YouTube to Live Stream U2 Concert

YouTube is continuing its push into the live video streaming realm, despite assurances it gave last year that it wouldn’t enter the space because it was too expensive.

The Google-owned video website has streamed the Outside Lands concert and an Obama press conference in recent months, but now it’s going to stream the Rose Bowl concert of one of the world’s most popular bands: U2

The live streaming event, which begins on Sunday, October 25th at 8:30 PM PT, will be available in 16 countries. The live feed will be available on the U2 Official Channel, and feature a live Twitter (

) feed of chatter about the concert, exactly like what the company did for its full-length viewing of Taxi Driver.

The world’s largest video website, in a conference call earlier today, explained that it is seeking to experiment in live video. Clearly, YouTube (

) sees some type of potential in this emerging market, as live video players Ustream (

), Justin.tv, and Livestream have started to prove the viability of this market.

A U2 concert is one of the best events to live stream, in our opinion, given the band’s massive popularity. The question we’re still asking is: What exactly is the company’s plan with live streaming? In the meantime, we want to know: will you watch the concert? Let us know in the comments.

via mashable.com

Being a huge U2 fan I'm there. I just wonder if they are going to live stream it to the iPhone as well? I know that YouTube has said that it is to costly to do this on a regular basis but really? Come on... If there is any company that could do it then it would be YouTube.

Are you going to watch it?

Posted via web from matt mckee's posterous

Glo : Experience the Bible Like Never Before

via bibleglo.com

I currently use Youversion.com as my digital Bible. This does have options and features that Youversion doesn't have. What do you think?

Posted via web from matt mckee's posterous

WifFi Direct Coming in 2010. Watch out Bluetooth.

By mid-2010, you could be transferring files, making phone calls, and printing your pictures from your camera, all without wires. That’s because Wi-Fi connections about to get a big upgrade that will allow millions of devices to talk directly to one another through the popular wireless standard.

The Wi-Fi Alliance, the trade group governing Wi-Fi, has announced a new specification: Wi-Fi Direct, formerly Wi-Fi peer-to-peer. Any device certified as Wi-Fi Direct will be able to communicate with each other directly, without the need for a wireless hub. Watch out, BluetoothBluetooth

– you’ve got some big competition now.

The new standard will be available in mid-2010, according to the Wi-Fi Alliance. It should be available as a software upgrade for older products and included in newer Wi-Fi devices.

The potential impact of this new Wi-Fi standard could be far-reaching. Not only will devices be able to “speak” to each other, reducing or even eliminating the need for wireless hubs, but this could be what makes cell phone and gadget makers add Wi-Fi to their own devices. Imagine being able to send videos straight to your TV from your computer or sending instructions from your netbook to your favorite gadgets.

Get your imagination revving, because Wi-Fi Direct looks to be a huge shift in not only wireless technology, but how we will use our gadgets, computers, and phones into the future.

via mashable.com

This is huge news. Secure connections like Bluetooth but with the devices that we already have and no need for wireless hubs. Now we are talking.

Posted via web from matt mckee's posterous

Layar: Augmented Reality App Featuring Twitter and Wikipedia Now on iPhone

It’s a big news day in the augmented reality department, with Urbanspoon just launching its iPhone AR feature earlier and now this. Seminal AR app Layar has been available for Google’s Android platform, and today sees its free launch for the iPhone.

You choose a filter or “layer” to overlay on top of your real-world view — Wikipedia (

) entries, bars and nightlife nearby, Twitter (

) users nearby, etc. — and point the camera at your surroundings. You’ll get a visual overlay of relevant results close to you, determined by a range filter you can adjust in your settings.

Part of what makes Layar one of the most interesting augmented reality apps to date is its breadth: it’s not just a one trick pony. New types of layers featuring different types of data are launching all the time thanks to a strong third-party developer platform. The app helps you find and filter the best by collecting featured and popular apps together in their own tabs, as well as providing a search mechanism to find new layers.

Another popular AR app, Wikitude, is taking a crowdsourced approach to gathering its data points. It will be interesting to see which approach fares better in the realm of augmented reality apps: the Apple-style third-party developer community or the Wikipedia-style wisdom of the crowds strategy.

Have you had a chance to use Layar yet, either on Android (

) or the iPhone? What layers have you found to be the most interesting or useful?

[via Gizmodo]

via mashable.com

Very nice implementation of augmented reality. I can't wait until I go to New York in November to really put apps like this to the test. It's just no the same here in Cincinnati.

Posted via web from matt mckee's posterous

Godonomics: What would God say to Adam Smith? by Chad Hovind Senior Pastor at Horizon Community Church

Our Senior Pastor at Horizon, Chad Hovind, is trying something new.  He has started a series at our church called Godonomics where he looks at the role of money and Christianity.  During this series he is also uploading his sermon material in a sit down conversation style video to YouTube.  This first topic of "What would God say to Adam Smith?" is broken down into 4 parts.  Enjoy the videos and let me know what you think.  Chad said he is open to any and all feedback.

 

 

 

 

Posted via web from matt mckee's posterous

At Horizon Community Church's property: Under Construction

Download now or watch on posterous

IMG_0040.mov (14100 KB)

Posted via web from matt mckee's posterous

Ministry Monday: Shift book review

(Full Disclosure: I was sent this book in the mail for free but not expected to review it)

Brain Haynes has written a book entitled Shift: What it takes to finally reach families today.  Brian works for Kingsland Baptist Church in Katy, Texas as their Associate Pastor.  I finished this book this past week and have read many reviews.  My favorite reviews are here and here.  You can find a full collection of reviews here.

This book review will try and answer 3 questions that I had before starting to read it.

1. So why is this book important to Children's Ministry, Student Ministry, and Family Ministry as a whole?  

    My answer: Simply put, it furthers the conversation.  As churches and ministries try to figure out how to work together better to reach the entire family this book should be in the conversation.  It will not end the conversation or in my opinion be the full strategy of the church but it does give a great glance into what is a piece of the strategy.  Just like Reggie Joiner has his strategy of Orange which furthers the conversation but doesn't complete it either.  There will be many more strategies that come forward over the next couple of years.

2. What is the Family Ministry Strategy of Shift?

   Basically Brian breaks down a person's life from child to adult into different milestones.  These milestones are well defined, maybe named weird, but he does a very good job in defining each.  Once you know the milestone then the church can come along side the family to help build faith skills. I like the idea of having key times in someone's life where they are more open to God and open to furthering their relationship with God.  I agree with Gina McClain though that it does seem to miss the times between the milestones.

3. Can I do what the Family Ministry strategy of Shift?

    Yes I can come along side families during milestones in a person's life.  Yes I can partner with other staff members to make we are thinking about these milestones.  Yes I can quantify and qualify each step.  The problem with this strategy is that I have been doing that for almost 5 years now and don't feel like my family ministry is where it should be.  I think that there has to be another solution.  More conversations will continue and more books will be written.  

So there is my 2 cents on the book Shift.  I would recommend that if you are in Children's Ministry, Student Ministry, or Family Ministry to give it a read.  It is short and worth your while.  

Posted via email from matt mckee's posterous

FCC inquiry wants to know: Is Google Voice a phone service?

FCC inquiry wants to know: Is Google Voice a phone service?
http://usat.me/?36488690

To view the story, click the link or paste it into your browser.

Copyright 2009, USATODAY.com

I just want the app on my iPhone.

Posted via email from matt mckee's posterous

Azlan on an inflatable slide. Wait to the end.

Click here to download:

IMG_0039.mov (1742 KB)

Posted via web from matt mckee's posterous

A Small Business (or Church) Guide to Wikis (via @mashable)

This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.

Streamlined communication, collaboration, and information sharing are all vital aspects to building a successful small business. You need to build ideas as a team, record past successes and failures, and have your employees keeping each other informed on their current work so your company can avoid overlap.

Social technology has risen to meet this challenge over the last few years. And while there are a lot of social tools to choose from, one type stands out for this type of collaboration: the wiki. The unique communication model inherent in the wiki makes it ideal for becoming a central business tool for your entire team. The following is an overview of using wiki software for small business:

What Exactly Is a Wiki?

A wiki is web software that allows you and others to create and edit interlinked web pages. This means that you can very quickly create a page (let’s say “New Ideas”) and then add information. The key is that anyone can edit the page (or in our case, add and comment on new ideas), which makes it a very powerful collaboration tool.

What Are the Benefits to Small Businesses?

1. Sharing information: Anyone can edit a wiki, thus one person can add an idea while others refine it and add their expertise. The result ends up being one cohesive idea by the group rather than a series of scattered thoughts.

2. Tracking revision: You’ll always be able to see the history of any idea or page.

3. Archiving Information: You find that, as you build up a wiki, you are creating a repository of information. This means you can add legal documents, old memos, and anything else that might be useful to your team in the future.

4. Easy to use: Once you understand the syntax, it’s much easier to create a new wiki page than a new web page or blog post.

What Options Exist?

While there are hundreds of wiki software choices available, a few are better suited for business. Some recommended wikis include:

- MediaWiki: the software that runs WikipediaWikipedia

- PbWorks: a full collaboration and wiki site

- Twiki: has been used by major companies including Yahoo

If none of these suits your needs, a comprehensive list of wikis can be found on Wikipedia.

Additional Tips

While there is no right or wrong way to use a wiki, it’s best if you learn the ins and outs of the software, especially the syntax. Be sure to get your entire team on the same page as well – wikis stagnate if they are not embraced by the entire company. Finally, be sure to keep it organized by using indexes and tracking changes. If you want to learn more, the O’Reilly guide to wikis is a recommended read.

Image courtesy of iStockphotoiStockphoto

, joxxxxjo

via mashable.com

The church can still learn a lot from small businesses and not be a business. This article is a prime example of how the two have very similar needs in sharing information. There are many overlaps between the two and this just happens to be one of them.

Is your small business or church utilizing this tool?

Posted via web from matt mckee's posterous