Tag Archive - Blogworld and New Media Expo

Getting Outside Our Villages

September 25, 2008 in Uncategorized with 4 Comments

I said something earlier this week about my appreciation for GodblogCon and their attempt to be more “missionally minded.” I know that when they brought the conference to Vegas from the campus of Biola not everyone was happy about it. In fact, I think many decided not to come to Vegas because it was….well Vegas. “Sin City” as it has been dubbed.

But I think that was the smartest move that could have been made, and I’m hoping that GodblogCon continues more and more to integrate its ideas, values and thoughts on social media into the rest of the Blogworld and New Media Expo.

I think that we can all learn from each other, and unless Christians and non-Christians (or those who have a practicing faith and those who don’t) continue to dialogue and listen to one another, then I think we all miss out on what we all have to offer.

I like what Diva Marketing says below:

Last year some of my greatest learnings came from sessions outside of my comfort zone – military and sports blogging. This year I sat in on a God Blog session and listened intently to the Andrew Jones, Tall Skinny Kiwi, tell his story about faith blogs. He begin with a light hearted joke .. You might be a faith blogger if .. My favorite .. You’re a faith blogger if your prayers are 140 characters or less because that’s all Twitter allows.

My big take away from Andrew’s talk (slides) was ~

A blog should not be a well. It should be a spring. ~

Although Andrew put it into a religious context, his concept makes perfect sense to me not only for blogs but for social media in general. Think about it .. a well contains stagnant waters. Stagnation occurs when there is no new flow of water. Blogs, social networks, wikis and all the other tools/tactics allow for and encourage fresh water or new ideas to flow.

Sidebar: I often say that the blogopshere/social media is comprised of many, many villages. There is the business blog village where Diva Marketing resides and then the mommy blog, golf blog, healthcare blog, beauty blog, race horse blog “villages” and more. The God blog/faith blog village is one of the most active. Skip over to the interview I did with Lead Pastor of the National Community Church – David Batterson – for some insights into this most interesting “village.”

I wholeheartedly agree. Some of the best times at the conference, and some of the greatest things I learned is when I ventured outside my village and comfort zone and saw what others had to offer. I look forward to next year. It a unique conference.

As Chris Brogan said in reference to Blogworld and New Media Expo:

Rick’s event brought diverse people like religious, military, sports, and political bloggers, and I liked that.

Blogworld and New Media Expo & GodblogCon

September 22, 2008 in Ministry-Theology with 2 Comments

This last weekend was a great time at Blogworld and New Media Expo, and GodblogCon.

It was my fourth year at GodblogCon, and my 2nd time at Blogworld.

I have some thoughts about the conference and I will be posting them this week, but just a sampler of some things that stood out to me.

  1. Moving GodblogCon to Vegas last year to be a part of Blogworld and New Media Expo was a great choice.  I would actually be interested in exploring with the Godblog people some ways that we can integrate even more, so it’s not two separate conferences.


  2. Huge, huge props to John Mark Reynolds, Dustin Steeve and the crew from Biola’s Torrey Honor’s Institute for putting together a great conference.  They are some of the most amazing and hospitable people there are, and I’m glad to be a part of such a great group. Thanks Dustin and crew.


  3. Missional thinking: The connection between the two conferences this weekend was tech, new media, social media, etc.  As Christians we need to do a better job of finding our common ground with others, with the world, build relationships, etc.


  4. New media and tech people seem to be very accessible, patient and easy going to me.  The Church can learn a lot from them, especially how they collaborate with one another, communicate from decentralized positions/relationships, etc, etc.  I was super impressed with how accessible all the big speakers were, and how they spent a great amount of time talking to people. Chris Brogan, Andrew Jones and Guy Kawasaki come to mind.  This conference doesn’t seem to have the speakers that roll in at the last minute VIP and then leave.  The speakers are great.  Very participatory feel.  Again, something Church conferences can learn from.


  5. It’s great to see friends at the conference who are involved in Church-land, but who get new media technology and are using it.  I’m thinking of people like Matt Singley, Andrew Jackson and Lars Rood.

Again, I will post more this week on some more specific issues.  But before I do I have a question.

GodblogCon seems like it’s on the verge of becoming more integrated with Blogworld.  And it probably can take some more strides.

Are there any other major conferences where we can bring together the Church and the non-Church world, using our common interests to unite us, but allowing our differences to teach and learn from one another?

Great News for GodblogCon

February 29, 2008 in Technology-Social Media with 3 Comments

As a lot of you know, I have been invovled with GodblogCon the last few years, last year speaking on New Media Ministry to the Myspace- Facebook Generation: Employing New Media Technologies Effectively In Youth Ministries. I will be doing something this next year at it (speaking/leading a group–not sure yet), so that’s why I’m so excited about this news.

Andrew Jones (aka Tall Skinny Kiwi) will be speaking at the 2008 GodblogCon on the topic of the Missional Church in an Internet Age

Sitting around after the conference last year, Andrew Jones was one of those people that we knew we needed here.

I also hope to see Abraham Piper again from Desiring God ministries. We had a great time last year hanging out. Speaking of him, check out his new blog Twenty Two Words. It’s awesome. Here is how he describes his blog:

22 Words
Exercises in getting to the point (or avoiding it) by saying what I have to say in twenty-two words, not counting titles.

I hope to see all of you in Las Vegas next year for the GodblogCon at the 2008 Blogworld and New Media Expo.

Save the date: September 19-21.