Some of the better uses and applications of IT tends to come when someone is motivated by a need, has a talent, and is resource constrained. In a recent post at Church Crunch, Jared Folkins talks about his church’s need for additional pagers for their children’s ministry, and how (through prayer and association) he was able to not only develop Agapage for his church, but release the code so that other ministries could use the concept and extend upon it as needed.

Please note: Agapage is donation-compensated. So, if you do choose to use and implement this, do compensate the developer and designer for their work. Also, its provided as-is, meaning that there’s no support for this other than your own internal IT folks. Unless this item changes its licensing structure, and/or is loaded to a community driven code/application repository such as SourceForge or Code.Google, there’s a good chance that it will not see more development than its original intent.

Last night, I took some time to add a few items to my business card and it prompted me to ask myself a question that was asked to me earlier in the week: what is the point of a church website?

I was asked the question as the person was looking to inquire about what services MMM offers and we engaged into a nice conversation about those services and the goals for any digital engagement.

So, I did some tweaking to my business card, which is a combination of mobile web server, URL redirections, QR codes, and a funky phone skin, and it hit me – and later Twitter:

What if a church’s website was a small google map image w/times/contact info and a mashup of mobile/twitter/fb/etc. statuses of members; could such a mashup better demonstrate Christ stitched into your community’s life than a normal website?

Now, I admit that this would be a very hard initial technical endeavor, and it would take a lot of teaching and letting go in terms of letting the community drive what people who visit the “site” would see.

But, it would put into the hands of the community the literal structure and ownership of be website. And for those in communities where there is a signifiant slice of the population that is not digitally savvy, the goal would have to be mutual education so that there’s not a slant to the community based on those voices which might hit on the update a bit more often than most.

I’m really digging the idea, given what I am doing on my personal site. But, what mint I be missing in making this suggestion? Or, is it time to let go of the conventional idea of a website, and let the church site be a portal into the lives of it’s community members, just as we prescribe services, engagements, and evangelism to do in an offline context?

Par the course for speaking about and advertising about MMM, the question of “what’s the best smartphone” always comes up. And while we have talked about this in times past, its really important to emphasize that device capability and cost have to end up at solution that speaks well towards using mobile technology as part of your spiritual toolkit.

So then, what matters the most? This all depends on several factors:

• What do you plan to do
• What are your cost constraints
• Do you have travel concerns
• What kind of media (audio, video, etc.) will you be using with the device
• Are you purchasing for yourself, for a family, for an organization? Who managages the governance around that use

Usually speaking, mobile devices are pretty simple and largely will do all of the same basic (and slightly advanced) things. All can go online, all can usea variety of applications, and all break if dropped a particular way.

If you are a developer, and looking at mobile device platforms to get an idea of how to push an application, then you are best served not by looking at global or slightly regional trends, but looking at your current audience, and looking at the comparative trends between them and the larger mobile population (check out the research being conducted at the Pew Internet & American Life Project).

If you are a content provider, then your view on mobile platforms needs to not just include understanding the trends, but understanding the technical (and financial) infrastructure towards those people you are intending your content to reach. A lot of times, this means that going the route of application development isn’t the best long-term method, and that you might need more than one content delivery mechanism.

For example, when looking at a personal mobile device, I am usually looking for a platform that doesn’t require me to relearn the wheel in terms of how it works, doesn’t ask a lot of me in terms of managing applications (because of system resources or lack of applications casuing me to make a signifiant investment in apps), and can fade into the background as an organizer while remaining powerful enough to be a mobile computer when I need something more than a phone.

The conclusion usually ends up with saying that given sufficient research, and asking yourself the right questions (what fits need rather than want), you can usually end up with a device that you are not just happy with, but it also will grow with you until your capabilities endear you to looking for another device.

For reflection/discussion:
What are some of the aspects of your current mobile device that will factor into your next device? What are things you wish you would have considered before making the purchase?

It can be well argued that in the early stages of MMM that there was the position of “if its mobile, then its an answer for ‘X’.” Over the years, its been good to mature from that point of view, yet still hold onto the focus that there are indeed benefits to communication, engagement, and sharing the Gospel with mobile technology as an agent. Recent conversations have helped this maturing perspective, though there’s a good bit more work that’s needed.

My mother used to quote to me Proverbs 4:7 to me quite often (wisdom is the principle thing; therefore get wisdom; and with all thy getting get understanding). As it relates to the use of mobile technology within faith-based initatives, there’s a good bit of direction that such a verse gives. There’s the acquistion of knowledge with which to build wisdom and understanding. There’s the experiential factor of success and failure for various implementations of that knowledge (which leads to understanding). And then there’s an ability to reteach and relearn concepts related to that initial knowledge acquisition, but do so with a somewhat clearer lens than times previous.

The difficult thing is that aspect though to get wisdom. Wisdom isn’t so much that you can get by attending a class, finding a resource guide, or even experimenting. Wisdom comes after all of those, plus the greying of time and focus, to see what is the implication of decisions made towards and with digital technologies in lieu of the presented contexts (or environments).

For example, knowledge can tell us that to increased access to technology doesn’t guarantee increased educational advancement. Wisdom takes that study and asks about the methods employed, investigates the people and contextual concerns, and then in as unbiased a manner as possible, analyizes the proposed and realized positive and negative implications of that technology adoption attempt. Wisdom is careful to attempt this again, but with full understanding of what happens when certain variables are taken/not-taken into consideration. Or, wisdom doesn’t attempt this again, until certain other measures are employed.

This becomes one of the challenges to MMM on the side of training and consulting. Much of what we want to espouse has to do with developing the best or most ideal environments to understand and wisely apply mobile and social-web technologies. This cannot be done where zeal and temperance overburden the level of knowledge that’s present (if you will, the “let’s do it because they are doing it too” mentality). Much has to be done to develop avenues of knowledge building (on our end that’s case studies, resource guide/reports, and speaking engagements) so that there’s suitable understanding on tap to develop wisdom by.

At some point in the (near-ish) future, there will be ample information here and other places onlline and offline that the inital steps towards building understanding and wisdom won’t need as much tilling. At that point, developing solutions for mobile ministry engagement will be less a question of experimentation, and more one of “go and seek those who have already travelled this road.” Until then, this site, like a few others, will serve to learn and disseminate approaches to, and lessons from, the implications of the use of mobile technology in ministry contexts. Then, with those lessons garnered, we will detail the stories of what works and what doesn’t work – with the expectation that those searching for wisdom will not only find it, but become co-laborers in telling this story of what’s possible.

I’m a sports fan, however, I don’t pay as much attention to hockey. I’ve got this adversion to being cold. But, there’s this neat statistic that I’ve been hearning more of in basketball circles (much warmer there) that makes a lot of sense in refering to someone’s contribution to getting the ball in the hoop and assessing their effect on team chemistry. Its called the hockey assist.

The hoceky assist can be simplified in saying that its the pass that leads to the pass which leads to the score. In the same effect, on defense, its the block, diversion, or screen that isn’t the primary reason the offense was stopped, but it allowed another defender to make the play on the ball.

Last night, a brother mentioned that he was blessed by my mentoring him. Let me be really clear, I don’t have more than a passing friendship with him, and we’ve rarely done those longer convsersations and relationship building that would characterize mentoring/discipliship. However, he felt it very clear to mention that some things that I’ve said, not directly to him, provided timely Godly guidance towards his life. He spoke a brief mention, but said he was grateful. Me, I cried on the spot (its been a heavy week), because it was mentorship by hockey assist, not by (too much) direct interaction.

Unfortuntely, I think that many in the Body see that if they are not directly administering the fruits of the Spirit to another, that they are not having much of an effect on the concept of “spreading the Gospel,” or discipling/mentoring. They miss the point that not all of our actions are ment to be direct cause and effect – there is some facilitation, or positioning that we must do so that others are positioned to feed the sheep.

And then there are others who get the ball in position to make a play, but never move because they want that direct effect. They marginalize their own effectiveness, and the efficiency of the Gospel simply because they want to be lauded for creating the score.

In both cases, whether with the rock (slang for “ball”), or setting the screen, we have to take a similar position to every apostle – we are positioned to plant, water, and give room for the Spirit to score (1 Cor. 3:1-15). If we don’t do our part, whatever that is, then we prohibit the Body from growing.

And no more is this true than in this digital domain. There are those people skilled to create content, others who are skilled at training or strategy, still others who are skilled in relating to logical or abstract content in various contexts, if in using these digital toos we do not push the ball forward, then we don’t score. And if we do, then we see what amounts to a victory (in Jesu’ name).

One of my favorite teams to watch in the NBA is the Lakers. I don’t care for the stars, I care about the offense. They run what is called the Triangle Offense. Its basically a set of actions based on getting the highest percentage shot by reading and reacting to the environment that the defense wishes to dictate. In its purest form, the triangle is designed so that even a team who is physically less talented, can exercise mental and stragetic advantages and overcome a “better” team. And this idea of a hockey assist is key to it working. Every passer has to understand that each pass, each screen is designed to be the pass that makes the next pass easier. In such a set, if all players are paying attention, the game looks easy.

Consider then mobile technology and how it can be used and what the goal is. Mobile enables us to read and react more personally to changing conditions of communication by providing varrying ways to connect. There are applications, websites, voice, and text components. And you don’t have to know how to use any of these extrodinarly well, just enough so that you know how to pass the Spirit.

For ministries and organizations wishing to use mobile as a part of the communication, evangeltical, missional, or educational strategies, consider how your adeptness in mobile is made that much better when you take advantage of the strengths of those others who are on your team. Yes, you have the connections, but maybe not the developers. Or, you have the teaching, but not the publishing stage. Consider that what you have been given is simply meant to enable another to take the ball and score.

What does the game look like when we do our part by making that extra pass? Ask Kobe Bryant, he’s gotten a 5th championship because he embraced his skills within the context of the greater goal. And in many cases, this meant a lot of hockey assists for him. I encourage you to leverage your strengths for the betterment of the Body, so that when the game is over, we all will share in His benefit.

Looking back, it seems that there’s been a healthy share of posts that are long and reflective. And there has also been a good deal of action via Twitter (@mobileminmag). So here’s a small recap of some of those items that might have flown past your reading radar:

• The Digital Disciples Charlotte Information Survey is still up if you want to lend your comments to Digital Disciples in the Charlotte area. A summary and discussion of the survey, as well as general discussion will be held on July 24 (see event information and RSVP at Meetup.com).
• A new section of the site (Mobile Ministry Case Studies) has been opened to provide a place to link and submit to cases studies for what’s happening in mobile and mobile ministry areas.
• Likewise, to help facilitate the creation of best practices and case study materials, MMM has announced its Stragetic Consulting and Training Services. There’s more to come about this section, but we are already fielding requests for needs in this area. Contact us for more information.

As always, your contributions and connections are always welcome. As it stands, there are a lot of ministries trying and wanting to try a whole lot of things. Mobile is a piece of that strategy, and MMM wants to be a part of helping your organization refine that area. And no, there is not much “out there” in terms of best practices or even methodologies. This resource exists to build these areas so that ministry/professional services can be offered that truly enable an engagement and sharing of the story of our faith.

More to come as we grow.

One of the nice things about being on an airplane is the time that you get to sit back and engage a good book. There had been a book sitting on my iPad for sometime and the recent trip to the Uplinq Conference gave a good opportunity to not only read it, but to find some things to reflect upon with it. The (e)book is titled Digital Activism Decoded and it was just under 300 pages (PDF) of a realistic look into the tools and realities of digital activism, asking the hard question of if it is really something new, or just an enhancement on older methods with a few electronic wrinkles.

While the book is pretty lengthy and deep in respect towards how the topic of digital activism is covered, I found it refreshing that there were several authors writing throughout the project. Mary Joyce is the primary author and the person who pulled together much of the project, but very quickly after the introduction we are introduced to people such as Trebor Scholz, Brannon Cullum, Katharine Brodock, and many others who lend their specific expertise to paint the picture of the methods and behaviors of activism, and how digital tools have lent their ears and feet to a new generation of activists.

The first section (Contexts: The Digital Activism Movement) sheds light on the transformations happening within activism including the fast-evolving technological infrastructure, computer and social networks, and economic/social/political environmental factors.

The second section (Practices: Digital Actions in the Aggregate dives more into the the matters of ecology and sociology. I have to admit that here is where Digital Activism began to pick up the pace in terms of content depth and internal motivations. Reading through some of these summarized case studies and perspectives, and the analysis of how these are threaded within one another under digital activism provoked me to put down the iPad several times and simply consider my own actions and perceptions. There is a world out there of stories and each one in uniquely told and applied.

The third and final section (Effects: What is Digital Activism’s Value) speaks towards the honest question of “how do we measure the success of a digital campaign or tools?” It is very easy to state that there is an effectiveness to using a digtial medium over an analog or previous media state (print, radio, TV, internet), but there has not been so long a pracice of digital living that best practices and reusable methods are easy to come by. Yes, we should not underestimate that digital platforms are effective, but trumpeting them over well-researched and proven methods (depending on the context) might not be advisiable. This section also engages the reader to understand advocacy and activism in specific behavioral contexts such as bloggers in prison, mobile/social media in politics, and communication overload.

All in all, I found Digital Activism Decoded an engaging and even re-centering reading. I probably would have done well to take more than the 12hrs total of flying to read it, but I knew going into it that it was the kind of reading that would require healthy moments of reflection, and some eventual response.

For those in your communities who are inticed by the idea of using digital tools as a part of an activism or advocacy campaign, Digital Activism Decoded should rank high on your list in respect to being great resource material, and a means of self-checking. There’s a verse of Scripture which says something similar to, “knowing the times and the seasons, and how best to live within them.” This is one of those texts that speaks directly to that meme, and will garner a healthy respect to understanding these digital domains, but what more that needs to be done before it can be concluded as the be-all-end-all of how advocacy and activism are conducted.

Read Digital Activism Decoded via Scribd or purchase the print version via Amazon. For more information on the book and case studies that contributed to it, visit the Meta-Activism Project website.

Update: You can now submit your case studies and research articles using this form.

MMM has been going on for over 5 years. In that time, the point of the posted content was simply to be available. Mobile was too young and there were too many unanswerable questions for content to serve a purpose any more than that. Having been in this position for a while, and several others having stepped up in various aspects towards creating content, what needs to happen at MMM is a lot different than where it traditionally has been.

There are seven (7) content categories at here at MMM:

• Mobile web trends
• SMS/MMS Engagement Strategies
• Mobiles in Education
• Languages/Language Resource Development
• Future Tech and Impacts
• Devices, Software, and User Interfaces
• Accessibility and Access

It is within these areas that MMM’s content is now designed around. As a general rule, I’m posing on one (1) of these items and doing so once a day – to ensure that it generates the kind of discussion and reflection befitting a magazine (moreso than just a blog).

All of these areas are fit for the submission of resource materials and the development of content/best practices which would fit the need for those persons looking for resources or examples of execution.

Therefore, the process of submitting/publishing of content is as follows:

• Person contact’s MMM (via contact form or Twitter) that they have a content idea; discussions around the idea take place (whether it fits MMM’s model or not)
• If accepted, the person shares (via Google Docs, Google Wave, or similar) or emails the content so that it can be reviewed and edited (if needed)
• Content is placed in the publishing queue and the submitter is notified when this item posts to the Mobile Ministry Case Studies page
• If this item is a downloadable – the use of document sharing entities such as SlideShare or Scribd are recommended.
• If this item is an analyst report, the user and MMM can opt to negotiate making this item a paid (PayPal) downloadable (details on this to come later and will be detailed on the consulting and training services page
• Marketing of the content is shared between MMM and the content submitter

In this way, the content sees a healthy set of eyes before it is published, and also there’s accountability throughout the process, ensuring that these items are published.

It may be the case that you have the data, but not the time to create the report. For this, negotiating with MMM the best way to create and publish the content is advised as this is a paid service.

Please know that I’d really like to get more voices and content on MMM. For 5 years it really has been mainly my voice. And while God has blessed me with a lot of writing and perspective over the years, there’s no way that I can capture or spark the discussion towards everything that’s happening. Given that MMM is in my hands in a longer-term mode, I owe it to the Body to be available, and use what He’s given me to bless your efforts.

So if this works not just in terms of building content, but making something of strategic value for you or your missional agents/clients, let’s chat. Thanks for your time, and your prayers. Let’s engage folks with a mobile lens and give em Christ 🙂

Continuing with some reflections from the recent Uplinq Conference, I’d like to speak a bit on some of the things that hit me spiritually.

The Environment
Uplinq, as I stated in the last post, was at one point a developer’s conference. It’s now more or less mixed with about 3/4 of the content for developrs, and the rest for business-minded folks. That means that some conversations would be technical and lack some of that soft richness that – say happened at the HD conference down the road.

It also meant that there would be conversations that came almost no where near spirituality. That is, unless someone asked what whom I was there representing. Interesting how some conversations took a spiritual turn, some continued as is, and a few abruptly ended.

Digital Missions of a Different Kind
It took about a day, but then I did realize that MMM was the only spiritual or faith-based company in attendance. That meant that a number of things had to take place: intergrate, not isolate; and be willing to listen more than to evangelize.

For example, after coming off the WIP Panel, a few people were intrigured about MMM from a spirtual-growth standpoint. And though this wasn’t the nature of the panel, nor my reason for attending, it was good to have those moments by the well, getting an understanding towards what people still feel about ministry.

Openness
An early conversation challenged me towards being open. Open in the respect towards being honest about where I am in this faith-walk, but also in the respect towards allowing others to have their walk. It had been a while since digital liviing provoked this type of conversation, and it was one of many times where afterwards I took some time alone to reflect and pray.

In Need of a Mountain
Speaking of relfection and prayer, I once again understood why it almost seemed random that Jesus took away some time to find a mountain and pray. My room was located on a pretty high floor, and I always found that whenever I needed some extra direction, clarity, or just to bear my heart out a bit, there was that mountain that was available.

In the same respect, I could see how many people worked for companies that had a similar approach. That is, they were there working, but the companies fostered intense work alongside intese time to reflect on the quality of the work and the areas it would effect. I got some ideas on how to have a staff here at MMM from these people.

Daily Bread
For those who extended grace towards loding and food, all I can say is thank you, and I thanked God for your generosity from the time I got on the plane leaving Charlotte, to the time getting off the plan in returing.

Conclusions
A conversation on the last night put me in the position of not just being honest with where I stand in this Christian faith, but also how I relate that to others. I spent the past few nights wondering if I answered the questions right, or if there was another way to word things. But, I’m now content with the answers given.

Each of us is given some gift by God, and are asked to use it to the best of our abilities to encourage the lives of others around us. It could be as complex as spurring developers or as simple as assisting a hoarde of speakers to have all that they need. Each of these gifts are worthwhile to the building up of (C)hurch – a Body of people who might not agree on every line and tiddle, but will agree at Christ and live wholeheartedly towards Him. For MMM, our gift is enabling many to see this intersection between faith and technology, and then build out solutions from that intersection.

At Uplinq 2010, it was this intersection of faith and technology that was most encouraging, and hopefully, enabling towards assisting several people and organizations towards expressing that story of faith.

Update: also check out the recap from the WIP Connector blog.

Durning this past week, MMM was proud to be invited to be a part of the the WIP Unpanel which was one of many discussions and demonstrations occuring at the Uplinq conference. Uplinq used to be a developer-centric, and pretty much Brew (a mobile operating system platform similar to Android or Symbian)-only affair. This year opened up things to a slightly wider audience, and focused how Brew integrates into the rest of what’s happening in mobile.

As with most events, Uplinq began with a keynote address by Qualcomm’s CEO. One of the better keynotes that I’ve attended in recent years, this keynote brought a good bit of clarity as to why MMM would be a nice attendee.

Off the bat, an initial demonstration of augmented reality (AR) technologies with a Rock-em-Sock-em Robots demo was great. Another AR demo, using the behavior of networked games over multiple device platforms also tickled the imagination. Beyond these, an opening of the discussions towards improved developer tools, and developer relations gave Uplinq a nice step forward.

There were a few pieces to Uplinq, designed to keep the conference attendee busy, yet always learning. The Mobile Innovations Showcase was the “normal” conference affair with booth demonstrations, and chances for random networking. There were breakout and super-breakout sessions (the WIP Unpanel was the latter) designed to focus attention around specific topics, and then drive more immediate feedback. And finally there were various groups doing interviews and other networking-type tasks all around (and in more hidden spaces), carrying on the business of making things happen before the holiday break.

Of note, I was interviewed by Mobile Indistry Review, to talk about MMM around the context of mobile and how this perspective is relevant at an event like Uplinq. Stay tuned for that interview to be posted here.

From a devices perspective, there were the usual assorment of BlackBerries and iPhones – a higher number of iPhone 4 devices than I would have expected. There were several of us who had iPad devices – with a lot of the conversation between users about why workshop session surveys weren’t digital or that Wi-Fi performance could be spotty in places. I took a special ream for carrying (and using) my Nokia N97 and X6 devices, though I also had Nokia’s newly released E73 Mode (on T-Mobile USA, similar to the E72 everywhere else) for moments when I felt that I should be similar to the crowd.

Some of the mobile tech demnostrated included mobile chipsets where devices could have faster than 1GHz processors, or screens that looked as clear as the Kindle’s eInk screen, but perfromed more likethe LCD screens we are familar with (Mirasol was that company). Companies such as HTC were on hand to demo their device lineups, and there was also some healthly representation by Sprint, At&T, and Verizon. On the first night, I had a great conversation with one of those carriers’ engineers; there is definitley some amazing stuff coming, and more amazing stuff that never makes it out of the labs.

I spoke earlier of some of the tech issues, I had one of my own happen – being that I carry very few business cards, and those I do simply have a QR code on them with the MMM name and URL, I had not expected a situation where the data connected to the QR code wouldn’t work. Which is what happened during the day 2 keynote in chatting with a high ranking company executive. I’m back to using a mobile web server on my mobile device, and there is a URL connected to one of the pages which turns it into a downloadable address entry. Well, it didn’t work, and I lost an opportunity to demonstrate some of the AR tech in practice, as well as make a good connection. Hopefully, I’ll get a second chance on that impression (things seem to be working now).

Overall, the technology landscape at Uplinq was nothing abnormal, but definitely something to take in. While the conference had its share of developer-minded folks, it was not uncommon for the conversations to move from technology and tools to that of strategy and purpose. Everyone wants to feel that their contribution in mobile can or does make a difference in improving the lives of people around them. With Uplinq, Qualcomm was able to demonstrate to developers that there’s another profitable platform out there, with several hundred million users that’s ripe for the taking. Its just about spotting the need and then making the technology that’s most relevant.

Which brings us back to why MMM was there from a technology standpoint. At the intersection of faith and technology, there’s technology. There’s an assessment of tools, resources, and influence, and then the strategy that is built around these to make it possible to share the story of the Christian faith. Yes, the technologies do change (sometimes quickly), but strategy and meaning are pretty consistent. For those in this arena who are looking for not just a means to apply their passions and gifts to mobile, but do it in a way that speaks well to your eternal focus, then shaping a strategy around platforms such as Brew makes sense. Beyond that, getting your foot into the mobile space beyond smartphones is healthy, and the kind of challenging that will transform how you see and do well unto all.

So yes, it was a conference with a techie bent; but one where if you looked at the tech with the right lens, you’d see opportunity to do more than just build another app. Grab the moment, and bless God with that gift.

Update: also check out the recap from the WIP Connector blog.