Using Social Media In Your Calling

Some discussions just don't fit into a well defined box. Use this forum to discuss general topics and issues revolving around the Church and the technology offerings we use and share.
lajackson
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#11

Post by lajackson »

lehrschallbrian wrote:I am in a singles ward in North Carolina. We use facebook for everything. Here is a link to the group take a look.

Aside from needing approval, one of our local concerns has always been the advertisements. How did you set up the site so that inappropriate ads do not appear?

And while the site is up, you may want to correct the link to the Church (there is no www): http://lds.org
And the name of the Church is properly spelled with a hyphen and lowercase "d" (Latter-day).

I understand that there are folks at Church Headquarters who are working directly with some social media sites at very high levels to resolve issues such as advertising and other concerns. Perhaps progress is being made in this regard.
nathan.g
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#12

Post by nathan.g »

techgurufloyd wrote:How else are people using Twitter, Facebook, Orkut, etc. in church callings?
A day after our recent earthquake disaster on Feb 22 here in Christchurch, New Zealand I worked as my calling as Stake Technology Specialist with our Stake President to setup a temporary Facebook page to use as a way of communicating to the members of our Stake. The current Stake & Wards Website services were too inadequate to get vital information and videos out on a regular basis as well as making the information publicly available to members and families outside of our Stake who were deeply concerned and wanted to know what was happening on a daily basis.

http://www.facebook.com/ChristchurchStakeEarthquake

This proved to be a valuable tool that has served its purpose very well. The Area Presidency were supportive of this initiative and right behind the Stake President. All our chapels were badly damaged, roads were closed, and there was no way to meet for church services so it enabled Stake and Unit leaders to get video messages of comfort and support to members who were affected whilst other arrangements were being made.

I wouldn't be surprised to see in a few years time if the church had incorporated Facebook somehow into an updated Stake & Wards Website version in some way or another. (only my opinion)
dannykos
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#13

Post by dannykos »

the problem with all of this is trying not to leave behind the elderly, or technically challenged! Many, many of my ward don't use the current online tools/calender etc - and so we just need to be careful that we as leaders don't place too great an emphasis on technology. This may begin to disenfranchise.
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Mikerowaved
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#14

Post by Mikerowaved »

dannykos wrote:the problem with all of this is trying not to leave behind the elderly, or technically challenged! Many, many of my ward don't use the current online tools/calender etc - and so we just need to be careful that we as leaders don't place too great an emphasis on technology. This may begin to disenfranchise.
In a recent severe wildfire in Herriman, UT, social networking was used by the city to keep residents, friends, relatives, the media, the curious, etc., informed regarding the status of the fire; which areas were being evacuated, where the shelters were, the time frame of returning to homes, and MANY more tidbits of important information. Instead of neglecting those not technically savvy, it had an opposite affect. By getting the information out and keeping it updated, it took a huge load off of the city's information infrastructure and allowed those without access to modern smartphones and data plans a chance to actually get through to the city using conventional means.

The other thing it did was by having ONLY officials from the city allowed to post updates to the facebook/twitter sites that were specifically setup for the fire, it help put a lid on the usual "rumor mill" that often follows disasters.

I can't speak for the church, but watching Herriman's use of it first hand, I can tell you many cities in the greater Salt Lake City area have already implemented (or are currently considering) writing in social networking as part of their city's disaster plan.
So we can better help you, please edit your Profile to include your general location.
dannykos
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#15

Post by dannykos »

I don't disagree that social media can/has a huge part to play in the dissemination of information, but it still doesn't entirely replace other traditional means when trying to minister to those either without access, elderly etc. My worry was that in the mad rush to 'connect' everyone, we might assume that 'everyone' is indeed connected, and our actions might unfortunately reflect that.
russellhltn
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#16

Post by russellhltn »

Ran across this tonight: http://mhhcalifornia.org/projects (Mormon Helping Hands California) has links to Facebook.
Have you searched the Help Center? Try doing a Google search and adding "site:churchofjesuschrist.org/help" to the search criteria.

So we can better help you, please edit your Profile to include your general location.
cognifloyd
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#17

Post by cognifloyd »

Valid points - we don't want to disenfranchise (so to speak) the elderly and technically less-able members. Feel free to offer suggestions on how we can make communication between tech-savy and tech-non-savy users possible and easier. In what I do, I try to make sure that local priesthood leaders get to choose whether or not using a tool in their unit makes sense. As you come up with ideas, please post them on our social media tips/hints page: Sharing the Gospel online.

If you use Facebook, Twitter, or some other social network in your ward, branch, stake, or district, I'd love to know about it. Plus, if you've got an idea on how you'd like to use social media in your unit, or to help in your calling, or an idea on how we can use social media to help with welfare efforts like the Christchurch earthquake, or the recent Japanese disaster, etc, I'd love to hear about that to. Please, send me an email explaining your ideas and a link to your page/group/site/account (if your unit has one): jfloyd@ldschurch.org

I'm not out to be Big Brother. Whether your site is official (approved by area presidency), unofficial (with the right "unofficial" notice in place), or completely off the chart (new idea? something we haven't seen yet?) please send me an email. I'm interested in seeing how you are using, or how you'd like to use social networks. I want to know how we can facilitate using those tools wherever possible and appropriate. I can't say what all we're working on, but it's exciting stuff. I can't make promises about when these social tools will be available.

PS Thanks for the links so far!
lehrschallbrian
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#18

Post by lehrschallbrian »

We have approval from our Stake Presidency to create and use the website.
russellhltn
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#19

Post by russellhltn »

lehrschallbrian wrote:We have approval from our Stake Presidency to create and use the website.

But did they get approval from the area presidency? The SP doesn't have the authority to decide this matter.
Have you searched the Help Center? Try doing a Google search and adding "site:churchofjesuschrist.org/help" to the search criteria.

So we can better help you, please edit your Profile to include your general location.
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marianomarini
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#20

Post by marianomarini »

RussellHltn wrote:But did they get approval from the area presidency? The SP doesn't have the authority to decide this matter.
Not if it's clearly stated that isn't an Official Church site!
La vita è una lezione interminabile di umiltà (Anonimo).
Life is a endless lesson of humility (Anonimous).
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