Tech Tips for Catholics

Every Friday I post the top 5 favorite blogposts that I’ve come across throughout the week. You have all weekend now to check them out : )

1. Vice President Biden Asks for Web Site’s ‘Number’
2. How Technology Drives Generation Gap
3. US Bishops are Twittering
4. Yes, You Can Stay on Top of Email
5. Naked Guy in the Bible

Sorry, but there will not be any Bonus Tweets during Lent.

If you have a blogpost that you would like to share with me feel free to contact Catholic Tech Tips and I will get it.

Have a great weekend!

Joshua

Mobile Prayerbook is an app created by Antonia.  It features various Catholic prayers and is compatible with most mobile phones.  Not only that, but the prayers are available in English, Español (Spanish), Latin, and Bahasa Indonesia (Coming Soon: Francais, Italiano and Deutsch).

What prayers are available inside?

• The basics: Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, ect.
• Devotions to Our Lady: Memorare, Angelus, Hail Holy Queen, The Rosary, The Litany
• Daily Prayers: Morning Offering, Spiritual Communion, Apostles’ Creed, Prayers before & after meal, Thanksgiving
• Special Prayers: Act of Contrition, Adoro te Devote, Prayers for the pope, Te Deum, Prayer to St Michael the Archangel

I personally would like to thank Antonia for creating such an application.  I am looking forward to using it.

Below are some related links to this topic:

• Advent App for the iPod Touch & Apple iPhone
• iConfess iPhone App – Assisting Catholics in the Sacrament of Reconciliation
• Scripture, Reflections & Prayer

Finding images for your post is an important part of blogging.  Your images should relate to what it is you are writing about.  The image should be intriguing and cause a person to think to themselves, this might be something I’d like to read more about.  You should have permission to use any images that are not taken/created by you.  Sonia Simone, an Associate Editor of Copyblogger, added in his post titled “The Lazy Blogger’s Guide to Finding Great Post Images,” that the image should also set an emotional tone.

But, what if you are having trouble finding an image that does all of these things?  How about using a cartoon!  There are several Catholic cartoonists out there, whom allow bloggers to post their images.  Each have their own guidlines, so be sure to check out their websites first, or e-mail them and ask their permission.   Most are more than happy to grant permission as long as appropriate recognition is given.

Here are just a few:

Posted with permission of Gary Cangemi
(www.umberttheunborn.com)

Posted with permission of Paul Nichols
(www.catholiccartoonblog.blogspot.com)

Posted with permission of John Francis Borra
(www.veritatisthecartoon.blogspot.com)

If you know of any others, feel free to post a comment.

The topic of giving up social networking for Lent has come up quite a bit.  I have been pondering the idea for about a week-and-a-half now.  I normally give up pop (that’s soda for you whom are living outside the Ohio limits ; )  Friends keep asking me what I am giving up for Lent and before I can reply they say, “Don’t tell me you are giving up pop again” (in that tone of voice too).  “I think you should give up Twitter,” one friend uttered.  To be honest, I didn’t like the sound of it, but upon further prayer and reflection, I have come to the conclusion that this would be the best thing for me to give up this Lent.

So for those like Lindsey Turrentine, the author of “How to give up Facebook for Lent and keep your friends” (who is not even Catholic) and myself, here are some Lenten avatars that you are welcome to use.

I will continue posting to the blog, but other than that, I’ll be focusing on Scripture study and Prayer this Lent.

Below are some related links to this topic:

• Poll Question: “Are you giving up social-networking for Lent?” [current results]
• Giving up Facebook for Lent? Read this first!
• Discerning Our Fasts

Every Friday I post the top 5 favorite blogposts that I’ve come across throughout the week. You have all weekend now to check them out : )

1. Google Reader does Konami code
2. Fr. Roderick’s list of Cool Catholics on Twitter
3. Catholic Bands & Musicians that @CatholicRocker follows on Twitter
4. Reason #6 I Converted to Catholicism: Jesus Christ & The Gospel of John
5. Online Lenten Resource for Catholics (USCCB)

*Bonus Tweet

If you have a blogpost that you would like to share with me feel free to contact Catholic Tech Tips and I will get it.

Have a great weekend!

Joshua

Catholic Media House has some new features and I thought I’d share them.

Quick Tip: Thumbnail Toggle
To toggle between list view and thumbnail of the products view just click on either of the icons at the top of the product list.

New Video Player
You may have noticed that they’ve updated their video player to provide more enhanced viewing.  The normal mode is now 30% larger than before and they’ve added the “fullscreen” ability.

I’m actually concidering purchasing Bible and Candle (motion background) for an upcoming Generations of Faith night that I am currently planning at our parish.

Continue Reading »

If you use MyYahoo! as your homepage, then you may be interested in this little tutorial I’ve put together.

Step 1: Go to Twitter.com (Either log in or go to the desired profile you would like to add)

Step 2: On the bottom right hand side of the Twitter page, you will see the RSS feed logo. Click this link and copy the url of the feed page.

Step 3: Go to MyYahoo! (Log in first to save your settings. You don’t have to log in, but if you later delete your cookies you will lose your settings)

Step 4: Click the “Add Content” button. Then click “Add RSS Feed.” Paste the copied url into the textbox and click the “Add” button.

Step 5: Once the feed has been verified, click the “App Options” button.  Under the Preferences tab, you can select the number of items you’d like displayed, the expiration date, and how you would like the title displayed (I like to display up to 3 items from the past 24 hours and display the headline only).  Click Save.

Step 6: Move this specific Feed App where you’d like it to appear on your MyYahoo! page by dragging the header.

Helpful Tips:

Tip #1: If you are at your Twitter Home Page and copy the RSS Feed you will be subscribing to all the people you are following.  If you go to someone that you are following’s page and copy their RSS Feed then you are subscribing to only that persons tweets.

Tip #2: You can also subscribe to a specific Tweet search!  This is kind of cool really.  What you do is, do a Twitter Search and then copy the RSS Feed url for that particular query .  Then repeat steps 3-6.

Feel free to post a comment if you have any questions or other ways to use MyYahoo!

Continue Reading »

Every Friday I post the top 5 favorite blogposts that I’ve come across throughout the week.  You have all weekend now to check them out : )

1. Facebook 101 Video Tutorials
2. Twitter Sins (Catholic Edition)
3. Forgive Me Father…
4. “GodTube.com” is now “Tangle.com”
5. Did the Catholic Church cover up the existence of a female Pope?

   *Bonus Tweet

If you have a blogpost that you would like to share with me feel free to contact Catholic Tech Tips and I will get it.

Have a great weekend!

Joshua

TweetStats is a neat little tool that charts your Twitter activity.  Just key in your user name and TweetStats does the rest.

TweetStats calculates the following:

• Tweets Per Hour
• Tweets Per Month
• Tweet Timeline
• Reply Statistics
• Interface Usage

If you’d like to see a couple examples click here to view Catholic Tech Tips stats, and here to view my personal stats.

Below are some related links to this topic:

• BrightKit is “Suite!” (HootSuite)
• CheapTweet – Save Money on Gifts!
• Kindle Beta – Posting your prayers to Twitter

Every Friday I post the top 5 favorite blogposts that I’ve come across throughout the week.  You have all weekend now to check them out : )

1. USCCB’s Top Films for 2008
2. Help Protect Your Children with Windows Live Family Safety Filter
3. Fake Social Network Profiles: a New Form of Identity Theft in 2009
4. Creating iPhone Image Flash Cards for Kids Learning to Read
5. 40 Ways to Get the Most Out of Lent! (PDF)

   *Bonus Tweet

If you have a blogpost that you would like to share with me feel free to contact Catholic Tech Tips and I will get it.

Have a great weekend!

Joshua