Ward Blog Sites?

pwilson · Post by **pwilson** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 10:10 am

Besides having a ward photographer take pictures for the directory, which works great, we frequently leverage Costco to create collages for each activity.

You can use up to 30 pictures and they are super cheap $1.49 for a 10x12 or 8x12, $2.99 for 11x14 or 12x18 and then a bit more expensive for larger. Our bulletin board is full of photo collages from camps, activities and service projects. Fun way to share what is going on in the ward.

The collages are usually ready in 2 hours. Try this site: http://shop.costco.com/Photo-Center/Index .

gregwanderson · Post by **gregwanderson** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 10:22 am

As a test, I just created a news item on the "classic" ward site and added 16 photos from a ward activity. The pictures have to be small and the upload tool is a bit cumbersome compared to typical blogging tools... but it worked.

Since I don't know what the "new" ward web site design will be (I thought we'd have something new this year but...) I imagine there could be something even more useful in the near future for posting such material.

dannykos · Post by **dannykos** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 12:02 pm

A lot of the problems come down to photo permissions. My wife is ward historian, and has spent ages getting consent for pictures to be included in the ward history - and that's probably only seen by a handful of people around the world!

I would urge caution in the widespread dissemination of photos of people who may well be unaware - and would otherwise potentially be unhappy.

jkeyes87 · Post by **jkeyes87** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 12:23 pm

Thanks crislapi for the additional "official" resources! And thanks everyone for your comments. You're all being very helpful!

tomjoht · Post by **tomjoht** » Thu Oct 27, 2011 9:39 am

mrrad wrote:I like the idea of having a "ward photographer" to post snapshots from ward activities on a bulletin board next to the Bishop's office (and update them when new activites happen) but, like everyone else here, I understand that if it's going to be on the Internet then, somehow, it has to happen through the official ward web site tools that are available. You may add photos to items in the ward's "News and Information” section. There are certain restrictions but, within those limitations, something like what your Bishop wants may be possible.

I checked with the Member Data Privacy group here to get their feedback on this topic. Here's their response:

"Individuals are encouraged to upload their own photos on LDS.org. However, if a ward or stake photographer would like to upload photos of members in their ward or stake, the member must understand how the photo will be used on LDS.org and agree to having the photo taken and included on the site. If a member chooses to permit the ward or stake photographer to upload a photo to LDS.org, this may occur only if the member made this choice without any pressure from ward or stake leaders.

Members are encouraged to upload a photo of adults for the household photo and are discouraged from uploading pictures of children.

In addition, “Stakes and wards are not authorized to create ….Web sites or blogs or otherwise have a Church-sponsored presence on the Internet” (Handbook 2: Administering the Church (2010), section 21.1.22)."

allenjpl · Post by **allenjpl** » Thu Oct 27, 2011 8:03 pm

johnsonth wrote: Members are encouraged to upload a photo of adults for the household photo and are discouraged from uploading pictures of children.

I'm a little unclear here. Is it that members are discouraged from uploading pictures of children as the household photo, in the household photo, or altogether? That is, should we not upload pictures of our children under their own name?

tomjoht · Post by **tomjoht** » Sat Oct 29, 2011 1:13 pm

Let me follow up for more clarity on that one. You're right that it seems odd to have a picture upload option for each family child while also discouraging members from uploading pictures of children.

Post by **kisaac** » Sun Nov 06, 2011 2:45 pm

johnsonth wrote: it seems odd to have a picture upload option for each family child while also discouraging members from uploading pictures of children.

Privacy is one concern, but safety is another.
Having the ability to post individual child photos in the directory has been debated since the new directory came on-line...and as yet seems to be left to parents and local leaders discretion. During my watch, we didn't do it. Here is an original discussion on the topic from March 2010:

primary kids pictures on ward website...Safe?

Tech Forum

Ward Blog Sites?

Pictures of children still controversial