Training materials
2006: Church Webs - Beyond the Basics
- Adding religious news
- Spiritual groups, forums, blogs
- Anti-spam tactics
- Optimize for search
2004: Communications & Technology in the Local Church
Training materials
2006: Church Webs - Beyond the Basics
2004: Communications & Technology in the Local Church
Yahoo! And Google both offer groups. These are really just a modern and more attractive version of what are called “Usenet” newsgroups. Someone sets up a group title and description, and then people register to be a group member. You can often choose to receive group messages via email or else you access the new messages via the web. Such groups are “public” – available from Yahoo! or Google (and others) in a list of all available groups. Since the group is handled by Google or Yahoo!, it is not well integrated into a church web site.
By definition, discussion boards (or forums) are a place for group discussion.
Example: http://www.christianwebsite.com/talk/
Discussion Board (or Forums) may be hosted on a remote server or integrated into the organization web server. Alternatives vary from commercial software you buy and configure for your Web server to inexpensive or free software or even free hosting. Free hosting may mean you are required to display ads (not the best option for a religious non-profit web site).
Online community tools let people publish content, participated in threaded discussion, share calendars, post notes, create lists, conduct polls, use private chat rooms, exhibit images, exchange files, send instant messages, and more. This is a significant expansion from a Discussion Board or Forum.
Blog is an shortened form of “weblog” and may have arisen out of a desire to set them apart from system "logs". A blog began as a personal journal by the writer. It can be educational, informative, chatty, or whatever the writer wants. New entries usually appear at the top of the web page text display. One really handy feature is that blogging software automatically archives postings after a set period. Blogs seem to be “hot” right now.
As they have evolved, however, even corporations have started blogs. Such blogs might discuss company products, progress, or plans for the future. A university’s blog might contain information about the campus or perhaps comments on upcoming events. These are in essence an extension of the organization’s public relations or marketing departments. Blog content may also be available via RSS (Really Simple Syndication), which requires an RSS reader to view.
Also, blog software can allow comments about postings by the writer. Blog software is even getting used to publish some news.
"The activity of updating a blog is "blogging" and someone who keeps a blog is a "blogger." Blogs are typically updated daily using software that allows people with little or no technical background to update and maintain the blog."
( http://www.conceptwebsites.com/SEO/common-terms.htm#b)
Most blogs have a few things in common ( from WordPress):
Many bloggers and forum users use their real name or else a name and email address they commonly use. That’s not a very good idea when the internet is becoming a playground for information thieves who steal your passwords, identity, and if at all possible your money. Seriously consider this when deciding whether to start a blog.
There are several general types of blogs.
Most spiritual blogs are done by individuals, not religious organizations. If a member of the church starts one, maybe it should not be directly associated with your church. On the other hand, a pastor might choose to start a spiritual blog. In that case, you might consider adding it to your site or have it prominently linked. Or perhaps the Youth group or a leadership team (Sunday School teachers, VBS planners, the outreach/mission team, etc.) within the church wants to use a blog for exchanging ideas. (Or that could be done via emails.) Just remember that it’s publicly available for all to read unless given some sort of password protection.
A church blog could offer the opportunity to continue hallway or parking lot spiritual discussions. Some examples of church or church-related blogs:
Emerging Church Blogs, http://www.emergingchurch.info/blogs/index.htm. This fits with the original design of a blog being for individual expression.
BloggingChurches, http://www.bloggingchurch.com/home/. The Web page also has links to blogging churches and blogging pastors. Check them all out for ideas or self-evaluation.
You have options on where the blog files are located as well as how you display the blog for visitors.
You need to decide how your blog will be hosted – on your church’s web server or on a different server. Check with your web hosting company -- your web hosting plan may not allow you to add blog software to your site. If you add server-side software to your server, you may want to check out Movable Type. But some server-side blog software requires basic programming. Look before you leap. Also, you may need to install some blogging software on your computer in order to properly code and upload the files.
There is some free and some "minimalist" blog software available (such as Blosxom), but these usually involve using the Perl programming language or a similar one. Some are easier to use. Example: WordPress, http://wordpress.org/
The other option is to host your blog at another site that uses a simple GUI interface. Some are free; some charge for the service. You can search (e.g. Google) for “free blog” and begin searching.
Find hosting for a blog by searching (e.g. Google) for both “blog” and “software”. Also search (e.g. Google) for both “blog” and “hosting”.
One example: e-church, A free spiritual weblog service
http://www.e-church.com/Home.asp
[Quoted from their site] "A spiritual blog allows you to easily publish your thoughts and feelings about God on the Internet. It is where you to can participate in church unfiltered and unedited. At e-Church, you can explore all aspects of spirituality, church, God and Christianity.
But a good spiritual blog does not strictly deal with "lofty" ideas. In fact, spiritual blogs are more like conversations after church in the foyer (or in the parking lot), across the office cubicle or at family get-togethers. We believe everything we experience is part of the Christian conversation.”
Beware of how you moderate a discussion board (forum) or two-way blog. A moderated board is one where an administrator (moderator) has the ability to delete messages that have been posted. Common areas about content that need are:
Censorship. An unmoderated board can degenerate into a flame war or nasty language. Yet, if you appear to censor strong opinions you just don’t like, it can kill any credibility you have.
Foul or hateful language. On the other hand, you cannot afford to allow indecent or extremely discourteous language on a church-affiliated discussion board or two-way blog. You don’t want people either posting filthy language or “flaming” others. For a church site, you’ll also need to decide how much, if any, anti-Christian message comments you’ll tolerate. After all, if you post a message on the web, someone will want to take pot shots at it. If you cannot accept negative comments, don’t start a blog or forum.
Accurate theology. Another major concern of any blog or forum associated with your church is keeping any religious statements accurate.