Social Media

USCCB Social Media Guidelines

Submitted by oscatholic on Thu, 07/08/2010 - 11:24am

The USCCB recently released a working draft of their social media guidelines, after receiving input from a variety of diocesan personnel. The draft includes general principles for social media use, a call to the development of diocesan-level policies, and quoted exhortations for proclaiming the Word online from Pope Benedict.

Here are some excerpts (my notes/highlights in bold):

Social media are the fastest growing form of communication in the United States, especially among youth and young adults. Our Church cannot ignore it, but at the same time we must engage social media in a manner that is safe, responsible, and civil.

To keep members, a social networking site, such as a blog, needs to have new content on a regular basis. In the case of social media, the axiom “build it and they will come” is not applicable. It is important to set internal expectations regarding how often posts will be made [very good advice!], so that your followers can become accustomed to your schedule.

Guidelines:

Define appropriate boundaries for communications.

Include examples of Codes of Conduct.

Provide recommendations on how to deal with difficult “fans.” [This is a biggie].

They also include instructions for networking with minors, personal websites, and how to report and monitor social networks. Read the whole document on the USCCB website »

A very good first stab at this ever-changing field of policy/law!

New Twitter Hashtag for Catholic Media, Social Media

Submitted by oscatholic on Wed, 09/01/2010 - 3:42pm

There's a new Twitter hashtag around these parts, for social media use. This hashtag came about as a response to those who were wondering where to move after the bulk of the #cnmc (Catholic New Media Celebration) tweets were becoming less and less about the Celebration, and more and more about general Catholic social media practices and discussion.

Therefore, a general consensus was made that #cathmedia would be a good hashtag for Tweets having to do with Catholic media, and social media initiatives.

Some other hashtags I've used:

#catholic - for all things Catholic
#vocation - for vocations-related tweets
#pope - for all things Pope Benedict XVI

Are there any other commonly-held Catholic Twitter hashtags everyone should be aware of? Currently, it seems the common practice to put a string of hashtags together for certain topics, like #Catholic #Prayer #Faith... while this is okay to do, it's best if there are some more specific hashtags which people can add to saved searches (like #cathmedia).

FSSP Releases a Priestly Vocations Video!

Submitted by fatherjosephlee on Wed, 09/01/2010 - 3:15pm

FSSP priestly vocations

The Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter has just released a new vocations video! This 28 minute film depicts daily life at their Nebraska Seminary. Check it out at http://vimeo.com/14474135 or http://www.fsspolgs.org/vocations.html

Study shows 2/3 of Churches not using any Social Media

Submitted by oscatholic on Tue, 07/27/2010 - 10:05am

Buzzplant (a social media firm) recently surveyed thousands of Churches (it was a general survey, so not just Catholics), asking what forms of social communications they were using to communicate with their parishioners. Here's a summary of the results:

62% of Churches post homilies to website as text or podcast
28% of Churches have a Pastor's Blog
32% of Churches use social media in one way or another
25% of Churches use social media to promote parish events [really? this should probably be the highest statistic, imo]

You can view the full report on Churches' use of social communications tools (PDF) from Buzzplant. With the USCCB having recently released its proposed guidelines for social media use, and with many Archdioceses effectively using Twitter and Facebook to spread the gospel, the time is ripe to use social media on the parish level, and integrate it with parish websites.

Live-Blogging to Drive Traffic, Interest to Organizational Events

Submitted by geerlingguy on Fri, 07/16/2010 - 4:28pm

The Steubenville St. Louis Mid-America conference is attended by over 6,000 teens every year, and there are many parents, friends, and other teens who wish they could participate as well. We have always posted information after the conference, but in St. Louis, for the past two years, we've started live-blogging and posting to social networks frequently throughout the conference, driving up traffic to our OYM websites.

Here are some of the things we've been doing to drive traffic and share information live from the conference.

My setup for the first week... watch a video highlighting the gear » Continue Reading »

(Arch)Dioceses Getting On Board with Online Evangelization

Submitted by oscatholic on Fri, 07/02/2010 - 2:27pm

On July 1, it looks like two separate Archdioceses made announcements relating to online evangelization:

Archdiocese of St. Louis' new Office of Web Development:

In July of 2010, seeing the need for an increasing presence online and in social media outlets, the Archdiocese of St. Louis has created a new office, the Office of Web Development, to help Archdiocesan agencies, affiliated organizations, and (eventually) parishes with their online development.

The Office of Web Development will work in especially close collaboration with the St. Louis Review and the Office of Communications in making sure news and newsworthy stories are delivered online to as many people as possible.

Read more »

Archdiocese of Boston's New Media & Initiatives group:

BRAINTREE — Embracing new and state-of-the-art forms of digital communication to reach the faithful has been a top priority of Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley.

As part of that effort, effective July 1, the secretariat for Catholic Media will be added to Cardinal O’Malley’s cabinet. Scot Landry, the current secretary for Institutional Advancement, will become the secretary for Catholic Media and oversee all of the archdiocese’s print and digital media including The Pilot’s print edition and its website, CatholicTV, the Boston Catholic Directory, Cardinal O’Malley’s weekly email, the archdiocese’s website, the archdiocese’s new media accounts including Facebook, Twitter and photo sharing.

Read more »

Are there any other dioceses getting started (or already well-established) in these areas?

From the Catholic Media Conference (in LA)

Submitted by oscatholic on Thu, 06/03/2010 - 11:20am

It looks like @iJimCoyle is tweeting from the Catholic Media Conference in Louisiana this week. Found today on his Twitter stream:

New Media & New Evangelization: 5 Ways to Make a Difference (from Sr Rose Pacatte FSP)

Become mindful media consumers by watching (doing) media together and talking about what you experience.

Use (mainstream) media in your teaching.

Become a media producer & encourage students & people w/ whom you share faith to "make media."

Make media the subject of evangelization, preaching, and catechesis.

Become proactive advocate for media productions that reflect Catholic social teaching because these are human, humane, & Gospel themes.

Sounds great... but where is the significance for 'new media?' At a time when our news media is bleeding like never before, hurting for money and looking to find a solid path for working online in the midst of the traditional web, Twitter, FourSquare, Facebook, etc., we need to be more specific in our goals for new media use in the Church, especially by Catholic publications.

Of course, reading from a live Twitter feed of a participant might not be the best way to participate in this Catholic Media Convention, but there isn't any other way to do it, and the Convention Blog doesn't even seem to have any content... It would be nice to have at least an official Twitter feed :)

At least they have a Facebook page...

Please Stop Saying "Web 2.0"

Submitted by oscatholic on Thu, 03/25/2010 - 1:50pm

...for the love of everything sacred and holy, do not use the term "Web 2.0" or say "we are joing the social media revolution."

We are not in some crazy new age of the web, nor are we in a revolution. The Internet is in a constant stage of evolution, and reorganization. There will never be a point at which the web will upgrade to 'Web 3.0,' or even 'Web 2.1.' So stop using that term!

The 'Web' is not a software product. It is a relatively new medium by which humans communicate. When television went color, it wasn't called "TV 2.0."

Web 2.0 is a buzzword that needs to die. Any organization that uses this term is dating itself and making the Church look passé and behind the times. Instead, say "we are constantly adapting our Gospel message to the latest technologies, and using social media to communicate this message to others on a more personal level."

Of course, if you say this, you have to follow through! Don't ever be content with where you are. Always innovate, always be adaptable. The world is not a static place, and neither is the Web.