Comments on: Resources for Church Social Media Policies http://www.faithandweb.com/2010/03/06/resources-for-church-social-media-policies/ A Church Web Diva's Musings on Excellence in Religious Websites Sat, 03 Jul 2010 17:11:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: June http://www.faithandweb.com/2010/03/06/resources-for-church-social-media-policies/comment-page-1/#comment-32692 June Sat, 03 Jul 2010 17:11:09 +0000 http://www.faithandweb.com/?p=215#comment-32692 Hi. Sorry it's take so long to get back to this conversation. Facebook is only important to my church for the passive evangelism it allows. Otherwise, churches that have their own social networks serve their members much better. Member retention, acquisition, ministries and church administration are far better served when a church runs its own social network. Facebook and Twitter own the people registered to them. It's their brands that are a priority not those of a church or a business. Also all the information on Facebook and any other social tech or social media site that is not specifically owned and run by a congregation cannot be protected or manipulated to a religious institutions benefiti -- with one sole exception: you can easily publish your content onto Facebook and other other big social media/technology provider when your own, church-owned network publishes it once to your site. My suggestion is that churches breakdown all assumptions associated with Twitter and Facebook. They play a role in evangelism because your parishoners can passively attract their friends and family to your church's content when it's posted to their Facebook profile. To me the question of a congregation president posting to Facebook and Twitter is not the issue Hope this helps. June Hi. Sorry it’s take so long to get back to this conversation. Facebook is only important to my church for the passive evangelism it allows. Otherwise, churches that have their own social networks serve their members much better. Member retention, acquisition, ministries and church administration are far better served when a church runs its own social network. Facebook and Twitter own the people registered to them. It’s their brands that are a priority not those of a church or a business. Also all the information on Facebook and any other social tech or social media site that is not specifically owned and run by a congregation cannot be protected or manipulated to a religious institutions benefiti — with one sole exception: you can easily publish your content onto Facebook and other other big social media/technology provider when your own, church-owned network publishes it once to your site. My suggestion is that churches breakdown all assumptions associated with Twitter and Facebook. They play a role in evangelism because your parishoners can passively attract their friends and family to your church’s content when it’s posted to their Facebook profile. To me the question of a congregation president posting to Facebook and Twitter is not the issue Hope this helps. June

]]> By: Anna Belle http://www.faithandweb.com/2010/03/06/resources-for-church-social-media-policies/comment-page-1/#comment-29539 Anna Belle Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:30:33 +0000 http://www.faithandweb.com/?p=215#comment-29539 Thanks, Yo. Great suggestion! I'll pass the word on. Thanks, Yo. Great suggestion! I’ll pass the word on.

]]> By: Yo Presley http://www.faithandweb.com/2010/03/06/resources-for-church-social-media-policies/comment-page-1/#comment-29504 Yo Presley Sun, 07 Mar 2010 22:26:14 +0000 http://www.faithandweb.com/?p=215#comment-29504 You might be interested in the upcoming webinar hosted by the Ballou Channing District of UUA entitled: "Webinar: Integrating Social Media for UU Congregations". Here's the link: http://uugrowth.com/2010/02/12/social-media-webinar-registration/ You might be interested in the upcoming webinar hosted by the Ballou Channing District of UUA entitled: “Webinar: Integrating Social Media for UU Congregations”.

Here’s the link: http://uugrowth.com/2010/02/12/social-media-webinar-registration/

]]> By: Anna Belle http://www.faithandweb.com/2010/03/06/resources-for-church-social-media-policies/comment-page-1/#comment-29494 Anna Belle Sun, 07 Mar 2010 20:17:12 +0000 http://www.faithandweb.com/?p=215#comment-29494 Thanks, June. Our focus is not on our own site, but when and how best to have guidelines for use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter. For example, is it okay for the president of the congregation to speak for the congregation in Facebook or must he limit himself to personal observations? Thanks, June. Our focus is not on our own site, but when and how best to have guidelines for use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter. For example, is it okay for the president of the congregation to speak for the congregation in Facebook or must he limit himself to personal observations?

]]> By: June Herold http://www.faithandweb.com/2010/03/06/resources-for-church-social-media-policies/comment-page-1/#comment-29492 June Herold Sun, 07 Mar 2010 18:43:01 +0000 http://www.faithandweb.com/?p=215#comment-29492 Hi. Take a look at uucava.org. It's the online ministry of the UU of Arlington, VA. I created it, manage it and an the lay leader for online ministry. After you move around it a bit, I'd be happy to answer specific questions with answers that may be able to help you form a policy. We don't have a written policy other than our church covenant which extends to our online space. Only individuals on the roster of the church, meaning those folks who are signed members, friends and inquiring friend, may receive sign in credentials to participate in blogs, comment and upload content. Otherwise about 98% of the content on the site is available to the general public. We launched in Sept. 2009. We do not have a written document that is a policy specifically for our online sanctuary. What are the component you think you need in a policy? Recommended guidelines are just that guidelines. Until you start to live in an online church built on social technology, it can be premature to cast guidelines in stone because they may squelch participation and may hamper the unique qualities of a social platform to foster relational culture in our churches. Happy to tell you more specifics, but need to understand your questions. June Herold, uucava.org Hi. Take a look at uucava.org. It’s the online ministry of the UU of Arlington, VA. I created it, manage it and an the lay leader for online ministry. After you move around it a bit, I’d be happy to answer specific questions with answers that may be able to help you form a policy. We don’t have a written policy other than our church covenant which extends to our online space. Only individuals on the roster of the church, meaning those folks who are signed members, friends and inquiring friend, may receive sign in credentials to participate in blogs, comment and upload content. Otherwise about 98% of the content on the site is available to the general public. We launched in Sept. 2009. We do not have a written document that is a policy specifically for our online sanctuary. What are the component you think you need in a policy? Recommended guidelines are just that guidelines. Until you start to live in an online church built on social technology, it can be premature to cast guidelines in stone because they may squelch participation and may hamper the unique qualities of a social platform to foster relational culture in our churches. Happy to tell you more specifics, but need to understand your questions. June Herold, uucava.org

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