Transcript RCCongress 2010 – Embrace Change

R C Congress 2010 –
Embrace Change
Implications for NAIN and its
Member Organizations
Message:
• Interfaith is now integral to religious
communications
• Change is rapid
• and affects who hears the message
– Who is not getting our message?
What does not change?
• Need for vetting, evaluation, and reflection
• Core values still important
• Good content and good, authentic stories
are never out of style, but
Koan
• If a story is told and no one hears – is it a
story?
• NAIN and its member orgs need to have a
communications plan that keeps them
– current,
– relevant, and
– visible.
Today’s communications are
•
•
•
•
short
immediate
visual
interactive
A Few Changes Evolving ...
• Print media –
newspapers,
magazines, books
• Going, gone – or
online readers
A Few Changes Evolving ...
• Music: Tapes, CDs • Downloads – legal
or illegal
A Few Changes Evolving ...
• Personal
computers
• Handheld devices
A Few Changes Evolving ...
• Private / Static –
read only websites
• Public / Interactive
sites - Social
media – Everyone
contributes
A Few Changes Evolving ...
• Text-based search
engines
• #1 Search Engine =
Google – every kind of
search imaginable [text,
image, video, maps, etc.]
• #2 Search Engine =
YouTube!! People want
visual information
A Few Changes Evolving ...
• Blogs
• Twitter – People
want it brief and
immediate
A Few Changes Evolving ...
• Letters
•Email
•  Email
[Remember
stamps? USPS is
in trouble.]
• Texting
•[while driving
– give me a break!]
A Few Changes Evolving ...
• Scheduled TV –
going home for
favorite show
• On-demand TV –
– DVR
– Mobile TV [on your
smartphone]
Virtual Faith??
• Lifechurch.tv - “The church isn't a building-it's people. And we think you'll find
LifeChurch.tv a pretty friendly bunch! …”
• Churchonline.tv - “… watch LIVE on your
iPhone or Ipod Touch!”
• [and many others]
Virtual Faith??
• Mecca on Second Life
- perform the ritual of
Hajj in virtual reality
form
• Anglican Cathedral on
Second Life
• Convert to Judaism
Online – several
websites
Smartphone Apps
• Listen to Azan - five times a day, every
prayer time
• World Religions encyclopedias
• Jewish Calendar
Smartphone Apps
• Prayers and Meditations by Bahá'u'lláh
• Sacred Scriptures – Bible [every
translation], Holy Qur’an, Mormon
Church's Sacred Texts, Holy Zend Avesta,
Holy Vedas, Holy Torah, Holy Tanakh
Meeting Needs
• Popularity indicates that these evolving
media meet real needs
• If a modern app brings people to an inner
experience or increased understanding,
isn’t this the point of communication?
• If our preferred media forms disappear,
what we will we then do?
A Concern
• Many of these evolving media appeal to
the affluent
• How do people of faith keep up with the
times – get their message out there –
without deepening the divide between rich
and poor?
• RCCongress did not give a very good
answer to my question on this issue
What I am NOT Proposing
• Throw away newspapers, books,
webpages and computers and buy an
iPhone
• Abandon face-to-face contact and hold all
meetings on Second Life
What I AM Proposing
• Help fill a much-needed role to vet and
evaluate media stories
• Contribute faith values to the conversation
[example – let’s get back to civil discourse,
PLEASE]
• Support libraries and create other
innovative ways to include the less affluent
What I AM Proposing
• Be aware of – and learn from - new media
trends that are meeting real needs
• Have a flexible communications plan that
embraces change thoughtfully
• Investigate social media, which provide
cost-effective ways to involve people in
your message – not just for the young!!
NAIN & Social Media
• IFYC’s Bridge-Builders site [Ning platform]
exceeded in 6 months a 2-yr. goal of 1000
members.
• CPWR has radically improved its web presence
since 2005. It now includes the Social Media
site PeaceNext.
• NAIN has a Facebook page [created May 2010]
that has attracted 105+ friends, without much
marketing. We are exploring increased visibility.