Google Wave is coming!

Google Wave launches in less than 24 hours. It's a new, real-time communication platform that the web has been buzzing about since Google first announced it. It's part email, part Wiki, part instant messaging, part something we've never seen before. Does it have use within the missions community?

Effective Presentations

Phil Prior is head of marketing for Wycliffe Bible Translators in Buckinghamshire, England. Here are notes from a PowerPoint training session he did earlier this week.

The Barna Group: Jesus' Health Care Plan

"As we think about the elements embedded in the national debate, perhaps each of us should be asking ourselves a few simple questions. What kinds of people within your realm of influence need health care assistance – and how do you respond? How do you figure out who to help – and who to serve them in partnership with? ...How do you decide when and how often to invest yourself in helping poor people who have health needs? What limitations do you place on the kind of health care assistance you offer to the needy? What gifts, talents, and resources can you be more aggressive at applying to the health care needs of the poor?"

- The Barna Group, Jesus' Health Care Plan

Avoiding communication failure

This is good advice for anyone involved in church outreach or marketing. It relates to a conversation I had with friends last night, when we said Christians need to stop saying Christianity isn't a religion. It's untrue, and it only makes sense to people who attend or used to attend church.

Phil Prior, the director of marketing for Wycliffe UK: "Lesson for today: If you are going to send a message, use a language that the recipient is going to understand."

Link

Ways to make your website more social

Ministry is all about relationships, whether you are trying to win someone to Christ, disciple a believer, or gain a financial supporter. Social media reinforces your real-life efforts to connect with people. Mashable suggests 7 ways to make news sites more social, some of which can be applied to missions groups and missionaries:

1. Feature prominent links to your Facebook, Twitter, and other social media accounts on your blog or website
2. Include your Twitter updates or Facebook stream on your blog or website
3. Live blog events your missions organization is hosting
4. Use Facebook Connect or similar tools to allow people to interact with each other on your blog or website
5. Include share buttons on your blog or website so people can share your content with others

Writing for the Web

You shouldn't post a 2,000 word manifesto on your blog because no one will read it. Instead, keep your articles short and to the point. Here are 5 tips on writing for the web from Mashable.