We hear a lot about social media. This presentation is designed to help you understand what we mean by the term, and how social media and the internet are changing our culture. I will present a few ideas, we will watch a short TED talk video about how what we view on social media may end up skewing what information we receive, and then we will do some small group conversation using some "best practices" suggested by Mike Orr, the Director of Communications for the Episcopal Church in Colorado.

Definitions:
Social Media=Websites and apps that enable users to create & share content, or to participate in social networking.
Social Networking=A platform to build social relations among people who share interests, activities, backgrounds or real-life connections.

Social media has a significant impact in the way we see the world. Thought leaders now use the web to create a splash, influence others, and have their voices heard.

More than 50% of people learn about breaking news via social media rather than a traditional newspaper.

For many of its critics, the impact of social media in offline culture appears in a very negative light.

This anxiety to new technology is not new:

Plato viewed writing as inhuman, and warned that it weakened the mind.

The invention of the printing press was seen by many as a threat to European culture, social order, and morality.

TV has often been represented as a corrosive influence on public life.

This technology can be perceived as a resource that can be utilized by social and political movements looking for a communication infrastructure to promote their cause.

EPIC: Experiential, Participative, Image-Driven, and Connected.

Jihadists are not simply radicalized by the internet--they have typically already undergone a process of self-radicalization. They are looking for a medium to express their ideals and interact with those who share their ideals. What these websites do is AFFIRM, DEEPEN, OR HARDEN sentiments their visitors already possess.

it is an interactive and dynamic process. It provides a medium for the kind of interaction that can throw up new ideas, new symbols, new rituals and new identities. How can we make that work to help ease a spiritual hunger that already exists, but people don't know where to get fed?

Most significant in the way the internet has transformed the lives of young people.

Friends interaction, peer-to-peer relations are increasingly conducted online or through texts.

What happens to people through their online interactions rally matters to the way people perceive themselves offline.

This connection arose in part to the pre-existing anxiety about letting children play outside and explore. This indoor childhood culture is entwined in the resultant bedroom culture that we see now.

It is likely that digital technology will not simply intensify prevailing cultural trends but also provide resources for reinterpreting its meaning.

So, how does the church respond? In what ways can we connect with those within and without our walls to not simply provide information, but a participative and interactive experience for seekers?

You need to spend a lot of time on this, and find ways to gather useful data. What does "community" mean? Does language around "family" mean the same thing to everyone? What does it mean to us? What is your mission?

It is your #1 marketing tool.
It is your #1 communications tool.
You need to budget for it, every year.
Is it responsive? Is it mobile friendly?
Visitor Focus & Internal Communication.

Does your homepage welcome visitors? Does it really?

Look at other websites, find favorites, harvest good ideas!

Facebook: Yes, definitely. Page or group? Your page is a window into the ethos of your church. It’s the conversations you are having. It’s the things you care about. It’s things you celebrate. It’s the family environment that will pull a visitor in.

Instagram: Yes, for youth director, maybe for your church.

Twitter: Not really

Pinterest: Not really

YouTube/Vimeo: If you do a lot of videos

Photos and videos help draw people in. Be sure to update content regularly!!

Blog posts, responses to current events grounded in faith, scripture, relevant quotes and text.

What is lively, relevant, interesting, accessible.

Do more than "like" a post--comment & share. Share again even if it's been shared by a friend--you have friends that overlap, and friends that don't

Eli Pariser: Beware online "filter bubbles."

Use handout from Mike Orr to discuss how social media is used in your congregation. How does it, or could it, affect the culture?

Share insights with larger group.