Ministry Monday: Christmas Symbols Talk for #fammin type service #kidmin

Christmas Party by Matt Mckee  
Download now or listen on posterous

Christmas Symbols.mp3 (3251 KB)

Here is the talk I did for our family type service we do at Horizon.  Parents, kids, and others are in the room for this time.  In fact it's more like a whole church service that includes breakfast, games, and a short devotional.  Let me know your thoughts.

By the way, I don't know where my lisp came from but I hope it's not to distracting. Enjoy.

Posted via email from matt mckee

Disturbing post from @mashable: “Porn” Among Top Search Terms for Kids #kidmin

In a somewhat worrying piece of news, security firm Symantec has released the top search terms by kids in 2009. Topping the lists: “YouTube”, “Google”, “Facebook”, “sex” and “porn”.

While that result set might not be surprising in the teen search rankings, it’s interesting to note that “porn” ranks 4th in the “7 and under” category, receiving more searches than “Club Penguin” and “Webkinz (

)“. Meanwhile, “sex” is fourth for teens and tweens alike. Facebook (

), YouTube (

) and Google (

) take the other top spots.

The data was compiled from 14.6 million searches made using Symantec’s OnlineFamily.Norton, which lets parents track their kids’ online activity. And while Symantec is almost certainly hoping to sell more software as a result, it’s also a timely reminder that kids are growing up fast these days.

Top Searches: Teens, Tweens and Under 7s

[via CNET and Symantec]

via mashable.com

Posted via web from matt mckee

Tech Thursday: Do you have a training manual for Social Media?

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If you need further evidence that social media is here to stay in the corporate world, look no further than Telstra, the Australian telecom giant.

The 40,000+ person company makes social media training mandatory for its employees and formalized a policy of “3Rs” – responsibility, respect and representation. Taking things a step further, today the company is trying something about as transparent as it gets – publishing their entire social media training guide online, so that anyone can check it out, learn and critique.

We got a chance to take a look at the guide, which takes the form of a comic book but also includes narration from a speaker (in a cool Australian accent too). It starts with the very basics – like “what is Facebook (

)?” – but eventually moves into much more complex issues like “what if my [personal] blog post is critical of Telstra?” To-date, the company says that 12,000 of its employees have completed the course. Here’s a quick introduction:

Speaking of the decision to publish it on the Web, Telstra says that “while this communications environment has risks for corporate entities and individuals alike, we believe that with the right training and policy support the potential benefits far outweigh the risks … We have decided to open up this course to the scrutiny and feedback of the ‘outside world’ as it may assist other organisations and help raise the level of awareness about social media with staff.”

Clearly, it’s a bold move by Telstra that will leave them open to plenty of criticism, but ultimately we think it’s a smart one that should foster a lot of conversation in the space. The tool itself is also very well put together and highly interactive – give it a whirl and let us know what stands out to you in the comments.

via mashable.com

This is the first company that I've seen that has published their social media training guide. I love the way that Telstra has broken it down to its simplest form in explanations. I also like their use of technology to explain technology. Sometimes we forget how to use the tools we are explaining and they did a very nice job. I also really enjoy their 3 R's. Easy to remember and implement.

If your organization or business doesn't have a social media training tool this would be the perfect place to start.

Posted via web from matt mckee

Sign Wednesday: Merry Christmas from Jesus?

Here is a billboard that is making it's way around the country. We have one here in Cincinnati and from reading Jon Acuff yesterday they have them in Atlanta as well. Here is his take on the subject.

Of course here is Go Fish's take on the subject as well

Posted via email from matt mckee

9 Tips for Enriching Your Presentations With Social Media // conferences & sermons, pay attention

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Olivia Mitchell is a presentation trainer and blogger. She blogs at Speaking about Presenting and has written a free eBook “How to Present with Twitter and Other Backchannels.” Follow her on Twitter.

Pioneer presenters are using social media to engage their audience and extend the reach of their ideas. Twitter (

), Facebook (

), and numerous custom online tools allow presenters to create a backchannel for their audience’s ideas and feedback. This two-way engagement can enrich the audience’s understanding as well as the presenter’s effectiveness.

Here are 9 tips for improving your presentations with social media.

1. Build Relationships With Your Audience

Some of the most proactive use of social media in presentations is seen not in conferences, but in higher education. Sugato Chakravarty teaches a personal finance class at Purdue University. Professor Chakravarty encourages students to comment, critique and ask questions during his lectures. But they’re not doing it out loud — they’re using Hotseat, a tool developed at the university which allows them to comment via Twitter, Facebook or text message.

“I’ve seen a huge increase in interaction. I believe it adds a degree of richness to what’s being taught,” Chakravarty says.

Meeting planners and conference organizers are also using online community tools to help conference attendees network both pre and post-event. Use these tools to get to know your audience and find out what they want from your presentation. There’s also an extra benefit. Laura Bergells, an experienced backchannel presenter explains that “it’s harder to snark at a presenter when you’ve previously created an online relationship! Connecting with an audience on Twitter first can turn an anonymous audience into a more friendly, interactive audience.”

2. Recruit a Backchannel Team

Social media can enrich your presentation, but it’s an extra ball to juggle. Ask a colleague to monitor the backchannel during your presentation. Let them know what type of feedback they should pass on to you. Assign a second colleague to answer questions and add links to additional resources. Chakravarty has two teaching assistants who enrich his lectures by doing this.

3. Create a Separate Hashtag

Make it easy for your audience to identify the backchannel for your presentation by creating an additional hashtag to isolate it. This can clarify which direction information flows between the presenter and audience.

Because Twitter hashtag searches only go back 6-10 days, create an archive with Twapper Keeper to ensure the Twitter backchannel will be available later.

4. Welcome the Backchannel

Cliff Atkinson emphasizes the value of making the backchannel welcome in his book “The Backchannel: How Audiences are Using Twitter and Social Media and Changing Presentations Forever.” Use a slide to display your Twitter username, any other social media handles, and the hashtags for your presentation. “This provides a visual cue that you welcome the backchannel from the start,” says Atkinson.

5. Reach Out to Your Virtual Audience

Give your virtual audience a heads up that your presentation is about to start. Richard Wiseman, a British psychologist and magician lets his Twitter followers know whenever he’s about to present.

If you’re presenting at a conference, many people will already be following the conference hashtag on Twitter. Amongst them will be fellow experts whose contributions will enrich your presentation. Let them know that you welcome their participation.

6. Make Your Key Points Tweetable

Make your presentation social media-friendly by expressing each of your main points as a tweetbite. Phrases from Scott Berkun’s keynote at the Web 2.0 Expo were retweeted many times thanks to their brevity and clarity.

Ensure your tweetbites are easily retweetable by allowing space for your username. If you’re using slides, display your tweetbites. You can also ‘program’ both PowerPoint and Keynote to publish tweets when you click onto a slide using clever add-ins like Slide Tweet for PowerPoint, and Keynote Tweet for Keynote.

7. Audience Participation Through Social Media

The game-changing aspect of the backchannel is that audience participation now scales. What was previously only possible in physically-present small groups is now possible with thousands scattered across the globe. The physical delivery of your presentation is just the nucleus.

Audience members don’t need to have a Twitter account to take part in a backchannel. If you use a backchannel tool such as TodaysMeet or Backnoise, participants can just start typing.

You can also poll an audience without the need of expensive handhelds. Check out the PowerPoint Twitter tools developed by Timo Elliot of SAPWeb2.0 and PollEverywhere.

8. Display the Backchannel When You Want to Focus on It

There’s been a debate around the display of the backchannel as a result of Dana Boyd’s presentation meltdown at the Web 2.0 Expo. The solution is simple – only display the backchannel when you want your audience to focus on it. Displaying the backchannel is useful when you’re answering questions submitted via social media. If you’re not focused on the backchannel, don’t display it. It will just be a distraction to those who want to pay attention to you.

9. Learn From the Backchannel

Enrich your future presentations by analyzing the blow-by-blow account of how your presentation was received. The feedback is likely to be more genuine and detailed than the typical conference evaluation form. In your next presentation, drop what fell flat, clarify areas of confusion, and capitalize on what resonated most with your audience.

More business resources from Mashable:

- HOW TO: Use Twitter Hashtags for Business
- Mashable’s Social Media Guide for Small Businesses
- 4 Ways Social Media is Changing Business
- 5 Advanced Social Media Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses
- 6 Must-Follow Steps for Selling in Any Economy
- 5 Easy Social Media Wins for Your Small Business

Images courtesy of iStockphoto (

), vm, MichaelDeLeon

via mashable.com

It's all about interacting with your audience. Engaging your audience, whether from a live stream, in person, or even after the talk/event, is very important. Sometimes you won't want to hear what the audience has to say because people are more honest and brutal behind a computer but it will make your presentation better and make you better as a presenter.

Are you using social media in your presentations? Have you figured out how to screen the back channel to make the live presentation better?

Posted via web from matt mckee

Mind Blowing Monday: Christmas Lights Display Lets You Rock Out to Guitar Hero

via 1up.com

Yesterday at church I spoke about how the original intention behind Christmas lights were to remind us that Jesus was born as a light in a dark world. I don't think this quite has the same reminder but it is stinking cool.

Here is the full story from 1up.com

People can tend to get carried away with Christmas light decorations, but this is something else. In the clip above, you can see the home of former Disney Imagineer and special effects specialist Ric Turner, which he decked out himself for the holiday. And it appears he's also a Guitar Hero fan, because his house actually lets you play the game by following the lights on his garage door.

Turner offered up a detailed explanation of how exactly he built this wonderment to Make Online (via Kotaku), which involved using "7 light controllers from Light-O-Rama built from kits to control 21,268 lights and LEDs. Each controller has 16 outputs and 2-3 TTL level control inputs that are used by the game system to fire different programmed light sequences depending on what happens in the game."

And for those of us who barely understood that, here's a more digestible explanation of how this work: "When you play, you watch only the Christmas lights, but the audio you hear is from the Wii, so your flubs are broadcast for all to hear (people in cars can tune 99.1 and crank it up as loud as they want)," Turner explained. "When we are not playing, a separate version of the program that has the audio from the recorded game plays with the lights as a loop."

Okay, so 1) you can only play Eric Johnson's Cliffs of Dover from Guitar Hero III. And 2) it looks like it only works on the Easy setting, using only the first three fret buttons. And even still, this has to be the coolest frickin' thing we ever saw.

Posted via web from matt mckee

Tech Thursday: Google Launches Real-Time Search (just in case you missed it)

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We knew it was inevitable, and now it’s here: Google has just launched real-time search integrated into search results pages.

Google (

) real-time search updates as stuff is happening around the Web — for example, live tweets, Yahoo Answers, news articles and Web pages now stream in on the actual result pages for your query. It works on mobile too (at least iPhone (

) and Android (

) for now).

Here’s a video demo from Google:

MySpace and Facebook Deals

That’s not all, though. Google’s announced that they’ve inked partnerships with both Facebook (

) and MySpace (

) to pull in data in real-time. For Facebook, that means public Facebook Pages, and for MySpace, it means any stream data that is publicly available. This is on top of the partnership that the company announced with Twitter back in October.

Live Within Days

Google says the features aren’t available to everyone yet, but will be within the next few days. However, all users can see it now via a “Hot Topics” feature that’s been added to Google Trends. Click on any trend, then click a “Hot Topic,” and you’ll see the new “Latest Results” area of Google search results. For example, you can currently see real-time updates for the Tiger Woods story.

Staying in Front of the Inevitable

For some time, it’s been clear to us that search has been moving to real-time, but until now, Google was seemingly falling behind Twitter (

), and even perhaps Bing (

) (who inked its own search deals with Twitter and Facebook earlier this year).

Now, with one sweeping stroke, Google has grabbed the lead in the real-time search space, and it appears that Facebook and Twitter have both conceded that they aren’t going to outbuild Google when it comes to search. These are significant strategic decisions for all of those involved that will dictate much of where these companies head in the years to come.

via mashable.com

The real time web is so much more interesting than the archived web. Yes this does change search for the future and I believe it is for the better. Are you excited about real time search?

Real time is not just a fad. In fact it is going to be the standard. People will expect real time customer service, sales, and even interaction with almost every department. This is going to be whether you are a business, church, or non-profit. Are you or your company ready for real time?

Posted via web from matt mckee

Sign Wednesday: Amusingly Mistranslated Signs From Around the World via @mental_floss

If you’ve ever been to a restaurant in Greece

, chances are you’ve seen lamp on the menu. The spelling mistake is about as ubiquitous as nude sunbathers on the beach in Mykonos. It’s less likely, however, that you’ve seen my favorite mistranslated sign at Delphi, which reads: “No introducing animals and food on the path.” (Banana, meet my daschund Petey. Petey, this is banana…)

I’ve had the good fortune of capturing some great mistranslations over the years as I’ve traveled, and the even greater fortune of unearthing even more gems on Flickr

. Enjoy.

Jesus is said to have walked on water at this, the Sea of Galilee. I guess that was before the municipality of Tiberias erected this sign.

If you crack the code, and open the hidden safe, you don’t even want to know what’s in store! (via Ben Beiske)

Rumor is, triping will be a new category in the next Olympics. Part drunken stupor, part obstacle course, the new sport is already very popular in small villages in China. (via brytness)

When in Ethiopia, probably best to avoid this restaurant… (via joshua tuggle)

On the other hand, I bet using this bathroom in Deqin, Yunnan, China is a unique experience. (via Timmok)

Never understood what this Jerusalem church has against married folk, but you have to love the photo for the mistranslation, AND the spelling mistake, AND the grammar, AND the artwork.

This one speaks for itself… from a small hotel in Israel.

And just to come full-circle, here’s a variation of the Delphi sign found at the Acropolis. Not as amusing, but still cute.

What’s your favorite mistranslated sign? In what part of the world did you find it?

via mentalfloss.com

These are some of the greatest bad signs I've seen. Thanks Mental Floss for the heads up.

Posted via web from matt mckee

Ministry Monday: Superman Ice Cream

Last week I had the privilege of guest posting on Sam Luce's blog.  Sam is one of the best Children's Pastors in America and that is no joke.  If you aren't reading his blog then shame on you.  Thanks for asking me to post for you Sam.  I really appreciate it.

Here is the post:

Superman Ice Cream

December 3, 2009

When you think of kids what colors come to mind?  Let me guess, primary colors, right?  The true blue, solid red, bright yellow, and golden green seems to penetrate all things kids.  Why is this?  Is it that kids don’t know any better and therefore are given the basics, or is it that these are the best colors of all time and in the spirit of maturity adults dull them down for themselves?

Think about Superman Ice Cream… What you don’t know about Superman Ice cream?  Here is a picture of it.

Superman Ice Cream was my favorite ice cream growing up.  Anytime we walked into a place that was fortunate enough to be graced by its presence could be assured that they had a sale  on their hands.  What is Superman Ice Cream? Basically, vanilla ice cream with primary colors.  The color drew me in not the taste.  The color is what I looked for every time I looked into a case of ice cream.  It was all about the color.

When the makers of Gummy Bears where sitting in meetings and deciding what color they were going to make their little sugar creations I wonder if the word mauve ever entered into the conversation?  Of course not, even if it was 1982 when the meeting was happening.  By the way, I’m glad we have moved past mauve, but I digress.  Of course when Gummy Bears came out they looked like this:

Why did you think they went with primary colors?  Simple, they knew their target and they knew what would sale.  They knew that silver, black, gold, and bronze where not going to do it.  They said give me the blue, the red, the yellow, and the green. Who is their market?  Kids.

Last example to expand this point.  Bring a bunch of donuts in front of kids.  Have half that are chocolate covered donuts with chocolate sprinkles and the other half chocolate covered with rainbow sprinkles.  Which half do you think would go first?  You guessed it,  rainbow sprinkles.  Now do the same think with adults.  This isn’t scientific but I’m willing to guess that the chocolate covered donuts with chocolate sprinkles goes first for adults.  Why? It has everything to do with COLOR.

Know your audience.  I see way to many spaces in churches for kids that lack color.  Those churches that have color many have gone with what could be appropriate for both kids and adults and missed both.  I’m not saying that you should walk into your church this weekend and start throwing up color just for color sake but I am saying think about your audience.

I think it’s sad that adults have matured past the point of these colors and moved to beige, white, and off white.  Just because you may be all grown up and you like the more muted colors don’t make your audience suffer.  Have some fun.

Posted via email from matt mckee

Advent and iPhone together? Appvent Calendar: Free iPhone Game Every Day Till Christmas

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Last week, we wrote about 24ways, an advent calendar for web geeks. Today we’ve found another cool advent calendar, this time aimed at iPhone app fans. iPhone developer Blacksmith Games is presenting the Appvent Calendar!

Every day leading up to Christmas, the Appvent Calendar will feature one free iPhone game. The game will only be free the day that it debuts on the calendar, so don’t wait too long to download. Some of the games that have been released thus far include Samauri: Way of the Warriors and Smackbots.

This is a pretty cute promotion. Not only do iPhone users get access to some free games (and hey, free is free, right?), but smaller app developers get some promotion. With all of the competition in the App Store (

), it’s nice to see developers working together to get the word out about their games, while also giving users a nice holiday treat.

If your appetite for free iPhone (

) games hasn’t been sated, we absolutely must recommend another iPhone game that is free for a limited time — Ramp Champ (iTunes link). This is absolutely one of the most addictive iPhone games out there and is just tons and tons of fun. Get it free while you can!

Have you found any other advent calendars or free iPhone game promotions? Let us know!

via mashable.com

What could get any better? A reminder of Christmas and free iPhone games together. This is just sweet.

Posted via web from matt mckee