Bible Bloom is a new Bible app for iPhone (and iPad, but will get to that later) devices. As with many Bible applications, there’s the ability to read and keep track of reading. However, Bible Bloom seems to go about things a bit differently. Differently enough to get a look from us. Let’s take a look at things and see what’s growing in this app.

Impressions
One of the things that you notice with Bible Bloom is that it really is designed to be a pretty-to-engage application. There’s not the usual chrome (re: design elements) that look similar to other Bible apps, or even other iOS apps for that matter. The landing page is a series of tiles (Read, Bookmark, Prayer Packs, Store, and Reminders).

Even though I wanted to skip it, I first went into the Read section to see if there was anything differently done there than with any other Bible apps in the past. Not so much. Moving on.

Bookmarks came across similar. Though, it makes sense that you would eventually use this section if you came into Bible Bloom from another direction. A little more on that later.

Prayer Packs are like these little pocket devotionals that sit inside the app. Really neat idea here, and one that if the folks at Bible Bloom worked with a group (for example The Pocket Testament League, or even had some kind of SDK for local churches to use) would come in handy for Scripture-relevant information.

Store. Nothing more than the means to do in-app purchases of Prayer Packs (and possibly other Bibles in the future???). Still, makes sense to be able to go here rather than need to go back to the app store, or even iBooks/Amazon for this.

Reminders is a notification-based system where you are given encouragement based on the last time that you came into the Bible Bloom app. You can set it up so that your encouragement note comes on after 24hrs, 48hrs, 1 week, 1 month, or a custom time period. You can choose multiple items here just in case you realize that your reading and meditating of Scripture doesn’t follow as consistent a patter as you want to.

Critique
I wasn’t sure of what to think about Bible Bloom. Because of its design, it comes off as just another Bible app. I think though that there is some benefit though to it if Bible Bloom is framed more as a meditation helper. For example, when you get the encouraging note, to be able to tap and see the associated scripture and be encouraged to bookmark it for later or even share it, would make for a very nice workflow. Bible Bloom isn’t exactly designed like that. Its something that actually grows out of *not* being in the app everyday, but then having the app remind you and take you through a behavior of thinking on Scripture. Which is kind of how I found that example workflow. From a design perspective, its certainly pleasant, but the prayer packs don’t stand out until you get into the app some.

Still, if you are looking for something a bit different than the YouVersion/OliveTree/Logos end of things, Bible Bloom makes for a decent choice. Its a free app, but I would encourage you to support their efforts and purchase a prayer pack or two (they are $0.99USD).

For more information and to download, visit the Bible Bloom website.

[Media Release] The Eurasia Media & Distribution Consultation (EMDC) is a multi-agency consultation that now meets on an annual basis (one year in Asia, the next in Europe).

Minority language workers, in the greater Eurasia region, meet with media specialists (radio, TV, internet, mobile, social media), IT technicians, recording specialists, graphic artists, digital publishers, and specialists in Orality and Ethnomusicology/ Ethno-Arts (arts, drama, dance).

EMDC 2013 (in Asia, 08-11 April) expects around 250 people from 80 organizations. EMDC will have over 40 workshops. Prior to EMDC are four additional (optional) days of pre-EMDC training in nine tracks: (Video 1 & 2, Audio 1 & 2, Website development, Orality/ Storying, EthnoArts, Mobile Production, Mobile Apps).

For access to our password-protected website, write to info@emdcon.org.

For similar events to these, view the #mobmin Event Calendar (details on how to get updates automatically here); if you event needs to be added to this calendar, please use this form to submit the relevant information.

Sometime last week, while browsing Twitter, someone on my timeline remarked about the Nokia Asha 311 having USB On-the-Go functionality. For those who might not be familiar with the term, USB OTG enables a mobile device (like a phone) to be able to connect to USB memory keys, mice, keyboards, and other types of accessories, that are usually more common found connected to laptops and PCs. In the case of the Asha 311, such a feature has a second interesting benefit, two Asha 311 devices can be connected to each other via USB and then files would be transferred between them. Faster than Bluetooth, with some potential huge ramifications for folks that do SD card evangelism (for example, Kiosk Evangelism, Digital Bible Society, and others).

That seems to be a feature for mobiles that’s somewhat weird, and not always on the list of reasons why people would purchase a mobile. Still, its one of those features that when you do have it and use it, its pretty easy to see why it makes sense to have. Of course, that got me thinking of other features that mobiles have which might not get all of the greatest recognition, but might end up being useful in some isolated moments:

• Many mobiles have the ability to listen to local FM radio stations when you have a wired headset plugged in
• A few mobiles have the ability to transmit FM radio signals to other devices
• Some mobiles have the ability to play music that’s stored on the device, or streamed, through the ear-speaker (not just the loudspeaker)
• Some mobiles have the ability to use the LED for the camera as a flashlight/torch
• Only two come to mind, but there have been mobile devices with a built-in projector
• There was that sneaker company that had a mobile phone with a built-in solar panel for charging
• And then there are watch phones – which are more than just a cellular-enabled calculator

What about obscure mobile features that you might have seen? Do any come to mind? Do you use any? Do you wish there was a feature your mobile had that it doesn’t?

As part of one of the resolutions that we’ve set forth this year, it was to be involved with and keep an eye towards events that would be relevant to mobile ministry (#mobmin) activities. Whether or not we attended them wasn’t the concern. We wanted to make sure that there was some kind of public listing of events, that you could easily subscribe to (RSS, email updates, mobile, etc.) and be informed as to what is going on. So we created and released the Mobile Ministry Event calendar, and its been one of the more popular links on the site for just getting heads wrapped around what’s happening in this space.

Well, 2013 is almost here and there are a ton of events that have not yet made it to the calendar. Part of that is on our end of getting lots of emails towards items and not sitting down to add them here. The other part of that is that there are just a lot of events we don’t know about and so what might be relevant isn’t heard about until the last minute, or even after the event has happened. So to help things along, I’m asking for your help towards getting this listing updated before the year turns. And in part, if you’ve got an event, this is a great way to get some additional visibility to those events.

All you need to do is send us a note about the event including as much detail that can be copy/pasted into the Google Calendar listing and we’ll get it added. That’s it.

Subscribing to Updates from the Calendar

For those of you who don’t have an event to add, but definitely want to follow along, here are some instructions on how to do so (bullet point per method of keeping up with the listing):

The other week, I attended the Mobile Ministry Forum and had the opportunity to present on one of the projects for Mobile Ministry Magazine. Of the things that I get to do with presentations, its to take different attempts towards getting information across. Last year, I took a chance on things and posted the deck online and had the audience access it and follow along while I talked. This year, I went a small step further. And it was kind of fun.

I get into the details of how fun it is over on my personal website. Check it out, and if you were there and had insights or feedback to that kind of presentation style, add your comments here or there.

For the past few weeks, we’ve been talking about the Mobile Ministry Webinar being put on by Symbiota. There’s one more on deck before the holidays roll around. The last one of these is on Dec 17th. All you have to do is sign up and show up. Just showing up gives you a chance to win some great prizes. Here’s an overview of what will be talked about in the webinar:

Visitors are increasingly using mobile devices to search for churches information, listen to sermons, and pay tithes and offerings. Your church members are mobile, how about your church? On this webinar we will be helping churches understand how to get their message through, on the most important method of communication today: Mobile Phones.

What you will learn on this webinar:

• 3 Major myths about cell phone usage that are not true.
• Dissecting the noise about mobile websites and mobile apps.
• Tips on using mobile to increase donations & giving.
• Why your church cannot afford to not be ready for mobile.
• How to not to miss up to 50% of people searching for your church.
• Connecting members to small groups using text messages
• Keys to integrating Twitter and Facebook with mobile.

Sign up for this webinar and learn more about the services Symbiota offers at their website.

Tis the season for taking a tree from the forest, bringing it into one’s home, then dressing it with lights, bells, angels, and other decorations. In reflecting on the season, I wonder if there is something similar that happens with us when it comes to looking at the things that we carry today to display the various seasons of our faith?

Such a thought came about when reading Fast Co Design’s article When Pixels Dominate Design, Your Hardware is the Brand. Besides the look back at how we have always used artifacts, or hardware, to be a placeholder for things of signifiance, there was also this look at the companies of today (Amazon, Apple, Google, etc.), which are making moves with their hardware, but doing so with a nod to design and symbolism that isn’t too much different than some of the discussions that the early church had towards iconagraphy and sacramentals:

…Those with an understanding of history will know that the power of symbolic objects is not new. Complex ideas such as religion, nationhood, and even love are often expressed through the use of objects to help make complicated and abstract ideas simpler to relate to. A cross stands for Christianity, a flag conveys national identity, and a wedding band represents a marriage.

Similarly, as tangible, real-world experiences increasingly become digital and virtual, industrial design, through the embodiment of meaning in concrete form, has reemerged as a critical component of a company’s success. Companies with vast digital ecosystems need simple, straightforward ways to express their brands, and it just so happens that physical devices, which serve both a functional and symbolic purpose, perform this task exceptionally well…

I wonder what happens when we begin realizing that we start associating more envoked emotions and appeals to objects than to the events or people who sparked them? Forget wondering, why not just look at the past thoughts of others?

…God prohibits an idol as much to be made as to be worshipped. In so far as the making what may be worshipped is the prior act, so far is the prohibition tomake (if the worship is unlawful) the prior prohibition. For this cause—the eradicating, namely, of the material of idolatry—the divine law proclaims, “Thou shalt make no idol;”¹⁷⁹ and by conjoining, “Nor a similitude of the things which are in the heaven, and which are in the earth, and which are in the sea,” has interdicted the servants of God from acts of that kind all the universe over. Enoch had preceded, predicting that “the demons, and the spirits of the angelic apostates,¹⁸⁰ would turn into idolatry⁶³ all the elements, all the garniture of the universe, all things contained in the heaven, in the sea, in the earth, that they might be consecrated as God, in opposition to God.” All things, therefore, does human error worship, except the Founder of all Himself.  The images of those things are idols; the consecration of the images is idolatry…

Or maybe such reflection isn’t all that needed at all. It has been very rare for me since leaving some of my faith roots in Roman Catholism to hear lengthy, and repentance-causing, discussions on the matter. I wonder what it would be for us to sit upon this intersection of faith and mobile – especially this season when we are so ready to gift, decorate, and admonish one another’s holiday dressings – and talk around what makes this life so wonderful, and if we are doing more to create our own than to enjoy the Creator’s.

One of the more popular topics within the educational space these days is the push towards 1:1 computing programs in middle, junior, and high schools. The idea is one part driven by the access that these students have already to the technologies, and another part driven towards the idea that materials and skills facilitated in the digital space cannot be replicated in an analog space. There’s a lot of back and forth there, much of it really good. And I think that churches can pay attention and glean some lessons here from how to not so much deploy 1:1 solutions, but make steps forward towards some newer learning engagements.

For example, its nearly common for persons to attend a church service or Bible study with their own device in hand. And in some communities, there is some kind of shared Wi-Fi access point covering the area – even if its used just for staff and internal work. I can imagine the provisioning of some kind of collaborative space that exists only on the access point of the church facility (since being in-person is so vital). Such a space would be easily managed by the teacher’s device, and probably driven by a Dropbox-like wiki and local Bible app for a common text. Ah…. but that one is getting ahead of myself. What can we do today, that doesn’t seem so impossible?

Could we see some aspect of less control to the pastor’s notes, and get something like them being shared as soon as the teaching period begins? Or, maybe some use of reading plans by small groups that stretch beyond devotions, but are aligned with core doctrines of the faith or a denomination? How the teacher doing something like using Bluetooth and other P2P tech to share notes when the study is done?

I have ideas, and folks can tell you that I personally take delight in experimenting with the kinds of interactions around Bible content and behaviors that stretches to look more mobile and less controlled than what we’ve seen with print – outlines, email, curated lists, etc. I believe that we can do a lot more that what we are, and that like some in the educational space, we might be missing the benefits of 1:1 computing in our presence because we are looking too much at the fact that tech is present, not that there’s someone on the other end who needs us to be nearer to them.

Seems that more and more of mainstream media is seeing, acknowledging, and tracking the disruption of digital across web, mobile, and social networking. Business Insider has a slideshow on the topic:

The Disruption of Digital slideshow by Business Insider

Kind of lengthy, but worth taking a browse through. If you are looking at this outside the USA, what kinds of trends or items are you noticing?

Last year, we asked the question “where are the Advent mobile apps?” After a lengthy search, we found some, and even added a section on the Bible Apps page to account for these. With Advent here again, its not only good to reflect on the coming of Christ, but also ask if there has been any new or improved apps or services which further the spirit of this season? If you have a favorite Advent app kr service, or have just done something to reflect the season via your mobile, we’d love to hear it in the comments.