Mormon Bloggers

Alguns dias atás eu compareci ao fórum na BYU, onde Mark Zuckerberg (CEO do Facebook) e o senador Orrin Hatch de Utah falaram sobre tecnologia. Hatch respondendo as perguntas que foram feitas anteriormente por alunos da BYU na página da BYU no Facebook . Zuckerberg, falou sobre a fundação do Facebook, o seu conselho para os empreendedores que estão começando, e sua visão para o futuro da tecnologia e meios de comunicação social. Este relato foi traduzido do blog de Larry Richman, LDSMediaTalk.com Hoje, o Facebook tem 500-600 milhões de usuários ativos mensais. Mais da metade dos usuários da Internet nos EUA usam o Facebook. Dentro de dois anos, aproximadamente a metade da população geral dos EUA estará no Facebook. No começo do Facebook: Mark falou sobre como ele teve uma idéia em seu dormitório na Universidade de Harvard e a desenvolveu em uma empresa valendo talvez US $ 50 bilhões (que, aliás, tem apenas cerca de 2.000 funcionários). Ele tinha um curso duplo, em... Read the rest of this entry »

The Internet gives everyone a voice. Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg  and U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch were at the BYU’s Marriott Center this morning for a special technology forum. Zuckerberg spoke about technology and education as Sen. Hatch asked a few of the questions previously submitted through BYU’s Facebook page. It was an interesting forum, relatively short (less than an hour), but the most interesting comment from Mark Zuckemberg for me was when he said that One thing that gets blown out of proportion in our culture is the focus on the single person or the couple of people that are running something. The success of Facebook is all about the team that we built. I think that’s true of any successful company. I couldn’t agree more, but obviously Mark Zuckemberg is a living proof of something that is getting blown out of proportion, but it is not his fault!  Read More →

Today, I attended the forum at BYU where Mark Zuckerberg (the unassuming CEO of Facebook) and Utah Senator Orrin Hatch talked about technology. Hatch fielded questions that were posed by BYU students earlier on the BYU Facebook page. Zuckerberg talked about founding Facebook, his advice for budding entrepreneurs, and his vision for the future of technology and social media. Today, Facebook has 500-600 million monthly active users. More than half of the Internet users in the USA use Facebook. Within 2 years, nearly half of the overall US population will be on Facebook. (Source) On starting Facebook: Mark talked about how he took an idea in his dorm room at Harvard and developed it into a company worth perhaps $50 billion (which, by the way, has only about 2,000 employees). He had a double major in computer science and psychology. Mark felt psychology was important because, in the end, all of the technology problems we deal with are really human problems. We use technology to provide... Read the rest of this entry »

It’s funny how the mind works. Like 600 million other people I keep in touch with friends around the world on Facebook. Several of my friends posted a link today to a YouTube video from Alex Boye, the Relief Society Birthday tribute song. Yes, I know it’s steeped in Mormon culture, but I like what Alex is doing with his talent. One of the comments on the video made reference to Mormon Inc. My mind went back, way back to a flood of memories from my younger days when I was much more interested in the business ventures of the church. At one time I spent several dozen hours conducting first-hand research in the Utah Division of Corporations. I made copies of all the original articles of incorporation for the Corporation of the President, Corporation of the Presiding Bishop, Deseret Management Corporation, Zion’s Securities, Beneficial Financial Group, Bonneville International, Deseret Book, Deseret News, Hawaii Reserves, Farmland Reserve and on and on and on. Many Published Resources I... Read the rest of this entry »

eMarketer estimates that more than half of internet users in the USA used Facebook at least monthly as of December 2010. In 2011, over 130 million web users will use the site in the USA–that’s almost 90% of social network users, 57% of internet users, and 42% of the population at large. By 2013, 62% of web users and almost half of the overall US population will be on Facebook. By contrast, 9% of adult internet users use Twitter. Are you using any of the Church pages on Facebook? Share on Facebook  Read More →

Since the launch of the official Facebook page for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (facebook.com/lds) in May 2008, the Church has created two dozen other official Facebook pages in support of various programs and interests. LDSMediaTalk maintains a list of the official Church pages on Facebook. According to a recent article in Church News and Events (news.lds.org), Facebook is available in more than 70 translations, and 70% of Facebook users are outside the United States, which makes it a great way to share information with others around the world. Nearly half a million people have Liked the main Facebook page at facebook.com/lds, and total Likes of all the Church’s official Facebook pages number more than a million. There are now more opportunities to share your testimony online using social media. Joining the Church’s official Facebook pages, linking to them, or commenting on them are effective ways to do this. Here are some other resources you may find helpful: Review... Read the rest of this entry »

The following was delivered today as part of a panel discussion titled “Mormon Media Studies: Across Web Time, Cyberspace, and Blogging Disciplines” in the symposium “Mormon Media Studies: Across Time, Space, and Disciplines,” at the BYU Conference Center in Provo, Utah. The Church provides scriptures, teachings of the latter-day prophets and apostles, and other instructional materials to help individuals and families learn, live, and share the gospel of Jesus Christ. In the last few years, the Church has made great progress in providing materials electronically by way of websites, scriptures online, mobile applications, online videos, streamed radio content, and a huge online gospel library. Electronic means can provide materials more quickly, less expensively, and more directly to people who can use them. And multiple formats can make it more likely that people will engage with the materials. For example, in addition to the printed text of general conference in the Church magazines... Read the rest of this entry »

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 »