Low-tech Church TV (@asaltbde)

When ‘church’ and ‘TV’ are mentioned, we usually think of super churches, perhaps in America, that have their own channel. One might think a lot of expensive hardware is required. How does anyone broadcast something anyway?

There are low cost solutions out there, that don’t require a studio team to figure out how to use them, or a big budget. In fact, they are free to use. All you need is a webcam, video camera or a smartphone.

For a while now, I’ve been considering how this technology would benefit a parish church community. In today's inclusive society, where neither disabilities or age should be discriminated against, I believe broadcasting the sermon has a valuable role to play. Imagine you are elderly and can’t make it to church on Sundays. Or perhaps you have had an accident, or even recovering in hospital. Maybe you are curious about your local church, and would like to see what it’s all about before you take the big step of physically visiting. Whatever way you look at it, broadcasting is another way of spreading God’s word to your local community, and that’s got to be a good thing. You might even start by just broadcasting a special service, like Harvest Festival. I’m not suggesting broadcasting a whole service, perhaps just the sermon. You can’t broadcast the worship for copyright reasons, and you will need permission to video children.

How about audio podcasts I hear you cry? They are very effective, but they have a different audience. Audio is great for people on the move. For example, driving to work, at the gym or walking the dog. I’m not suggesting video would replace this, but it could reach a different audience in a more intimate way. Words and pictures have much more meaning. Body language for example is a huge part of how we communicate.

If you’re up for the challenge, and open to new ideas, then stick with me while I mention a few relatively simple ways to broadcast video. There are likely other ways, but these are the ones I’m aware of.

 

Bambuser

Bambuser is free to use for individuals, and video can be transmitted live, or recorded and uploaded later, using an application on your mobile phone. iOS, Android, Windows and all the major phone platforms are supported. The application is very simple to use, and you can start or stop your broadcast at any time. Bambuser provides some HTML which you can embed on your website, so that people can view your broadcast directly, or you can send them to your Bambuser site. Each recording is saved on the site, so you can refer people back to it to listen again, if they missed it live.

I’ve tested Bambuser out, and it works well. I really recommend you have a WiFi connection to do this live.

 

Google ‘Hangouts On Air’

Google Hangouts allow several people with webcams to chat to one another. It’s a great way to discuss ideas, especially amongst different church groups, without having to be in the same physical place.

An extension of Hangouts is ‘Hangouts On Air’. This option is available in Google Plus, and it allows you to broadcast live to your website, or YouTube channel . I am not aware of a smartphone application to support Hangouts On Air, but it could be done on a laptop with a webcam.

 

YouTube

If you aren’t bothered about broadcasting live, but would like to put a recorded video online, then YouTube is a great way of doing it. You can setup a YouTube channel, and upload your video from your computer, or smartphone application. An example of this in action is the Roving Rev project. Daily recordings taking on a smartphone were uploaded using the YouTube app to the St Micheal’s YouTube channel, whilst Rev Bruce was on his walking pilgrimage.

 

So OK we’re not talking high quality, but is that important? I believe it’s more important to be genuine, current and get the message out, rather than focusing on quality. What do you think? Perhaps you have tried this yourself, do you have any hints and tips?

[Also published on the Big Bible]

Stop, Think, Who do you want to share your life with?

Social media is a great way to share information about what we like with our friends. There are so many different types of information we can share, from photos and videos to our location. We choose to share this information. It’s a conscious decision, like sending a tweet with our holiday location attached, or posting a photo of our child’s birthday. Given our demand for all things social, many device application providers have moved to make their applications socially aware. For example applications may wish to read our address book, to see who our friends are, or track our location to see where our friends are or our proximity to a service or event. Is that what we really want?

I love sharing knowledge and information, but I do object to the type of applications that are now becoming socially aware, and the impact that has on my personal privacy (regardless of their disclaimers). Suddenly it seems, applications which should only require a limited set of permissions on your android device, now need far more as they pack in those extra social features that perhaps you never wanted and likely won’t use.  I can understand a virus scanner app may need a lot of permissions, but other applications like games, newspapers or bible apps for example, simply don’t need to access all my personal information, my text messages or my location. I’ve noticed a recent trend over the last few months. Each time an Android app updates itself, it requests more permissions. It’s easy to just accept the ‘OK’ prompt and get on with life, but you may want to stop and think.

• Am I willing to give this application the permissions it has requested?
• Does it seem reasonable, given what the app does, for it to request these permissions?
• Is there an alternative that requires less permissions?

There are plenty of alternative apps out there that don’t require those extra permissions. For example, I’ve recently switched my bible app to the free Amplified Bible. It doesn’t have any bells and whistles, it’s simply, a bible. The only permissions it requires are ‘full network access’ and ‘install shortcuts’. That’s exactly what I would expect. This app is supported by adverts (but also works offline), hence the full network access. I am willing to give this application the permissions it has requested because they do seem reasonable, given what the app does.

If you’re using an iOS device like an iPhone or iPad, you are not immune to this, you just may not know about it yet. Apple’s iOS lets apps read contacts without requesting any sort of permission, according to this article.

So I’d like to encourage you to think about what permissions you grant applications on Android. If you don’t believe the apps should need the permissions they have requested, then move on, and vote with your feet. Install an alternative which doesn’t require that you share your private information with the company who wrote the application. Stop, think, who do you want to share your life with?

How to setup Twitter on your feature phone

Many people don’t have Smartphone's like iPhones, Blackberries or Android devices. If you own an old skool Nokia, that simply allows you to send and receive text messages, then you can still use twitter. The great thing about Twitter is that it’s so simple to use, and requires basic technology.

I’d like to walk you through the basic steps to create a Twitter account using a computer like a PC or Mac. Then I’ll show you how you can register your phone with your Twitter account. Lastly, I’ll explain how to send your first tweet from your phone.

 

On your computer, in your web browser, type in http://twitter.com

You will see a “Sign up for Twitter” button.

Click on it!

 

 

 

 

Now you need to create your account on Twitter. It’s really simple, and requires very little information.

Type in your name, email address (so Twitter can contact you).

Choose a password to login to your Twitter account.

Be inventive, and type in a username. This is the nickname you will be known as on twitter. It could be a real name, or something fictitious. There is a limit on the number of characters.

Once complete, hit the “Create my account” button.

 

 

Here’s one I created earlier

 

Now Twitter will want you to select friends to connect with. You don’t need to do that at this stage. so just go back to your web browser, and type in http://twitter.com again and click on the little cog in the top right hand corner

Then click on “Settings” followed by the “Mobile” option on the left hand side, and select your Carrier (network provider).

Not all networks are supported by Twitter, but the main ones are. Some networks like Tesco or GiffGaff use another carrier like 02 to provider their service, so select O2 if you are with either of those companies.

Type in your phone number, but drop the leading zero (if in the UK). So 07734 123456 should be typed in as 7734 123456. Then hit the “Activate phone” button.

You will be asked to send a text message "GO”  from your phone, to 86444. Once you have done this, after a few seconds, a message will pop up in your browser to confirm your mobile has been activated on Twitter.

Now you are all ready to Tweet using text messages.

I recommend you create a contact in your phone address book called “Twitter” with a number of 86444. Then to send a tweet, simply send a text to “Twitter”. You can send anything you like. For example, how you are feeling, what you are doing, a question you have. Try it.

Ticketing Events (@asaltbde)

Do you run events for a charity or organisation? If so, you might want to read on and find out how you can leverage the power of EventBrite to make your life a whole lot easier and more productive.

In 2013, we have a large women's outreach event at St Paul’s, with around 500 tickets. There are also regular talks on morality and public life, where well known speakers are invited. Traditionally tickets are made available by advertising someone’s phone number, and requesting people make contact for tickets. This person has to maintain a list of people attending, and number of tickets available, which can be an arduous task. I’m also conscious that this method  isn’t the most effective, as it doesn’t reach a widest possible audience, and relies on someone being available.

What’s needed in this switched on world of social media, is an easier way of making tickets available, which self-administers itself and doesn’t cost a fortune, well, let’s even say is free, and hooks up with MailChimp for mailshots and social media. I choose EventBrite, and I’m looking forward to using it for some of our events in 2013. EventBrite is free to use if your ticket’s are free, but otherwise they make a charge per ticket.

The App

EventBrite boasts two Android apps. One is to view events in your area, and obtain tickets. The other, Entry Manager, is to manage tickets for your own event. Each ticket has a QR code, which the app can scan, checking in attendees using your phone. Of course you can also print of a paper list and go old skool too, but the sheer power of an app to do the grunt work, and potentially speed up check-in has to be tried out.

I’d love to hear how you manage tickets for events. Do you use a 3rd party system like EventBrite? What is your experience?

Previously published on bigbible.com

Network Mail: Spreading the word

After reading this article on Catholic Tech Talk, I was inspired to try out MailChimp (not just because the monkey is cute, but he does remind me of the Curious George movie).

I found listening to Alex Balfour (Head of New Media, London Olympic and Paralympic Games 2012), on the Guardian Tech Weekly podcast (21.30 into the show) very inspiring. Of course social media was important, but direct email was the core way of getting the message out, sending 83 million emails.

Social Media is cool, and a great way to engage, and interact with a community. But email has a far bigger following. To quote ‘The Church and New Media’ by Brandon Vogt, “Email is a New Media staple. Almost everyone uses it”. The point is to reach people where they are, and so email is an important channel, given a large percentage of the population are not on social media. With the busy Christmas period approaching fast, now is a good time for you to consider this approach.

If you’re a small church, you’ve probably never explored email services that provide list management for special interests, and allow you to create a professional look and feel HTML email (which is very tricky to do on your own, to ensure it is rendered correctly by all email clients). You might be simply relying on your church office to maintain a list, and send out plain text emails.

I’ve just started exploring Mailchimp (as used by BigBible no less), which provides a free account that will store up to 2,000 subscribers & send up to 12,000 emails per month (other service providers do exist). I’m very impressed so far with the flexibility, the look and feel it provides, and the reporting statistics. But one of the major benefits is that it takes the headache out of list management. People can to add or remove themselves, and even choose the sort of information (group) they would like to subscribe to.

List Management

For example, you might create groups or lists for these three categories:-

• Weekly updates -  your church might have a weekly newsletter, sermon podcast and perhaps even a blog post or two.
• Special events or services – Christmas, Easter, Harvest Festival, Mothering Sunday, Carol Concert, Christingle Service …
• Children’s events – Halloween Alternative, Christmas Party, Holiday activities

If you place a signup form on your website, you can have check boxes, so people can choose between one or more categories. Your subscribers then get the information they want, without getting spammed.

Automation – RSS Feeds

The ‘Weekly updates’ I mentioned in the ‘List Management’ example can be automated. All the items in the example have an RSS feed associated with them at St Paul’s. Mailchimp composes the email from RSS feeds. Once you have setup your template outlining which feeds to include, and how you would like them displayed, then each week, Mailchimp will do the rest. This redistribution of existing content, comes at no cost to you (in terms of weekly workload), but ensures your existing content gets exposed to a wider audience.

Mail shots

From time to time, when you have a special event or service, you may wish to send out a mail shot. Mailchimp provides sample templates, making it easy to get a professional look and feel (graphics and fonts). So for example, I’m writing one right now for our Christmas services (a work in progress, but you get the idea).

The App

Of course, there had to be an app involved, and Mailchimp has one, to monitor your campaigns (how many people opened the email, what time of day, did they click on a link, or retweet). Yet more stats to monitor. The app also has a signup form, allowing people to register for a list straight from your phone. Quite nice if you’re chatting over coffee.

 

I would love to hear about your experience of using mailing list software, and any hints and tips you have.

(also published on bigbible.org.uk)

What do you Tweet with?

With  a stream of social media conferences throughout the year, any smartphone application that saves typing, whilst providing me with the maximum of information, in a visually attractive way, has to be worth checking out.

I use a variety of #Android apps to post updates across social networks, and the nearest I’ve come to one app that does all, is Multipost. Not an all singing all dancing app, but more of a launcher. You register your social media apps with it, and it will then launch them, inserting your post. You just then hit the button to submit your post. Simple, but effective, and does the job well, enabling me to post to GooglePlus, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, all at the same time, should I so desire. I know there are two camps for posting the same update to multiple networks, but I’m in the ‘Yes’ camp. That debate will run and run I’m sure.

What application you choose next depends on your requirements. For example, I like Seesmic because it enables me to post to a Facebook page, as well as twitter. That’s handy for my daily usage, allowing me to cross-post interesting tweets to the church Facebook page. Seesmic also is unique in having a range of shortcut icons for lists, searches and timelines, which enable quick access. Really useful for checking lists I find, or monitoring multiple hashtags in conferences (why do most events have more than one?).

TweetCaster is my all time favourite. Whilst it has Facebook profile support, it doesn’t support posts to pages. TweetCaster is more of a twitter power app, with excellent list support, trend analysis and the ability to post tweets at a scheduled time. I also like the idea of the ZipIt feature, a mute for noisy tweeple, because sometimes you still want to follow someone, even when the are sending out an usually large number of tweets you aren’t interested in today.

Slices is from the same company as TweetCaster, but it’s their next generation application. The look and feel is exceptional, so well worth checking out. I’m sure it would work well on a tablet.

Both TweetCaster and Slices have a great feature that’s going to save me time at events, the ability to set a default hashtag to be posted with all tweets. No more copy/paste for me!

I would love to hear about your favourite social media apps. What is unique or most useful about them?

Google Plus on HootSuite (@asaltdbe)

At last, HootSuite have made G+ more useable for churches, charities, any anyone with a page. Recently, they added the G+ network to the web version of their social network application. This means that if you use HootSuite to post to your social networks, you can now post to your church G+ page, schedule posts to G+, or post to multiple networks, including G+.

HootSuite (or any other android app provider) are yet to enable this network on their Android application, but perhaps that will be HootSuite’s next step.

For those who haven’t tried the network since my earlier post Google Plus – The Application on Android – using it as a #digidisciple then it’s worth revisiting. The Android application has a much richer look and feel, with more integration, including ‘local’ and ‘events’. In my opinion, G+ is superior to Facebook, and implemented in a much cleaner way. What google don’t have is the critical mass to pull enough people away from the Facebook network that they know and love.

G+ has the potential to be a ‘Facebook Killer’ but I don’t believe it’s a ‘faith killer’ as Jonathan Blundell mooted in his post Google+ – The faith killer? . As more tooling emerges, G+ becomes an increasingly viable network with which to outreach to. I don’t believe it yet has the power of Facebook or Twitter, and it isn’t on the top of my social media strategy, but well worth keeping an eye on.

(also published on BigBible)