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.

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.

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.

]]> http://alwaysabounding.org/suggestions/try-hootsuite/feed/ 0 http://alwaysabounding.org/asides/quality-clicks-7-18-09/ http://alwaysabounding.org/asides/quality-clicks-7-18-09/#comments Sun, 19 Jul 2009 07:30:02 +0000 Christopher http://alwaysabounding.org/?p=284

Fundamental Network is a local church ministry that provides other ministries a variety of services for print, web and other media. They offer quality products, and have three of the most organized and well-executed sites in fundamentalism today.

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!

We don’t have to do something innovative to reach people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. The methods taught by our parents and grandparents were generally good and should rarely be jettisoned without compelling reason. In other words, we should not be influenced to alter course by constant chants of “change”.

How does a Christian fundamentalist deal, therefore, with internet technology? Some call it “a modern distraction”, while others see it as “the new frontier for accomplishing our great commission calling”. We believe it is neither.

The Lord’s great commission will not be fulfilled via the internet. The gospel still needs to be presented face to face, one by one and “by hand”. We think, however that the internet may help; like flannelgraph, a chalk board, a church sound system, or a tract.

I Corinthians 15:58 – “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

Most people in Western society are using the internet for one purpose or another. In its own way it has changed the world forever, placing a wealth of information at our fingertips and providing the average person with a forum for the expressing views.

The internet is no longer a medium we can ignore if we are committed to “abounding in the work of the Lord”. It should be used by those who are charged with proclaiming truth to, with humility and conviction, relate the words and ideas of scripture.

Abounding Media holds a traditional, conservative, fundamentalist Christian view. We believe every word of the Bible is true and should be taken into account before coming to conclusions or taking action. Read the Abounding Media Principles to find out more.