Nov 01, 2011 by Matthew Warner
Is "social networking" really that important and useful? Or is it just something that wastes time and encourages unhealthy behavior and relationships?
At its worst, it's the latter. But at its best, it's most certainly the former. And not only can it be important and useful, but it's truly essential to the Church and Her mission, and it's at the heart of a thriving parish community.
But to understand what I mean, you first might need to change how you think about what a "social network" is in the first place. Before you think about Facebook or Twitter, profiles and self-promotion, think about the many social networks that you are already a part of: your friends/family, your coworkers, your parish, your neighborhood, etc. These are all social networks.
Social Networks have been around ever since people started hanging out in groups and being social (i.e. from the beginning). And the many new online social networking tools have made it possible to form and nurture these social networks like never before. They can help us connect in ways we never could have connected, form relationships we never would have formed, share information we never would have known and help each other in some very powerful ways.
These are all good things. Good things that the Church must embrace if we care about our mission. And I'll tell you why.
People are constantly bombarded in this information age. Everywhere we go, all day long, there are endless things demanding our attention, filling every nook and cranny of our lives with noise. So simply being present among all of this noise is not enough.
A lot of parishes are finally getting websites. They are even creating Facebook pages and Twitter profiles. The problem is that they aren't using them properly. They aren't doing anything more than just being present amongst all the noise.
We have to move past simply being present. We have to build real, meaningful social networks with our parishioners. Ones that extend and offer value to parishioners online and that utilize the communication mediums people are most comfortably and commonly using.
One of the primary mistakes parishes and other organizations make when trying to build their social network online is that they continue to use new media like they used old media - as a broadcast platform.
They broadcast monologues that talk at people in order to inform them of something. But in a "web 2.0" world, people expect more because we can now do so much more. Now we can engage people in a dialogue, talking with them after first listening and relating to them.
Don't just share content with your social networks. Share yourselves. The content is there to just get the conversation started.
The Web has become social. And isn't that a wonderful thing for a Church with Good News to share? Isn't that great news for a Church that knows the best way to share that good news is through meaningful, engaging relationships?
People are social creatures. The web is a social place. It's time our parishes have an online presence that is social, too.
Next, How-to (and how NOT to) build your parish Social Network.