Faith and Web

I happened across a review of Rule the Web on Friday, and knew I had to get my hands on it – fast. I wasn’t disappointed. In fact, I could hardly put it down.

It’s a godsend for answering the kind of questions your average church webmaster (me) gets all the time. And that’s just what it did. The other day one of the staff was telling me how she wished she could reply from her Gmail account and make it look like her church account. Not only does the book tell you how to do this, there’s even a picture (p.294).

Here’s my top ten list of things learned from the book that are likely to be helpful in running a congregation’s website:

1. How to “drop catch” a good domain name. I didn’t even know that was the term you used for this. (p.6)
2. How to create a video webcast. I dream of doing this for my church. (p.46)
3. How to zap nasty ads using Firefox (p.98)
4. How to track a library of books. Can’t you see using an easy web solution for organizing the children’s books at church? (p.190)
5. Where to find audio books on the web (p.196)
6. How to manage a project. I’m thinking of using one of these tools for the redesign. (p.221)
7. How to easily backup a hard disk for little or nothing. (p.222-3)
8. How to set up meetings more efficiently. Trying to coordinate other people’s busy schedules drives me nuts. I bet I’m not the only one. (p.225)
9. How to set up cell-phone call transfer and screening. (p.258)
10. And, of course, how to make the most of your Gmail account. (p.287)

I’ll be blogging about my experiences with these great tools over the next few weeks, so stay tuned. Or go grab a copy of the book. It’s only $14.95 list. Not bad for a geek book.

Rule the Web: How to Do Anything and Everything on the Internet—Better, Faster, Easier
by Mark Frauenfelder
List: $14.95

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I confess. I adore books. However, I’m a librarian, and I ascribe to Nancy’s Pearls of Wisdom (found on the Librarian Action Figure box). “Life is too short and the library is too large to ever read a book that you’re not thoroughly enjoying.”

Like Ms. Pearl, I’m ruthless, and if after 50 pages it’s not doing it for me, I stop. Thus I only read about 50 pages of most books.* That includes books about the web. I read a lot of them, and put even more to one side.

It occurred to me that you might find it helpful to know which books have my seal-of-approval. So I’ve done a new Bookshelf page for this site, culling out the best-of-the-best for those of you who like books and want to create a great website for your congregation or faith.

Do you have any particular favorites? Books I’ve overlooked? Suggestions? I’m all ears.

*Footnote: If you are over 50, Nancy Pearl’s further Rule of 50 can be invoked. “Subtract your age from 100 – the result is the number of pages you should need before deciding whether or not to continue on.”

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