Social Media Club Victoria

Guest post by Juhli Selby - Part 2

4) Social media is causing religious/spiritual leaders to think about “community” differently~

Ben Ziegler (@benziegler) was in attendance & brought up this awesome point.  The panelists agreed that being involved with social media has caused them to shift their perspective of “community”.  They will continue to use social media/digital tools to encourage, inspire & challenge their members/followers to grow their faith.

Venerable Eshu Martin observed that the younger crowd does most of its socializing online, so if you don’t have a presence in cyberspace, to them, you don’t exist.  He said whether it’s right or wrong, you need to go to where they are, to at least give them the opportunity to be exposed to what you offer. 

Janis LaCouvee (@lacouvee) noted that back in the day, radio & TV had a profound impact on how we were exposed to religion.  She said social media tools are just the new medium.  It’s not about the technology, which will evolve and change, it’s about people and how they want to connect.  We are no longer restricted by geographic boundaries when searching for people with similar interests/passions/beliefs.  For an interesting talk on this subject, watch Seth Godins’ video on Tribes.

5) Accountability encourages prayer/worship/meditation/participation~ No matter what format it comes in. Amber McMillan from Lambrick Park Church was in attendance & suggested this idea of accountability. She also said after being part of this discussion, she realizes that she needs to get out of her comfort zone & get more involved with social media, because she sees how it can have genuine benefits for her members.

6) Though online communities are absolutely real [and better than nothing], there is no substitute for face to face contact IRL (in real life). Paul Holmes (@tpholmes) had an excellent question:   Is it possible to have true group worship in cyberspace? The answers from the panel differed, but all agreed that nothing beats worshipping/practicing/meeting together in real life as a group, and of course a good hug!

Take-away points for business: Start using social media to get in the game, share the personality of your organization to connect with those who are genuinely interested in what you offer, and widen your view of what your “community” looks like. How do your customers like to connect? Have you asked them?

There were many wonderful quotes during this discussion. My favorite was from Pastor Mark Wagner: “If you are leading and you have no followers, you are just taking a walk.”

What are your thoughts? Are you connecting with a religious/spiritual group digitally? Are you connecting with spiritual inspiration online? How is it helping you? Do you think it’s possible to worship/connect spiritually as a group in cyberspace? I would love to hear from you to keep this great conversation going!

Editor’s note – you can also connect with Juhli on Facebook

Guest Post by Juhli Selby - Part 1

I recently attended a fascinating discussion at my local Victoria Social Media Club.  There were 3 speakers on the panel:  Venerable Eshu Martin (Abbot) [@Eshusan], Nick Johnson from Saanich Baptist Church [@nicktheviking/@SaanichBaptist], & Mark Wagner, lead pastor at Westsong Community Church [@DrMarkWagner]. They told us about how they’re using social media to connect with their members/followers, and how it has positively impacted their organizations.

1) People of all ages are connecting with religion/worship or meditation/spiritual practice digitally through social media sites such as Twitter/Facebook/YouTube, podcasts, text messages & virtual worlds such as Second Life.

A Pastor who attended the meeting mentioned that many of his members show up in person to his church two Sundays per month, and then listen to his podcasts for the other two.  Nick Johnson from Saanich Baptist said he sends text messages to his youth group members to remind of upcoming events.  And Venerable Eshu Martin hosts remote meditations twice a week through the Zen Center called eZendo & also offers podcasts on iTunes.  Eshu also mentioned that he is aware of virtual Zen places of worship on Second Life (digital role play site), where real life monks are available to serve those who are interested.

There’s a  new browser-based online chat forum called Mingleverse, which allows you to create an avatar figure using a real picture of your face, and then “gather” digitally with friends in a “room” to talk, and share video & pictures.   They also have a Facebook app.  This could be an interesting way for a religious/spiritual groups to connect in cyberspace.

2) Religious/spiritual digital connection can have a profound impact on people’s lives ~Venerable Eshu Martin said he was skeptical when he first started using social media.  Is anyone listening?  Am I really helping anyone?  Then he said he started receiving messages from people all over the world saying things like, “I was going through a really dark time, and your podcast was just what I needed to hear.  Thank you.”

Nick Johnson from Saanich Baptist said he finds his members are more likely to approach a subject, or comment on a topic online vs. face to face. Pastor Mark Wagner from Westsong Community Church said digital communication with his members has been seamless & integrated with real life conversations—it just allows more sharing (i.e. photos) & communication.

Another interesting fact discussed: Religious/spiritual digital connection opens doors for people who don’t have local options (i.e. there may not be a Zen centre nearby), or for those who are not physically able to leave home.

3)  “Theology can be remarkably humanized through social media.” Venerable Eshu Martin   He said especially when you go around in a coat like Darth Vader, it helps to be able to communicate to people who are not familiar with your organization [through social media].  For any organization, whether it’s religious/spiritual or secular, social media/digital tools allow you to share your personality & what you are all about – this will draw people to you who are genuinely interested in what you offer.  WARNING: Don’t preach or sell too soon!  Just like in real life, have the courtesy to take the time to share/connect/provide info & value, and have some fun with it! Have you ever been to a birthday party for Buddha?  Or a Polar Bear swim to raise $ to fight human trafficking?

To read more about this interesting conversation, please read Part 2!