WEB EVANGELISM BULLETIN
. . . learning from each other
W-E-B Issue 180 ~ July 2010
Monthly ISSN 471-0323
News this time...
INTERNET MINISTRY CONFERENCE BACK IN OCTOBER, & OTHER CONFERENCES
THE WORLD WE LIVE IN
MISSION AND EVANGELISM
PLEASE CHANGE YOUR LINKS
INTERNET SAFETY
KINDLE FOR PC AND IPHONE
MOBILE PHONES AND DEVICES
COMMUNICATING WELL
POPULAR CULTURE
TIPS
RESIZE DIGITAL PICS ONLINE
TAILEND
"It isn't that they can't see the solution. It's that they can't see the problem." - G K Chesterton
INTERNET MINISTRY CONFERENCE BACK IN OCTOBER, & OTHER CONFERENCES
After two gap years, Internet Ministry Conference is being held again: Grand Rapids,
26-27 October 2010:
http://www.internetministryconference.com/
September, COICOM, this year in Dominican Republic, will once again offer web evangelism tracks:
http://www.internetevangelismday.com/events.php
SOCIAL MEDIA TRAINING IN LONDON - partnership of Evangelical Alliance, Slipstream and
Premier Radio - September, October and November:
http://jasonclark.ws/social-media-training-events-this-autumn-in-l
ONLINE EVANGELISM IN POLAND - recent CCM web evangelism conference in Poland - some
short video clips from several speakers:
http://www.ccm.pl/conference-videos
THE WORLD WE LIVE IN
SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME - touch typing, predictive text - now comes shape writing:
http://www.loosewireblog.com/2010/06/the-shape-of-things-to-come.html
LEGIONNAIRE'S DISEASE - a windscreen wash-bottle provides the ideal place - warm,
stagnant water - to breed dangerous bugs. Research in the European Journal of Epidemiology
suggests professional drivers are more likely to get infected. Although the research
suggests that adding windscreen wash is sufficient, I have often found that my own
screenwash water will often smell. (As you ask, rather like, er, cats.) So a few drops of
antiseptic (as well as screen fluid) in the screenwash bottle is a safe option:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/10293519.stm
BLASTS FROM THE PAST - the last pre-revolution-born Russian Romanov, Leonida Georgievna
(wife of the pretender to the throne); and the last son of Austro-Hungarian Emperor, both
died in June. Happily still with us, Marconi's daughter Elektra (what else would he name
her!) was on BBC Radio 4 recently:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00syqml#synopsis
MACHINE TRANSLATION is getting surprisingly good, at least for online conversation,
even when users have no common language, says Wired Magazine:
http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/06/st_thompson_autotranslation/
TWITTER - half of messages not in English:
http://mashable.com/2010/02/24/half-messages-twitter-english/
GOBAR GAS - home biogas production for Asia has huge benefits in reducing deforestation,
time spent collecting firewood, inhalation danger from wood smoke indoors, etc. Looks
like a win-win situation:
http://www.michaelyon-online.com/gobar-gas.htm
STARLINGS - amazing starling flocks are 'flying avalanches':
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/06/starling-physics/
MARRIAGE - Open Letter to Husbands by Danny Franks in the Connective Tissue blog:
http://dannyfranks.wordpress.com/2010/06/15/topical-tuesday-an-open-letter-to-husbands/
MISSION AND EVANGELISM
INDONESIA - web use is expanding dramatically, says the Straits Times:
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/TechandScience/Story/STIStory_545031.html
3 MILLION MOSES BABIES IN CHINA? Chinese parents are hiding 3 million babies each year
to get around the country's one-child policy:
http://bit.ly/9B2WAT
MIGRATION - This is the age of world migration - with huge potential for the
gospel:
http://missionsmandate.org/index.php/2010/06/10/trends-in-international-population-movements/
FINDING THE NEWS SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO - Justin Long, mission researcher, produces four
different email newsletters covering latest news and developments in different areas, with
an emphasis on missions, world issues, future watching and more. Sign up here:
http://www.justinlong.org/subscribe/
MISSION - What's a global city? asks Ed Stetzer:
http://www.edstetzer.com/2010/05/global-cities-and-gospel-influ.html
LEARN MISSION - The Kairos Course is a nine-session, interactive course on world
Christian mission, designed to educate, inspire and challenge Christians to active and
meaningful participation. Ideal for local churches, organizations or special interest
groups:
http://kairoscourse.org/index.html
VACANCIES IN SENEGAL - urgent need September for teachers (do not need to have specific
qualifications) in school for multi-national ex-pat mission kids. Please make this
known.
http://www.bcs-senegal.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9&Itemid=39
Flyer: http://ieday.net/images/BCSNeedsyou.jpg
PLEASE CHANGE YOUR LINKS
Until 2008, the Internet Evangelism Day website was on the gospelcom subdomain ied.gospelcom.net and the Web Evangelism Guide was on guide.gospelcom.net. Forwarding to our new domain names from gospelcom.net has now ceased. However, there are hundreds of old links out there still. Some may be in your site or blog. Please could you have a quick search, and amend any links you have for ied.gospelcom.net/somepage to http://www.internetevangelismday.com/somepage
and
guide.gospelcom.net/resources/somepage to http://www.web-evangelism.com/resources/somepage
Of course, new links to any IE Day page (or blog posts about them) are also warmly welcomed and each page carries ready-made code for this.
Please, if you are on Facebook:
1) Become a fan at http://www.facebook.com/internetevangelismday
2) Click the 'Like/Recommend' buttons on any page of the IE Day site or blog
3) Use the longer Facebook summary available on every page, to add details about it to
your Facebook wall
And if you are on Twitter, please Tweet about any page, blog posting, or book review, using the ready-made text available when you click the Twitter button on that page.
INTERNET SAFETY
USE YOUR MOUSE - ALWAYS. There is a big increase in spam email purporting to come from,
for example, Amazon. It's very cleverly done, either about a supposed order you have made,
or asking you to 'confirm' a new email address. Don't fall for it. On any suspicous email,
always hover the links within it and see where they really link to:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/malware-watch-malicious-amazon-themed-emails-in-the-wild/6863
FACEBOOK - beware of 'likejacking':
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/feeds/facebook-likejacking-spam-scams-continue/2873
FACEBOOK tightens up on spamming:
http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2010/06/26/facebook-slamming-the-back-door-on-spammers/
iPhone - credit to Steve Jobs for banning bad stuff from iPhone apps, says Greg
Atkinson:
http://gregatkinson.com/2010/06/18/steve-jobs-takes-a-stand/
FRAUD - is this a new way to beat it?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704111704575355573300913824.html
PROTECT CHILDREN ONLINE - resources and links:
http://www.communicatejesus.com/2010/07/resources-how-to-protect-our-children-online/
PROBLEMS with p o * n:
http://www.communicatejesus.com/2010/06/four-posts-on-porn/
KINDLE FOR PC AND IPHONE
Want to buy and read Kindle books on your PC, MAC, iPhone, Android, Blackberry or iPad? Download the new free Kindle software. It does not currently support search or annotation, but these are promised soon.
Review: http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/product/333516/review/kindle_for_pc.html
Download:http://tinyurl.com/38ox339
Apparently, Amazon.com is selling more ebooks than paper ones. Hard to believe, but
it's in Wired.com so it must be true:
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/07/amazon-more-e-books-than-hardcovers/
MOBILE PHONES AND DEVICES
TRAINING AND CONSULTATION - Antoine J Wright says, "While it's a certainty that we now
live in a time technologically where mobile and social trends are redefining assumptions
and expectations, what's not as certain is the impact on personal and spiritual
development as it relates to the local and global church. Mobile Ministry Magazine (MMM)
assists ministries and organizations to understand these impacts through speaking,
training workshops, and strategic consultation services. These insights are shared also on
the MMM blog, in addition to reports and case studies, which enable the reader to engage
the story and history of the Christian faith through a mobile lens."
For more information about Mobile Ministry Magazine, and how your ministry or
organization can benefit from its knowledge and expertise:
http://mobileministrymagazine.com/
Watch a video of Antoine discussing mobile ministry potential:
http://www.internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/2133
EVANGELISM VIDEO - using an iPhone to share a video:
http://www.esisite.com/blog/chinese-lady-in-nz-never-heard-of-christianity-or-bible.html
iPHONES: Using iPhone User Interface Framework (iUI) to create "native" websites for
the iPhone:
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/beyond/webmaster/toolbox/article.php/3892711
iPADS - Four creative ways to use an iPad in your ministry:
http://www.bedeviant.com/4-creative-ways-to-use-an-ipad-in-your-ministry
MAKING ANDROID APPLICATIONS - The cost of having phone apps developed professionally is
high, and sometimes it is better to build a mobile-equipped webpage to achieve much of the
usability of an app. However, the good news is that Android app development is open source
and a new app developer has been released by Google. There seems little doubt that Android
will become the dominant operating system on mobile phones, with even mid-range phones
such as the Vodafone 845 now running it:
http://www.developer.com/daily_news/article.php/405680
http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2010/07/13/new-google-release-could-change-everything
APPS. "Where are the apps and games?" asks Download Squad. With a projected 5 billion
mobile phone accounts by end of 2010 (though some are multiple-owned sim-cards) there is a
need for simple text-based games and educational tools for Africa and Asia:
http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/05/5-billion-mobile-phones-by-2010-but-where-are-the-apps-games/
APPS - Android or iPhone app to add StickyBits to things. No, I don't quite understand
it yet either:
http://techsmo.com/tagged/StickyBits
MOBILE SITES - How to use Safari for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch website testing:
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/beyond/webmaster/toolbox/article.php/3889011
MOBILE GROWTH in Africa:
http://whiteafrican.com/2010/07/20/links-from-mobile-africa/
and China:
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90882/7073821.html
COMMUNICATING WELL
HOW TO sell Christianity? Ask an atheist, says Jim Henderson:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/2010-06-28-column28_ST_N.htm
DISPLAY information graphically - it is how we are wired:
http://www.internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/2148
WHAT IF God Read Your Posts? Christian Conduct on the Internet:
http://www.reclaimingthemind.org/blog/2010/07/what-if-god-read-your-posts-christian-conduct-on-the-internet/
UNDERSTANDING 'word of mouth':
http://www.conversionmarketingforum.com/en/blog/understanding-word-mouth-marketing-5-reasons-why-people-share-brand-stories
PROBLEMS of mass evangelism?
http://www.justinlong.org/2010/06/the-problem-with-mass-evangelism/
EMOTIONAL Robots - "We asked residents of a secular university city whether there
was
anything they were still absolutely sure of. Their answers suggest bridges as well as
barriers for
dialogue between Christian and secular neighbors."
http://vimeo.com/8700659
NORMS - all communities operate norms, and feel uncomfortable with, and show that
discomfort, to those who are different. This raises the question of when and how to be
counter-cultural, and when and how to appropriately fit in to the culture around us:
http://www.allthingsworkplace.com/2010/06/want-to-influence-know-the-norms.html
CONTEXTUALIZATION - two-part feature, with an explanation of culture, by Ed
Stetzer:
http://www.edstetzer.com/2010/06/calling-for-contextualization.html
http://www.edstetzer.com/2010/06/calling-for-contextualization-1.html
PAUL CONTEXTUALIZING IN ATHENS -interesting posts about Paul's contextual approach in
Athens:
http://www.internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/2081
TELLING IT SO IT MAKES SENSE - contextualization without compromise:
http://www.internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/1770
BURNING LABELS AND BUILDING BRIDGES - wisdom from Church Whisperer blog:
http://www.internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/1787
SELF-PUBLISHING - what you need to know, from a successful Christian author:
http://www.edcyz.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-self-publishing-solving-the-distribution-problem/07/
IMPOSTER SYNDROME - are you a sufferer?
http://www.internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/2172
'AUGMENTED REALITY' - what is it, on mobile phones and in real life:
http://www.internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/2054
POPULAR CULTURE
INCEPTION - this new sci-fi film is getting high praise. Thought-provoking. Spiritual
parallels:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/movies/reviews/2010/inception.html
ANIMATION: If you like Studio Ghibli films or French cinema, you will surely love
Silvain Shomet's new animation THE ILLUSIONIST. "... almost painfully lovely," says the
London Times. Watch trailer here (plus how to get the new Christian EVEREST film):
http://www.internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/1984
And TOY STORY 3 is getting rave reviews. Don't take tissues, take a towel. This is WEEPY. Contains many issues that are discussion starters for older children in youth groups.
LOST IN LOST? Why the series is so significant:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/mayweb-only/30-54.0.html?start=3
DAWN TREADER - watch the trailer:
http://www.hollywoodjesus.com/movieDetail.cfm/i/AB6E5E82-BCF2-7B1C-5F6EF6EBABC66689
KITCHEN NIGHTMARES - What can churches learn from Kitchen Nightmares TV series?
http://garyrohrmayer.typepad.com/yourjourneyblog/2010/05/church-nightmares.html
TIPS
- non-techies look away now
ANIMATED GIFS - there's probably still a place for occasional animated GIFs on a
website, if done appropriately. Here's a tutorial on creating them:
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/tutorials/web_graphics/article.php/3479881
FREE WHITEPAPER on Malware server defense:
http://tinyurl.com/32bh32c
FACEBOOK - add a 'Like' button to an HTML email. (Note,the code displayed does not copy
correctly when pasted - ensure the double quotes are changed to normal upright double
quotes, and the & amp; code to '&'.)
http://emailexpert.org/adding-a-facebook-like-button-to-your-email-template/
CSS authoring tools:
http://www.webreference.com/authoring/css_tools/
PHOTOS - search directly for Creative Commons photos on Flickr and also get read-to-use
html code for them:
http://www.imagecodr.org/search.html
FTP - learn more:
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/beyond/webmaster/article.php/3473281
JAVASCRIPT -10 snippets for common tasks:
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/beyond/javascript/article.php/3887346
SPEED UP WINDOWS XP - easy tips:
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/five-tips/?p=169&tag=nl.e101
ROUND CORNERS - buttons with rounded corners and hover color by CSS:
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/beyond/css/article.php/3891201
TWEETDECK - has added some valuable new features for Tweeters:
http://www.tweetdeck.com/
USE RSS TO DISPLAY ON YOUR SITE - creative uses for RSS feeds:
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/beyond/xml/article.php/3886056
KETCHUP is a tool that allows you to create agendas, add notes and keep in one place so
you never forget what was discussed at the meeting and what you agreed to do!
http://www.useketchup.com/
RESIZE DIGITAL PICS ONLINE:
http://www.vso-software.fr/products/image_resizer/
http://www.kreynet.de/dropic/(for MACs)
CHROME - making it even more secure:
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/10things/?p=1548&tag=nl.e101
GMAIL - need to view full email header? Click down-pointing arrow to the right of the reply button.
TAILEND ô¿ô
Five things you don't want to hear from Tech Support:
1. "Duuuuuude! Bummer!"
2. "In layman's terms, we call that the Hindenburg Effect."
3. "Your problem can be fixed, but you're going to need a butter knife, a roll of duct tape and a car battery."
4. "Press 1 for Support.
Press 2 if you're with '60 minutes'.
Press 3 if you're with the FTC."
5. "Hold on a second, please ... Mom! Timmy's hitting me!"
[Source: http://www.cybersalt.org/ ]
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