Tech Tips for Catholics

JellyTelly, a new online children’s video channel from Phil Vischer, creator of Veggie Tales launched last night!

Try out JellyTelly for free this first month and if you like it, then it is a monthly subscription at $2.99 a month there after.  Your subscription will get you access to the daily shows and fresh games.  JellyTelly wants to spend the money on good Christian programming and not have all the influential advertising that our children are exposed to on, say, Nickelodeon and those types of networks.

If your children beg you to watch SpongeBob SquarePants, JellyTelly would be a more wholesome alternative.  Each Sunday, JellyTelly will show a “Movie of the Week,” which will feature a family friendly movie from some more known Christian movie makers, as well as some of the up-and-comers.  So check it out and see what you think!

Feel free to post your comments or talk about specific episodes in our comments section of this post : )

“flockNote is an innovative, Catholic website that helps you share ‘notes’ with the flock!”  (click the above image to watch the 30 second video)

I’ve been playing around with flockNote these past couple of days and I must say that I like it.  Much like Twitter and some of the other micro-blogging websites, you can subscribe to feeds either by e-mail, text message, or just on the website itself.  The Beta version of flockNote has some new features that these other sites do not have.  For instance, each member can create multiple group feeds apposed to having to create separate user accounts.  And you are not limited to 140 characters.  Another great feature is that you can link an existing rss feed to a created flockNote feed.  This is great for blogger feeds, because it actually creates a “note” with the Title of your blogpost.  You can generate code for a specific group feed to easily add a subscription button to your blog or website.  Below is a subscription button to the “Catholic Tech Tips” flockNote group.

How flockNote works: Simply sign up, create or join a group “feed,” select how you would like to be notified of new “notes” posted by each group.  Below, is a screenshot of the flockNote interface.

The flockNote team is currently working on a Facebook App.  If you have any suggestions or would like to receive “notes” from the development team Click Here.

Even though I rarely log onto Facebook anymore, here is a nice application I noticed on a friend’s page.  It is the Blog Networks App.  If you have a blog of your own, this may be a good way to widen your reader base.

After you have activated this app you can…

• Search for your favorite blogs on the Blog Networks. (someone may have already added them)
• Add Catholic Tech Tips to your list of fave’s. Thanks! : )
• Add any of your favorite blogs not already in the Blog Networks and help them gain exposure.

This is what it will look like if you add your list to your profile page.

Below are some related links to this topic:

• How Do you Establish a Reader Base for your Blog or Website?
• 10 Effective Ways to Get More Blog Subscribers

Upload, Share, Connect, and Explore, all in HD!

I found out about Vimeo a few weeks ago from a techy, Orthodox Christian.  He recently posted some videos of a Fr. Daniel’s ordination into the Orthodox priesthood.  This was the first time I’ve seen an Orthodox ordination so it is kind of neat to see.  And if you have not been to a Catholic ordination, I would encourage you to attend one.  They are quite beautiful, and it is good to support & pray for our newly ordained priests.

Catholic Christians have a lot in common with our Orthodox brothers and sisters in Christ.  Keep praying for further unity among the East and the West!

Okay, back to Vimeo!  : )  Vimeo has been a family-safe alternative to YouTube since 2004.  The name “Vimeo” is a mix between the words “video” and “movie.” (I knew you were wondering : )  Vimeo has a simple interface, an easy uploader, and the option to let viewers download your original file (up to 500MB).  With Vimeo, there is a 500MB weekly, upload limit, but you can spread that out between videos.  They do offer Vimeo Plus+ for those who need 2GB per week.

Just last month Vimeo reached 100,000 HD video uploads, making Vimeo the largest repository of high definition video anywhere in the world!

Below are some related links to online video sharing:

• Vimeo 101: The Basics
• YouTube “Alternatives”
• How to add a YouTube Video in StBlogs

Also, check out Vimeo Toys in your free time!

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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Here is another fun way to Twitter! It is called TwittEarth and it is a huge time waster.  It is really cute though.  Plus you can download a screensaver version, which might be pretty cool (I haven’t tried it yet).  I actually heard about this site a few months ago, but when I tried to capture a screenshot it came up blank.  I’m not sure why, but it let me today, so here you be…

I recently found out about this cool new site called PickAFig (www.pickafig.com) from a comment on our site.

Just what is PickAFig?

Think “Digg”, only Catholic!  It is a place where you can “pick” your favorite blogposts, online news articles, and really anything Catholic related.  It is social bookmarking at its finest!

So head over to PickAFig now! (or whenever you have some free time, which is never, so you better go there now ; )

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I’m amazed at some of the great comments people have been posting on Catholic Tech Tips.  You can subscribe to the comments feed and feel free to join in on the conversations.

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.

I had an interesting conversation with my mom today - the most interesting part of it was that she SKYPED me!! This is the woman whose most exclusive computer usage revolves around playing solitaire and forwarding “funny” stories from her Juno email. So needless to say when I heard those familiar skype tones, I was not expecting my kids’ grandma to be on the other end!

Good for her - I’m so proud of her for choosing to investigate cost-cutting measures, for figuring out the technology involved, and for actually following through on something productive. That last part is not a surprise - this woman raised five children and continues to actively parent each of us as well as our spouses and children. But for so many of us, we put things like learning to use Skype on our “maybe someday” list and never seem to get around to them. Mom mentioned to me yesterday that she and my dad were contemplating some economizing and I mentioned Skype to her - less than 24 hours later, she’s dialed in and good to go.

What cost-cutting or time-savings measures have fallen onto your “someday maybe” list? What can you do, today, to cross one item off that list? It’s ok to start small - even baby steps take us in the right direction towards greater personal productivity and lives lead more fully and happily.

In the mean time, if you’re trying to Skype me and my line is busy, you know with whom I’m likely chatting!

Skype official website – free download and free calls and internet calls

This post is courtesy of the Productivity @ Home Blog.