Tag Archive - Plain English

Explaining Twitter…And Laughing While We Do It

March 4, 2009 in Technology-Social Media with 5 Comments

Over the weekend my wife and I spent about an hour or so explaining Twitter to a couple of our friends. He is a youth minister and I was explaining not only what Twitter was, but how it might be beneficial to his ministry.

The “this seems crazy” or “I’m totally out of the loop” stares went eventually to some basic understanding of how it works and how it might be beneficial. I’m pretty sure he is sold and will be using it soon.

It’s hard to explain Twitter in a few bullet points (or maybe that’s just me). I prefer to use narrative (tell a story of how it was used effectively) to make my point.

I think that’s why this video makes me laugh so much…because all of us who use Twitter know how effective a tool it is and just how fun it can also be. But if we are honest with ourselves, it takes a bit of time and practice to get the hang of it.

Twitter is a participatory online/social media tool that one can only grasp if they are using it…and for everyone else…well, we just look crazy.



In 140 Characters or less, how would you explain Twitter to someone in your own/original words?

This is still the best explanation in my opinion…not 140 characters, but effective.

If This Doesn’t Convince You to Use Twitter…I’m Afraid Nothing Will

December 1, 2008 in Ministry-Theology with 21 Comments

Twitter is one of those things that either you get or you don’t. If you don’t get it, then you probably won’t miss it that much since it was never a part of your daily life. But if you get Twitter, and you have used it, then you understand just how powerful a tool it is…and you probably can’t imagine not using it on a daily basis.

It has revolutionized the way I do many things in the area of communication, work, relationships, hobbies, news, trends, collaboration, etc. Not to mention that in the last couple of months approximately 75% of the people that I meet, collaborate with, and talk over coffee with are people I have met and communicated with on Twitter.

How else can I convince you to use Twitter?

Let me try…Let’s start with a video.

If that is not suffice, then keep reading.

  1. Twitter for Ministry and Church-A Business Perspective.  This is a comprehensive list put together by Church Crunch. All you need to know and more.
  2. Formulating an Online Strategy for College Ministry: Part 5–How Twitter Can Catalyze Your Ministry This is one of the first posts that I compiled about Twitter and ministry. I still would like to see more college ministries, and ministries in general unleash the power of Twitter in their groups.
  3. FB Friends….Twitter=FB Status Update. U Should Get On Board This is my off-the-cuff passionate plea to my Facebook friends to start using Twitter. I wrote it after people were wondering how my Facebook status was changing so often…Twitter. In fact, several people have told me that this post convinced them to try Twitter, and they love it.
  4. Stay tuned for a magazine article I just completed on Twitter…I think you will like it.

If you are not convinced after watching the video and reading all the links, I’m wondering what will convince you. I’m curious to know.

Wikis in Plain English (aka email is old school)

June 28, 2008 in Marriage-Family, Technology-Social Media with 3 Comments

I thought this video is appropriate in light of a couple of posts back..

It’s part of the Plain English Series:

Wikis in Plain English




I used email in the coordination of our Student Sunday service at Bel Air this last June. Big mistake. Email is terrible as they state in coordinating stuff. I’ve been playing around with Wet Paint, Wikispaces, and I’m also registered with Wikipedia to edit, etc., but I don’t have a handle on that site yet.

Do you use a wiki? Which one? Do you like it?

I know Neal Locke is a “wiki evangelist” so maybe he has some thoughts or suggestions. Neal?

Formulating an Online Strategy for College Ministry: Part 5–How Twitter Can Catalyze Your Ministry

June 16, 2008 in Ministry-Theology with 11 Comments

Despite some of the bad press recently regarding Twitter, I still must say that I absolutely love it. Sure there are days when things take way too long to load, or they don’t load at all. But despite all that, Twitter is still the first site that I log onto when I get on the internet in the morning. What other site is going to instantly bring me up to date with what everyone in my network (friends, family, co-workers, etc) is doing?

For a great step by step primer on Twitter, check out Matt Singley’s post.

Check out Twitter in Plain English series below:

Those are some great resources on Twitter. And in fact, lots of people are writing about Twitter so it’s not hard to find online some effective ways to use it. So what I want to focus on in this post is just a few ways how you can effectively use Twitter in your ministry…or as I say above, how it can catalyze your ministry.

Three Reasons to Use Twitter in Your Ministry Continue Reading…