via Chris Brogan this morning, I became aware of a book that is out there which seems to me to be one of the more important books on Social Networking realities faced by such organizations as churches and church organizations. The experience of Dana Boyd at Web 2.0 has also brought this importance to the fore, as she was AMBUSHED (for lack of a better description) in the twitter backchannel during her presentation a couple of weeks ago.
Audiences are certainly accountable for what they say and do, and there are techniques a presenter can use to make sure they are, for example:
- Acknowledging their presence by including your Twitter credentials and meeting hashtag on your title slide and welcoming them verbally.
- Inviting a colleague to be a moderator to bring to your attention if the mood of the audience turns against you.
- Taking occasional Twitter breaks to address questions and take the temperature of the audience.
But the burden of engaging the new world of the backchannel, and making experiences positive and productive, rests squarely on the shoulders of hosts and presenters.
Way too many church related offerings on Social Networks are PR oriented, aimed at “attracting†eyeballs and eventually bodies. Way too many are self-serving in the most crass marketing manner (and yes, even tweets considered to be and justified as “evangelism†fall into this category. Far too often, the church “marketers†feel they must dictate the terms of the conversation. As a result, they hold their own conversation, and they don’t listen. There are “backchannels†out there unbeknownst to them. And they are buzzing. Except the problem is that the church is not there. They continue to use the network in the same mode as the previous media, and use it to put up virtual billboards and hype their “solutionsâ€. And no one listens to the backchannel.
I’m going to be ordering this book the moment I post this blog entry.
