Fork In The Road Music » facebook

Stop Clicking “Like” and Do Something

Russell Martin — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 05:03:10 +0000

Many years ago I heard a song, which contained this phrase:

“When did a check take the place of love, and what would Jesus think of that?”

Though I can’t recall the name of the song, I do know that that phrase has stuck with me for many years.

To me, it was a warning, and a reminder to do more than just throw money at a problem. Often we see something that needs to change, or people that need our compassion, so we pull out our wallets and write a check. This way we can feel good about doing “our part” without actually having to get our hands dirty.

As it turns out, we don’t even need a checkbook to do “our part” anymore. Just change your profile photo, repost your status, or click “like” and there.. you’re done. Or at least we are led to think so.

It’s called slactivism..and Wikipedia defines it this way:

“The word is usually considered a pejorative term that describes “feel-good” measures, in support of an issue or social cause, that have little or no practical effect other than to make the person doing it feel satisfaction. The acts tend to require minimal personal effort from the slacktivist.”

For me it’s my second least favorite Facebook update. You’ve seen these examples:

“Change your profile photo to a cartoon character”

or

“I’m 30 weeks and I’m craving pop tarts ”

or

“If this page get’s 1 million likes, my dad will stop smoking.”

So we click “like” or repost the status, or change our photo, and move on.

I know that these are all good things to support. Yes, we should definitely care about these issues. However, in my opinion these “tactics” are actually counter productive to what is hoping to be accomplished. Here’s why:

1. People Get Confused - My friend, who was married a few years ago, put in her status something like. “I’m 10 weeks and craving honey buns” To which the comments were things like. “Congratulations” and “How long have you known?” ,”I’m going to be an aunt?” I can just say that “Breast Cancer Awareness” was not the message people were getting.

2. We Discourage Real Involvement – We get a sense of satisfaction by participating in these types of updates. It scratches that itch we have to “help out” and can sometimes make us less likely to support something tangible when the opportunity arises. “Would you like to give money?” “No thanks, but I’ll like your page on Facebook.”

3. Nothing Real Happens- Profile pictures and status updates don’t feed people, or provide shelter to families, or really even raise money. I know, before you say “But wait…If we raise awareness, we’ll raise money!!” I want to point out that most of these campaigns do not say what they are raising awareness for, it’s cryptic, much less give a link or place to go for more information or a way to donate.

So what can you do?

1. Be Active - Give money, give of your time.

2. Be Unique - Update your status with something real, don’t copy everyone else. Tell me why you support your cause, make it personal.

3. Be Informative – Tell me the ways I can contribute. Give me a link for more information or to donate, or a phone number to call to volunteer.

Unfortunately slacktivism this is nothing new. Facebook has just given us a new way to express it. This poem is written on the wall of a missionary training center.

I was hungry,
and you formed a humanities group to discuss my hunger.
I was imprisoned,
and you crept into your chapel and prayed for my early release.
I was naked,
and in your mind you debated the morality of my appearance.
I was sick,
and you knelt to thank God that you were in health.
I was homeless,
and you told me of the shelter found in the love of God.
I was lonely,
and you left me alone to go to pray for me.

You seem so holy, so close to God
but I am still very hungry-and lonely- and oh so very cold!

It reminds me that it is all too easy for us to think we are doing something, when we are really doing nothing at all.

I would love to hear your comments and thoughts. Leave them below.

Like I said this is my second least favorite type of Facebook update.. read about the first.

Stop and Research Before You Repost

Russell Martin — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 04:52:35 +0000

Tonight I opened my Facebook feed and was reading through several posts from the day. As I read down past cute photos of new babies, a few bible verses, and what was for dinner I came across the first type of status updates that I have come to find incredibly annoying.

The first is the post talking about not joining a group or about boycotting a product for some specific reason. Most recent example was this one…

“I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Don’t buy the new Pepsi can coming out with pics of the Empire State building and the Pledge of Allegiance on them. Pepsi left out 2 words in the pledge “Under God.” Pepsi said “Didn’t want to offend anyone” So if we don’t buy them, they won’t be offended when they don’t receive our money with the words “In God We Trust”

Which was followed by…

FYI…Repost Update about the Pepsi Can. SORRY it was a Big Unintentional HOAX…go to snopes.com, search Pepsi Can. The original Pledge of Allegiance written by Francis Bellamy in 1892 did not have the words “Under God” it was added by Congress in 1952….the pepsi and coke HOAX was morphed and twisted somehow… Dr. Pepper did a campaign and had a can after 9-11, w/the statue of liberty it and 3 words, ” One Nation…Indivisible.” If you reposted this from me, PLEASE Repost This! Thank You!!

How long would it have taken for the original re-poster to check that before they went on line and shared this with all their friends? Probably less time than it took to look it up afterwards, and then repost an apology.

So think before you Repost… there are a few sites that help to keep internet stories in check. First you can try Snopes.com, another is thatsnonsense.com

All I am asking is that you check it out. Cause here’s what happens if you don’t..

1. You Spread False Rumors- Your lying and I don’t think that’s very nice…

2. People Get Hurt - I don’t know if the pepsi rumor caused anyone to actually stop buying their product or not. What if it did? Anytime something like this gets started there is the potential for people to get hurt. like a ruined reputation, lack of product sales, or even loss of job.

3. People Stop Following You - Social media is about having conversations and sharing your thoughts and ideas with others. Would you want to talk face to face with someone who lies and spreads rumors? Do it enough and people will get tired of hearing it. And your posts either get hidden, or worse, you get unfriended.

4. You Keep Real Messages From Being Heard -I think the story I am looking for is of the Boy Who Cried Wolf. Eventually no one listened to what he had to say, and when a real wolf came, no one listened.

Agree? Disagree? Did you just unfriend me? Leave a comment…

Here’s the second status update I hate…(coming soon)

Stop Clicking “Like” and Do Something

One Reason TO Post Your Photos on Facebook

Russell Martin — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 05:07:35 +0000

Last week I wrote about why you should not post your church trip photos on Facebook, but instead on your website.

But there is a good reason to post your photo to Facebook too. That is the “like” button and the “tag” button.

Every time someone clicks “like” or “tags” themselves that photo of your event is posted to their profile. The average Facebook user has 130 friends. If you have 50 youth at an event, and they each comment, like or tag themselves then photos of your event have the potential to be seen by 6500 people.

The question is what do you do with those views. Make sure there is a path back to your Facebook page and ultimately to your website.

But don’t stop there. Always keep in mind that the ultimate goal is to get people in the doors of your church so you can share the gospel with them.

One Reason to Post Your Photos on Your Website, Not Facebook

Russell Martin — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 04:21:28 +0000

When I attended the UMR Communicator’s Conference Patrick Steil from Church Buzz presented on 10 Commandments Church Website Optimization. During the course of his talk he mentioned that though putting your photos on Facebook albums is ok, you should make sure and post photos on your website.

I think I understand why…

Here is a view of our church web traffic over the past month. I put up photos of our “Shake it Up Cafe” VBS starting on 7-25. Then I posted a link to our church Facebook page. Thursday alone there were 180 views of the VBS photo page.

The great thing about it is that those views also trickled down to other pages, like our “Visiting Williams” page, “News and Events” page and “Children’s Ministries.”

While I probably could have gotten a lot of views to our church Facebook page by posting the photos there, I would not have gotten the additional hits and visits of our other pages.

What about you? How do you post photos of your events? Do you use albums outside of your website, and link to them? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

5 Tips to Taming Facebook

Russell Martin — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 05:32:31 +0000

Since I was able to sign up on facebook I have always though it to be a wonderful thing. Over they years I have been able to connect with some old friends, meet some new people, share photos with family and enhance real life relationships.

And yes, while it is a great tool to use, you can have too much of a good thing. Recent conversations have revealed a theme among those I have talked to in regards to their use of facebook.

“I can’t go ten minutes without checking facebook”

“I’m on facebook all the time. It’s on my phone, computer”

“If I get another request to join a mafia, or build a farm, or answer a question, I’ll scream”

“There are too many emails and notifications, I can’t keep up with it all”

For many, facebook has gone from being a blessing, to being a burden.

So what do you do? Well, first of all you can delete your profile, delete your photos and disappear off facebook forever.

But before you do that here are a few suggestions of some other ways you can use it and enjoy it again.

1. Hide Stuff- The next time someone asks you to return their lost cow, or join a mafia, block that application. Hover over the post on your wall, and an “X” will appear in the right hand corner. Click on that “X” and you will have three options: Hide that post, hide that person, and hide all from that application. After a few weeks you’ll begin to clear the clutter from your wall and see only the updates from those you want.

2. Make Lists - Go to your friends page and click “Edit Friends” You will have the option to create friends lists. Create a few lists to group your contacts into. Here are mine:

Family- If they are related this is where the go.

Friends- These are people I would still be in contact with if the internet died and I had to use other means to communicate. Like.. say talking face to face, or on the phone.

Aquaintances - If you are in this group, I know you, I’ve met you, but we really don’t talk or hang out much.

Associates – These are people who I work with on a yearly basis. Includes those in my work place, contacts I use on a regular basis for work related, or music ministry related purposes.

Church- Working at a church, and being in charge of communications I built a group for all my church facebook friends.

You may have more lists, you may have just a few. I know someone who made two lists… 1. People I like, 2. People I added just to be nice.

Then in your newsfeed click most recent, and then select the drop down. You can then choose the friend list you would like to see.

3. Turn Off Notifications- You do not need to get an email or text message every time someone rights on your wall, invites you to join a group or sends you a message. Go to “Account Settings” and then “Notifications” then uncheck a lot of boxes. I unchecked just about everything except when I am tagged in photos and some weekly updates for ads, birthdays etc.

This will allow you to go to facebook when you want to, not have it constantly draw you in.

(You will also need to turn off notifications on your mobile facebook program of choice if installed on your phone)

4. Take a Weekly Break - Consider a facebook free friday, or other day of your choosing. Commit to not use facebook for a complete 24 hour period every week.

5. Separate Personal and Business – When I started with facebook I had one personal page. I used that page as a way to connect with not only personal friends and family, but music ministry contacts from camps and concerts. Every camp I would go to I would accept 50 to 100 friend requests from those I had met. Now some of them, some of you, are great friends, but some only joined to keep up with my music ministry. So I created the Russell Martin music facebook page.

If I had it to do over again I would direct almost everyone to the music facebook page. This would keep my personal facebook much cleaner. If you have a business, or blog, or are part of an organization consider setting up a page for that. That way you can keep your personal site manageable, and those who want to keep up with your business don’t have to see 100 photos of your newborn child, or puppy dogs.

These are just a few of my suggestions. There are so many good things about facebook, but so many ways it can be controlling. Hopefully these tips may help you to keep in touch with those you want, without being overwhelmed.

Do you have a tip on how you have helped tame facebook? Share it in the comments below. Or share it with me on twitter.com/rgmmusic. You can also join my facebook page www.facebook.com/russellmartinmusic

12 Days of Christmas Videos-#10 Digital Story of Christmas

Russell Martin — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 05:57:53 +0000

My friends and church members know I am a big proponent of Social Media. Because of that, when someone comes across a video, blog post, newsletter article or story about the good, or bad of, say, facebook or twitter, I often receive a link in my inbox.
I received this next video through email, facebook and twitter links many, many, times… so I am passing it on to you!

And to those who send me these links, keep it up! Thanks!

Oh, check out the rest of the videos using the related links below!

Splitting My Blog In Two- Simple Church Communication

Russell Martin — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:34:17 +0000

You write about what you know. When I started Forkintheroadmusic I was basically just leading worship both in churches and out at camps, and retreats. Since that time I have become increasingly interested in how we as a church communicate. Because of that interest I have taken on some communication responsibilities in our church, and for our district. I have also been asked to lead a few workshops dealing with communication in the church.

For a while I tried to combine both of these topics into this blog. As I have continued to write though I have thought about the fact that even though I have interest in both of these areas, my readers probably do not. Readers of the Fork In The Road blog, which talks about worship leading, youth worship teams and my personal music ministry, do not necessarily want to learn about how to create a website, or the differences between a facebook page, or facebook group.

That is the reason I have started simplechurchcommunication.com. The purpose of the site is to provide a place to ask questions, give answers, and share resources about communication.

Help Me Save a Life

Russell Martin — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 06:27:39 +0000

For the past two years I have been supporting the “Nothing But Nets” campaign. The campaign raises money to provide mosquito nets that protect from Malaria with the goal of wiping out the disease on the continent of Africa.

Between now and Christmas I want to raise enough money to buy 1000 nets. At $10 each that makes a total of $10,000

Wow, you might say that’s a lot of money but think of it this way.

Between now and Christmas is around 45 days. That means if you saved 22 cents per day between now and then you would have $10 for a net.

I figure that I have about 2000 people I am connected to between facebook personal page, fan page and twitter. If only half participated we would reach the goal.

How you can help:

1. Donate: I have created a netraiser team called Fork In the Road. You can help support me by making a secure online donation. Click here to donate.

2. Forward, Retweet, Repost: Send this on to your friends in your social networks. Get them to help.. who knows we could pass 1000 nets easily.

3. Start Your Own Team: Why not start your own effort with your church, youth group, or among your social media friends. It doesn’t matter who raises the money, just that they get raised.
For more information on how YOU can participate in Nothing But Nets, please visit www.NothingButNets.net

Thanks for your support!

Before You Create Your Webpage

Russell Martin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:24:05 +0000

“Do you want people to spend time visiting your church website or visiting your church?” This is the question a wise person asked me when I was talking about upgrading our church website. The question caused me to rethink some of the things I was planning for our site. I am not arguing against having a quality website, however I think there are some questions to be asked, and things to seriously be considered when you are starting a website for your church or non profit organization. Here is a list of questions I came up with:

1. What is your goal? You need to decide what your website will provide. Maybe it will have basic information like dates, times and forms. What ever your reason make sure that you are using the appropriate tool, or site, for the job.

2. How much are you going to spend- You can easily spend $2500 or more to have a beautiful website designed for your group or church. You need to ask yourself whether that money should be spent on your web presence or if it could be put to use in your organization in a better way.

3. What do you need to get your message across? Wait.. first figure out what your message is. Then what do you need to get that message out. Will flash slideshow with pictures be the best format? Would video updates be effective? Do you need to be able to create podcasts?

4. Who is your audience and how do they like to be reached? Don’t just think about who you are communicating with but also consider what ways they communicate. I recently had a member of our church tell me she does not go to our website. When I asked why, she said that she gets our email updates and facebook messages and they all came to her phone. She has no idea what the website looks like, how many hours I spent choosing the right photo or how much money we spent designing it. She gets the information she wants in the best format for her. That’s what’s important.

5. Consider other forms of communication- In this artcile by Fred Zimny he proposes that with services like facebook and twitter, that websites are becoming less important and are being forced to change:

“Over the next few years, we’re going to see official institutional websites become less important. They will cease functioning as the only point of web interaction between businesses and customers and will become merely the official storefront. The main “conversion goal” of these retooled portal sites will be to drive interactions onto the third-party social networking sites.”

It used to be that your goal was to get people to come to your website for interaction with your company. It seems more and more that websites are directing their visitors to their presence on social networking sites like facebook and twitter. Consider the thought that a website cannot be the only online presence your organization has.

6. Will your web presence be mobile?- Look at the number of iphones, blackberry’s, droids and other smartphones that are out there. More and more we access the web on the go. Are you considering how your site will be accessed by these devices?

What questions do you think should be considered before starting a website for your organization?

My Shared Items 11/02/09

Russell Martin — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:56:43 +0000

Each week I receive posts from over fifty different blogs. I collect and read them on Google Reader and thought you might benefit from some of the things I am reading. So here are some of my favorites from this week.

In Happy Hallow…. Harvest Festival, Michael Buckingham talks about ways to use Halloween as an opportunity, not a stumbling block. Yes I know it’s a little late, but file it for next year.

One of my favorite new blogs to follow is Michael Hyatt’s Blog. On 10/30 he shared a guest post from Margaret McSweeny on 12 Strategies for Leadership Success.

And finally TechCrunch, Pandora now offers integration with Twitter and Facebook

If you like, you can subscribe directly to my shared items on google reader.

Also if you have a blog to suggest, please put it in the comments below.