Tech Tips for Catholics

Last year or so, I attended the Media & Faith Conference at Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio.  The conference featured several well known freelance authors and journalists, a television news anchor, independent video producers, podcasters, bloggers, and students and faculty from surrounding Christian colleges.

These are the only pictures that half turned out from this fun-filled event! I had boughten a cheep B&W throw-away-camera at a gas station on the way there, because I realized that I had forgotten our digital at home : (

I really enjoyed this conference and getting to meet so many new friends. It was also really cool hangin’ out with all the SQPN people!  There were many non-SQPN speakers that were also excellent. Sherry Kennedy Brownrigg and Michael Kreidler were of my favorites.  I also got to hang out with my cousin Ross, who is a graduate of Steubie U, and spent some time in Prayer & Adoration too!

Me & Fr. Roderick Vonhögen of SQPN.com

George Leite of the Catholic Rockers Podcast, Dr. Paul Camarata of The SaintCast, Myself of The Perseverance Podcast, and Fr. Bill Kessler of TechnoPriest.

Me with Jennifer & Greg Willits of the Rosary Army Podcast. If I would have known they were smiling so nicely, I wouldn’t have thrown two thumbs up (which were cropped out of the picture)! Hints why my smile is such a weird looking one : )

Some friends I met from Lancaster, PA!

I finally got around to posting some of the talks from this conference onto the world wide web.  Here is the opening talk by Fr. Roderick.  You can view this talk in its entirety here.

There used to be some of the other talks on uStream, however they have since been taken down, which is kind of sad. I did some searching on YouTube, but the only video that I was able to find was this video by Susan Bailey.

Here is the list of talks that were taken down from uStream: The closing talk with Rosary Army and the open-forum with a pannel from SQPN. “Web 2.0: Challenges and Opportunities” presented by Eugene Gan, David Schaefer, Ruth Lang, Wally Metts. “To Liturgy…and Beyond: Boldly Bringing Catholic Music to the People” presented by Susan Bailey and George Leite. Friday Evening Opening Talk by Fr. Roderick Verhogen.

If anyone has this footage posted somewhere else online, let me know!  I’d love to link to it.

Over at UniversityParent.com, there is a terrific article entitled Social Media Do’s and Don’ts for College Students.  The facts and ideas presented in this column are important to review with your children of any age who may be using Social Media.  Around our house, my kids are constantly reminded that their Facebook pages are their “online resumes” — future college choices, employers, and even their own parents will be closely watching their online activities and judging their characters as a result.

The information in this article is also pertinent to adults of any age who are active online.  Think twice before you type, post a photo or video, or hit “send”.

This post is courtesy of the Productivity @ Home Blog.

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

Season 5 is closely upon us!  And  if you are as excited as I am, then you might want to check out this very cool widget!

Flip Title is a site where you can easily generate upside down text.  You can use this generated text in a couple of different ways:

• IM screen names
• Put it in your profiles like MySpace, Bebo, Hi5, Facebook, Youtube
• Create strong passwords
• Encrypt your download links to prevent leechers
• Freak your friends

Now, I think this is somewhat annoying if you are using this to micro-blog, but I kind of like the idea of using it to create strong passwords, encrypt download links, and to freak out your friends : )

Enjoy!

Like the different divisions within the Protestant Reformation, some of the social networking identities are “throwing the baby out with the bathwater,” for the sake of “unity.”

Both MyChurch.org and MySpace have been making changes to be more like Facebook (or so it seems).  Facebook is making changes to try and distance itself from the copy-cats (or so it seems).  Then MyChurch.org goes and tries to copy the changes that Facebook is making (or so it seems).

MySpace has managed to implement some of Facebook’s features pretty well.  I just hope they don’t go even further and try to copy facbook’s latest changes.  This is what MyChurch.org is dong and it will probably backfire on them.  I wonder, how many less people are logging onto Facebook since the new changes?  The only time I log onto Facebook anymore is to check a post someone has left on my wall or to view my friends’ pictures.  MyChurch.org is headed that direction.  I find myself using MySpace more than I previously had been.

MyChurch had some neat things that set them apart from other social networking sites and these are some of the things they are getting throwing out.  It just doesn’t make sense to me.

4marks.com, which is similar to Facebook, has not made the switch to the new Facebook format yet.  Who knows, they may become my new social networking home.  I do like their built-in poll feature.  I stumbled upon 4marks a long time ago, but you had to pay a monthly fee to use many of its features.  They have since opened it up and you can now use these features free of charge.

I would be interested to hear what features our readers like about their favorite social networking sites and what they dislike.  Click here to take part in the discussion.

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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.

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.

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.