Churchy Media - Facebooking Your Faith

Facebooking Your Faith

This post comes at a perfect time. On our last Short Takes we shared MyChurch.org. Yesterday at The Digital Sanctuary they blogged why you should use FaceBook and or MySpace (social media)…

If you’ve avoided Facebook based on MySpace’s reputation, here are 10 simple steps to get you started:

Repent! Realize you’ve been apathetic or cynical about social media because, well mainly because, people put down what they don’t understand. Rethink; go another way.
Join Facebook. Signing up is easy & free. All you need is an email address and a desire to build relationships.
Create your personal profile.* This can be as simple or complex as you like. It can take as little as 5 minutes or you can get wordy.
Invite your friends to add you. Searching for your friends is very easy, especially if someone you know has already added many of your acquaintances.
Join groups that reflect parts of you, your interests, profession, education, geographic area, etc. Anything you find interesting will connect you with others.
Feed your page. If you blog, make sure you syndicate. RSS (really simple syndication) feed apps. for Facebook are easy to find & use. Try Blog RSS Feed Reader.
Mingle on purpose.** Remember you want to connect with friends but also stretch out beyond the familiar.
Add events that you think others might be interested in hearing about or attending. Anything counts, seminars, financial classes, scrapbooking parties, etc.
Create a group. The options are endless. I’ve seen unique examples including genealogy groups, reunion groups, memorial groups, elementary alums, etc.
Check your page at regular intervals. Use it or loose it. If you don’t check in and respond, people will loose interest in their ability to connect with you. Plus, your home page is where the news feed lives. It’s how you get current information on all the people you want to be connected with.

* If you don’t know how to add your picture to your profile just ask anyone under 21.