this
5
Kaplan, Andreas M.; Michael Haenlein (2010). "Users of the world, unite! The challenges and
opportunities of Social Media". Business Horizons 53 (1): 59–68. doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2009.09.003.
ISSN 0007-6813. Retrieved 2010-09-15.
6
Shirky, C. (2008). Here comes everybody : the power of organizing without organizations.
London, Allen Lane. pg.55
7
Shirky, C. (2008). Here comes everybody : the power of organizing without organizations.
London, Allen Lane. pg.81
4
publish, then filter attitude leads to collaborative production. This means individuals will
now release unfinished artistic endeavors and coordinate with others to get things done.
This process is considerably harder, but typically leads to more profound work. By
taking advantage of nonfinancial motivations and by allowing for wildly different levels of
contribution you can create profound results. Perhaps a more profound case in point is
Wikipedia leveraging thousands of contributors of all varying levels to create the most
comprehensive online repository of information in the world. YouTube allows people to
collaborate and socially interact in a whole new way leading to a completely
revolutionary style of creativity. Artists no longer work in a bubble, but now collaborate
globally.8 Good ideas can now become great idea. Great ideas will now become brilliant
with the advent of social media collaboration
The interesting thing about YouTube is it now affords the ability of the consumer
to start a groundswell movement. For example more than 1 million viewers have
watched the YouTube video posted by Brian Finkelstein who filmed a Comcast
technician falling asleep on his couch in 2006. The technician was waiting on hold for
help from Comcast to fix an Internet problem. Now when you search for Comcast on
YouTube this video is the number 1 hit9. This level of power for the consumer has
radical implications not just for businesses but also for churches alike. Information is
now streaming permanently, globally and instantly. It allows for an individual with either
8
Shirky, C. (2008). Here comes everybody : the power of organizing without organizations.
London, Allen Lane. pg.109
9
Li, C. and J. Bernoff (2008). Groundswell : winning in a world transformed by social
technologies. Boston, Mass., Harvard Business Press. pg.7
5
criticism or praise to generate massive social groundswell. YouTube effectively gives
everybody a soapbox to share opinions both positive and negative.
Facebook. (For a more expanded history see Appendix 1)
Neilson10 identifies the following factors that have contributed to Facebook’s rapid
growth:
•
Design – it has an organized, simple and easy-to-use interface which appeals
to a broader audience;
•
Broad appeal – Facebook isn’t targeted towards a specific demographic;
•
Activity Focus – it is focused on connecting as opposed to entertaining;
•
Architecture – it combines inventive features and open architecture;
•
Privacy – it offers high levels of control over who sees content;
An average user spends 55 minutes a day on Facebook. They click on average
the like button on 9 pieces of content every month. An average Facebook user will
comment 25 times a month. They average 130 friends on Facebook and remember of
13 groups and are invited to 3 events per month on Facebook. More than 50% of
Facebook’s active users will log into their profile every day. More than 60 million status
updates are posted every day.
10
http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/wpcontent/uploads/2009/03/nielsen_globalfaces_mar09.pdf
6
Facebook allows individuals to network globally and rapidly. Many large
businesses like HSBC have seen the speed at which Facebook empowers consumers
to rapidly collaborate as a cohesive unit to start a conversation.11 This ability for
individuals to collaborate and coordinate quickly has large-scale implications for the
church. People are now globally connected and now have the ability to maintain
connections with people digitally. This broadens the web of communication, and allows
for people to mobilize online very quickly. Facebook has altered the way we interact
socially. The digital institution of social conductivity is now just as important as the
physical institution of fellowship within the church. If people spend 2 hours on a Sunday
at church, they spend 7 hours on average in the sanctuary of Facebook. The church’s
ability to interact with Facebook allows us to more than triple our interaction with people
weekly. If people are using Facebook 55 minutes a day on average, we now have the
ability to communicate Jesus into a person’s home every day of the week. This will
radically impact discipleship and community.
Twitter. (For a more expanded history see Appendix 1)
There are more than 106 million Twitter accounts. The number of users increase
by 300,000 people everyday. Twitter gets more than 3 billion requests each day. Over
97% of Twitter users have less than 100 followers. Twitter users are sending 55 million
tweets per day. That is roughly 640 tweets per second. 10 −11pm is the most active
hour on Twitter. Australia accounts for 1.8% of site traffic on twitter, with the United
11
Shirky, C. (2008). Here comes everybody : the power of organizing without organizations.
London, Allen Lane. pg.180-181
7
States accounting for a 1/3 of all site traffic. Forbes listed pastor Rick Warren amongst
its 20 most influential celebrities in 201012, the list included Lady Gaga, Kanye West,
President Obama and Conan O’Brien.
Twitter’s meteoric rise, over the past 5 years only further highlights the
significance of social media on the Christian landscape. Influential Christians like Rick
Warren, Mark Driscoll, John Piper, Alan Hirsch, Max Lucado and Joel Houston all use
Twitter regularly to post daily updates. For many of these Christians is a powerful tool to
communicate short, specific and inspirational messages quickly. It serves as a tool for
promotion and highlighting events. It also serves as a tool for cross promotion of other
Christian Personalities. For most Christian personalities Twitter, Facebook and
YouTube have become 3 essential tools for communication to a large audience.
Because of these tools accessibility, and ease-of-use they are easily adopted by
people who may otherwise have very limited computing skills. Twitter resembles a short
text message that you can send from your phone, depending on the person to over 1
million people. This ability to connect with a huge audience quickly has allowed many
Christians to communicate to much broader audience. It is easy to start a movement
with 1 million people in your pocket. It’s just as easy to start a riot. That is the power of
twitter. So powerful they are now key tools in the political arena13.
12
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/rick.warren.joins.justin.bieber.and.barack.obama.on.forbes.top.twitte
r.list/27262.htm, quoted August 4th, 2011
13
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/the-social-networker-20110827-1jf9q.html (quoted
8
Perhaps one of the most startling examples of the power of twitter was the rise of
the nonprofit organization called charity: water14. Charity: water is a nonprofit
organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. It
was the 1st nonprofit organization to achieve over 1 million followers on twitter because
of this success through social networks the founder Scott Harrison has managed to
raise almost $10 million since its inception in 2004. Scott Harrison was able to leverage
social networks along with slick marketing to quickly build a fan base to promote charity
water. As a result of the success of charity water in leveraging social networks many
other charity organizations are now starting to leverage social networks for similar
purposes15. Scott Harrison’s savvy marketing along with his clear vision for digital
presence allowed him the ability to communicate broadly with very little overhead. With
almost 1.3 million followers on twitter charity: water now has the ability to start large
scale movements for charity very quickly. Charity: waters message is very simple $20
give someone clean water for life, 100% of public donations go directly to fund water
projects. Clear message with an easily achievable goal.
Perhaps the most brilliant bittersweet example of someone using social networks
and charity: water to generate large-scale interest happened recently in Canada. Rachel
2/11/11)
14
charitywater.org
15
www.charitywater.org, www.bloodwatermission.com , www.potsc.org , www.love146.org are all
examples of successful charities leveraging social networks.
9
Beckwith was tragically caught in the middle of a 13 car pileup.16 She suffered severe
head trauma, and a severed spinal cord. His family and friends gathered, Rachel
struggled to hang onto life. Once the medical teams had exhausted all avenues sadly
there was nothing left to do. Rachel’s family were instructed to say their last goodbyes
th
before they switched off Rachel’s life support. Her 9 Birthday was coming up in her goal
was to make a difference she partnered with charity: water with the goal of raising $300
for her birthday. She raised $220, only $80 short of the goal and she was not satisfied
with this. She was immediately determined for a 10th birthday to raise more money.
When Rachel died her church community rallied around her, news of her death
and her charitable goal quickly found its way onto social media sites and eventually the
news. Rachel’s 9th Birthday wish on mycharity: water now has over 22,500 donations
and has raised over $800,000. What is remarkable is the speed at which this money
was raised Rachel died July 20, she had raised over $800,000 by August 4. She had
over 22,000 Facebook likes and there were tweets, blogs and messages all over the
Internet about her goal. What is stunning is that it are large majority of this money was
raised off the back of $9 donations. This case demonstrates the speed at which social
media can be leveraged to develop a tribe and make astounding contributions to
charitable works. Her campaign has generated clean water for 40,000 people.17 Rachel
had a clear message and an easily achievable goal, as a result of her story and her
vision she rallied a remarkable amount of people.
16
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/25/rachel-beckwith-9-dies-in_n_909295.html , quoted August
5th 2011
17
http://www.mycharitywater.org/p/campaign?campaign_id=16396
10
Theology, Story and the Art of Communication When we start to look at the theology of social media there are a broad range of
topics that we could cover. We could look at the impact of technology and social media
on society; social media and digital disconnect; social media in the development of
tribalism; social media and spirituality; social media and its impact on community are
just some of the areas that social media influences our theology in church. For the
purposes of this paper I want to examine how Social Media has impacted
communication, both in speed and the rebirth of the storyteller. I want to examine how
that storyteller impacts the local church and leverages social media. Secondly there is a
conversation about Academia and how social media has move into an area where we
release first and refine later. In doing this we allow for partnership in communication.
Finally I want to look at Speed at its impact for online and offline communities. We will
establish that speed influences everything. This conversation will then lead into 3 key
theological takeaways for discipleship, communities and social justice.
First Communication Social media has deeply impacted communication. The art of story has regained
popularity, people have began once again to narrate story. Because of social media we
have become more creative in communication. Seth Godin in his book Linchpin18
highlights this shift in detail. The linchpin is the person who adds an unique artistic
dimension to their work which makes them irreplaceable. Social media has given rise to
the power of the artist once again. You are now your own media broadcasting outlet.
18
Godin, S. (2010). Linchpin : are you indispensible? New York, Portfolio.
11
Your artistic ability now becomes a significant part of your communication strategy.
Certainly within Christian community we see the development of the storyteller. Ben
Arment runs a successful conference STORY19 where he gives a platform for gifted
Christian artists to communicate. Social media has developed the conversational tone,
and we are now looking for the conversational communicator. We saw this development
in the United States with a wildly successful book called “Blue Like Jazz” the author
Donald Miller is a gifted storyteller who speaks with a conversational tone. Social media
then further enhanced other people’s ability to develop the following and communicate
in the same way. It used to be the case that good writing and quality manuscript and a
good connection would get your book deal. Today publishers a looking to see what kind
of following you have online before they print you. Within Christian circles the most
powerful example of this is the author Jon Acuff. Jon started with a blog called “Stuff
Christians like”20 this became an Internet sensation and developed a large following. As
a result of his blog he earned a book deal to write a book with the very same name21.
His tone like Donald Miller is conversational, and he is a storyteller. Authors like Anne
Jackson, Carlos Whittaker, Perry Noble, Stephen Furtick and Seth Godin22 all have
immense social media connections, they are master storytellers and as a result have
become published.
19
Story Conference, http://storychicago.com
http://www.stuffchristianslike.net
21
Acuff, J. M. (2010). Stuff Christians like. Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan.
22
Anne Jackson http://annejacksonwrites.com; Carlos Whittaker http://ragamuffinsoul.com; Perry Noble
http://perrynoble.com; Stephen Furtick http://stevenfurtick.com ; Seth Godin http://sethgodin.com
20
12
Now Storytelling This is why the art of storytelling is so important. Social media starts a
conversation, it also opens the door for collaboration.23 People aren’t necessarily
interested in hearing from the expert, if they don’t afford the ability for collaboration. As a
result the traditional three-point sermon from a professional with little room for
communication is far less popular. Today people want to hear a story, they want to be
drawn into a conversation, they want to be given the opportunity to participate. It is
reflection of YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. People like Jon Acuff invite you to
participate in the story. It is a Renaissance of the parable. Jesus was a master
storyteller seamlessly integrating deep knowledge of Scripture, with a relatable story
and a transformational message24. Jesus when encountering people were sharing a
story, he was having a conversation, and he was communicating the gospel. The
storyteller invites a person to participate, the storyteller creates an emotional
attachment. The storyteller is leveraging his knowledge and his insight to engage both
the heart and the head to craft a transformational story.
The gifted storyteller today leverages transparency to build trust. One of the key
impacts of social media is its ability to reveal. Transparency is at an all-time high
because people now have a platform to communicate globally. So to develop trust in the
digital space storytellers have become accustomed to new levels of transparency.
These new storytellers operate under the assumption that everything will eventually be
23
http://creativetheology.com/2010/10/21/social-media-storytelling/ (quoted 2/11/11)
Matthew 13; 20:1-16; 22:1-14; 25:1-13; Luke 13:22-30; 18: 9-14; 16:1-9; 6:46-49 see also. Boice, J. M.
(1983). The Parables of Jesus. Chicago, Moody Press. pg.10; Kendall, R. (2004). The Parables of Jesus.
Tonbridge, Kent, Sovereign World. pg.12-13
24
13
known online. As a result rather than trying to hide things, they leverage the web to be
transparent. If ever there has been a time to live out the commands of James 5:16 and
confess our sins, social media affords that transparency. Because of this level of
honesty and transparency they are able to build trust25. Chris Brogan and Julien Smith
talk about how digital natives leverage transparency to become trusted agents. This is
vitally important in the church because people only listen if they trust. That level of
transparency that is now prevalent through social media is a tool to help develop that
trust. Pastors need to be honest about brokenness, which affords transparency and
allows us to believe more deeply what they say. Authors like Pete Wilson, Wayne
Corderio, Erwin McManus, Anne Jackson, Donald Miller, Francis Chan, Matt Chandler,
Mark Driscoll and Andy Stanley are honest about their short-comings because they
know transparency builds trust.
Transparency builds authenticity. Anne Jackson writes a book called permission
to speak freely, which is the result of an online blog post where she invites people to
share what they don’t feel comfortable saying in church. Prior to this she writes a book
called mad church disease when she examines the burnout from a mega-church under
a microscope. Her openness and honesty builds authenticity and so when she
communicates about Jesus is the healer of brokenness people believe what she says. It
is because she is authentic, and transparent. Wayne Corderio writes leading on
25
Brogan, C. and J. Smith (2010). Trust agents : Using the web to build influence, improve reputation,
and earn trust. Chichester, John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
14
empty26, where he launches into an in-depth analysis of his burnout in ministry and
ways to avoid this. Wayne’s openness about his struggle with burnout makes him an
expert on dealing with it. Wayne leverages transparency to build authenticity, so when
he speaks of Jesus and his significant part in healing burnout we are more likely to
listen. Authenticity amongst the storyteller helps to develop credibility with the listener.
If we want to speak Jesus our ability to be transparent and authentic is really significant.
Social media allows everyone to have access to experts. It allows people to engage and
collaborate; we no longer look for the expert to share a definitive opinion. We want to
collaborate on the process as a result leaders within the church need to share their
humanity to allow us the ability to build authenticity and trust. When a storyteller
develops a level of Transparency and Authenticity27, then speaks wisdom about Jesus
we are more likely to receive that.
Communicators within the Church shouldn’t be trying to provide a bulletproof
argument for why they are right. If Social Media has afforded everyone a voice, learning
to allow for collaboration that leads to the same destination is far more valuable. Allow a
person to enter the story, give them emotional attachment. Invite them to participate and
walk the path to the conclusion. Allow room for them to weave their own story amidst
this. When we share stories that are real, inviting and allow room to develop we are
more likely to allow people to connect with Jesus.
26
Cordeiro, W. (2009). Leading on empty : refilling your tank and renewing your passion. Minneapolis,
Minn., Bethany House.
27
Brogan, C. and J. Smith (2010). Trust agents : Using the web to build influence, improve reputation,
and earn trust. Chichester, John Wiley & Sons Ltd. pg.239
15
Look for a second at the story-telling Jesus leverages in John 4:1-26. Jesus
encounters a Samaritan woman at the well in the middle of the day. Jesus
communicates with her and asks for a drink. Crossing social normal Jesus engages in
conversation with this woman. Asking for a drink, Jesus begins to construct a story
about magical water that will not run out (vs.13), allowing the Samaritan women to enter
into the narrative. Through dialogue Jesus invites her to ask for some, Jesus respecting
norms politely invites her to get her husband. It is the Samaritan women who responds
with the sin in her life. It is Jesus who offers a deep insight. Because Jesus allows her to
enter into the story she is far more engaged. His narrative allows her to reveal some of
her wisdom on the subject. Jesus’ conclusion is reached with her input into the story.
Jesus may know the destination for this story, but by inviting participation the Samaritan
women feels connected with the story.
Paul does a similar thing in Acts 17. When his ability to debate with them falls on
deaf ears with the Stoic and Epicurean philosophers (vs.18) he elects a different tactic.
Paul leverages their ‘religiousness’ (vs.22) to speak about Jesus. The story has already
been started, Paul leverages this story to change its destination. Paul weaves a new
story from an existing one, Paul takes the unlikely character (the Unknown God) and
makes him pivotal to the conversation. Paul allows the people of Athens to participate,
collaborating on their existing story he leads them to a new and unexpected destination.
16
Social Media ushers in an era where the story-teller can speak in parables and
conduct conversations in a very creative and artistic manner. It opens the door for the
Storyteller to collaborate and weave powerful stories with Christ as the destination.
What becomes most critical is the speed at which this takes place. As I mentioned
before Social media opens the doorway for collaboration. The challenge for the church
is no longer to develop and then communicate. It is to communicate ideas and then
develop them in community. A Storyteller needs to leverage the speed of social media
to construct a story. If the printing press leads to a revolution of learning and
transmission of information, social media made it even faster.
To maintain speed in a digital culture, we have to relinquish some element of
control. Where common practice was to release a finished academic work, now
common practice is to sew the idea and collaborate on the solution. Wikipedia ended
Encyclopedia Britannica’s reign, not because it academically superior. Wikipedia’s
dominance was because of its vast collaborative network. Wikipedia allows everyone to
participate, Quality Assurance might become more difficult, but creative input and
knowledge became far more expansive. Everyone, everywhere could participate in the
development of a constantly improving online resource.
To achieve this you have to relinquish some control. The results are greater
speed in communication; Wiki is constantly being updated by an army of people
worldwide. People want to share and collaborate, the internet and social media allows
17
the speed of communication to become instantaneous. Printed encyclopedias are out of
date when they are printed. Wikipedia is constantly being revised. This becomes really
important for church conversations; the speed at which we communicate Jesus is much
faster now. Social media allows us to connect with the experts, worldwide and invite
them to the conversation making the collaborative work far more powerful, now it is
leveraging wiki’s to work for you. 28
There is no battle between traditional print vs. New media. Amazon’s digital sales
now outsell traditional printed sales.29 Because of the speed of communication, by the
time the book is edited, printed and published the conversation has moved on. The
question becomes as a Church if you want to communicate a story about Jesus, are you
willing to do it half-baked and finish it collaboratively online. This new design for online
collaboration means that online and offline communities can work in harmony, very
quickly.
This new level of speed impacts our community within the Church as well. Online
community impacts offline community. There is a conversation about the relationship
between Online communities and Human interaction which is really important. I have
struggled to see them as competing forces on opposite sides of a ring. In one corner sits
Human Interaction, the originator of community and social interactions. On the other
28
Li, C. and J. Bernoff (2008). Groundswell : winning in a world transformed by social technologies.
Boston, Mass., Harvard Business Press. pg.168
29
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/jul/20/amazon-ebook-digital-sales-hardbacks-us (quoted
2/11/11)
18
side is Online communities, the new kid breaking stereotypes and forging a new destiny
for social interaction. Our concern is social media will replace the need for face-to-face
community. It isn’t likely to happen. If online fellowship was going to replace human
interaction we should have seen it by now.
It is the same reason liquor stores haven’t replace pubs. You can buy drinks
considerably cheaper at a liquor store, people go to bars for the experience and for
social interaction. Online communities or Cyberspace will never replace the need for
people to interact with each other. Where the conversation is important is the
development of Social Capital.
Social Capital is the connections we make through social networks. Within a
functioning community the more points of co-operation the deeper the social capital
developed. In more general terms Social Capital is the fruit of relationships30, the longer
and deeper they are, the more social capital is developed. It is the moment when the
guy behind the counter accepts you will pay next time. It is the moment when someone
else walks your dog when you are ill. It is the moment when you lend your weekend to
help lay floorboards in your friends house. Because of the co-operative connections you
have built a bank of social capital and trust. You do a favor within this system with the
assumption that sometime in the future that person will do you a favor.
30
Brogan, C. and J. Smith (2010). Trust agents : Using the web to build influence, improve reputation,
and earn trust. Chichester, John Wiley & Sons Ltd. pg.21; Shirky, C. (2008). Here comes everybody : the
power of organizing without organizations. London, Allen Lane. pg.192
19
Putting Cyberspace and Reality in opposing corners isn’t really accurate. We still
live in communities, we still seek friendships, we still head out to dinner with friends and
we will still fly places for meetings. The Internet didn’t replace the need to travel for
work, it did aid the speed we communicate at. Robert Putnam’s31 book bowling
alone raised some important issues of the dwindling social capital in America
highlighting the demise of bowling. Perhaps though bowling has made was for other
sports like those found in the X-Games and MMA. People are still meeting up in person,
just in other avenues for other adventures.
The Internet has aided communication and travel. In both instances the Internet
has allowed for better communication in both directions, making a connection and
maintaining contact with the office when you are out visiting clients. That same
complement exists in our fellowship. The Internet and social media as allowed for faster
and more consistent communication. Because of social media and the Internet
communication is instant, constant and global. It makes our encounters more
purposeful. People gather together because it is useful and fun!32
Hebrews (10:24-25) reminds us; “And let us consider how we may spur one
another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in
the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day
31
Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling alone : the collapse and revival of American community. New York ;
London, Simon & Schuster.
32
Shirky, C. (2008). Here comes everybody : the power of organizing without organizations. London,
Allen Lane. pg.196-205
20
approaching.” Not because meeting together is a burden but because it is beneficial.
People prefer to live in community; otherwise with the development of the internet we
should be witnessing the demise of suburbs and cities.
What is interesting about the development of online communities is how they
have allowed for social capital to be developed before Human interaction takes place.
Again when used properly they are designed to complement each other. It was the
anomalies that were the early adopters before the larger markets developed the
connections.
Connecting with the Religious Anomaly. Communities online seem to develop when there is not a broader support in
culture. Smaller religious movements like Witches, Pagans, Ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses
and Atheists leverage the internet to develop connections to the allow them to connect
in person. Where culture doesn’t support a religious movement the internet is then
leverage to develop some social connections and capital to aid in later human
interaction. Typically the mainstream religions followed suit AFTER the more obscure
ones developed communities and then meet-up. For Churches this becomes important
with our smaller niche ministries, we can connect Divorce Care, Celebrate Recovery,
Singles quicker online before heading offline.
21
Online Passion aids offline connections. It is interesting to note that people who share the same passion for something
online like Slashdot, LiveJournal, Fark, Ultima, Linux and WoW typically also want to
meet offline. It is not an unusual occurrence for people who are passionate about
something online to then further develop those relationships and social capital in an
offline setting. Typically people follow the UFC and MMA online before they join a gym
to get around the people with the same passion as themselves. It isn’t until recently that
the sport of MMA has gained a popular mainstream appeal. People will check you and
your church out online before the ever visit you in person33.
Shared Cultural Affinities. There are fan-groups for musicians, TV Shows, Comic Books and Movies. There
is a fan group for people who love “Everybody loves Raymond”, “Xena” and “Buffy”
these people tend to also want to meet together in person. Leveraging the internet and
social media to build those connections allows people the ability to then further develop
that relationship in person.
Where this becomes important in the church is the development of communities
quickly. To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA) is a non-profit movement dedicated to
presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, selfinjury and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest
directly into treatment and recovery. TWLOHA started as a conversation with a lady who
33
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2007-10-16-church-shopping_N.htm
22
struggled with depression, moved to a T-Shirt sales idea then to a Twitter and Facebook
conversation and finally started a charity to aid these women. What was amazing was
the speed at which this company developed. This Christian organization went from a
conversation to a non-profit movement helping over 150,000 women struggling with
depression in 40 countries in 4 years.34
It is this speed for developing communities within a Christian landscape that is
important. The success of “TWLOHA”, “charity: water” and “blood, water mission” is
there ability to rally communities with a simple goal in mind. People want to join the
community if the solution is buying a t-shirt, giving a small amount of money. Small
victories in the connectedness of Social Media can add up to big wins.
This isn’t a gear-shift for Church community, it has to be a revolution. Students
are on Facebook, your congregation is there as well. The community is already starting
to form. Our job as a Church is not necessarily control, but one of influence, inspiration
and direction. Provide a framework for healthy conversation online that will inspire
people to continue it offline. Start the story, point the direction and shepherd the sheep!
Some Key Theological Takeaways There are three areas where social media and church theology overlap in really
significant ways. Firstly in our attitude for developing discipleship; secondly in our
34
To Write Love On Her Arms, Vision Statement http://www.twloha.com/vision/ , quoted 1/11/11
23
attitude towards communities online and offline; and thirdly in mobilization of people
towards social justice. Social media certainly isn’t a core component to any of these
areas, but it is rapidly becoming an important asset. If Christ and the Gospel is the
engine and frame to the car, then social media is like a good paint job. The car may still
function superbly without it, but having a good paint job will always add value. Much of
social media and marketing is about adding value to a ministry within the church.
Firstly lets look at the idea of discipleship. There is a ebb and flow in discipleship,
between the proposition of “only he who believes is obedient, and only he who is
obedient believes.”35 Discipleship is an attitude where we use our time wisely to glorify
God. Ultimately it is patterning our lives after Jesus and his ministry. Where Christ’s
model and teaching becomes central to our innermost attitudes and our outward
actions.36 It is the moment when the ultimate story-teller Jesus, starts to become our
story in our lives. We start to pattern our on maturity and development based on Christ.
Discipleship moves us beyond mere belief or convictions to a practical Christian
Lifestyle in obedience to the Lords commands.37
Discipleship should move us away from isolation where we choose to disinfect
people in the church. Towards a truer reality of discipleship where we are thrust into the
world to risk their lives for Christ. To often do we believe discipleship exists within the
35
Bonhoeffer, D. (1959). The cost of discipleship. New York,, Macmillan. pg.63
Grenz, S. J. (2000). Theology for the community of God. Grand Rapids, Mich., W.B. Eerdmans. pg.292
37
Kärkkäinen, V.-M. (2003). Christology : a global introduction. Grand Rapids, Mich., Baker Academic.
pg.164-165
36
24
boundaries of church attendance and bible knowledge that we neglect the role of
evangelism, community engagement and service38. The latter are just as important as
the former to the idea of discipleship. Essentially we become Imitators of Christ (Eph
5:1; 1 Thess 1:6). We learn not only from Christ but we are also inspired by those who
live in a way according to Christ (Heb 6:12). It is a central idea to Church is the
conversation about discipleship. The above ideas are some of the critical core ideas to
the attitude of discipleship.
This is how Social Media aids that framework. If our conversation about
equipping, sending and building up Christians is an ongoing one. Then social media
helps to aid that conversation. Through FaceBook, Twitter and YouTube people can be
spurred on to love a good deeds (Heb 10:24). We can through the aid of technology do
this for people wherever they are in the Church. Social Media broadens our grasp for
discipleship and encouragement. If our goal is to model Christian Maturity we can
leverage Social Media to communicate that better.
The website “I Am Second”39 grew largely off the promotion through FaceBook
and Twitter, leveraging social media to encourage people with stories of people who are
living out Christ. I Am Second’s popularity happened quickly off the back of social media
word of mouth. Christians encouraging Christians through the story of other who are
38
Platt, D. (2010). Radical : taking back your faith from the American Dream. Colorado Springs,
Colo., Multnomah Books. pg.99-105; Driscoll, M. and G. Breshears (2010). Doctrine : what Christians
should believe. Wheaton, Ill., Crossway. pg.311
39
http://www.iamsecond.com/
25
living out Christ passionately. FaceBook and Twitter provide the constant stream of
encouragement, edification and story to the development of discipleship.
Many of the large Churches leverage programs like The City40 to develop these
online discipleship communities to continue the conversation long after church has
ended. Largely these conversations are designed to facilitate community and not
replace it.41 Discipleship is more than just getting people in the room, it is equipping
them and encouraging them when they are out sharing Christ in the world. Twitter and
FaceBook allows you to minister to them while they are out serving in the community as
well as celebrate instantly the victories.
Discipleship is enhanced and facilitated by Social Media, so is community
interaction. I mentioned before that Social Media develops online communities, that also
leads to offline interaction. Social Media doesn’t replace community it helps to facilitate
it. Community is such a vast theological conversation that grows from the ideas found in
Acts 2:42-47 right through missional churches to conversations about the value of
mega-churches. So lets start simple and say that apart from Christ there cannot be
community (2 Cor 5:17-20). Community is an extension of discipleship, it is also heavily
involved in the ministry of reconciliation (Acts 2, 7, 17) and Social Justice (Acts 3:1-10;
5:12-16). This attitude towards reconciliation is vital to the heart of community the
40
http://www.onthecity.org/
Jonathan Dodson (jonathandodson.org) quoted June 2nd 2011,
http://theresurgence.com/2010/02/07/10-tips-for-missional-community-leaders
41
26
reason is because it is a reflection of Jesus42 and if Jesus is central then reconciliation
is a big portion of the conversation, ultimately community reflects the attitudes of Christ
and is the community of believers living like Salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16). So while
discipleship and community are closely linked there is also an important role of Social
Media in the facilitation of that conversation.
Many of the major Church database software are now starting to leverage Social
Media for community interaction, Fellowship One has “The Table Project”43 and The City
44
model’s facebook in much of its online community interaction. Both aim to initiate and
facilitate community within your Church. It is critical to note that most discussion about
Social media is not to replace offline communities but to further enhance them. These
programs have prayer walls, bible reading programs, methods for sharing testimonies
and smartphone integration. The goal is to develop community more fully45.
Social Media like Twitter allows Church communities to celebrate quickly the
victories with the rest of the world, simple searches of Twitter for the #baptism show a
number of moments for Churches celebrating. On Sunday they provide a means for
quickly celebrating with the community things that happened on Sunday. Many
Churches are leveraging Facebook to continue the celebration and community long after
42
Grenz, S. J. (2000). Theology for the community of God. Grand Rapids, Mich., W.B. Eerdmans. pg.242;
Kärkkäinen, V.-M. (2003). Christology : a global introduction. Grand Rapids, Mich., Baker Academic.
pg.172
43
http://tableproject.org/
44
http://onthecity.org
45
http://tableproject.org/features/ and http://www.onthecity.org/whats-the-city/catch-the-vision/ both detail
their goals with the software.
27
Sunday Services and Small Groups have ended. Social media helps to maintain
momentum in the community by sustaining the conversation after offline community has
ended. It allows us to boast in Jesus just like 1 Corinthians 1:31 instructs.
Finally the conversation about Social Justice is very important. For a church this
has often been neglected because of the fear of becoming a social gospel Church.
Kendra Creasy Dean in her book ‘Almost Christian’ highlights that Youth today will rally
to a cause/mission/aid more than any other ministry46. For many Churches today it is
the same conversation, increased awareness of suffering because of technology means
people are more aware of the importance of Social Justice. We end up with a social
gospel when we divorce the words of Jesus from being his hands and feet. We should
do good work in our communities as a church but not divorce that from the Gospel
message47. Care for the poor is a vital mission of the church (Jas 1:27; 1 John 3:17). If
social media has done anything for Social Justice it has removed our ability to ignore a
situation. Luke 16:19-31 reminds us that the rich man ignoring the situation lands him in
hell. Social Media has made an unmissable call to do something about Social Justice.
Because of Social Media we can no longer ignore the poor man outside the walls to the
Church. Charities are no longer going door-to-door with a tv and a video48 like World
Vision did, they are global and well marketed. Twitter, FaceBook and YouTube has
46
Dean, K. C. (2010). Almost Christian : what the faith of our teenagers is telling the American church.
Oxford ; New York, Oxford University Press. Ch.5 and Ch.9
47
Patrick, D. (2010). Church Planter. Wheaton, Illinois, Crossway. pg.141
48
Stearns, R. (2009). The hole in our Gospel. Nashville, Tenn., Thomas Nelson.
28
provided a global broadcasting platform for the issue of social justice and Churches now
have to pay attention.
Social Media is an enabler for Social Justice on an international level now.
Churches have the speedy ability to answer a call, mobilize a team and care for the
poor. This process is now streamlined and fast, saavy websites and simple tasks means
that churches can mobilize to a cause instantly. Social Media has changed the speed at
which we can be active in Social Justice. It is a chance for the Church now to quickly
respond to the call of Isaiah 58:6-8, live as a community where we embrace Micah 6:8
and respond swiftly to injustice. When we start living aware and actively engaged in the
realm of Social Justice we start to more fully live like transformed communities living like
Christ instructed49.
The Danger Church faces right now because of this is “compassionism” because
philanthropy is cool we are giving rise to a consumerism with charity. Social Media has
given them a global broadcast and they look slick and are marketed well. The issue is
because of this people can be given to consumerism. This is the danger of a savvy
charity. The bottom line though of this conversation is to do something, be aware of our
49
Chan, F. and D. Yankoski (2008). Crazy love : overwhelmed by a relentless God. Colorado Springs,
CO, David C. Cook. pg.149; Campolo, A. and G. D. Aeschliman (2006). Everybody wants to change the
world. Ventura, Calif., Regal Books. pg.166
29
attitude towards charity and make sure at the end of the day we are doing something
50
for the realm of social justice.
Social Media and Church Practically The big question is whether or not social media is valuable for your church. The
simple answer is, It depends on your audience. What we do know is communication is
essential.51 Your social media strategy depends in large part on whether your church is
leveraging Social media already. There are two specific questions you probably need to
answer before developing your social media strategy;
Who is the church is trying to reach? Understanding the demographics of your area is significant. One of the more
startling statistics of a recent Nielson report52 was that over 55’s are driving the growth
of social networking in mobile internet. In the US alone there are over 98 million
Facebook users over the age of 55 and a further 91 million users over the age of 65.
That number accounts for almost 40% of the total number of active US Facebook users.
That number is important, because often times age factors into decisions on using
technology. What is becoming clear is that as the Boomer population ages they are still
adopting new technology well, from the same Nielson report, the 55+ demographic
engaged mobile internet grew by 109%. Age is not necessarily the factor for determining
50
Goins, J. (2011). "Insert Cause Here." Reject Apathy: Sustainable Change. Sacrifical Living. Spiritual
Revolution 1(1). pg.38-41
51
http://www.churchmarketingsucks.com/2011/05/the-church-a-cultural-institution-no-more/ (quoted
2/11/11)
52
http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/social-media-reportspending-time-money-and-going-mobile/
30
technology awareness, and whether you should have a social media strategy.
Understanding your reach as a church will speak to your social media strategy.
Across three key areas of Age, Education and Affluence
53
there was little
difference in the adoption of Facebook as a technology. Certainly younger audiences
(under 18) adopt Facebook in a larger percentage, but education and affluence show
little difference in whether a person is likely to use Facebook or other social media
sources.
The Nielson report54 most critical finding for Australian audiences was that
Australia was the spent the most time visiting blogs and social media sites among the
10 metered countries. Australians average 7hrs 17minutes on blogs and Social
Networking sites per week. Speaking of the Australian Market for Social Media Nielson
said “Social media has truly been a revolution for online Australians with the most
common activity, (done by 73% of online Australians) being tapping into other
consumers’ opinions found on social media. It has been a revolution in the methods by
which consumers can connect with brands, connect with other consumers to discuss
brands, and source other consumers’ opinions about brands.”55
53
http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/marketing/article/improve-yoursocial-media-strategy-by-paying-attention-to-demographics-laura-aronsson-and-bianca
54
55
http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/social/
http://au.nielsen.com/news/documents/AustralianOnlineConsumersReportMediaRelease.pdf
31
This isn’t a US phenomenon Australian’s are regularly leveraging Social media to
gauge opinions, we are actively spending a large amount of time on Social Media sites
and we are actively engaging new technology (mobile web) to use those Social Media
sites. This trend isn’t limited to a younger demographic either, it is clear many people
over 55+ are leveraging these technologies.
What the church is trying to achieve? If you can figure out what you want to do with social media, you can develop a
strategy. Getting a Facebook page for your church because everyone is doing it, is
reactionary. What are you trying to achieve with social media will help you develop a
vision for what social media you should use. Social media is about connecting people56,
without an audience in mind there won’t be any value to your social media strategy.
Understand your audience and you can figure out how to connect them better, that will
direct what you want to achieve.
Figure out these three things and you can find what you want to achieve;
•
Demographic – general factors about the audience that may influence
their social media usage (e.g. age, gender and education)
•
Psychographic – factors that influence how your audience thinks and
behaves (e.g. motivations for going online)
56
Dan Navarra has some great insights on leveraging Facebook for Communication
http://www.shrinkthechurch.com/2011/05/10-ways-to-use-facebook-in-your-ministry/
32
•
Behavioral – how your audience is currently engaging online (e.g. time
spent online, devices used to connect to the Internet)57
So what are the benefits for having a Social Media Strategy for the local church?
Michael Stelzner a Social Marketing Strategist highlights the following benefits58;
•
generating exposure for the organization (81%)
•
increasing traffic and growing lists (61%)
•
forming new business partnerships (56%)
•
increasing search rankings (52%)
•
generating qualified leads (48%)
•
reducing marketing expenses (45%)
•
closing business (35%)
Introducing people to Jesus doesn’t feature on this list, primarily because it is a
secular marketing insight. Effectively all these areas influence Brand. We can develop
the Churches identity, and Christ’s identity through social media. In the same respect
we can reduce our marketing costs because it is free to develop a brand on Social
media sites.
57
58
http://www.kingdomstrategist.com/church-social-media-strategy-researching-your-audience/
http://www.whitepapersource.com/socialmediamarketing/report/
33
Connecting with the Indigenous Culture. For the most part Social Media and Facebook has become indigenous to culture
in Australia. We are naturally familiar with terms like Facebook and YouTube. We have
common terms like “Facebook Message me” or “Tweet me” that are becoming just as
common as language like “email me”. As the landscape of social interact adopts these
new technologies interaction with them becomes critical. What will become more
common as part of this conversation is the blurring of the lines between digital and
“real”, eventually they will become very similar.59
Think for a moment on the conversation that takes place in Acts 17:16-34, aware
of common threads within the culture Paul speaks to their religious nature;
“Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked
around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this
inscription: To an Unknown God. Now what you worship as something unknown I am
going to proclaim to you. “(22b,23)
Leveraging what they are familiar with Paul is able to speak Christ into the
conversation. Leveraging familiar terminology Paul weaves a deeper story of Christ, no
social media is innately evil, it has the ability to be redeemed to something amazing. In
the same way, Paul leverages the desire of the people of Athens to follow a God to
move from idolatry to actual worship. Paul speaks to where they are wrong, then leads
them to where they are right.
59
http://www.thejakers.com/featured/ministry-in-a-post-christian-digital-society-part-one (quoted 2/11/11)
34
Leveraging Facebook needs to be done well60, it is the difference between
posting a photo like this, in the hope
of stirring up a conversation about
Jesus. In the end the conversation
just appears to be kitsch, what
might
be
a
funny
quip
about
Christianity comes across as juvenile a further communicates Christianity's lack of
awareness in how to use social media. We need to leverage social media to continue
the discussion a more powerful example is this one, which seeks to collaborate a team
of people from Twitter and Facebook to rally to a cause;
“Who wants to change the world with me today? Find out how: http://t.co/htYCH89T” 61
The invitation is to join into the conversation, and partner with Jon in making an
impact for Christ. Not only that the victory is small, by buying a $25 watch you have the
ability to feed, clothe and educate a child in Rwanda. The invitation through Facebook
allows people to partner with Jon in living out the challenge of Christ (1 John 3:17), by
highlighting someone in need we are able to meet that cause.
60
Some key thoughts on using Social Media well. http://knightopia.com/blog/2009/10/01/theology-andsocial-media/
61
Tweet Quoted from Jon Acuff (10/7/11)
35
All this conversation integrates quite well into the conversation about Social
Justice. For the local church to neglect social justice with the awareness that
Here are some practical steps for connecting with Social Justice as a Church. When it comes to engaging in social justice often times it is hard to know where
to start. Many people launch head long into the process without having a clear vision for
the impact they want to make for the kingdom. Understanding that within the church
there is a limited amount of energy available for projects means that you have to be
focused with where you elect to use that energy. So making the decisions to leverage
social media to engage your community means that you need to be wise in the
decisions you make to promote a cause or initiative.
Make the challenge a punch in the guts. It is one thing to suggest that you are going to work with sexually trafficked
women. The cause is noble, but the political language makes it hard to engage
emotionally. When you are looking to promote a social justice initiative your first call
needs to be a ‘punch-in-the-guts’ call. Be honest about the cause, but be frank about
who you are trying to rescue. Promotion needs to have an emotional attachment, you
aren’t just helping sexually trafficked women. You are helping 14 year old girls who are
raped multiple times a day, every day. The cause now is more real and gritty, it means
people are no longer using political language, but are engaging with real, underage girls
who are being sexually exploited.
36
Make the first victory a small hill. With so many great charities available and many of them leveraging social media
for communication, your first victory needs to be a quick win. Don’t make it a mountain.
Whether it be a $20 victory for clean water, malaria nets, clinical supplies or housing
material set the goal as an easily reached target. Collectively as a church you want the
first victory to happen fast to build momentum for future wins. If you look collectively as
a church of 500 people to raise clean drinking water for an entire village of 500 people,
which only requires everyone to give a one-off donation of $20 you can have a simple,
quick victory. It will build momentum for the next campaign.
Link that with a Facebook page, that gives updates of goals and a twitter
account. You can then develop the online community and interaction for future victories
within your church community.
Make the ultimate challenge a big hill. Make the ultimate goal big. Building an orphanage, clinic or hospital. This
engages the men, it also allows you to build on the online communities you have
created. Small hills can maintain momentum towards a bigger goal. As you continue to
have small victories you can leverage the online communities through Facebook, Twitter
and YouTube to build relationships. These online resources help to unite people
together, you can then leverage the broadcasting of YouTube to develop the story and
tell the story as you work towards you big hill.
37
Celebrate Christ and his success along the way. The point isn’t to glorify yourself or even the your church. You aren’t rescuing
women because your church is awesome. Keep Christ at the center of the conversation.
Language that glorifies God first is critical. As a church we need to celebrate him and
his success along the way. Philippians 4 reminds us that it is “with thanksgiving” that we
present our requests to God. As a church we need to celebrate Christ’s victories often.
We have very little freedom to boast in anything outside of Christ (1 Cor 1:31) and the
Gospel of Christ (Gal 6:14) as such we as Christians should take time to rejoice and
celebrate Christ’s victories. It is a chance to edify and encourage the body of Christ that
he is still doing great things. It is also a chance to live out the Romans 12 initiative of
overcoming evil with Good.
Conclusion There is a lot to cover when we look at Social Media and the Church. Within the
context of this paper I talked of the impact specifically within the realm of Discipleship,
Community and Social Justice. With a Particular emphasis on the renaissance of the
story-telling art. It does lend to one final point of note in conclusion. Which is that there
can be an overwhelming noise from the constancy of technology. So in conclusion
rather than restating that social media has value for local churches I want to give some
final cautions with Social Media62.
1. Think before you post. Often times a well thought out response or comment is
better than one shot from the hip.
62
http://theresurgence.com/2010/06/30/justification-by-twitter (quoted 2/11/11)
38
2. Consider a Fast from Technology. If social media leads you to gossip and sin,
then perhaps we should listen to the command of Matthew 5:29 and remove that from
our lives.
3. Most importantly be grounded by Christ. Social Media isn’t evil, but it does
open new doorways for potential sin. Plant yourself firmly in the Gospel of Jesus and
allow that to instruct your steps.
39
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Twitter (quoted 2/11/11) http://www.flickr.com/photos/website-monitoring/4578304960/
Youtube (quoted 2/11/11)
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4032/4611483703_3dcb43d3e1_o.png
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Resources Appendix 1 – Expanded Histories YouTube In February 2005 founders registered the domain name and begin work on the
site YouTube. April 23 of 2005 the 1st video is uploaded to the site. In May 2005 there is
a Beta launch of YouTube. In December of 2005 the official launch of YouTube
happens, 8 million videos are watched a day. In the 1st part of 2006 content verification,
filtering technology and video responses are launched. In July of 2006 there are over
100 million video views every day and over 65,000 video uploads per day. In August of
2006 YouTube integrates advertising and brand channels and in October of 2006
Google acquires YouTube for $1.65 billion. In 2007 YouTube launches in 9 countries
and in October the Queen of England launches her own YouTube channel.
In January of 2008 over ten hours of video are uploaded every minute by May
that increases to 13, by October 15 hours and by May of 2009 20 hours of video are
uploaded every minute. In January of 2009 U.S. Congress and the president wants
channels, in February the Vatican launches their channel and March of 2009 Disney
signed a deal to broadcast on YouTube. By October of 2009 YouTube announced more
than 1 billion views a day. April of 2010 the Indian Premier league cricket season is live
streamed to the world on YouTube. There is alive stream of Pres. Obama YouTube
interview in February of 2010. And by May 2010 YouTube exceeds 2 billion views a day.
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The average person spends 15 minutes a day on YouTube. More videos are
uploaded to YouTube in 60 days than all 3 major US networks created in 60 years. 70%
of YouTube’s traffic comes from outside the USA. 94 of ‘Advertising Age’s’ 100 top
advertisers have run campaigns on YouTube and the Google content network. YouTube
has more HD content than any other online video. Over 3 million people are connected
socially through YouTube and are automatically sharing content to at least one other
social network. The top 10 the users on YouTube, have over 1 million subscribers.
YouTube video consumption across other social networks;
–Facebook: 46.2 years of video watch a day.
–MySpace: 5.6 years of video watch a day.
–Orkut: 12.7 years of video watched a day.63
Facebook In February 2004 Mark Zuckerberg and the 3 other cofounders of Facebook
launch in the dorm room at Harvard. This story has been famously told in the movie the
social network 500 million friends and counting. By December of 2004 Facebook is
expanded into multiple university campuses in the United States and has almost
1,000,000 active users. In May of 2005 Facebook raises $12.7 million in venture capital
and grows to support almost 800 college networks. In September of 2005 Facebook
expands the high school networks. In December of 2005 more than 5.5 million active
users by December of 2006 that number has over doubled to 12 million active users. In
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For a Full Detailed List of Facts and Figures on YouTube,
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4032/4611483703_3dcb43d3e1_o.png. Information Quoted Websitemonitoring.com on 27/7/2011 (compiled 10/05/2010).
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2006 when Facebook launches internationally, no less than 3 months later has over 3
million active users in Canada and the UK. In April of 2007 Facebook now has 20
million active users; October 2007 50 million active users; August 2008 100 million
active users; January 2009 150 million active users; February 2009 175 million active
users and by April of 2009 Facebook totals 200 million active users.
In May of 2009 Digital sky technologies makes a $200 million investment for
preferred stock at a $10 billion valuation. By February of 2010 Facebook has over 400
million active users. There are more than 70 translations for Facebook about 70% of all
Facebook users outside the United States. Australia does not even rank in the top 10
countries who use Facebook. Over 1 million developers and entrepreneurs from more
than 180 countries leverage Facebook as a platform for communication. Facebook is
leveraged by more than two thirds of the top 100 websites in the world for
communication.64
Twitter Twitter is the relative newcomer to the social media scene. It 1st appears on the scene
in October 2006, when Evan Williams, Jack Dorsey and Biz Stone acquire Odeo. They
rebrand twttr.com to twitter.com. In February of 2007 Twitter introduces a 140 character
limit. Jack Dorsey is quoted as saying
“one could change the world with 140
characters.” During the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival, twitter has its tipping point
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For a more detailed information graphic see, http://www.thejakers.com/wordpress/wpcontent/uploads/facebook.jpg. Data originally compiled by website-monitoring.com 16/03/2010
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and receives the festivals web award, In March of 2007. By December of 2007 500,000
tweets are posted quarterly65.
In May of 2008 Twitter receives $15 million in series B funding, by December of
the same year more than 100 million tweets are posted quarterly. In February 2009
Twitter receives $35 million in series C funding. In September of 2009 Twitter receives
$100 million in series D funding. More than 2 billion tweets are posted per quarter by the
end of 2009. In January of 2010 Twitter receives a speculated $200 million in series E
funding. In the space of one year from 2009 when the company is valued at $1 billion it
more than triples to a reported $3.7 billion valuation in 2010. It becomes one of 5
companies to raise over 9 figures in capital in 2010, these were LivingSocial ( $227
million); ZeniMax Media ($150 million); Zygna (approx $250 million); Groupon ($135
million); Yelp ($100 million). All of these companies are digital content providers working
in various areas of Social Media.66
65
http://www.flickr.com/photos/website-monitoring/4578304960/, quoted August 4th 2011
http://paidcontent.org/article/419-how-twitters-funding-stacks-up-against-the-biggest-deals-of2010/ , quoted August 4th, 2011
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Appendix 2 – Resources Church Marketing Sucks - http://www.churchmarketingsucks.com/
The site to frustrate, educate and motivate the church to communicate, with
uncompromising clarity, the truth of Jesus Christ.
theJakers - http://www.thejakers.com/
A collection of meditations and ruminations on Church Communications, Culture, Media,
and Theology.
Media Salt - http://www.mediasalt.com/
God isn’t bland, the Church shouldn’t be either.
Goodmanson - http://www.goodmanson.com/
Church Technology, Internet Ministry and Church Planting.
Church Relevance - http://churchrelevance.com/
Is understanding culture and responding to hurts and needs with the gospel, sacrificial
love, and selfless ministering.
Church Mag - http://churchm.ag/
Exploring the intersection of Church and Technology
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