The Lost Content Dilemma

When you produce great content for a website, ideally, you would like the largest number of people possible to consume it. If you promote it on services like Facebook or Twitter upon release and it doesn’t find its way to the audience (for one reason or another) that would have appreciated it, there is a good chance it will be sitting in your archives, unread, for a long time.

I was thinking through this problem as I surfed the archives of a really great designer. Some of his older content was fantastic, but I had to do some serious searching to find it. Not a great thing.

Our best, most effective internet media should be front and center when someone visits our website. That doesn’t negate the need for regular, new articles, which are also very important. The thing we don’t want is the really great stuff our readers “would” care about, if only they could find it.

I’m still thinking through all the potential ways of making this happen without cluttering up a page with more links. If you have any brilliant ideas or examples you would like to pass along, let me know. I think this is of particular interest to those of us who are ministering full-time and blogging rather casually or – when we have a moment. It is crucial that the articles and other items on which we have spent our valuable ministry time are utilized, enjoyed and applied.

Still…Restoring After a Major Blunder

I wrote this unfortunate post last evening on my personal lifestream. I am still working to get one full site restored, dozens of images updated and multiple database alterations re-done. One thing I forgot to mention is that I was using an unfamiliar tool to navigate site files. In addition, I had been working most of the day with no breaks and was just eager to wrap things up. These ingredients make up a recipe for disaster. Another lesson learned, I suppose.

Let me start by saying: always backup your website files and databases. Always. If I had not taken my own advice, you would not be reading this now.

This evening I was attempting to delete a test installation of Textpattern from my server when I somehow got overzealous, lazy or both and apparently deleted my entire public_html directory. That means all of my site files on four websites (including this one) were completely and totally deleted.

I typically run a full backup once or twice every month and had one on my calendar for this coming Monday. I wound up using my latest copy from November 11th. So…it could have been worse.

Suffice it to say I am going to be working overtime to restore data added over the last 39 days to all four sites. That being said, I am thankful for the backups and very happy I do not have to start from scratch. These sites represent (literally) years of diligent labor.

Let this be a lesson to us all – backup, backup, backup!

If you observe some irregularities on this site or one of our others, I hope you will forgive the inconvenience. I will likely be working on getting things “back to normal” for a couple of weeks. If there is a major problem, please let me know.

Twitter vs. Facebook: Connecting or Publishing?

I have a theory about the difference between Facebook and Twitter. Facebook is a platform for connecting with people we actually know. When we make these connections, we begin sharing things about our lives, families and hobbies. Interaction on Facebook is all about relationships. Twitter has become a format on which people publish items of interest for general consumption – yes relationship building is somewhat important, but these relationships are usually based on mutual interest. I mean, we may know very few of the people we follow on Twitter, but often care a great deal about what they say or whom they reference on a particular subject.

When I get online, I do so for the purpose of learning something, finding new information or being challenged to think. This means I rarely find Facebook compelling. Sounds harsh I know…but my idea of personal connection goes far beyond a simple status update or messaging session. This is not to say it doesn’t have value or even moments of helpfulness. However, generally speaking I find it incapable of fulfilling its purpose on almost every level.

Twitter has another appeal altogether. Follow the right people and receive an endless supply of quality links, quotes and ideas. The absence of need for personal relationship allows maximum potential for interaction on niche topics or industries. Those who fail to publish interesting items on a regular basis can be unfollowed – not because they are no longer your friend, but because they did not produce worthy content.

Before I go further, I should be quick to acknowledge there are many more relationship-oriented web users than content-consumers like myself. That majority will feel very differently about the two services. They will point me to Facebook pages to meet my informational requirements and ask that I interact more and give the format a chance. There is merit in both of those suggestions and I do indeed see their point. Still, I doubt I will ever find an appreciation for most of the activity on Facebook.

I must insist that those who sit down at their computers much like they would open their morning newspaper or monthly periodical will find Twitter far more appealing. Even in its bite-sized chunks, the format lends itself to ongoing learning and discussion.

In the end it depends on what your purpose is for being online. Do you want to publish and consume content or build and maintain relationships? I find myself very much in the former camp and will therefore remain a loyal Twitter user, while rarely accessing or using Facebook.

GoBible Voyager: Review, Overall Impressions

If you compare the GoBible Voyager to an iPod or other popular mp3 players, you are probably going to be disappointed. It has neither the design quality, usability nor high tech edge of most within its price range. That doesn’t mean it is not good, for what it is; it just means comparison to the latest gadgets on the electronics store shelves will make it seem rather lacking.

This device is not primarily for use as an mp3 player. Its chief aim is to provide a simple, preloaded Bible-listening solution. Each of its features was provided to help the user locate and more conveniently listen to scripture. In this effort, I believe its creators have done an admirable job.

The GoBible package contains a set of matching in-ear headphones, a USB cable for file transfer, soft case, one AAA battery and the unit itself. The GoBible is just about the right size, fitting most hands well and is very light. Its screen is simple, with a green back-lit, one color readout. The buttons on the front respond well and seem sturdy enough to handle wear. I think the headphones and case will be throw-aways for most people. The phones are difficult to fit in the ear and definitely not up the the standard you are probably already accustomed – and the case just doesn’t seem very useful.

A couple of concerns came up right away, like the battery door, which did not sit flush with the body of the unit. I was afraid it may get snagged or caught during use and pop off. Thus far that has not been a problem. The other concern was the general durability of its very light plastic build. After using it for a couple of days, however, I am finding it studier that I had first imagined.

I appreciated the menu navigation immediately. The opening screen gives an option to select Old Testament, New Testament, Story Index, Special Features and My Downloads. From there you can select books chapters and verses (or stories/features), then simply hit play when you find the one you want. Up, down, right, left and menu buttons are located in the center, with play and lock buttons on the right. Yes, it is very basic, but that makes it easy enough for virtually anyone to use and appreciate.

I chose the excellent King James Version read by Alexander Scourby. In my opinion the narration on this version is a cut above the others. Sound quality is very good and the volume range is perfect. You’ll also want to utilize the 3 gigs of extra space – just plug in the USB cable and the device will perform just like any other external memory. I have loaded that free space with sermons, but you could also easily drag and drop music files or any other audio as well.

The bottom line: the GoBible Voyager is very good if you intend it to be a Bible-listening device only. Comparing it head-to-head with other media players really isn’t fair because it is not meant to fulfill the same purpose.

I am listening to entire books and large portions of scripture and playing specific passages over and over to help with memorization. For these purposes it has been really excellent so far. While in the past I have attempted to load a series of Bible mp3’s on another device, I found them difficult to navigate and too labor intensive to label and import in an organized fashion. This device has solved that problem completely.

GoBible has a terrific website. If you are interested in having a player dedicated specifically to Bible-listening you should definitely consider it. For those looking to get a multi-purpose media player that happens to have the Bible pre-loaded, I would try other options.

Why Internet Media?

The definition (in part) of ‘media’ according to the Dictionary of Marketing terms:

Channels of communication that serve many diverse functions, such as offering a variety of entertainment with either mass or specialized appeal, communicating news and information, or displaying advertising messages.

When we talk about internet media here, we are referring to the variety of mechanisms with which you can communicate online. Simple text remains the best format, in our opinion. We also encourage the frequent use of photos, video and audio, if possible.

The great thing about the internet is that virtually all ‘mediums’ of communication can be presented with minimal cost and relative ease. So…when we say we want to help you imagine, plan and create internet media that will glorify the Lord Jesus Christ – that can mean a lot of different things. Most of all we want you to communicate truth in a principled and excellent way. Let us know if we can help.

Twitter Users Should Try HootSuite

I find myself increasingly moving away from desktop applications for managing online accounts. Most of the popular Twitter clients have to be downloaded and opened along with the browser and e-mail programs I am already using. The last thing I need or want is more software running in the background. That’s why I choose, when functions I require are available, to use online apps like HootSuite.

Here are a few of the advantages HootSuite has over most of the competition:

The ability to schedule tweets.

I like to check my feed reader once in the morning, so it doesn’t distract me through the rest of my day. Usually I find several articles worth passing along on Twitter, but don’t want to send them out three or four at a time. With HootSuite I can schedule the first to post at lunch, the second in the late afternoon and the third in the evening. If I find one part of the day results in more clicks I can adjust, sending future tweets at half-hour intervals during the optimum time period.

Built-in stats for tracking links.

This is the key feature for knowing when and how to tweet for maximum impact. Any links that are shortened within HootSuite using their native service Ow.ly can then be tracked within the program’s dashboard.  It records the number of clicks in total, or for any particular post in a given period. Anyone trying to avoid wasting time and effort on items of little interest to followers will find this invaluable.

Multiple account management.

I am running three Twitter accounts full-time. Very few programs offer a convienent and intuitive interface for accomplishing this. HootSuite uses a combination of tabs and columns that will be familiar to almost any user, limiting the learning curve and effort it requires to become efficient. None of its competitors can match its simplicty and ease of use with multiple accounts.

For those of us seeking to minister to people online without sacrificing valuable face to face outreach time, HootSuite is a top choice. We want to maximize every effort, monitor its effectiveness and spend as little time as possible learning the ropes. HootSuite hits a homerun on each of those counts.

Create a Self-hosted Lifestream with Sweetcron

One of the current problems with the proliferation of social networks and other online services is the difficulty people have compiling (or aggregating) an abundance of personal content from all over the internet. Many are posting photos to Flickr or Picasa, videos to YouTube or Vimeo, status updates to Facebook or Twitter and a variety of other items to sites web-wide. The solution has become something called “lifestreaming”, which is another in the countless series of incomprehensible buzzwords that simply means putting all your stuff on one page that is organized chronologically. See my personal lifestream for clarity.

The fact is, most of these lifestream solutions are in their infancy and require creating another account. FriendFeed is among the best providers of this type and while we use and love it, it is often too complicated for non-techies. It has also become primarily a vehicle for carrying on conversations about the items posted, so…if you’re not interested in participating, you’re really not utilizing many of its most powerful features.

What can one do instead? Well, we have decided to install a piece of software called Sweetcron on our own webhost, so we can archive the information within our own database, make it searchable and display it on a custom domain. I know, that’s even more complicated than FriendFeed, but for us – along with many others – we think it’s the best solution.

Sweetcron is beautifully simple. It provides an easy to use admin area that features a minimal blogging interface, a manager for your social network feeds (which it calls items) and a couple of other options to customize your install. It is not a full-featured content management system, but it does what is advertisied very well. I think it will be a refreshing depature for anyone using one of the more blog-centric systems or custom content management solutions.

There are a couple of excellent resources for installing Sweetcron if you want to try it. The software developer maintains a Google Code page with installation instuctions and a few other sites have also developed tutorials for the software. We could potentially help you set up one of these streams too if you just let us know what you need. I have done it a couple of times now and feel pretty comfortable working my way through an install, theme selection and customization.

Still Working on a Full Launch

It’s plain to see the site isn’t fully populated and functioning as yet. We’ve been too busy working on other sites to even think about putting the finishing touches on here. I suppose it’s just as well, as we are not quite ready to begin Abounding Media client projects anyway.

We’re on WordPress theme re-work number three now, as the other options just weren’t suiting our needs adequately. We were searching for just that right look to make people feel at home and at ease with their visit. We think these colors, and the more common layout probably accomplish that better than the last iteration. Let us know what you think about that, by the way.

Thanks to CodeScheme for the original code on the theme, which is (and will be) altered on an ongoing basis. Their link remains in the lower left corner, which is good protocol for anyone working with WordPress or other Open Source projects. If it were us, I know we would appreciate the recognition, meager as it may be.

We appreciate their help especially because we are not in the business of building things from the-ground-up unless it’s called for in the given situation. It was not in this case, or many others we hope to help – yes, when we get launched.

Thanks again for the support if you’ve been one of the many expressing eager interest in the future of this project. Hopefully things will all be taking off very soon!

Abounding Media: Almost Ready for Launch

We are thankful for the interest and inquiries we have already received from potential clients and other friends. It has been our intention to have a fully operational website in place before we started taking on other projects. Guess that means we’d better get to work!

The new logo and theme have been updated, and only a few minor tweaks are needed now. We’d also like to create a detailed Services page and About Us section. At that point we can launch some of our planned advertising, start handing out business cards and a lot of the other official stuff.

If you wound up here thanks to one of our social media accounts, thanks for dropping by. Please keep checking with us in the future for more on internet media and how it can be used to successfully proclaim the message of the gospel.

Building a Presence

We are taking the advice we will likely give many of our clients: begin interacting and buiding a presence on some of the higher quality social networking sites. I wouldn’t just choose the top five and create an account however, as the most popular are not always the best for your personality or objectives. We chose networks we feel offer the best technology in their respective niche or provide a feature we can’t easily recreate on our own site.

Take a look at all of our accounts over at FriendFeed (one of our favorites). Perhaps we’ll take a more in-depth look at the reason we chose these services in a future post. In the meantime sign in or sign up and look for us under the username Abounding. It’s likely we’re already engaged in a conversation about using the internet to reach people for Christ.