Tech Tips for Catholic Teens

MyChurch.org is donig a great job of using applications to draw folks to their social networking site.  These include a Facebook app simply named My Church, a MySpace app called Famous Christian Quotes, and they have a couple blog tools as well.

Here are the descriptions of each of these apps that I’ve listed above:

Famous Christian Quotes (MySpace App) ↓


Display Inspirational quotes from famous Christian preachers and leaders on your profile and share them with your friends.

My Church (Facebook App) ↓


Show what ministry, denomination, or church organization you’re a part of. You can also find others on Facebook who are members of your church organization. Stay in touch with your larger church body.

Your Church Calendar on your own Website (Blog or Website Script) ↓


Share your church’s events on your blog, Myspace, or church’s main website.

My new favorite application for Facebook is Pieces of Flair.  I noticed a few weeks ago people adding this app to their profiles, but I’m pretty picky about what I add to my profile; that was until I saw my parish priest’s profile.  I actually thought he had a collection of pins and that he had taken a picture of it and posted it to his Facebook profile. It wasn’t until I clicked on the picture that I suddenly realized, So this is Pieces of Flair.  And then I spent about three hours searching for some of my own flair before creating some custom pieces.  Below is a picture of my flair collection : )

So if you happen to be my friend on Facebook and create some cool Catholic flair, be sure to share them with me! : )

This past weekend I attended the first ever PodCamp Ohio.  It was great!  I learned some new stuff and, had I not had this stupid head-cold, probably made some new friends. While at the event, I heard a lot of chatter about Ping.fm, which is a new service that makes it simple to update your many social networks.

Now one of the other things that I learned while at PodCamp Ohio, in the “Orchestrating a Viral Explosion” session, was how to drive “talk” about your online program/application by making it “invite only”.  To suggest that a person is part of an elite.  Gmail is a perfect example of a company that tried this tactic and found it to be quite successful.  This is why Ping.fm is requiring a “beta key code” to join.  Notice that on their login page they give you a hint that it is pretty easy to acquire this important key code. All you need to do is simply contact them and ask for one.  So, does this type of product campaign work?  I’m blogging about, so I would have to say that in many cases it does.  Go get your beta code and see what Ping.fm is all about!

I am sure most of you are aware of how popular social networking has become in the last couple years. Millions of people are now connecting and keeping in touch with family and friends through these online services. Over the past year and a half the folks at 4marks.com have been developing just that kind of service especially for Catholics. Recently they had some major changes so they want to tell you a little about what they have been up to.

Here is a videocast that explains some of what they have done.

Who is 4marks.com for?

Really any Catholic who is looking for a great way to connect with other Catholics, stay in contact with and share things with friends and family (even non-Catholics) all in a family friendly environment.

What can I do on 4marks?

Connect with Catholics in a Catholic friendly environment. (They claim to be better than Facebook)

• Connect with your friends and family (Similar to Facebook)
• Watch and Share videos (Similar to YouTube)
• Publish and Share Articles (Similar to Digg but they claim to be better)
• Publish and Share your own Blog
• Play Catholic Trivia and Compete!
• Learn about the Temperament God gave YOU and others.

Not Enough? Okay!

You can also promote your blog, podcast or website

• Add/promote your Group (Young Adults, KofC, Pro-Life etc)
• Create a new group just on 4marks (Jenni’s Pro-Life Posse)
• Get your parish priest, nuns or deacons to join.
• Add/promote your parish…

So go check them out and let us here know what you like and dislike about 4marks.com.

LivingSocial Blog: Have an iPhone? This looks like a great iPhone application from the “Virtual Bookshelf” creators at Facebook. I haven’t tried it yet myself, but I can see real value in having a running list of books that I need/want and those I’ve already read that would be easily accessible from my iPhone. I currently use Library Thing and it has a mobile feature at http://www.librarything.com/m/ but this only allows me access to my existing catalog and doesn’t have the “Want to Read” feature. Are you using an iPhone interface you’d like to recommend?

This post is courtesy of the Productivity @ Home Blog.

Over at Pro Blogger, Daniel Scocco has a very good look at the etiquette related to the use of Social Networking sites. Take time to read through the comments, which give added value to the article. If you’re using social networking tools to market your work, you want to make sure you are following these rules rather than driving folks away from you by your online behavior. I witnessed something last week on one of these sites that changed my impression of one of the participants (and not for the better). Good to know the culture of these places before diving in!  What Are The Unspoken Rules of Social Networks?

This post is courtesy of the Productivity @ Home Blog.

Here is a neat widget by Widgetbox called the Blog Badge.

The Blog Badge is completely customized and allows you to add links to some of the hottest web 2.0 communities: Digg, LinkedIn, Mahalo, Twitter, Mixx, Flickr, Delicious, Pownce, StumbleUpon, eBay, Facebook, MySpace, Wordpress, Blogger and more. You can choose which to show and adding them is easy: simply enter your user ID or the URL to your public profile (based on the form below).

Tip: If you are adding the widget to your MyChurch.org profile then copy the JavaScript code into your profile settings.

On Mondays, Lisa M. Hendey shares her thoughts on Working @ Home.

“The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.” - Bernard Russell

One of my favorite podcasters, Fr. Roderick Vonhögen of SQPN.com, has been doing a lot of talking lately about “Facebook Fatigue” and the annoyance of things like constantly being asked to join a wicked Pirates vs. Ninjas battle or accept a mixed drink from a “friend” he’s never met. For big guys like Fr. Roderick who have friends in the four figures, use of Social Networking sites helps advance their agenda but can also lead to a drop in personal productivity.

I love Facebook, Twitter, UStream and all of the other places I gather to network and socialize with friends around the world. But I’m learning to carefully discipline myself when it comes to the use of these new media applications. Since I work at home and no one’s going to bust my chops for playing Scrabulous instead of working, the temptation is always present to just hop over to Twitter and spend half an hour checking in on short blurbs about what my friends are doing. A blog post at Geeks Are Sexy even helps put Twitter friends on Snooze - so others must be caught up in the same time dump I find myself enjoying.

I’m learning to take breaks at scheduled times in my workday to interact with these particular sites and to turn them off when I’m working. They can serve as a reward for getting things done, or can provide a needed respite when my brain feels fried at the end of a long day. How do you manage your social networking time and what tips do you have for keeping your use of these tools productive?

Home-Work for Today:

• Examine your use of social networking sites today, documenting every minute you spend on these sites. If you conclude that the time being spent on them is cutting into your productivity, create a schedule for their usage.

Best of the Blogs:
(recent posts related to today’s topic of Working @ Home)

• 7 Killer Applications for the BlackBerry
• Getting Productive with Facebook Apps

This post is courtesy of the Working @ Home Blog.

This tip is for the MySpace People. MySpace is a great way to hear new music and find friends thru other friends (social networking). But do you wish that you could limit the number of ads? In particular the ads of the half naked women, which could lead to temptation? (Matthew 18:9)

Overview:

• Mozilla Firefox web browser

• AdBlock Plus (add-on)

How to block annoying ads:
Start by clicking the AdBlock Plus link above (assuming you already have Mozilla Firefox installed on your computer). AdBlock is a great add-on which blocks most ads on not only myspace, but on other sites as well. This works well, because you subscribe to a list (free) which is constantly updating itself.

Okay, so you have clicked on the link above and should see a logo that looks like a stop sign with the letters “ABP” inside of it (if you do not see anything about AdBlock Plus then just do a search for it). Click the “Add to Firefox” button and follow the instructions. You should come to a page where it asks you to subscribe to one of the databases; just choose the United States one and you should be good.

Now once you have installed the add-on you should see that stop sign logo at the top right of your browser. Right click on it and scroll down to “Options”. My personal preferences are the following: Check “Show in status bar”, Uncheck “Show in toolbar”, Uncheck “Show tabs on Flash and Java”, and Check “Collapse blocked elements”. Again these are my personal preferences, but you can set your own preferences as you like.

Simple as that!

Now I want to let those who don’t already know that there are alternatives to MySpace! I’m sure most, if not all of you, have heard of Facebook. Facebook is a little different from MySpace in several ways. The security is way, way better on Facebook, but with security comes limitations. MyChurch.org is very similar to MySpace, but is more secure at the same time! I know what you are thinking, “But my friends aren’t on MyChurch.org or even perhaps Facebook.” One option would be to invite them.

What does your social networking profile say about you?
I’ve noticed that some news stations are using these social network sites in their reporting on certain individuals in the news. I have also heard of employers/colleges doing research on current or potential employees/students. So what does your profile say about you? The key is to live out our Christian faith, not just on Sundays, but always. You may never know how God may use you online or offline and who’s life may be changed in Christ through you.

“Now you are the Body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27)

Let us know if you found this tutorial helpful. If you have any questions about this tutorial feel free to contact us. God Bless : )