Social Networking

Social networking became possible in part because of the Web 2.0 revolution – the move from the static to the interactive Web. Blogs, podcasts, vodcasts, MySpace, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube are all Web 2.0 technologies allowing the free presentation of ideas in a variety of formats from basic text to video. They are interactive because people can not only consume the content, but can also interact with it. Things like commenting, rating and tagging content are now possible with Web 2.0.

Applications like MySpace and Facebook are well-known places for people to connect, network and maintain relationships. Levels of exclusivity (friends, groups, networks, etc.) allow people to open up and share personal information without the entire world seeing it. Because they are free and widely distributed, there is a good chance people attending our churches already use them. This raises a good question. Should we create social-networking applications like these on our Web sites?

The simple answer is no. First, it is costly and time intensive to re-create social networking applications. And second, people don’t like clutter. If they are already using an application like Facebook, they won’t want to switch or add another complex system to their life. Instead, we need to find ways to use the tools that already exist. For example, Facebook allows us to create pages for the purpose of advertising. This is a simple and effective way to develop a presence in the Facebook community. People find our page and can choose to become a fan, thereby linking their profile to that page. With time, these connection points help broaden the impact we are having, and an online community develops around our ministry.

Just Getting Started

Believe it or not, this is just the tip of the iceberg. The Internet has unleashed the church from existing only inside four walls. The ability to stream high-quality video has allowed churches to create Internet campuses where complete services are held online. People become members of these virtual churches. They attend weekly, invite friends to watch, give tithes and offerings, and even serve in their communities as an extension of their commitment to the online church.

Getting nervous? If so, it is probably due to questions such as these: Are we creating superficial forms of connectedness? Are we replacing face-to-face conversations with computer keyboards and monitors? Are we actually reducing community by increasing our use of technology?

These are common concerns, but what if they don’t matter? What if we don’t get to make these decisions for people? What if they choose to connect this way whether we like it or not? What then? Do we just let them go? Write them off as too hard to reach? I pray this isn’t the case.

Perhaps we, as the Church, should rethink the questions we’re asking. We need to start asking what we can do to reach people in this new environment and how we can leverage the technology that exists so people know they matter to God. We need to figure out how to ensure those in the connected global community hear the message we’ve been commissioned to deliver.

Daryl McMullen is the Web director at Granger Community Church in Granger, Ind. He overseesgccwired.comand wiredchurches.com. Visitwebdrivenchurch.comor reach McMullen atdmcmullen@gccwired.com.