Technically Speaking

Here are a few posts and other sites I found noteworthy this week that you might want to check out.

• A good article regarding the 4 Myths About Using Technology in the Church.  Do you think you know what they are?
• Google announced 2 weeks ago their concept of Google TV.  Tim Stevens is asking us to ponder if that may now actually bring church to our living rooms.
• With much new coverage about the crisis in the Gulf of Mexico, you may not have heard about the bad storms in Central America or the enormous sink hole that was created in Guatemala. This think is scary!
• Need a Friday chuckle?  Check out this visual Twitter Parade.  Just put in your Twitter username and watch how your followers create a parade with you in the lead!
• So, AT&T has finally made plans for 4G service and true tethering (using your iPhone to give your laptop internet access), but has also taken away the unlimited data plan option for new customers.  Guess that’s one way to solve your network problems!
• In an interesting move, Amazon has now gotten into the wireless phone market. No longer to you have to buy your mobile phone at carrier’s store. The prices look incredible as well!

Here are some interesting things I have stumbled upon over the past week.  Enjoy!

• Michael Hyatt answers a great leadership question – How can you keep inspiration alive in your team or organization?  Clue – it doesn’t involve creating more rules or policies!
• Should Jesus be thought of as a product? The knee-jerk reaction might be worth a little more examination. CMS challenges with this question and why we need to think about it.
• Speaking of challenging conventional thinking, Tim Stevens poses a very thought provoking idea in his post on how churches have a statistical problem.  The coming decade is going to require some different thinking and for some churches to take some risks to try some new methods.
• Do you realize that your office chair may be killing you? This could explain a lot!
• Facebook has been under a great deal of heat and pressure about their privacy controls. This week they made another change to try to simplify it for everyone.  What do you think? Any better? [Here is the complete update from Facebook]
• You can now measure how much your Facebook Page is worth with the Social Page Evaluator.  Looks like a great idea, but lacking in some specifics.
• One of the great challenges with new technology and gadgets is what do we do with all of the old stuff?  Apple has an excellent marketing and environmental idea – ship them your old stuff for free and they will give you credit to the Apple Store or Gift Card.  Even if there is no monetary value to your old computer (mac or pc) or other devices (ipods, mobile phones, etc) they will still dispose of it in an environmentally responsible manner.
• iPhone users – you can now access your desktop Firefox bookmarks right from your phone.
• This post by Ron Edmondson about the differences between leading people vs controlling them wasn’t new, but I just saw it for the first time this past week.  If you are responsible for a group of people in any way, do yourself a favor and read this!

Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

Here are some noteworthy things from this past week.

• New look for Google Calendar – Nothing radical but some good improvements for sure.
• Looks like the tablet wars will be getting hot very soon. With the success of the iPad, everyone wants in the game.  The most interesting could be the Google / Verizon version.
• You will also be able to read your Amazon e-books on your Android phone as Kindle app will be available this summer.
• Google Wave is now broadly available to everyone – no special invite required.
• How has technology innovations effected the church workplace?  Here are 5 radical concepts that should be considered.
• Continuos improvement can be hard concept to get your arms around. Here is how Dan Cathy is getting practical with it.
• Church Creatives is a new fresh (free) resource to help you brainstorm as well has find new material.
• Mozy 2.0 has been released with faster back-up power and the ability to also back-up locally.
• Look for Google to possible start competing with Skype in video conferencing as they recently made some strategic purchases.

Do any of these catch your attention or interest?

Google announced today their latest innovation – Google TV.   The idea and concept is hard to deny.  I wonder if the term “television” will even have any unique meaning in another 10-15 years.  The convergence of the web and traditional technologies continues to blur the distinct boundaries that used to give identity to each.

What do you think? Is this a good idea?     [RSS or email readers click here]

Here are some things I found interesting from the past week or so that you might want to check out.   I would love to hear any thoughts or comments about any of them.  Enjoy!

• Ever wish you had a personal assistant to run down things you just don’t seem to have time for?  Check out Fancy Hands – your personal assistants in the cloud.  Send them an email with what you need and they’ll get it done!  I think this is going to catch on and could be very helpful for some individuals and start-ups.  Here is a review by a someone who tried it and loved it.
• E-books are getting more and more popular. Look for the battle to get even more intense as Google prepares to jump in with their own digital bookstore – Google Editions later this summer.
• Ever find a tweet you liked and wanted to quote it on your blog or website?  Now you can embed tweets directly and preserve any links in them.
• Did you know you can “tweet” via email?  Might be a good idea for those that are really wed to email and reluctant to try separate apps to engage in the Twitterverse.
• Facebook check-in appears to be in the works.   The location-based services seem to be of high interest as of late but really haven’t become mainstream. If Facebook jumps in that could change.
• Craigslist has been in the news recently and taking some heat for allowing very questionable content in their ‘adult services’ ads.  It caught the attention of the Christian community and surprise, surprise generated new petitions to boycott Craigslist.  However, not everyone agrees with this approach – here’s why.
• The battle between Google and Apple in the mobile phone market is getting serious as Android-based phones are now outselling the iPhone.
• It looks like the Apple / Google battlefield will also be extended to the tablet market as well as Google announces plans to partner with Verizon on a new device.  Verizon CEO even confirmed it.
• Looks like these rumored 4G iPhones keep showing up in strange places.
• Speaking of the iPhone… the rumors of being able to get one on Verizon are really heating up.  I think we will see this happen later this summer and AT&T will really suffer.
• Folks who go on mission and volunteer trips could benefit from this cool idea – the Volunteer Card.
• Gmail users can now drag and drop images directly into the body of the message.
• Looks like you’ll be able to use your Android 2.2 phone to connect your laptop to the internet.
• So many people are upset about the recent changes in Facebook’s privacy settings – there is a new movement to create a new alternative - and it’s not MySpace.  They have already raised $115K!
• Apple announced las month that it is shutting down the popular Lala.com streaming service at the end of May.  There are strong rumors that Apple is getting ready to announce a cloud-based iTunes in early June.

I thought I’d try something new this week, which if I like it enough, I may continue in future weeks as well.  Since it’s the end of the week and information seems to flow faster and faster around the interwebs these days, I thought I’d try to summarize and share a quick list of some things I found interesting this week which you may have missed.

So, here are this weeks links in no particular order.

• Facebook Chat can now be integrated with your AIM or Tokbox chat clients.  I don’t know about you, but I have always thought the idea of Facebook Chat was a solid one and made sense, but the interface was clunky and tied to the Facebook webpage. Now you can still chat with your FB friends and not have to worry about having to keep you FB website visible to do so.
• Google Maps Goes 3D – A feature that was previously available in the downloadable Google Earth app is now available on online users as well.  Very cool. (Note: Google Chrome Browser & Google Earth Plugin are required)
• Do you work on multiple computers? Looking for an easy way to keep track of synchronize your home & office and not mess with USB thumb drives to move files areoun?  Three great solutions include Evernote, Dropbox, and Google Docs.  Check out this overview.
• The floppy disk is officially dead – RIP – I’m starting to feel even older now.  I can remember when the 3.5 floppy replaced the 5 1/4 disks.
• How to Get Confidence from God – A great post from Donald Miller this week.   How do you get yours?
• Noah’s Ark (possibly) Found – If this turns out to be true it is the biggest story of our life time.  Do you think it will matter or cause anyone to suddenly find faith in God?
• More and more schools are turning to Google Apps for their collaboration solutions.  Why would any non-profit not take advantage of this robust free tool set?
• If you know me, you know I am an avid user of social media, but here are 6 good reasons why you should avoid it!
• There has been a lot of news this past week about the announcements and changes Facebook made at the F8 conference.   What you may not have heard is this report on how Facebook CEO doesn’t really believe in privacy anyway.
• If you have tried YouVersion, you’ll be happy to hear they now have a Reading Plan Calendar to help you read through Bible.  Earlier this year they released a major upgrade to the reading plans and now you can track your progress more visibly.
• Carlos Whittaker released is first full length CD “Ragamuffin Soul“.  This is a great worship set that I’m sure that we will be singing in churches for years to come.
  
  

• Lala is shutting down – The online streaming music service will be shut down on May 31.  I think this stinks as I’m a big fan of lala but apparently Apple (who bought them a few months ago), has other plans.  There is talk and rumor of an iTunes.com site that will be based on the technology that Apple acquired through their purchase.  I can only hope so.

That’s my highlights for this week.  Let me know what you think!