The morning in review -
The opening plenary session featured Rick Klau, vice president of
business development at FeedBurner, a leading manager of syndicated content feeds from weblogs, podcasts etc. that connects providers and users. Klau, not only shared with attendees the current state of web-based technologies like instant messaging, blogging, and virtual communities, but also his expertise to help us, as communicators, better connect with those we seek to reach.
"Well, well, well..." - Pastor Stephen Gary Marsh opened our day with a Bible study on the woman at the well. We explored the communication rhetoric in the text, specifically the use of agitation - the technique of uncovering through provocative statements and probing questions the passions, interests and beliefs of, in this case, the Samaritan woman, while challenging her to act on them.
The opening plenary session featured Rick Klau, vice president of
business development at FeedBurner, a leading manager of syndicated content feeds from weblogs, podcasts etc. that connects providers and users. Klau, not only shared with attendees the current state of web-based technologies like instant messaging, blogging, and virtual communities, but also his expertise to help us, as communicators, better connect with those we seek to reach.
posted by Daranne | 2:20 PM
3 Comments:
Greetings fellow ELCA Communicators' Conference attendees. Great synopsis of the conference! I'm enjoying the pictures and your personal perspective of the event.
I'm curious as to how some of the speakers' comments have impacted you. This morning Klau spoke of the need for our churches to 'blog', be on 'myspace', utilize 'youtube'. The LWF Young Communicators would be representative of one of the ideal audiences in Klau's opinion (the other ideal audience being retirees - another very interesting perspective but we'll leave that conversation for another post). Do you feel these communication tools would assist in reaching the youth in our churches? What else would you add to their comments?
I think the blog could potentially revolutionize the way young people are involved in the church - it meets young people where they are already at and gives them the voice that they may not have in traditional parish settings because of age-ism or a lack of confidence that prevents them from expressing their views. Practically, it also overcomes the hardships of geographic disparity and is cost effective.
Blogging is certainly not a substitute for fellowship that is realized in community, be it in a congregation, summer camp etc., but certainly has the potential to build momentum that enriches such community.
I agree with Daranne... and this is true not only for youth but for us no-longer-quite-youth as well! I have recently started a blog for young adult Lutherans (http:youngadultlutherans.blogspot.com) and within its first three days of life, six members have joined and many have posted! There is something about the blog format of communication that seems to feel authentic to its users--maybe the informality, the unpolished-ness, the variety of subjects covered. Many bloggers I know have said they feel their blog expresses their whole identity by integrating aspects that are usually separated: faith life, work life, favorite literature or films, their responses to news of all kinds. I also fear the lack of embodiment that virtual communication involves... but the relationships formed are unquestionably real, and sometimes more is shared than would have been in a more formal, in-person setting,
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