Tag Archives: mobile in personal

Identity and Depth

The other day, a friend and I were talking about the use of a call-in service for Bible searching, reading, and evangelism. In a sense, looking at the market of those folks who might be still tied to a paradigm of looking towards a voice for information (rather than having content on a screen, sent passively, or directly searched). One of the things that was striking in the midst of this conversation is how he stated that at his church, that the age and culture of the population poses some resistance towards those who use electronic devices for Bible reading in the community (a trait that John Dyer once spoke towards very well). In that, I wondered a lot about this idea about the identity of the Christian in this changing society and if there is something to be said towards these devices, services, and experiences that are gathered about these days.

You see, for those of us who pay attention to these things, there’s a clear sense that the identity of the Christian is being challenged on several fronts. Emotionally, there’s a drawing towards more expressive (some would call this transparent, others would call it performance) means of showing one’s views/feelings. Socially, there’s a bent towards urban centers in some metropolitan areas with pockets of intentional communities. While in more rural areas, there’s a bent towards a (romantic) preservation of the community and faith that was remembered by those who haven’t moved to urban centers. Theologically, it seems that just about every branch of the Church has not only gone through revisions of the text into a common language, but seen a shift from the leanings of the West towards something more charismatic and dynamic – moving south and east while doing so. All of this is happening in different shades across at least three existent generations of people groups. That’s a lot of shift to account for.

And yet, here is that nearly always present mobile. I like how Jan Chipcase squares this topic of identity alongside this totem we carry:

Much like the paradox of the toga in ancient Rome, some objects can connote high status in one culture and low status in another. A suntan on someone who lives in London or New York is a sign to others that that person can afford a tropical vacation, or at least a trip to the tanning salon. On the other hand, a tan in China or Thailand is a mark of peasants who toil in the fields. Thus on the shelves of pharmacies in Bangkok you’ll find dozens of skin products with whitening ingredients; in the United States, expensive moisturisers are tinted. Does this mean that the people who use these products are all that different from one another?

What are we saying if we are affirming or denying the use of mobile devices in community gatherings? What if part of the impact of what we are saying is that your identity has to have more depth than what you carry? We could stand to have a faith that does that. It would mean though that those making such a declaration have to be able to been seen without their totems as well.

Or, what if we said that you can carry it, but that it has to have an influence beyond just being your own screen? What does it mean when we cultivate the personal content and activity of a mobile device, but in some social situations mandate that it has an open or community-accessible aspect to it? Not just “you can see the photos I just uploaded to Facebook either,” but a more sincere – “here, let me help you understand why I took that kind of note” kind of feature.

What I thought about my friend’s declaration about his church’s specific culture is that they asked for folks to affirm the church’s identity, but gave nothing in return to those who needed a bridge to become that manifested character. If you will, “live the way I tell you, but I won’t give you my eyes to do it.” For many today, their identity is tied very tightly to what’s in their palms. The style of phone, the case on it, the ringtone, and even the applications preferred are a part of who they are. When we ask them to remove the device from the presence, we are asking them to set aside themselves for something they are not. In a sense, ignoring the traditional declaration of “come as you are.”

If I am also what happens on this little screen, then to engage the depth of who I am means that you have to be as willing to dive into me, as you want for me to unplug into you.

May Videocast

In this month’s video, Mobile Ministry Magazine’s Antoine RJ Wright tackles a user submitted question on mobile phone research, talks about some upcoming events, and expresses a bit of sadness at a broken tablet.

How Do You Use Study Resources

screenshot of Olive Tree Bible Study App when using concordance resources
The other day while going through email, I noticed a newsletter from the good folks over at Olive Tree Bible Software. As I read, I saw a neat piece in there about how to use a concordance with their software. Here’s a snippet:

…As you can see, the Olive Tree Concordances are much more than a list of cross references for each word in the Bible. With dictionary information tied to the original language, these resources are valuable tools for Bible study. Each concordance comes with a copy of the Bible in the selected translation…

Read the rest of Using A Concordance in the Bible Study App at the Olive Tree Blog

That piece got me thinking back to how I used to use print resources, then print and web, and then later web and mobile resources in order to do my studies. A good deal of the work that went into feature suggestions and the design of Palm Bible+ app which accelerated my travels in this space. It was very important then to not just have access to the resource, but have it in such a way that it didn’t interrupt the reading flow, but was there when needed. Now then, we did things with the PalmOS Graffiti system, and even the keyboard on Treo devices to make that happen. These days with touch and more consistent connectivity, designing these resources into an app is a bigger challenge.

Even with that challenge, its still a suitable flow of use. So, let’s open question that titles this post (how do you use study resources) with a few qualifiers:

  • For those of you who might use commentaries, concordances, etc. in your private reading, how do you do it? What could be done better?
  • For those of you who use those resources while teaching, what kinds of challenges do you run into either from the side of teaching or the side of sharing the sources of that info with students?
  • For those wh might use these resources to teach, but don’t share them with your students/audiences, why?

There you have a few ways to frame an answer. Let’s hear what you have to say towards using study resources, especially with your mobile-enabled audiences.

How Would Jesus Use (Compter/Connected) Technology

Was browsing over at Symbiota and came across a really interesting question worth discussion on several levels: How would Jesus use technology?

…I think Jesus would have used the technology in a couple of ways. One, I think because we see Jesus working primarily with his group of 12. He talk crowds, he healed and he walked through cities and really impacted a lot of people. But he concentrated, he put a lot of his leadership training in his 12. So I think Jesus would have really used technology to train his core leaders to give them the tools. I think of the story when Jesus send 70, 2 by 2. I can imagine, you know, hypothetically if I can use my imagination them being in the field and asking Jesus the question and having Jesus on Skype or on Google Hangout and he’s saying, OK this is how I would do the situation if I were you.

So I think he would primarily use it in training his core leaders but also because he was impacting so many people, he would make sure that the gospel was broadcasted as far and as wide as possible…

Read the rest of the Interview with Pierre Quinn over at Symbiota

Personally, I don’t know that Jesus would have used tech in that manner. At least not when it came time for ministry. If we look at the text, we see very little of the carpenter in the text, but we do see the effects of his work in terms of social movements, behaviors, and responses.

Its an interesting one, and makes us really think about how we navigate and move in this space. Perhaps its less about the tech, and more about the process after the tech we should pay attention to?

Disclaimer: Symbiota is one of several partner groups to MMM. Interested in partnering with MMM?

OTG Mobile Tech Options

Mobile Office (Nokia N950 and N9, Amazon Kindle Fire HD w/stylus, and USB memory key

It only took a little more than half-a-decade for some pastors to realize that the tech in their hands enables them to have an office that can be nearly anywhere. But, knowing that you can get away from the office and be productive isn’t the same as knowing what options you have out there.

Over at Church Tech Today, two articles have gone up talking about mobile tech options for pastors. The first edition talked options for those in the Apple camp, the second talked options for those in the Android camp. Here’s a snippet of the latter:

If you add up all of these items, along with the tablet, you come to a cost of only $341.07. First off, that is less than half the cost of the iPad solution from last week and while it is smaller, this may be the exact pitch you need for your church. That also leaves a great budget to pay for a couple of years of 3G service so that you can email, check Facebook, and get online anywhere you want as well as many different applications from Google Play.

Its a solid enough list, and well enough to get started (whether you use online services to find the recommended accessories or not). For a bit of an appendix, I’d like to throw out there some additional options to consider whether you are a pastor, student, or just interested:

  • Carrying both a phone and a tablet might be a bit much, so the Galaxy Note 2 (or the first Galaxy Note if you can find one that’s not too well-used) would be a suitable option. Combine it with a prepaid MVNO (non-major phone carrier), and you score with a very versatile communications and productivity center; if the idea of a larger tablet is your thing, check out the Samsung Tab models and Asus FonePad and combine that SIM card with that
  • I’m always a fan of having external storage that serves for backup and additional materials; in this light the AirStash is an excellent choice for that kind of additional storage (add your own microSD memory card), with an ability to share content with others too
  • The Apple Wireless Bluetooth keyboard is impressive (am on my 2nd one), but I was also tipped to one from Microsoft, which turns on automatically when its pulled from its case (that’s also a tablet stand)
  • I don’t prefer to put a case on my device, instead I like the idea of making a custom skin using the SkinIt service; on my mobile I’ve got a QR code of my contact card alongside a personal logo. Easy branding exercise for any pastor, school, or ministry to do something like this that protects the device, will offering some piece of personal style to it

Personally, I keep things very minimal, even to the point of the software that I keep near my devices in order to be productive. What about you? What do you look for in your OTG (on-the-go) or mobile office solution? Or, if you are already in a good groove, what’s missing?

Mobile Churches Are/Aren’t Global Churches

A good brother in the faith, who also has a unique niche towards social media use in ministry recently published an article titled Mobile Churches Are Global Churches. I happened to be in the midst of travel when reading it, so I had to hold my pause on the title until I got to reading the piece. When I did, I didn’t so much see how mobile churches are global churches… but I didn’t see how they aren’t global either.

Caston starts off his article with the analogy of the oft-connected believer:

With more smart phones, tablets and other mobile devices being produced and sold than ever before, people are staying connected, from the office, the dentist, the chiropractor, the grocery store, and everywhere else that their busy day takes them. If not already the case, there will soon be more mobile internet users logged on at any given time than those using stationary personal computers and laptops combined.

Its a pretty normal thing in developed nations to see people connected to several streams of content via various computing devices. Depending on the region and the level of economic development (economic class), how those mobiles are being used to stay connected, informed, and entertained does indeed vary. The question that sits there for ministries is whether the person who is always connected looking for a specific engagement (or brand) of faith, or is faith seen in a distinctly separate space from places they would consider mobile (or other connected) technologies to be useful. Ministries would like to say “yes, everyone is looking to connect to God always and its our job to make sure they have a road into spiritual transformations by whatsoever media we can use.” That might be the right perspective for a ministry, but how about for the consumer (re: believer who doesn’t create content, just consumes it).

Caston then goes into the one of the frequent entry points people have towards doing something on their mobile that’s not simply talking on their phone (remember, we are talking about developed nations that have a consistent communications infrastructure and many media channels for their audiences): mobile websites. His perspective here implies that every public facing ministry needs to have a web presence that’s accessible on a mobile device. However, the first segment of the population that is spoken to are those who already have a website:

To do this, you will have hire someone to reformat your site for a variety of devices. You can then employ a “sniffer” program that will immediately detect what kind of device is accessing your site, and it will present the most readable site format for that particular device, whether it is a PC, laptop, cell phone or tablet.

Now, I’m not opposed to hiring someone for the purpose of redesigning a website, nor am I opposed to seeking consultation towards what might be the best methods to apply within an existing website to make it mobile friendly, I don’t think though that you first look at hiring someone for this. There are plenty of resources and guides, and even better, there are several web services that for free to low to high costs, can give you the tools to make your ministry website mobile. Sometimes, that includes getting a mobile app or two made alongside it.

But, none of it guarantees that you will get global Gospel penetration, only that those who know to search for you will find you. And if your content is only written to your local faith community, well, you can have it on a mobile, but it will only be a local church being served.

Caston’s article finishes with a look at some location-based (LBS) activities which can be done on a mobile which are able to ignite some of that mobile juice that marketers tend to love a bit more than the rest of us ;)

Certain applications allow a user to check in, via the GPS feature in a smart phone, virtually broadcasting where that user is. This allows nearby businesses to send them coupons and discount offers, along with letting their friends know where they are, in case they happen to be nearby and want to connect. When people check in to announce that they’re attending your church services or special event, this brings a great deal of positive exposure for your organization.

Personally, I’m only a fan of location-based services when they add definitive contextual value to something that I’m doing. When we level up that experience beyond small groups to community-sized levels, we’ve got a lot more to consider rather than just being the target of a broadcast by that community manager.

We’ve also got to consider that there are others who would appreciate that information for their efforts, that there might be device or service constraints that aren’t apparent when we get started (for example, have you ever tried unsubscribing from some of these services), and that there are some legal issues that we have to answer as a community as there are personal and civil liberties which come into play once we start allowing for the recording of demographic data.

The other side of things is that LBS as a genre isn’t a global poke, its always a local one. And its always one that should meet the person in a specific context without taking or offering anything else. Normally, LBS services fund themselves either by reselling the user’s demographic information, adding ads (costs for posting ads and selling analytics from those ads), or by freemium models (free for some time or small set of features, then you pay for more). While the service availability might be global (for example Nokia and Google’s mapping services), the relevancy of that information is always right now and local. How much does your faith community publish about local events that you need a dedicated service on your mobile for just what they would recommend? Or, would a city guide be a better place and avenue for this content? Is your faith community’s mobile efforts being put towards being in those existing databases, websites, or app directories?

That all being said, is going mobile a prescription for making faith (or a faith community) global? No, not really. Global considerations are a lot more than mobile websites and LBS. If you are looking to utilize for a global impact, here are some of the items you need to consider as being truly global issues of relevancy:

  • supporting multiple languages in text, audio, and video content
  • marketing and building for least common mobile experiences (SMS, MMS, WAP, Web, then App)
  • less reliance on reading content and more on visualizing content (less text more story)
  • is your audience subject to religious enabling or persecution because of what you’ve produced that they would consume
  • will you travel to those places your content goes in order to meet the people whom you say your global content is for
  • how many people are included when you say the global church; do you talk currently to any of them

Jason’s article is solid enough to start the conversation. The thoughts here should continue things along that end and endear you or your ministry to not just consider going mobile because others are doing it, but because you’ve got a clear and defined plan of utilizing the best and unique features of mobile to live a Gospel that’s present and relevant beyond the screen and keypad.

The Real Implication of All This Connectivity

Tesla Model S interoior shot, via Tesla Blog
Depending on your perspective, this article (via Paid Content) is either empowering or frightening. Most particularly, this quote:

…In a very real sense, everyone is a media entity of some kind now. That doesn’t mean someone with a few hundred followers on Twitter is the equivalent of the New York Times, but it does mean that a large corporation like Tesla Motors is on a much more level playing field with the newspaper than it would ever have been before. In the past, if Tesla didn’t like a review, it could a) call and complain, b) put out a press release and try to get a competitor interested in a story c) launch an expensive lawsuit (which Musk has also done in the past)…

Read the rest of Tesla, The New York Times, and the Leveling of the Media Playing Field at Paid Content

Now, you might read this and immediately feel that your ministry or media platform is being threatened. You might read it and feel that your school or seminary is threatened. You might not feel threatened at all, but it might open your eyes to something that’s been bubbling inside you or your organization for some time now. In all of those cases, good… you are looking at the implications of this tech with the blinders off.

Blinders off? You mean that this isn’t the case of “what can I do to get my/the message into everyone’s hands?” Yes, that’s not just what I mean, but its also the clear implication of this tech’s intersection with faith and why you should run to it, instead of away from it.

“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” (John 4:19-26)

Can you stand to think that the point of this tech is that people will individually make their way towards a relationship with Christ and that the only part you have to play is making known to them there is no central temple, library, or behavior? That’s the implications of this tech, and the connectivity that it brings.

Are you ready for the implications of this activity being that people realize Emmaunel is very much the reality we should be living in daily?

Quickie on QR Codes in Ministry

MMM logo with QR Code to RSS feed
Its probably not great taste to keep turning emails into content, but this is another one of those cases where it just makes sense. Especially if you are interested in using QR Codes in ministry.

QR Codes in Ministry

QR Codes have been used for more than a decade in Japan and SK. Essentially, its an old technology now, as much so that even many on the side of ministry and tech have essentially moved past simply using QR codes and integrating them into fuller, mixed media efforts.
 
We’ve published several articles on the subject. As for a getting started guide, there aren’t any – you can go to several websites to create QR codes such as Mobile Barcodes, Kaywa, and even Google. From there, implementation takes on whatever makes sense for your organization.

As for applications of it, there’s been QR codes used in tracts, business cards/flyers,cover art and bulletins, and even bibles. If you are doing to do something useful with it, make it distinct, and do more than simply point to a link. The effects of these kinds of augmented digital expereinces tend to have effects beyond what we design.

To that end, we enjoy working with QR codes and other trans-meta media tech. There’s always a neat conversation that develops when we are able to instigate different behaviors by the way we use mobile tech.

Poor Signals, Poor(er) Customers

General mobile topics are not usually items MMM steers towards, especially since there are always several folks reporting on these and we value a bit of something that’s not always as-heard. Still, you get those moments when there are stories compelling enough that it makes sense to bring it up, and hopefully incite some fruitful conversations.

For example, Helen Keegan (LinkedIn, Twitter) is a well-known name in mobile circles – one for all of the gems she finds in terms of news, but also because of how much value she’s added to companies who want to have some sense of direction towards mobile activities. Over at her blog, she posted about 9 reasons why you might have a poor signal on your mobile device, and none of these are the ones you find in advertisements:

I’ve often wondered myself why my phone varies in performance. I get that different networks will have an impact, but I hadn’t really thought what the other issues might be. John explains it in his recent newsletter which I’ve copied below for you (with permission). I’m interested to know what you think. How much do these factors affect performance and are there other things that can affect it? I welcome your thoughts and comments.

“Various reports from around the world over the last three years note that have consumers increasingly experience poor coverage with their smartphones. The challenge for mobile operators is that the perceived coverage rarely reflects the quality of the network that the operators build and run, but rather the quality of the smartphones that people use. As a new ground-breaking study shows, the quality of the smartphone combined with how it is used and configured is more to blame that the mobile network.

Of course, that tends to lead us down the path that much of the conversation in the USA has been taking when it comes to mobile. Frankly, people are cutting costs, and mobile contracts are catching part of that wave. Over at the NY Times, an Alina Tugend talks about some of the decisions that people have to make concerning going to mobiles w/o contracts, and some of the false perceptions that having such mobiles brings out:

No-contract phones — or prepaid, which is essentially the same thing — have been around for quite some time, but most consumers thought they were “for people who couldn’t afford a better phone or couldn’t pass a credit check,” said Jayne Wallace, a spokeswoman for the Sprint Prepaid Group, which was formed in 2010. Sprint owns Virgin Mobile and Boost Mobile, both of which offer no-contract phones.

The Great Recession shook things up, though, as people started looking at where they could cut back on monthly bills — and began to investigate new cellphone options. At the same time, good phones were getting cheaper.

Its not simply a matter of just having a mobile, but its about knowing the kind of environment that you have around that mobile, and then what’s conductive to keep or lose inside of that. Part of that indeed has to do with where you live, and the mobile device. Another part has to do with what’s in your wallet to keep things going. As stories go, mobiles continue to shape the ones we make. Stories like these two are part of the mosaic, even if they don’t expressly state an intersection of faith that we are used to looking for.

A Beautiful Mobile Experience

Screenshot of Communication Arts Magazine from Kindle Fire HD

One of the complaints that I hear from time to time is how religious apps (and services) are functional, but lack beauty. If you will, many are pretty in functionality, but not always in asthetics. That’s not always the case, but it happens often enough that one has to wonder what happened to all of those skills that did the Sistine Chapel and other works of art we admire so much.

Per my usual travels through the web, I wandered into Communication Arts Magazine and some of the events/competitions they have going on this year. I made it through a few items and started wondering when we’ll start seeing mobile apps from faith/religious organizations get nominated (in the Interactive category). As we talked about before, there are several design trends that do mark some items, but I wonder when we’ll see some more.

Some beautiful apps/services in this domain? Here are a few:

Those are just a few which come to mind. I’m sure there are others (well-know and not so). What are some of those beautiful apps and services to you?