Mormon Bloggers

I haven’t been this excited about something the church has done in a long time.  Don’t get me wrong.  I love the blessings of being involved in church activity each week, especially as I watch the young single adults grow and develop (I serve in the Bishopric of a YSA ward).  But for me, this is probably the single most exciting development I have seen come from Salt Lake City in many years. I’m talking about the new Mormon.org, a complete redesign of the companion website to lds.org, the two main websites of the Mormon church.  Since I make a living with computers in IT support, I have been watching the church embrace and use technology for my entire adult life.  In the early nineties I wondered for a long time when the church would finally get a website.  When they did, it took me a while to not think that it was just a little bit behind the times even when it was new.  I felt the same way when Mormon.org first came out.  But with release 4.0 of the site,... Read the rest of this entry »

Meridian Magazine recently published an article How I use Facebook to Share the Gospel of Jesus Christ by our own VP of Technology, Heather Newall. With the emergence of more and more official LDS Church websites, accounts and channels on many social networks, more and more people are choosing to participate in sharing their beliefs online.  With the surge of more and more members being active in Internet discussions and communities there needs to be an importance placed on being safe and being sensitive. One point that was emphasized in the article is that just because the Internet allows us the opportunity to fail, to sin, or to destroy our lives, doesn’t mean we now have an excuse to do so.  I like the imagery used to present this concept: “I’m not afraid of climbing the mountain, just because there are drops along the way. I know that just because I can fall, doesn’t give me the excuse to jump.” It is valuable to note the number of ways you can share the gospel... Read the rest of this entry »

Just a note or two before I pass the baton to Marion . . . As I have been haunting the internet in the last two years I have come across some very fascinating people who are talented authors. One in particular is also a media guru. Not the self-proclaimed type on twitter who thinks they are going to help you conquer the world if you emulate their superior online marketing skillz (you know, the ones who follow thousands of people but themselves only have fifty followers), but the REAL kind of media guru.The kind who people listen to. In addition to being a very talented author, Marion Jensen is a media advocate. He is a techie. He is someone who understands things like Creative Commons, the rise of e-books, and the ways in which the internet is changing at the most basic levels. I invited him to share his thoughts about media today. Since he won’t give a plug for his own books, I will do so for him. Marion writes under the pen name Matthew Buckley, and has two published middle-grade... Read the rest of this entry »

Question: “We are probably all familiar with the latest new website; Facebook. I was told by many that it is a clean and safe site, free of vulgarity and pornography and that it is filtered to be family safe. Upon entering myself and my daughter into their database and begining to download photos, and searching for family and friends, I noticed a vast array of inapropriate photos that were able to be posted. My daughter, my husband and myself have fallen victim to that quick photo that pops up that someone has chosen to post as their home photo. Everyone that is on Facebook can see it while looking for people. I have deleted my page and my dilema is this: How do I present my displeasure of this site to my daughter? She loves keeping up with her friends and family too, but this site is not safe for her. What words of advice are there for this situation? Please help me to protect my family concerning the dangers of the internet.” Answer: I suggest you speak to your daughter about... Read the rest of this entry »

Recently, I have spent a fair amount of time reading about social media and promotion. Whereas social sites like Facebook and Twitter used to be the magical realms where only the brave, computer savvy individual would dare tread, more and more people have started to ride the wave. But individuals are not the only ones who have taken notice. Businesses are starting to build and manage their own accounts on these sites so that they can quickly and efficiently disseminate information to their followers. And I am not talking about just BIG business, either. Small mom-and-pop operations, artists, musicians, marketers, insurance agents, professionals in every industry . . . they are all participating. I have been no different–because I have seen the power (wisely used/not abused) of these sites when people with large followings use the mediums to keep in touch with their peeps and tweeps. This brings me to my subject about BRANDING. I have started a list on twitter where I am following... Read the rest of this entry »

This morning, I thought I’d let you all know about an excellent resource directory building daily over at Latter-dayDirectory.com. To quote from their “About” page: The Latterday Directory is a unique and innovative source for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to promote, search, and connect with businesses and events either sponsored by or owned by fellow church members. The aim of the site is to provide targeted promotional opportunities for our contributors, combined with the most comprehensive search tools for our visitors, in a medium that is decidedly unlike other search engines and directories currently on the Internet. The LatterdayDirectory.com web site is a work-in-progress as it’s exact navigation and content will ultimately be determined by it’s contributors. For the foreseeable future the promotions will be broken down into national and/or regional listings. As content increases categories for types of businesses and events... Read the rest of this entry »

I got an invitation to Google Wave on Halloween. I had two of my contacts already on my list so I started a wave with one but haven’t heard anything back and the other I don’t care to start a wave with at the moment. I posted on facebook that I had 20 invitations and I started hearing from people that I haven’t talked to since high school. They just love me for my nerdiness.  You know,  people I added on facebook just to see what they’re up to but haven’t actually made the effort to talk to on facebook. Do you have “friends” like that? Most of my “friends” (I use quotes because – are they really friends or just acquantances?) are people I don’t really communicate with. I read about a study that found that humans cannot handle more than about 150 friends with whom they actively keep in touch and care about. If you make a new friend beyond that someone is getting bumped off the list, I guess.  I digress Now I am just... Read the rest of this entry »

Sample the New LDS Youth Site This is an article adapted from ldsmediatalk.com created by the technical staff at Church headquarters: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is gathering feedback from some of the youth of the Church about what kind of web site the Church could  build that would bring youth closer to the Savior and help them feel more connected to the Gospel and to the Church. Anyone with a Facebook account, can join this Facebook site and enter the discussion. The builders of the site would love your feedback! There is also a web site where the technical staff link to some things they’re thinking about which might never actually come to fruition. It’s called Labs. You can check out some prototypes on Labs. Use the ID “youthtester” and the password “helaman2000.” The technical staff are accepting a limited number of people to have a more personalized experience on Labs. To apply, sign up for an LDS Account. You’ll need your member number,... Read the rest of this entry »

As redes sociais continuam a subir em popularidade no mundo inteiro. O estudo “Poder para o Povo: Social Media Tracker” concluiu que a percentagem de utilizadores da Internet nos E.U. com um perfil de rede social cresceu 16% entre 2008 e 2009. Hoje, 59% dos usuários da Web ativos (aqueles que têm acesso, pelo menos, um dia sim e um dia não) relataram ter um perfil. Mas os E.U. estão longe de ser em primeiro lugar na atividade de redes sociais. Sete outros países pesquisados apresentaram uma percentual maior de usuários de Internet com um perfil. Rússia, que entrou em primeiro lugar, também teve uma das taxas de crescimento mais rápido, tendo crescido de 23% em 2006 para mais de 85% em 2009. O Brazil está em quarto lugar, mas é o único país no qual houve uma pequena diminuição nos últimos anos. No mundo, 62,5% dos internautas ativos com idades compreendidas entre os 16-54 têm um perfil em alguma rede social. Além disso, 71,1% têm visitado a página do perfil... Read the rest of this entry »

Facebook is now ready to launch its long-awaited Verified Applications platform, to protect users from some of the spammy applications that exist. In addition, it will now share feeds of your friends’ third-party apps, so you can see which ones they have chosen to use. Speaking of apps, we’d like to remind those of you who include on Facebook some of your LDS interests and background, that there is an LDS Application of Facebook. It includes space for noting your personal scripture faves, and incorporates a few scripture mastery games. You have the option as to whether or not to include the information on your personal profile. Additionally, take a look at the Ensign Facebook page–a fairly new development. For friends of other faiths visiting, The Ensign is a monthly magazine that shares messages from Mormon leaders and everyday members, includes a monthly message for Mormon Women to share with their neighbors, and Church news from around the world. If you are interested... Read the rest of this entry »