Social Media as a Listening Platform
I sat there drinking my crisp, flinty Riesling, laughed to myself, and thought once again, “people still don’t get social media.” Social media is the first true listening platform, not speaking platform. Yes, you can speak on it. Many will, and many do so successfully, but on the flip side, riding the wave of hashtags instead of creating them is a defining part of my thesis on social media.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how we might better engage as a church on social media platforms and in the digital space. I suspect we could do a much better job of listening. Perhaps this would lead to us holding more conversations with the people in our city and doing less speaking at them?
Giving is All About God
This is why giving is all about God: He already owns everything! He owns your clothes and your car and your bank account and your body and your house and your books and your jewelry and your television set(s) … He owns it all. He owns your mind and your emotions and your spirit and your eyes and your ears and your hair and your blood and your toenails. He has graciously and freely given us these things to use and enjoy for his glory, and he may take them back anytime he wishes. We are trustees or stewards of what God possesses. He also owns every dime (or sheckel) that we might willingly and joyfully choose to give to him.
This is important to remember, not only as I give, but also as I fundraise and ask people to invest financially in what God is doing in and through 2 Pillars Church. When I sit down with individuals at fundraising appointments, I’m not asking them to give of their own money and possessions. Rather, I’m asking them to invest that which was graciously given to them by God to steward. That’s a huge difference and it completely changes the nature of a fundraising appointment.
Further, at the end of the day, neither giver nor fundraiser receives glory. Instead, God receives the glory as the owner of all things.
Link List for July 8, 2013
App Deals Edition
Over for iOS Free (normally $1.99) Why not add text or artwork to that picture of food that you’re about to post to Instagram?
Day One for iOS Free (normally $4.99) This is the best journaling app out there. Also available for the Mac. Syncs via iCloud or Dropbox.
Knots 3D for iOS Free (normally $1.99) Learn how to tie 87 different knots. This could come in handy someday.
Traktor DJ for iPad and iPhone Free (normally $19.99) DJ tools for your iPad and iPhone.
BusyCal 2 for OS X $19.99 (normally $29.99) A powerful replacement for the native Calendar app on the Mac.
Goodbye Google Reader
Google Reader Replacements Overview
You have less than one week to go if you’re still looking for a Google Reader replacement. For a great overview of some of the best replacement options available, check out the latest episode of Mac Power Users.
Making the Switch from Google Reader to Feedly
If you are a Google Reader user, then you are probably aware that the service will be closing its doors on July 1. That’s less than two weeks away, which means you should be making plans to move to a replacement service sooner than later. I’ve decided to make Feedly my new RSS reader of choice—for now, at least. If you’re interested in migrating your Reader feeds to Feedly also, the you should check out this important post from the Feedly blog and make sure you are prepared to make the switch:
We are in the process of finalizing the migration from the Google Reader back end to the new feedly cloud backend. This is an important post to help you prepare for the final step.
If Feedly doesn’t appeal to you, there are a lot of alternatives out there. It’s time to do some research and pull the trigger on something. At the very least, head over to Google Takeout and export your Google Reader data.