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Google is not the Messiah…
…but it can change your life. This is a guest post from my friend Jason Larsen who serves at Washington State University as the Operations Missional Team Leader for Campus Crusade…phew, that’s a mouthful! He’s a great thinker and loves harnessing the power of technology.
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I love my RSS reader (aka: blog reader, news reader, aggregator). I really feel like it has changed my life for the better. Let me tell you how.
“Ideation” is one of my top 5 strengths (from StrengthsFinder), and “input” is probably one of my top 10 strengths. Google Reader (the RSS reader that I use) allows me to follow the thirty-something blogs (and update-able websites) that interest me and allow me to flourish in my personal strengths.
Google Reader has allowed me to:
- Read about different strategies people are using in various ministries, businesses, etc.
- See great ideas in action (DIY projects, Technology uses, etc.)
- Be more productive by reading about new technologies / strategies that are available
- Be a more informed and effective leader because of the challenging blogs I follow
- Be in the know about friends I care about (the ones that blog but never call or e-mail)
Be informed about the latest local, national & global news sources I care about
What’s the best thing about all of this? It takes me less than twenty minutes a day, and I only have to go to a single web-page. Beautiful.
AND…one of the greatest features of Google Reader, is the search function. Within Google Reader, you can search the content of all the blogs you follow. This basically gives me a personal search engine that only searches the blogs (and websites) that I trust!
If you haven’t tried using a reader yet, give it a try. I would definitely recommend Google Reader. Here is a quick video that will help get you started using it.
What has your experience been using an RSS reader?
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You can read more from Jason on his blog.
Google Wave – harness the power
I’m slowly becoming a fan of Google wave. If you haven’t heard of it, you can read more here, but basically it’s a tool for real-time communication and collaboration. I’ve used it about 4 times now and I’m slowly getting the hang of it and understanding the power of it. Plus it’s kind of fun (and creepy) to watch someone in another state type on your screen.
The best use I’ve found for it so far is project collaboration amongst our staff. But I know there could even be more uses. It’s a tool that has the potential to be immensely helpful for our large organization. I think we should get to know it.
Has anyone else used Google Wave in a way that’s been helpful? What’s the value of this web 2.0 tool?
FYI: You have to have an invite to use it. Let me know if you’d like one to start waving.
New Look – The Standard Theme
After a few hours of being over my head in self-hosted wordpress land I activated my new theme. It’s called the Standard Theme. It’s from the 8bit people that is led by John Saddington who works at North Point ministries in Atlanta.
I admire what these guys are doing with the 8bit network. They’re creating a community of individuals that work in various capacities of ministry. Check out all their sites, including ChurchCrunch and ChurchCreate for a glimpse into what their doing and perhaps some inspiration.
So far I’m loving how easy the Standard Theme it is to use and tweak. I like the look and I like how customizable it is. I also love the forums, where I can get easy help. If you’re in the market feel free to purchase by clicking on the picture.
The power of social media (a case study)
A while back I connected with Russ Martin, who serves as the operations leader of Campus for Christ (the campus ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ) in Canada. I thought I’d share how it happened, because it gives some cool insight into the power of online communication.
- I wrote a post on video conferencing and somehow Russ found me and commented.
- I tracked down his blog and various insightful and witty comments ensued.
- We began following each other on twitter
- I posted a tweet wondering if anyone had some contact management software recommendation. (I know…I’m a nerd)
- Russ send me a message saying he would demo the software they’re using
- At the scheduled time I logged into a Dim Dim webinar and was added to a Skype conference call with Russ and Josh on the operations team up there.
Interesting notes: Russ and Josh live a long way from me…I would have never met them if not for my blog. The first time I talked to Russ was after a lot of online communication, and by then I felt like I knew him already. All of the communication used was free!
Side note: Skype conference calls was way better the the free conference call service we’ve been using. You can tell who’s talking because of the voice indicator on your screen.
Does anyone else have experiences similar to this using social media?
The tools exist!
When I look across the breadth of our organization I see a hesitancy to embrace and leverage online tools for ministry. Some co-workers think I’m crazy for keeping up a blog! Perhaps I’m wrong, but I think there is an undercurrent of fear (or at least a hesitancy) to engage in conversations with web 2.0 tools. Here’s why…
- Fear of being misunderstood
- Fear of being put on record and being wrong
- Fear of taking a risk to use a new medium to reach people for Christ
- Fear of lack of control that is possible when lot’s of people are talking to lot’s of people
- Belief that online communication/interaction isn’t helpful for personal growth
- Organizational structure doesn’t foster online collaboration very well…yet.
I want to change this.
Sure sometimes online communication isn’t the best option. Sure sometimes we have to go back and with humility correct our mistakes, but I want to be a good steward of the tools we’ve been given to expand the Kingdom of God through our ministry. What if someday all our staff across our region would engage each other with leadership thoughts at any hour of the day with a click of a button? What if hundreds of volunteers connected through an online social network, where they could encourage each other? The tools exist, why aren’t we using them?
If you work in occupational ministry in some capacity, what are the barriers that keep you from engaging in collaboration with Web 2.0 tools? What are the tools you’re using to connect your staff/ministry leaders right now?
Getting Things Done (get ‘er dunn)
A big switch in my capacity for productivity took place when I switched my email folders and task list from a set of topic related folders, i.e. work, home, campus, staff, etc. to actionable items.
What I mean is that now I group things according to the action needed in my email. This is what my email folders look like now.
I also group my task list according to the action needed as follows.
Notes: A “Waiting for Response” folder has helped me immensely. Also, I’m way more productive if I do all my email’s at once and then all my phone calls for example. It’s not a perfect system but it’s helping my stay on task and it works for me. I still have projects that I work on seperately, because they involve multiple levels of action and communication.
Getting Things Done was trademarked by David Allen
What sort of Getting Things Done system do you use?
The future according to John Chambers
My head is spinning after watching this presentation by John Chamber, CEO of Cisco. It spurred so many thoughts about the organization I work for. He made this presentation 14 months ago and I can’t imagine what Cisco is doing now. I watched the whole thing because it was so intriguing, but the first 30 minutes are the most thought provoking.
Geography is our friend – Google Mashup
Google maps is changing a lot of things. Including looking for a house to rent or buy. By allowing developers to mash up information with Google maps, sites like Hotpads.com have been developed. Hotpads.com is my new best friend as we look for a house to rent in Portland, Oregon. I can see all the Craigslist rental properties and their geographic location. I haven’t even talked about how helpful Google street view is, i.e, the house may be nice, but it’s right next door to Walmart! Geography is our friend right?
You can see a recent post I did on the google map I’m creating for the new Portland Metro Campus Crusade for Christ team too. Could Google maps be helpful for you? How?
