• What a jam-packed weekend! I was fortunate enough to be a part of the Farrell’s corporate training event here in Des Moines. We talked social media: 101 & 301 to be exact.
• Saturday afternoon, a long time challenge was fulfilled! Mr. Carlos Whittaker finally visited the DeMo, and we could not have been happier to have him. It was the first time I’ve been able to meet Carlos in person, which made being here in Des Moines even sweeter.
• Speaking of Los, he’s completely legit and has the social media street cred I can only hope for! I swear he tweets from his brain. BrainTweet. “Prolific” is an understatement! It was fun to hang with the man behind the meatloaf. Hearing the story of his 10,000th tweet was, in a word, exquisite.
• Saturday night my lovely wife and I got to celebrate Valentine’s Day (better late than never) by going to a new Mexican joint and hitting up “Just Go With It”. Mexican food is fast becoming a fave. The movie was cute, fun and only slightly inappropriate.
• I’ll be heading out to sunny Irvine, CA for Catalyst West. Is anyone here going? If so, you need to come to the CFCC meetup that Timmy Schraeder and I are hosting at Muldoon’s on Wednesday night. Be there. HOLLA!
• Here in Des Moines, I am officially known as “Iowa Girl Eats’ brother!” And I’m okay with that.
• If someone could figure out how to market a set of scalable, repeatable social media classes (101, 201, 301, etc.) that presented basic information yet treated people with dignity and respect, they’d make a lot of money.
• Exponential is coming up fast and furious. But before the conference, I’m going to be a part of the precon alongside Tim Schraeder and Kem Meyer. We’d love to have you there. Join us!
• Sam DuRegger is moving closer to Des Moines. This is a good thing. Very good.
• Kevin Hendricks is one of the most talented, under-the-radar editors this side of the ol’ Miss. If you have a project you’re needing a keen editing eye on, hit Kevin up. Trust me, your project will be instantly better.
• I’m heading to KC in a month or so to check out possible locations for the Social Media Summit. Can’t wait. Matt and Darrell, here’s looking at you!
• Speaking of Summits, we have the digital ministry intensive coming up in a few short weeks. Have you registered yet?
• What’s the latest and greatest in your world, deviants?

I’m borrowing a page from Lifehacker here: Tell me who has an engaging church or ministry Facebook page.

I want examples that you’ve personally built, interacted with or seen. Leave the URL in the comments section below and maybe a note about why you liked it, what you liked about it, etc.

2011 is expected to the year that organizations begin to get a strong and standardized feel for social media ROI. I want to do some anecdotal research of my own with your help!

An example I’ll share is Soul City Church. I had the chance to talk with Soul staffer Kurt Duggleby earlier this week and he pointed me to their page. It’s interactive, informative—heck, it even got a mention from Smashing Mag! Well done guys!

So tell me…. Who is doing Facebook well? Ready? GO!

I’ve been blogging recently on social media and ministry and how to get results. I believe in the power of the social web, and I believe that churches should utilize these new media to further the Kingdom of God.

That being said, sometimes results are hard to come by. Just what are we measuring anyway?

• Are we measuring “souls saved”? (And how does one quantify that, exactly?)
• Are we measuring offering dollars in the plate? (Seems like something worthwhile to track, but ultimately shallow.)
• Are we measuring butts in the seats? (Again, important to measure, but increased attendance does not a faithful church make.)

One of the primary factors of success in social web ministry, in my opinion, is relationship building. Simply put, do your social media ministry efforts enable you to build more relationships with real, live, flesh-and-blood people?

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The good folks at eMarketer put together a killer webinar on social media ROI (return on investment). ROI with social media is a tricky thing because it both fits and doesn’t fit into the conventional method of measuring ROI.

Fits: Measuring how many people come to your website and go on to buy something.
Doesn’t Fit: What’s the value of a tweet? A tweet from a famous person? (Oddly enough, it’s not as high as you’d think).

There were lots of facts and figures shared, but I wanted to share the ones that stuck out to me the most.

Ready? Here we go:

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• My search for social media metrics in church and ministry settings has largely come up short. I want to know how social media is affecting churches across the nation. Can you help?
• I’m launching a new blog tomorrow. Can’t wait. I’ve been sitting on this one for awhile!
• Half of the Super Bowl ad campaigns will feature or launch a social media endeavor. That’s a big deal.
• On a related note, I read recently that 50% of Brits use social media while watching TV. They call it “Social TV”. Aptly named, but huge implications for the blending of new and old media. It’s a trend that will also continue. Need proof? Follow the #bachelor hashtag tonight.
• I tried a little Twitter experiment at church this past weekend. I tweeted out towards the end of the message, “Find me and win a $50 gift card to the book store!” Within five minutes after service was over, I had a winner. Think people at your church aren’t on Twitter? Think again.
• Need to lift your spirits? Watch the Interlude Dance. Some students at my alma mater, UNI, made this. I had the chance to see it live and in person last week and the guy is right, it is like a religious experience.
• Apple TV just got a whole lot cooler. If you have the device and are comfy with hacking, get Seas0nPass. Well worth it.
• I’m becoming averse to the term “Social Media Strategist,” and I am one. It feels…hokey.
• My wife and I saw “No Strings Attached” over the weekend. Take out 50% of the curse words and the pointless drug use and you’ve got four stars. Otherwise, I’d give it three and a half.
• By 2012, 88% of marketers will use social media tools.
• What’s the latest and greatest in your world, deviants?

I posted a question on Twitter the other day:

I felt this was a big enough ask to post it here on the blog. So I posit to you the same question as above:

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Something for churches to chew on:

‘There is nothing wrong with using a church website to simply give directions to the church or state the church’s beliefs,’ McConnell added. ‘However, we must realize that more and more people expect to be able to interact online without having to drive or make a phone call to the church.’

I find this satisfying.

We’re at a time in church communications where a website can be both/and. Both an informational outpost and an interactive online community. Clearly, though, church websites favor the former over the latter.

I think we’ll find this trend reversing in the next 5-10 years. Church websites will be places of rich interactivity, depth and content.

Websites will continue to provide information about the church. But more importantly, the interactivity within the site will allow you to experience the church before you even step foot inside.

I like how Fellowship Technology’s Curtis Simmons puts it:

‘Social networking tools have become an integral part of most people’s daily lives and relationships … If churches desire to connect with their congregation and community in meaningful ways, then they need to establish a strategy for actively engaging in the social media conversation. Thousands of individuals are sharing support and encouragement through these tools. The church needs to be an active participant in these conversations and connections.’

What’s your take?

• I spent a few days last week in San Diego visiting some friends. Want to know how the trip went? Here’s a look at some of the food I ate: Here and here and (not) here.
• I’m thinking of picking up a goLITE sun lamp on the recommendation of Tim Ferriss. It’s cold here in the DeMo. Like, real cold. A little vitamin D never hurt anyone, right?
• Ricky Gervais intrigues me. He goes from plump, affable comic to sarcastic, wry atheist, seemingly overnight. Even Hollywood noticed at the Golden Globes. Then there’s his interview with Piers Morgan. What do you think?
• I have a newfound love for my iPad. After watching a few movies on the plane, writing a few pages and answering some emails, I don’t think I could find a better travel companion. Huzzah technology!
• Want to know what Pandora station I’ve been digging on lately? Listen here.
• I’ve begun implementing Freedom into my workflow. Seems you don’t realize how many digital distractions there are until you turn them off.
• My little guy has peanut and milk allergies. Poor Finny! Good news is the doc thinks he’ll grow out of it in time for grade school. The cause? “We (Americans) are too clean.”
• Slight change in programming. I’m fortunate enough to be able to head to Catalyst West. It was a last-minute addition, so I’ll be moving the digital ministry intensive to Saturday, March 12. Have you grabbed a ticket yet?
• I snipped at an elderly man on the plane. We were jammed in like sardines and he wanted to move from his middle seat a few rows up to the empty one next to mine. Gah. I like my space (I am 6’4″), but that’s still no excuse. I felt terrible. I apologized profusely. We shared coffee together. All is well.
• Julien Smith writes a guide on being awesome (Caution: Strong language, but I like the heart of what he’s getting at. Read past the curse words.).
• What’s the latest and greatest in your world, deviants?

• Is it just me or did the Patriots lose last night? My father-in-law, born and raised in a Boston suburb, will not be happy. Happy for Shon Greene (former Hawkeye). Sad for all the little Boston kids who woke up crushed this morning.
• For those who came to the party late, like me: Deadmau5.
• I finally got my first bottle of Templeton Rye over the weekend (thanks Ma! Thanks Old Man!) It’s legit. Delivers as advertised. Smooth, sweet, delicious. It was Al Capone’s whiskey for a reason!
• Launching a few new endeavors in the next couple of months. In March we’re doing a digital ministry intensive for this in the greater Des Moines area. 30 spots available…
• …But before then, I’ll be launching a new site I’ve been tinkering on for the past few months. Can’t wait for you all to see it!
• Blogging must run in my family or something. My baby sister is, in the words of a developer friend, “legit.” Iowa Girl Eats, a.k.a. Kristin Porter, a.k.a. Kristin Wise, is taking Des Moines (and the world) by storm. Go get ‘em girl!
• About two-thirds done with my first eBook “A Simple Guide to Blogging“. Jam-packed with bloggy goodness and the story of how this site came into being.
• I finished Tim Ferriss’ 4-Hour Workweek over the weekend and cracked the (digital) spine on his new one, 4-Hour Body. Already liking Body more than Workweek. Tim seems more at home when talking about nutrition and fitness.
• Holla! Social Network won best picture last night at the Golden Globes. People were upset because Inception didn’t win. They shouldn’t be. Network was clearly better. I liked Inception, but it was no Matrix, as people were claiming it to be.
• What’s the latest and greatest in your world, deviants?

When we launched the Social Media Summit last year, I had no idea what I was doing.

No conference planning experience to speak of.
No budget to work with.
No confirmed speakers or presenters.
Nothing.

But then something wild happened–it worked. All I had was a desire to get people in the same room and talk about how to do digital ministry. How to best further God’s kingdom online. And it worked.

Here’s the thing: I want to keep going. And I want you to be a part of it. That’s why I’m excited to announce our first Social Media Summit Intensive!

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