Ramblings and musings from faith to front-end development and everything in between.
Neue Quarterly asked Kevin Hendricks and me to pen an article for their spring 2009 quarterly based on churches and their use of social media. We shared some of the successes, failures and cautions we've observed. An excerpt and link are below:
Different media have different effects. That isn’t to say that one is more powerful than another or that one is better. A bill- board can catch the eye of anyone from a curious middle school student to an elderly tourist, but it will focus on commuters. Internet ads can lure a passive surfer but will be focused more towards heavy-Internet users and web professionals. So dif- ferent media get different results. But it goes even further. Placing a video on a home page will give more of a professional, informative impression while placing a video on a social media site and encouraging people to spread it will feel more fun and exciting.
Often the bait of a distracted and restless society is too powerful: Newer is better. The same marketing firms and creative minds who remind consumers that last year’s Honda is no good anymore and that they might as well set that six-month old computer on fire are driving social media. There seems to be no better application for the words of Jesus: “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves,” (Matthew 10:16, NIV).
Lying marketers and greedy advertisers will do their best to get people to buy into their “newer is better” ideology. Organiza- tions shouldn’t bite. Always use the best media available, whether it’s classified as “social” or not. Always.
—Neue Quarterly, [Spring 2009](http://www.mygazines.com/issue/1311/189)
