Echo ’09 Session 6: How to Fail at Social Media
led by Scott McClellan
How to FAIL at Social Media
- Try to be something you're not
- Try to grab an audience before you add value or content
- big grand openings are overrated - "coming soon" is a waste of traffic - a good content base allows people to make an informed decision about whether they want to pay attention to you
- Only talk about yourself
- talk about what other people are doing, thinking, saying - establish yourself as someone with good taste - build trust - becoming a source of interesting news in a very specific niche
- Be erratic
- people love for things to be consistent - people hate when you post 4 times a week then take a month off - find your rhythm - set expectations and live up to them
- Spam... Then spam some more
- annoying people is no way to build an audience - don't get lumped in with the Russian Viagra salesmen - permission marketing is a very powerful tool - focus on those who are willing and able to listen to you
- Info Barf
- the first time you meet someone is not the time to tell them your whole life story - embrace the idea of a tagline of who you are and what you're doing - think in terms of "chapters," "episodes," and "installments" - a tiny taste is better than a 30 minute documentary the first time you meet someone
- Have no idea who you're dealing with
- don't pitch things to people who don't know what you're talking about - ask your audience who they are and where they're at then act accordingly - devise a plan to get them from where they are to where you need them to be
- Give up
- 60% of twitter users don't return from one month to the next - 1post1der.blogspot.com - all of this takes time - find your voice - find your audience - "technology is fast, but redemption is slow" John Dyer - set out with a plan in mind and work that plan
- Have a poor picture of success
- setting the bar too high is a recipe for failure - top technorati blogs are multi-author projects run by multimedia conglomerates... that's not you - not everyone will choose you - don't have your heart set on audience size, have it set on depth of connection
- Forget to tell a story
- you do have a story to tell, make sure that your audience is hearing it - story is the language of the human heart - facts inform, stories invite - if our stories facilitate life change, don't we have a responsibility to share them? - use social media to tell people who you are, where you're going, why you're going, how you're going to get there, and how they can help - invite people into the narrative of your life/church/ministry/organization - share emotions, not just information
Offer continually connection points. Give people an opportunity to connect to you. If you use social media to tell people how lives are being changed for God by your work or ministry, people won't let that go. They will want to jump in and be a part of it.
Echo ’09 Session I Missed
I had to choose between the Unconventional Innovation session and several others.
My friend Tim attended a great session on websites. Here's the info he took down.
Echo ’09 Session 5: Unconventional Innovation
led by Greg Atkinson
- Innovation - the act of doing/creating something new
- Is 43:19 - Behold I am about to do something new.
- Eph 5:1 - Watch what God does, then you do it.
- Jer 33:3 - Call on Me. I will tell you things you would never figure out on your own.
- Innovation comes from "God Moments". We must be listening and allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit.
- Join God where He's at work. "God's activity is far greater than anything we can aspire to do for him." - Blackaby
- 7 Ways that Innovation is Birthed
- Revelation - God speaks to you and you know it in your spirit.
- Inspiration - When you are challenged and encouraged by the example of another.
- Observation - Are we watching what is going on around us?
- Conversation - Who are you talking to? Like minded people? People with differing ideas?
- Situation - When things aren't the way you would like them to be, you are forced to think differently.
- Frustration - "Your misery is your ministry" - T.D. Jakes. What drives you crazy can be the very thing that drives you.
- Desperation - When you are so desperate that you are dependent on the Holy Spirit it's a holy place. Risk and innovation go hand in hand.
- Noah may be the most innovative person in history. What he did changed the world forever. He built a boat before it ever rained. But whose idea was it?
Echo ’09 Session 4: Proper Care and Feeding of Artists
led by Shawn Wood
try and treat everyone the same manage through the team foster a create on demand culture settle for less than greatness communicate "no" through email or spreadsheets lurk and dominate all creative meetings keep your expectations secret until the 11th hour give too much freedom give too little freedom let artists use being creative as a crutch
Guardrails - Guardrails are a funnel of freedom that keeps artists in and distractions out. Guardrails = Process Expectations - We don't know what we don't know. Make sure that we communicate our expectations. Examples that we applaud can cause expectation escalation Accountability - "What gets measured gets done." - Drucker. Who does what by when? Review - Improve future effectiveness.
Echo ’09 Church Panel
led by Conway Edwards, Cynthia Ware, Bobby Gruenewald, Carlos Whitaker, and Scott Hodge
moderated by Scott McClellan (ScottM below)
- Does the church focus too much, too little, or just right on innovation?
- Cynthia: not enough - we spend money on great pastors, but not on the people who create the media that guests interact with (which may be their first touch i.e. website)
- Carlos: don't innovate for the sake of innovation
- Bobby: the Church doesn't know how to live in a culture of change. excellence doesn't always mean better effectiveness
- What are your sources of inspiration?
- Cynthia: John Dyer, Shane Hipps
- Bobby: asking those he meets how they are using technology
- Carlos: small unknown churches, Shaun King in Atlanta
- Scott: church planters
- Are there current media trends that get you excited?
- Scott: Twitter - being able to connect with more people
- Carlos: video chat
- Bobby: Carlos' coaching network
- Cynthia: LifeChurch.tv's innovations, live texting in church (Jarbyco)
- Conway: interactive church services
- ScottM: interesting that responses are not about broadcast, but rather about interaction
- How do you facilitate and lead a culture of change?
- Carlos: keep your eyes open to the things that you've kept around that don't fit anymore
- Scott: we do ourselves a huge disservice when we never talk about change. we should have a theology of change. God is continually moving and we should be as well
- Conway: always prepare the organization for change. make sure that no one holds anything too tightly
- ScottM: quoting Phil Vischer, where I am in 5 years is none of my business.
- I like to see churches use media and/or technology to...
- Conway: ...drive home spiritual truth
- Scott: ...change people's perception of the church
- Carlos: ...create followers of Christ out of people who were not followers. LifeChurch.tv does a good job of this
- Evangelism on the internet: can it happen? how?
- Bobby: do it the same way you would face-to-face. live tools make this more effective. the physical facade (online) helps to lower the emotional facade
- Where do you draw the line on spending money on tech excellence vs. giving towards others/missions?
- Conway: ask the question "is it 'mission' or 'machine'?" always lean toward "mission." if the technology helps to fulfill the mission then there is no amount of money that we won't spend. if it is simply for the sake of making people comfortable then that is less important.
- Bobby: it depends on what you're called to do
- Cynthia: there is some great stuff available for free. you have to look at things as investments, not expenses
- How do we leverage what other churches are doing to minimize duplication of effort?
- Bobby: in the physical world, we all have our own community and need our own facilities/teams. the internet opens up new opportunities to interact/team up with other churches.
- Carlos: we have the awesome opportunity/responsibility to help connect people from various churches
[had to step out for a phone call] Check out Tim's word-for-word notes.
Echo ’09 Session 3: Using Technology without it using you
led by John Dyer
- One of the worst things you can do is believe that technology is neutral
- We make our tool and our tools make us
- We become what we behold
- Technology is an extension of humanity, but technology can be an amputation of humanity
- New Technology adoption stages: 1) Excitement 2)Difficulty 3) Transformation
- Ask yourself: What kind of person do I want to become?
- The story of the Bible begins in a garden and ends in Holy City
- God redeems human souls, human bodies, and human works
- Technology in the New Testament: Paul would rather have met with churches face-to-face rather than use the technology of the day (paper, pen, and ink)
- Using Technology Without Technology Using You
- you can't
- experiment with technology (even with things you are already using)
- what experiences/skills do you want to cultivate?
- work both through and against technology
- use technology as a mean, not an ends
- create for a new world
- become a tool for God to work through
ECHO ’09 Keynote 2: The Open Media Revolution
led by Phil Cooke
- Media is always on
- Media has become culture
- We don't think enough about connection
- A brand is a compelling story that surrounds a person, product, or organization
- Nike tells a better story than other brands
- It matters because of choice - if all the choices are the same, what sets you apart?
- What's your story?
- What's the point? (motivation)
- What makes you, you? (identity)
- What are your skills and talents? (ability)
- What makes you different? (uniqueness)
- We are in the midst of the greatest media revolution since the printing press
- We receive 3,000-5,000 media message/day
- The next generation wants to have a voice
- 10 Branding Values
- In a media driven culture, visibility is just as important as ability
- You cannot brand a lie
- Being different is everything
- Stop thinking "mass" and start thinking "niche"
- Speak the language of design
- Know your audience
- Lose the lingo
- Culture is more important than vision
- Find the overarching theme of your life and work
- What drives you nuts?
- It's not just who you are but how you're perceived that counts
How I Mis-Heard the Gospel
Have you ever listened to a song over and over thinking that you know the meaning only to find out months, even years later that you were totally off? One of the most obvious examples of this to me is the song 3a.m. by Matchbox 20. It's totally pop and fun until you hear the story behind the song. Then, an hour later, you've forgotten what it's all about again.
I think that this mimics my experience with the Gospel. I've heard the song a million times, but it seems like most of the time I heard it wrong. The message that I heard was about repentance and eternal life when it seems like what it is really about is redemption and God's glory. The problem with this is that the focus was taken off of God and put onto us. Unwittingly, God ceased to be the all-glorious creator God and became the guy who unexpectedly picks up your tab at lunch. You're grateful and say "thanks" but 30 minutes later you've forgotten about it. (I'm sure that doesn't mirror anyone's weekly Sunday morning experience.)
Part of me wants to put the blame for this on the church and bad preaching aimed at behavior modification. I will admit, however, that perhaps it wasn't all the church's fault because as a child I'm sure it was easier to comprehend the physical exchange of Christ's death for my forgiveness than the ambiguity of God's glory and worth. Certainly, however, in many ways the church has replaced the Gospel with other core messages. (I will be addressing these in a soon-to-come recurring feature "Not the Gospel.")
So, what's a guy to do? How do you replace a misunderstanding that is so deeply rooted? Overwhelm yourself with truth. There's a story that every week Martin Luther would preach the Gospel to his church. After several months some people came to him and said, "Why do you always preach the Gospel to us? We're ready for something else." And Luther replied, "Because every week you live like people who don't believe it." I think we've got to hear it (the right way) constantly. Getting over this mis-interpretation is no small task.
Next Post: Roadsigns (for how I've begun to re-hear the Gospel)
ECHO ’09 Keynote 1: My Life as a Tomato
led by Phil Vischer
- creator of Veggie Tales
- great-grandfather was a radio preacher from 1923-1964
- can the Holy Spirit use computer animated vegetables?
- most successful straight-to-video series in history - over 50 million units sold
- hoped to be the next Walt Disney
- early 2000 everything started falling apart
- sued for $12 million and lost
- if God gives you a dream and it dies, maybe God wants to know what matters more, the dream or Him
- God may want us to let go of our dreams
- when the great people of the Bible didn't know what to do, they waited on God
- Noah was 500 when God revealed His vision. Before that, Noah simply walked with God
- where I am in 5 years is none of my business if God is my highest priority
- we must pursue God, not our own purpose/impact
- the most important thing is not what I can do for God, but making God most important
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