Tag Archive - MySpace

Providing Understanding for Parent’s Experiences Around Their Kids and Technology

November 12, 2009 in Marriage-Family, Ministry-Theology, Technology-Social Media, Therapy-Psychology with 1 Comment

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[image by Jeremy]

More and more recently I have been afforded some great opportunities to work with parents around the issue of their kids and technology. There have been some great conversations taking place in the context of therapy, church ministry and some conferences and workshops I have been fortunate enough to play a role in.

Last night the National Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families did a presentation at HPPC on kids and technology, and they asked me to sit in as one of the panel guests in order to help facilitate some of my own thoughts on the presentation and questions that parents might present.

Lars Rood, John Dyer and I did a technology presentation for parents at HPPC back in September, so this was really another opportunity for me to think through some of the primary questions that parents have been raising regarding this topic.

One of the things I have been noticing (and this isn’t different than other parts of the population at large) is that there are a few primary emotions parents tend to experience and express when the topic of their kids and technology is discussed. First, there is fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of the negative possibilities/opportunities that technology can create for kids. Second, there is naivete. And I don’t say that as a criticism. Rather, it’s the reality–kids are always going to be a step or two ahead of their parents when it comes to technology. So that can create a naiveness on the part of parents. They just may not know what technological tools or social media venues are available to their kids. Sometimes this naivete can put their kids at risk. Third, there is a feeling of defeat. Parents can feel so overwhelmed that they just feel defeated, often choosing to just ignore the issue and let their kids navigate the technological landscape themselves.

These are some of the observations I have made, and I know there are probably more. When you think of these emotions (fear, naivete, defeat), they tend to be more negative and critical in nature. So what I really see as my job, mission and passion is to try and help either remove these emotions from parents, or at least–help parents understand some things about their kids and technology. And hopefully understanding will bring less fear, less naivete and less defeat.

So last night one of the things I wanted to communicate to parents are four reasons why I think technology plays such a big role in their kid’s lives. These are the thoughts I shared:

  1. Technology and the tools of social media decentralize and flatten the hierarchy: What kid doesn’t love this?  Not only do we like it as adults, but kids, especially teenagers love any tool that decentralizes authority and gives them opportunities to participate, rebel, serve, create, etc.
  2. Technology and the tools of social media allow for a participatory culture: Because of the decentralization and flattening of hierarchy, kids are better able to participate, and possibly more willing to participate.  An “architecture of participation” is something I have blogged about numerous times before. Continue Reading…

Exploring the Online Characteristics of Generation F/Y, and Their Implications for Ministry

June 18, 2009 in Ministry-Theology, Technology-Social Media with 7 Comments

This world of social networking is a world of little to no hierarchy, and the leadership that exists is one that is centered within the groups in the online communities, and encourages a leadership style that is horizontally structured, striving to give equal voice to everyone involved. In terms of its impact to the world outside of it, these online social networking sites encourage a bottom’s up style of leadership, where change comes from grass root movements within the sites and moves out into the world. If a student does not feel empowered in any of the relationships that exist in his or her day to day life, they are going to find it online where there are little to no rules, and no parental control or authority to tell them what, when or how to do something. Students are masters of their own universe and they shape their profile and identity around the idea that they are valuable to the group and can offer meaningful opinions.

This is crucial for youth workers to understand. Most churches operate using a hierarchical approach, where structure and authority are organized in a top-down manner. In most cases, this means that the voices that are given the most importance and are usually the most heard are those of the senior pastor, the ordained staff or those in positions of employed leadership. This is not the case for MySpace or Facebook. Everyone has a voice and place along the continuum of leadership in these communities. When Nouwen states that “The way of the Christian leader is not the way of upward mobility in which our world has invested so much, but the way of downward mobility ending on the cross,” I would argue that online social networking sites offer in terms of leadership a trajectory more aligned with downward mobility than most church structures. This is what happened in our ministry in 2006 when one of my students decided to create for us a Facebook profile without my knowledge. This is often what scares most youth workers away from these sites, knowing that they can’t control what happens online, and that the power and position they hold in the real world, means sometimes nothing in the virtual world. But looking back over the last year I am thankful that he took the initiative and didn’t feel like he had to get approval through me. (The New Media Frontier: Blogging, Vlogging, and Podcasting for Christ)

That’s what I wrote about two years ago in my chapter Navigating the Evolving World of Youth Ministry in the Facebook-MySpace Generation. As you can see, I think the combination of the online world and Generation Y/F has huge implications for ministry. On Tuesday I posted Values of Generation Y/Millenials That Will Help Transform Work and Church, and it got some good reaction online via blogs, Twitter, as well in some personal conversation that I had. And then yesterday, ChurchCrunch commented on the post and topic with Hiring, Managing, and Keeping Staff from the Facebook Generation.

So I’ve decided to look at this issue at length, and in depth a little more. There are lots of issues here that intrigue and excite me. Leadership and management styles. Generational stereotypes, especially around Generations Y/F. The leverage of technology and social media in reshaping all of the above. As I mentioned, all of these things have HUGE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE CHURCH.

So over the next few couple of weeks I’m going to look again at the article The Facebook Generation vs. the Fortune 500, and I’m going to revisit the 12 work-relevant characteristics of online life that Gary Hamel says represent this Generation F (Y, Millenials–whatever you want to call them). But I’m going to look at each one through the lense of Church, ministry, theology, and see what we can learn, and why this generation is often at odds with those current generation of leaders pastoring churches today.

In case you forgot what the 12 characteristics are, here is the list to refresh your memory:

  1. All ideas compete on an equal footing.
  2. Contribution counts for more than credentials.
  3. Hierarchies are natural, not prescribed.
  4. Leaders serve rather than preside.
  5. Tasks are chosen, not assigned.
  6. Groups are self-defining and -organizing.
  7. Resources get attracted, not allocated.
  8. Power comes from sharing information, not hoarding it.
  9. Opinions compound and decisions are peer-reviewed.
  10. Users can veto most policy decisions.
  11. Intrinsic rewards matter most.
  12. Hackers are heroes.

I look forward to exploring this topic with you.

Speaking of Boundaries…

April 24, 2009 in Marriage-Family, Technology-Social Media with 0 Comments

2970528440_59959bf982_m[image by Simon Doggett]

I thought this was an interesting piece out of USA Today, especially when I’m beginning a series of blog posts on the issue of boundaries in a variety of contexts. Read The Popularity of Twitter has Some Relationships in a Twist, and tell me what you think.

Here is a choice quote from the article to get you started:

For some highly connected people, especially young adults who have grown up with cellphones, their superficial online connections increasingly are their only connections.

“We reply to someone we don’t know on Facebook, and we won’t even look at the cashier at the grocery because we’re too busy typing text messages on our phones,” Gordhamer says. “Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Zen poet, says the most valuable gift you can give someone is your attention. The danger with this new technology is you can become less available to your children, friends and partners in your real-life world.”

Affirmation: One of Technology’s Negative Effects on Your Marriage and Family

February 10, 2009 in Marriage-Family, Technology-Social Media, Therapy-Psychology with 21 Comments

jleMcLuhan and Twitter via John Dyer
This is a post I have had in the making for a while, but when I read John Dyer’s post Tools for Tech Thinking: McLuhan on Twitter, and well, he unknowingly gave me some inspiration to post some of my thoughts on this issue.

Read John’s post for some context, but essentially Marshall McLuhan in his seminal work The Medium is the Message poses four questions about media/technology:

  1. What does it (the medium or technology extend)?
  2. What does it make obsolete?
  3. What is retrieved?
  4. “What does the technology reverse into if it is over-extended?

John does a great job of summarizing what these four things are, but for this post I’m concerned about question four, “What does the technology reverse into if it is over-extended?” John explicates the question in this way:

What does Twitter reverse into if it is over-extended?

This is McLuhan’s “negative” question where he gives examples like the ability to project one’s voice is lost if the microphone is overused and the ability to walk long distances is lost when one relies on vehicles.

  • Twitter can connect physically distant individuals, but when overused it can also isolate a person from those who are physically near (like spouses) reversing into a state of more disconnectedness.
  • Twitter can also reverse into a level of shallowness, because communication is limited to 140 characters.
  • Twitter can also reverse into a mess of noise and distraction since so many voices are speaking  at the same time.

Technology and Affirmation
Most of us may not realize it, but technology is often a major source of affirmation for us in our lives. John is speaking of Twitter, but Twitter is not the only culprit. Name it: Facebook, blogs, mommy forums, fantasy leagues, chat, MySpace, email, Blackberry’s i-Phones, etc, etc.

We go to these sites and belong to these online communities because in some shape, form or fashion we are affirmed in them. People accept us, care for us, are there for us. It soon becomes an instant source of affirmation.

Continue Reading…

Social Media: If It’s Only Tools, Then to What End?

December 8, 2008 in Ministry-Theology with 8 Comments

Social Media as a Tool
If you look up social media on Wikipedia this is the first sentence you read.

Social media are primarily Internet- and mobile-based tools for sharing and discussing information among human beings.

So inherent in the discussion (at least here and I assume many other places) is the idea that when we think of social media (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, blogs, LinkedIn, You Tube, etc.)….we think tools.

So is social media, in and of itself….tools? Is it a tool that helps you do something (i.e. communicate, create, publish, etc.)?

Or is it more than just a tool? A space, destination, community, culture, etc.?

Social Media Beyond a Tool
I have discussed this issue with Tony Steward and I know the issue has arisen over at his blog as well. I won’t speak for Tony, but I think he would say both. Both a “space” and a “tool.”

I’m starting to think of it in these terms. It begins as a tool, but eventually leads one to a space, destination, community. In this process, the tool becomes pretty much second nature, and you no longer think of it in terms of a tool.

For example:
An artist works with paints, oils, brushes, canvas…those are tools. But the end product is the art.

A writer works with paper, pen, computer, typewriter…those are tools. But the end product is the art.

An athlete works with weights, exercise, drills…those are tools. But the end product is the athleticism.

A chef works with measuring cups, bowls, knives…those are the tools. But the end product is the meal.

All these tools ultimately lead each to who they are and what they do. The tools become second nature…something the artist or chef is aware of, but it’s not the tools that concerns them, but the art and the meal.

I think the same can be said of social media. Twitter, Facebook and my blog are just tools that I use…but my end product is relationships, connecting, going deeper, sharing life, etc. I, therefore, no longer think of social media as just my tools, but rather as something that leads me to where I want to go…it’s pretty much second nature. I don’t want to go too deep with this…but in and of themselves…Twitter, Facebook and my blog are just that…tools…if I have no end sight in mind…if there is nothing relational and community oriented connected to it.

The Christian Life
I started thinking about this also in terms of the Christian life. Dare I say, the Bible is just a tool, IF it doesn’t lead us to a living out of the reality it talks about and enables us to do. If we don’t exemplify the Fruit of the Spirit in our lives, or if we do not participate in the Body of Christ, using the spiritual gifts that we have been given(as well as a number of other passages), then haven’t we just left the Bible to be a tool, with no reality in our daily life? (Disclaimer: Not saying the Word of God is just a tool either…I’m saying we treat it as one if it leads us to no daily living out of its reality in our lives).

So if social media is only tools, then to what end? And if we as Christians only use social media as tools, with no greater purpose, then to what end?


Thoughts
I’m wrestling through this…thinking on this issue a lot. So any comments or dialogue is well appreciated.

Exponentially Evolving:Will Your Job Exist Tomorrow?

December 1, 2008 in Uncategorized with 5 Comments

The video has me thinking about the future of vocation. Will your job exist in the next 5, 10, 15, 20 years?

My dad and I have the conversation about how we will probably “cobble together” a number of vocations, rather than just having that one job. And I think those “cobbling together” of vocations will continue to evolve.

Watch.

HT: Josh Webb at Idea Nation

Thoughts?

Leveraging Technology in Your Community

November 10, 2008 in Ministry-Theology with 3 Comments

Two of my passions are technology and community–especially, how technology can be used to create and sustain community, and how it can be used to open up communication.

So I’m real excited that Cynthia Ware has a great, great post/presentation on Leveraging Technology to Support Community
.

Please check it out–it is well worth your time–whether this new or old to you, you will learn a lot.

Leveraging Technology to Support Community
View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: homefellowships onlinecommunication)




Below is my 9 Post Series on how you can leverage technology in college ministry.

Formulating an Online Strategy for College Ministry

Becoming a Heretic on Church Ministry: Church Leadership

November 6, 2008 in Ministry-Theology with 3 Comments

The Context
This is Part 2 in the continued series, Becoming a Heretic on Church Ministry.

Last week we looked at Becoming a Heretic on Church Ministry: The Sermon.

When we think about what a heretic on/in Church ministry is, I am taking a cue from Seth Godin’s book Tribes: We Need You To Lead Us. See my review for Leadership Network here.

Godin says:

Challenging the status quo requires a committment, both public and private. It involves reaching out to others and putting yourideas on the line. (Or pinning your Ninety-five Theses to the church door). (pp. 49)

and later in the book, Godin says:

Religion and faith are often confused. Someone who opposes faith is called an atheist and widely reviled. But we don’t have a common word for someone who opposes a particular religion.

Heretic will have to do.

If faith is the foundation of a belief system, then religion is the facade and the landscaping. It’s easy to get caught up in the foibles of a corporate culture and the systems that have been built over time, but they have nothing at all to do with the faith that built the system in the first place.

Change is made by people, by leaders who are proud to be called heretics because their faith is never in question. (pp. 84)

Church Leadership
One of the areas that I want to look at is “church leadership” which is such a broad topic and can literally mean anything. As we look at this topic, I want us to remember…I want to remember…that this is really an exploration on looking differently at some areas in Church that we have often taken for granted, or have always performed the function the same way. And I’m wondering, and believing, that we need to re-think, re-imagine some new ways to do things. As we look at this list you will see some of the strong influence I have received from the world of technology and social media, and how the tools they provide are setting the agenda for a new way of leadership…actually, I think it takes us back to a more Biblical form of leadership (minus the internet). So here are just 5 areas that I have been thinking about…that I think need tinkering, re-imagining, etc. What do you think? I would like to hear your thoughts on these ideas that seem heretical in some circles…but may be common sense to you.

How?

  • Participatory: Church leadership canvtake cues from the world of technology and social media and understand the need and desire for participation.  The reason that Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Yahoo Answers, blogs, etc. are so popular is that it offers individuals the ability to participate.  Not only can they participate in regards to their own content, but they have an opportunity to participate in the larger content…larger narrative of what is happening around them.  They participate in the content they manufacture online, and they participate in causes, both global and local that have their source in origin in the content of others. I think most churches would love for everyone to participate. In fact, they hope they do.  It’s just that church leadership doesn’t structure itself in such a way that communicates or makes it possible for everyone to participate.  Participation is not about a few people telling others how to participate…participation is about opening up the avenues that allow others to participate more fully with the gifts, desires and skills that God has blessed them with.Does your chuch leadership structure itself in such a way that it communicates to the whole church that participation by everyone is important?  How?

    • Continue Reading…

Cool, but Surreal

September 20, 2008 in Technology-Social Media with 7 Comments

I walked into the convention center today and saw this sign sitting at the front of the bookstore next to our book. Very cool, but pretty surreal seeing it next to books by Guy Kawasaki, Tim Ferriss, etc. Especially since I only have a chapter in the book, and it’s not a whole book I wrote myself. But it’s a good start.

Framework for Chapter in Book: 5 Movements for Online Social Networking

August 21, 2008 in Technology-Social Media with 0 Comments

Just wrote my first blog post over at our book blog for The New Media Frontier.

My chapter is New Media Ministry to the Myspace-Facebook Generation:
Employing New Media Technologies Effectively In Youth Ministries. And the following is some of the framework I laid out in the chapter.

It’s hard to keep up on the social media scene as so many things have changed in the last year since I wrote the chapter, but I have learned so much and will continue to do so. Though I might think through some things differently I still like the general framework laid out in the chapter.

I tried to approach the chapter more from a spiritual/psychological/philosophical framework, then a how to tech manual. The technology is the tool, but how we approach and apply the technology and how it shapes us in the process is very important for us to think about.

Check it out.

5 Movement Towards Online Social Networking
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