Found via Twitter (@mobileholly, #mobile):
Subway station with backlit Polyvinyl posters that simulate the aisles of a grocery store.
Read why this was effective at Quora; then start getting creative when it comes to implementing mobile in your organizations.
How do you keep up with the topic of mobile ministry? Some people have asked this and there’s no real science to it, we basically just keep our ear to the ground and spend sufficient time reading what’s there, reaching for what isn’t, and relating to what makes sense.
Of course, we’ll also get the statement, “who has time to do that?” And so, here’s one tip towards keeping track of the conversation: follow what’s being talked about in the following Twitter searches:
So now you have the searches, what can you do with them?
First, if you have a Twitter account, these are searches that you will want to save and just make a part of your daily/weekly timeline. Simply seeing the discussions and bringing those items to the forefront in your organizations (meetings, conversations, etc.) will help enable conversation and activity in mobile ministry.
Second, you might not have a Twitter account, so here you can take advantage of RSS to keep you informed on these conversations. RSS is a format used online for syndicated data. In reference to these searches, they have an RSS (news)feed available in which you can use your browser (like Firefox, Opera, etc.) or a web service (like Google Reader, Netvibes, etc.) to save each of these searches and you’d have them for reference.
Third, you can save the links into the favorites/bookmarks area of your browser. This way you can just peek in on the conversations as they happen to have interest for you.
Now, the aspect of interpreting that data and turning it into actionable items is something that you will have to discern against your organization’s goals, issues, and available resources. You can’t expect all of your questions to be answered at this juncture – mobile ministry is a wide, not deep, conversation. But, there are elements of understanding what’s possible, what has happened, and what you can do if you engage some of the conversations taking place.
If you have other ways in which you keep up with conversations about mobile ministry, feel free to drop those in the comments as others will want to glean from your methods and share some of their own.
One of the commonly heard statements when I speak with various ministries and organizations is that there’s a lack of case studies and research towards the use of mobile in ministry practices (#mobmin) or just mobile technology as it relates to various community/culture initiatives (#mhealth, #ict4d, #m4d). Part of that is because many who are doing the projects haven’t published their data yet, and part of that is because there’s interest for more. Here are two items that jumped on the reading list this week which may help both of those parts become whole information.
Movirtu: Life at the Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP) Study
Life at the BoP study is a joint work of the team here at Movirtu and our strategic research partners TNS. We listened in detail to nearly a hundred end users in Senegal, Tanzania and India during the course of this work. We selected ‘leading edge’ users: those likely to be engaged with and influential in technology. We spoke with women entrepreneurs, smallholder farmers, and youth.
There are many stories and characters here: a Senegalese student who lives far from her family, prays every day and is as rapturously devout in her study as she is in her life. There are a group of teens in Coimbatore, a city akin to the UK’s Manchester, where boys can quote you an ad for the latest megapixel phone. Women entrepreneurs in Senegal shake their heads and commiserate about the increased cost of living.
Call for Expressions of Interest for case studies of Mobile use at the Base of the Pyramid
infoDev is looking for organizations with experience in rigorous research directly related to the topic and who are able to design and execute the studies from start to finish. Please note that we will shortlist proposals for Kenya and South Africa first, as these studies will be completed in the first phase of the project, with the remaining proposals (for Armenia, Pakistan and Vietnam) shortlisted later. Organizations may submit proposals for any number of the selected countries.
This request for expressions of interest (EOI) concerns research and production of five case studies (one each in Kenya, South Africa, Armenia, Pakistan and Vietnam) to examine the economic and social potential of mobile devices in the “base of the pyramid” market segment, i.e. among the poor who live on less than $2.50 a day. infoDev is looking for organizations with experience in rigorous research directly related to the topic and who are able to design and execute the studies from start to finish. Please note that we will shortlist proposals for Kenya and South Africa first, as these studies will be completed in the first phase of the project, with the remaining proposals (for Armenia, Pakistan and Vietnam) shortlisted later. Organizations may submit proposals for any number of the selected countries.
Proposals need to be submitted by October 10; read more about this call for interest/proposals at infoDev.
Additional Cases Studies and Research Materials
We also have a listing here of several cases studies, statistics, and other types of research material. Yes, there’s not a lot, but again, that’s because there’s not been a lot written to date. View our resources and if you have something that should be noted here, submit it to us or point to it using the #mobmin, #ict4d, and #m4d Twitter hashtags so that it can be searchable and shared to all.
In one of my early week reads, Monday Note, I remarked to myself the seemingly blatant disregard that HP (executive office and board of directors) seem to have towards cultivating leadership. In the article I read, HP was noted to have made several inconsistent and mission-defeating choices in terms of executing their vision/leading their company. With the recent ouster of one CEO and installation of another (interim), it would seem that they are making the same mistakes. Monday Note calls into question how H’s board could do this so consistently – I make the same question for mobile ministry even at this early juncture of it position in the Body.
If you contrast the Monday Note article to a a survey of Jesus’ acquisition of, development of, and commissioning of disciples, you can see a strong swing in the opposite direction by Jesus. First, we see Jesus as this leader who takes responsibility for finding the best people to not just work the field, but also take up a position of leadership. Regard how Peter was called forth – a man working in his field, clearly skilled and having a position of social leadership – Jesus challenges him to take what he learned and be utilized of that reputation and intelligence into another context – probably one where he was only lightly qualified. And as we see the conversations between them (in the context of others and one-on-one), we see Jesus’ behavior of provoking what Peter already knew about himself to take a step up and align itself with the mindset and activity of Jesus.
As you move forward in your projects and opportunities in mobile ministry, let me encourage you to also to have in your DNA that focus of looking forward to others taking the baton from where you are running now. The movement – using mobile devices in ministry contexts – is only a movement when there are more than two people moving in that direction. Don’t allow yourself or your organization to have that history like HP of a board disconnected from the process of discipleship but holding onto the power to establish leadership. Create in your team-producing practices leadership development according to the skills and experience of those coming in beside you. Then when you move on, those persons are able to move walk/speak into their positions, drawing more to that movement and the Spirit’s effectiveness on lives and communities (re: Peter in Acts 2).
Pulling out another question from a recent conversation with a few potential clients for open conversation:
When you are looking to connect your ministry opportunity with a mobile solution, what do you do in order to learn about your mobile-enabled audience?
Real simple. Let’s hear from you.
We said a bit of something on Twitter in the past week which may have come across as prideful and arrogant:
Am at the point of instituting a policy: we don’t train you on items located in your user manual/user guide for your mobile… If you want to know how to use your mobile for specific roles, we got you. That’s *using* your mobile.
This came after a semi-heated exchange with one of our clients where we declined taking on a training opportunity for a product where the persons asking for training were asking for items that were clearly stated (a) in the user manual and (b) in the help section of specific applications. Our position was if you cannot be bothered to do your part on knowing the basics of a product you’ve purchased/been tasked to work on, why should we be bothered with taking the time to develop training/workshop materials on the items that are right there in the box?
I’ll speak to the reciprocal of this with a conversation we had with an educational facility in the same week where our focus wasn’t on “training the tool” but on “training the role.” In that conversation, we were again adamant about not teaching the tool. In a context such as that educational facility, it doesn’t help people to simply learn a tool, especially when its software and constantly changing. On the other hand, if they know how that and similar tools function towards specific roles of work, then you can not only speak towards the tool, but also give a wider and deeper grounding towards the activity.
And so that brings us towards mobile devices used in ministry settings: are you trying to utilize mobile (in any form) in a ministry setting, but you have little to know knowledge of mobile? What are you doing to get “up-skilled” in mobile to alleviate that weakness? Are you even interested in increasing your knowledge and understanding of mobile and the facilities that spoke from it (software, psychology, history, etc.) so that when you do utilize mobile that you aren’t teaching the tool, but are teaching towards a sustainable activity?
We prefer to do role-based teaching. For example, the upcoming iPad Session for Digital Disciples Charlotte and iPad for Minister’s Workshop speak specifically towards using tools in a specific context, grounded not in preferred applications, but behaviors that can usually translate across applications (and even devices). Yes, the name of the class prefers a single device, but this could qualify for any tablet or connected computer, and as such the lessons speak towards behaviors which ask that the attendees need to know may of the basic functions of their devices.
Is it true that some people don’t like, can’t read/understand, or don’t have time for the manuals that come with devices or the help features? Yes. Is it also true that in such a position that we are demanding a point of base accountability? Yes. To have a tool and not take the time to get associated with it before requesting specialized help demonstrates a kind of wisdom and understanding that makes for a more fertile ground to build sustainable behaviors from.
We write this to encourage you to consider carefully your approach to mobile. You can’t minister with something you don’t know. Take the time to purchase the device, use the application, and then investigate the resources already produced for it when you come to those harder-to-understand moments. That way, built yourself up towards the knowledge of what you are trying to do. And then when you do ask for assistance, time can be taken in shaping the point of what you’ve got already, not putting into the fire a point that’s not existing (starting from scratch). It takes longer, and you don’t always get the desired result, but you end up with a body of knowledge that’s more ready to turn into the work of the ministry, rather than be mired in a series of behaviors that don’t efficiently move you forward.
Over at Mobile Advance continues their 10 Questions interview series of people involved in and around mobile ministry activities. The last two interviews are with PBW (Kutsal Kitap, @KKorg) and Stephen Coates. Here’s a snippet of the interview with Stephen Coates:
8. What part of mobile ministry does the Church need to bring more effort and focus to?
The media arts and the music and poetry of the scriptures.
9. What aspect of mobile is overrated in your mind? Why?That you can reach anyone! It is not that simple, though much of the world has cell phones they don’t all have the bandwidth or data plan to access the video and audio we put out.
Check out both of these interviews at Mobile Advance: Interview with PBW | Interview with Stephen Coates.
Today I visited my old church in Charlotte, Wellspring Community Church (@wellspringCLT) and recorded these notes on my iPad using Tactilis, storing afterwards in Evernote (using YouVersion on my iPad as well). How do you record your notes for sermons or Bible studies? Do you do anything unique with your digital notes that you didn’t/couldn’t do with paper notes?
Update: Wellspring has an Android application available. Check it out and give them some feedback.
For as much as I would like to get away from the app-centric culture of mobile, there’s something to be gained for that focused window into a task that opens up an opportunity.
For example, the thumbnail on this post. I’d been using the NET Bible on my Nokia N8 since it’s basically a simple “web” app – it’s simply a collection of static webpages arranged as a site and isn’t in need of me loading any thing more than my browser. However, this “package” was really meant for PCs, larger screens, and mouse-driven input. I wanted to change that and so I started exploring what that could look like (first) in wireframe sketches and later a prototype. Nothing has come of it so far, but it has let me stretch my UX muscles a bit.
Then there are those opportunities that come from others such as the one posted this summer by Dave Bourgeios for aN application that would help people create, gather, and manage small group connections – if you will, something like taking cell groups and adding a communications manager component to it that’s usable from a mobile. Now, (at the time of this writing) I’m not sure of the status of this project, but it again points to some of those opportunities that are out there which might not be big hits, but are nonetheless usable and useful.
As you walk into the weekend, probably with a mobile device or several near you, pay attention to the opportunities that lie right next to you. You never know, someone might also be thinking about it as well and will connect with you to push it through.
Update: Speaking of opportunities: just took a quick look at AppGeyser (AppGeyser.com, @AppGeyser) and built a quick MMM Android app. Download it and give us your feedback.
A few threads of conversation and insight cross my eyes this week where I saw a parallel between a few industries and religion, especially when mobile technology is considered. The first would be in a Twitter conversation, here’s that thread:
(@rcadden) Watching the local news is quite possibly the most depressing thing EVER. Do they *ever* cover something positive?
(@Texrat) @rcadden negative sells.
(@ARJWright) @Texrat the fact that news has to be sold in order to be watched is a bigger problem IMO @rcadden
The second part of this thread comes from Tomi Ahonen’s recent article talking about why every retailer needs a mobile strategy:
…Then there is the US stat that shocked me. Pew has been interviewing US consumers for many years about their internet and mobile habits. And they inserted a new question to their latest survey, for which the gave results yesterday. What is your preferred means of contact. And have a guess what US adults said about SMS? Pew reports that 31% of US adults – not teenagers – adults said their preferred means of contact was SMS! And another 14% said they preferred SMS contacts some of the time (at other times voice calls).
The survey was not about retail, it was not about advertising or marketing. But it is a mind-boggling stat. If 31% of American adults prefer to be contacted by SMS, it will be even more for the youth, obviously (heavily SMS addicted as every survey of US youth has reported over the past four years). And even if we say 31% overall, that means 3 out of 10 American consumers prefers contacts via SMS. Why isn’t every US company, advertiser and brand using SMS as their primary vehicle of marketing communications? Only a quarter of Americans own smartphones and a smaller fraction of those use apps, and out of one million published apps already, if your brand does a ‘smartphone app’ strategy for mobile, that is the iSyndrome, that is what Martin Wilson has taught us, is the mistaken belief that creating an iPhone app is tantamount to a mobile strategy…
Obviously, we see here that the industries that I am drawing parallels to are the news-journalism and retail industries. And the common function here is that both are driven by what is sold to them.
In the former (news-journalism), there’s a position that’s similar to something that I’ve heard many times in various religious circles, “we shouldn’t have to sell to them what we offer.” And yet this is exactly the problem and the opportunity for religious groups. Its not uncommon to see in churches that are the product of the past five decades of suburban America a sense of using culture, branding, and public relations to market “the church” to their communities. Now, we cna argue of that’s successful or not, but the fact is, much like news-journalism, there’s an intent to sell the perspective of faith that’s either taken on or missed.
But, then the question becomes on “how to sell faith.” Sure, we have those tried and true methods (street evangelism, social services, libraries, etc.), but what happens when we take advantage of those opportunities that are right on the spot? Many people have the chapters in their faith stories where it wasn’t a prepared presentation that called them into an awareness of God, but a random moment where the relationship and the message got personal with them. Using the above snippet pulled form Tomi and Pew Internet, 31% of adults prefer to be contacted by SMS – are they being sold your story of faith? Or, are you in the position of waiting for them to hear some good news by chance in their regular stream of living?
I’d argue that we’ve got a product to sell, and that we would be smart to take advantage of what the culture offers while the opportunity is here. How you do that is a matter of paying attention to the context of your community and speaking those things that are relevant. See the examples of retail outreach in Tomi’s article, opportunity is all about taking your imagination and running towards something others will be willing to invest their attention (and later lives and faith) in.
