Because sharing is good for everyone.

• Oct 30, 2009

  Why Your Diocese or Organization Needs Online News Feeds

  I hear from many people involved in Diocesan and organizational work that they are interested in "doing more things online" and "connecting with their members online." it's great to wish for these things, and even better to try to achieve them. But wouldn't it be nice to actually achieve these goals?

  It's not the hardest thing to do. And it's not like technology is standing in the way and is extrememly hard to use... But time and time again, I see things done that hinder the Church's ability to truly communicate and connect with it's members...

  Continue reading
  View Comments
• Oct 30, 2009

  Announcing Catholic News Live!

  I recently launched a new news aggregator website, Catholic News Live, which runs atop Managing News, a Drupal-based feed aggregator. The site grabs about 50 different Catholic website and blog feeds every three-to-five minutes, and pulls all the stories into the main feeds page.

  After that, I manually sort the stories into one of many different 'channels,' which basically hold stories pertaining to a certain topic. The front page has it's own feed (with all aggregated stories), and each channel has a feed. In fact, you can even...

  Continue reading
  View Comments
• Oct 29, 2009

  BXVI: Proclaim the Gospel on the "Digital Continent"

  From the Catholic News Agency:

  Vatican City, Oct 29, 2009 / 11:30 am (CNA) — Addressing the full Pontifical Council for Social Communications today, Benedict XVI urged its members to help communicate the teachings of the Church on the “digital continent” of the ever-changing technological landscape.

  Reflecting on the role of social networking and increasingly real-time electronic communication, Pope Benedict XVI said on Thursday that "modern culture is established, even before its content, in the very fact of the existence of new forms of communication that use new...

  Continue reading
  View Comments
• Oct 29, 2009

  4 for 1 Special at WooThemes - Affiliate Link Below

  Howdy folks,

  WooThemes (WordPress templates) is having a 4 themes for the cost of 1 sale until October 31st.

  I've been eyeing their themes for quite some time, so when this came out today, I jumped in. 4 very nice and flexible themes for $70.

  If you're interested in purchasing from them, please consider using this affiliate link when visiting their site:

  WooThemes - Premium WordPress Templates

  BTW...the themes I picked were...

  Royalle
  The Journal
  Aperture
  Feature Pitch

  Continue reading
  View Comments
• Oct 27, 2009

  What Makes a Good Parish Website?

  I have been asked more times than I care to recall if I know of any good example parish websites, and, if not, what would make a good parish website.

  Unfortunately, I don't know of any parish website I would say is "great." A couple "good" or "okay" ones, maybe, but nothing to call home and tell my Mom about. So, what are my criteria for a great parish website? One of which I would be proud to call myself a member?

  Design

  The website must be pleasing to the...

  Continue reading
  View Comments
• Oct 23, 2009

  Live Streaming from Rome - Quick Ustreaming at a Multicam Event

  For the past week (and the next), I've been in the Eternal City, helping the Redemptorist community stream their 24th General Chapter. They wanted to share the proceedings in a more immediate fashion with the broader Redemptorist community around the world, and this is probably the best way to do it.

  A few months ago, I was approached by the Redemptorists' communications director and asked what kind of equipment he would need to take a live video feed from a multi-camera setup, and broadcast it on Ustream (free streaming...

  Continue reading
  View Comments
• Oct 18, 2009

  Fear of Apples - Reducing Complexity

  After reading Seth Godin's simple article on reducing complexity, entitled Fear of Apples, I felt compelled to write  short piece about steps one could take to make users' browsing experience that much nicer.

  Basically, by reducing complexity and limiting people's options, you free them to (a) choose easier, and (b) remember what they've chosen.

  As a quick example, we start with the Archdiocese of Saint Louis' current website, which gives users a metric ton of choices for navigation:

  
  15 Navigation Options + Search + Quick Links

  The way things...

  Continue reading
  View Comments