Introduction to Social Media for Unitarian Universalist Leaders Webinar on April 7, 2010 By Shelby Meyerhoff, UUA Public Witness Specialist For more information, please e-mail smeyerhoff@uua.org 1
Blogs Social media tools list Facebook (social networking) Twitter (microblogging) Online audio (including audio files, podcasts, and itunes) YouTube (video sharing) 2
Social media resources from the UUA Top Picks for Social Media: http://www.uua.org/socialmedia New Media for Unitarian Universalists blog: http://newmedia.blogs.uua.org/ New media discussion list: http://lists.uua.org/mailman/listinfo/newmedia-l 3
BLOGS 4
Blog screenshot 5
Basic information about blogs A blog is a website or part of a website that publishes posts written by one or more authors. Posts are displayed in reverse chronological order and readers may be allowed to write comments on posts. 6
Advantages of using blogs Space for in-depth exploration of issues. Easy-to-search and categorize (especially helpful when producing large amounts of text content). A single post can easily incorporate multiple mediums (text, video, and photos). RSS-reader friendly. 7
How blogs are used to promote Unitarian Universalism The UUA has launched a new blogging platform and a list of UUA blogs is available at http://tinyurl.com/uuablogs Many Unitarian Universalist ministers and lay leaders have personal blogs in which they discuss Unitarian Universalism. A small number of congregations also have blogs. Common uses of congregational blogs include posting announcements and sharing spiritual essays and reflections. 8
Directories of UU Blogs UUpdates: http://uupdates.net/index.php The Interdependent Web (summarizes select posts from the Unitarian Universalist blogosphere each week): http://www.uuworld.org/blogs/web/ 9
Sample congregational blogs FUUN Blog by the First UU Church of Nashville, TN: http://www.firstuunashville.org/wp/ UU Fellowship of Lake Norman: http://uulakenorman.wordpress.com/ Westside UU Congregation Religious Education: http:// westseattlereligiouseducation.blogspot.com/ 10
FACEBOOK 11
Facebook screenshot 12
Basic information about Facebook Facebook is a social networking site for individuals and organizations. Individuals may establish personal profiles on Facebook. Organizations may establish pages or groups on Facebook (pages are preferred). 13
Advantages of using Facebook Large user-base. Information is sent directly to fans news feeds, which are visible to fans upon login to Facebook. Facilitates viral spread of information. Updates can vary in length and content-type. Allows for sharing of different kinds of content (including video, photos, and event invitations). Pages provide analytics information about fans. 14
How Facebook is used to promote Unitarian Universalism Many UUA congregations have pages or groups on Facebook. The UUA has a central Facebook page with over 14,000 fans : http://www.facebook.com/theuua 15+ UUA programs, offices or districts also have pages on Facebook; these are listed in the Favorite Pages sidebar item of the UUA s Facebook page. 15
Sample congregational Facebook pages Facebook page of Austin, TX: http://www.facebook.com/pages/austin-tx/ First-Unitarian-Universalist-Church-of-Austin/ 26963957204? ref=search&sid=1324102626.3813652128..1 Facebook page of the First Unitarian Church of Dallas: http://www.facebook.com/ FirstUnitarianChurch 16
TWITTER 17
Twitter screenshot 18
Basic information about Twitter Twitter is a microblogging service that allows users to send short written messages to a large group of readers (or to individual readers). 19
Advantages of using Twitter Does not require lengthy posts; potentially less time-consuming than, for example, blogging. Useful for real-time event reporting (like at General Assembly). Can be integrated with other new media tools and with websites. Tags allow for easy tracking of a conversation or related posts from multiple users. 20
How Twitter is used to promote Unitarian Universalism The UUA has a Twitter feed with more than 1,300 followers: http://www.twitter.com/uua 70+ congregations are using Twitter, as are some UU religious professionals and lay leaders. Common uses are to post announcements about congregational life, short spiritual reflections, news stories about UUism, and links. Tweets about Unitarian Universalism are tagged with #uu or other tags 21
Sample UU Twitterers Lists of UU congregations, UUA offices and programs, and more: http://twitter.com/uua/lists Rev. Naomi King: http://twitter.com/revnaomi Tapestry congregation: http://twitter.com/tapestryuu 22
ONLINE AUDIO (including audio files, podcasts, and itunes) 23
itunes podcast screenshot 24
Basic information about audio files, podcasts, and itunes Audio files are recordings, generally made available online in.mp3 format. Recordings may be of worship services, radio shows, or other content. Podcasts are regularly-updated collections of audio (or video) files, compiled in an RSS feed. Podcasts are designed so that audio files can be easily downloaded onto portable electronic devices (like ipods). itunes is an online music store. itunes lists podcasts available for download to ipods. 25 Podcasts are made available for free on itunes
Advantages of creating audio files Accessible to users who prefer audio content. Files can be accessed and played without wireless capacity. Allows for transmission of a different kind of information to have a different impact. 26
Advantages of using podcasts Subscribers can automatically receive new episodes. Podcasts can be easily synced and stored on handheld devices. 27
Advantage of using itunes Easy subscription interface. Broad user-base. 28
Use of online audio to promote Unitarian Universalism Many congregations create sermon podcasts. Some congregations and individuals produce radio shows for local stations. Some congregations and individuals produce original audio content available only online. 29
Sample UU podcasts Be Spiritual podcast: http://bespiritual.info/ Church of the Larger Fellowship s Quest podcast: http://clf.uua.org/podcasts/ LifeNow! Radio podcast: http://lifenowradio.org/ UUA Central Midwest District podcast: http://www.cmwduua.libsyn.com/ 30
YOUTUBE 31
YouTube screenshot 32
Basic information about YouTube YouTube is a video-sharing website that allows users to upload and display videos. Users can also respond to videos using ratings, comments, and other features. 33
Advantages of using YouTube Benefits of video in general: sights, sounds, and words all at once. Easy to embed on other platforms (like blogs and Facebook), enabling the viral spread of videos. Can group together multiple videos from same user (in a channel). Customizable channel design. Can create multiple playlists within a single channel. 34
Use of YouTube to promote Unitarian Universalism The UUA has a YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/uuaelectroniccomm Some Unitarian Universalist congregations have created YouTube channels. 35
Sample UU YouTube channel YouTube channel for the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley: http://www.youtube.com/uucb 36
Sample UU video UUPlanet.tv (a website showcasing videos about Unitarian Universalism from many different sources): http://www.uuplanet.tv/ List of UUA video (by category): http://www.uua.org/multimedia/index.shtml 37
Other tools and trends Custom and semi-private social networks (Ning). Location-based social networking (Foursquare). Mobile applications. Photo sharing (Flickr). Professional social networks (LinkedIn). Virtual worlds and online/multiplayer gaming. 38
The End! To find out more about new media resources from the Unitarian Universalist Association, please visit http://www.uua.org/socialmedia and http://newmedia.blogs.uua.org/ Please keep in touch by e-mailing smeyerhoff@uua.org 39