Friday, May 16, 2014

St. Mark Communications: The Web The Tweet, The Future

Last week, the Communications Committee at St. Mark Presbyterian met for a question-answer session during Midweek.  Here are some of the questions and our answers.

Q:  Will we still get paper bulletins and newsletters?
A:  We have no plans to eliminate paper communication---we are just adding digital.

Q:  How can we find the sermons on line?
A:  The audio recordings are usually on the web-site http://www.discoverstmark.org/ by mid-week under the tab “Listen & Read”  We don’t currently have written versions because they would need to have citations and could also be down-loaded and plagerized.  A few times a year, we have printed sermons on the blog http://www.discoverstmark.blogspot.com/


Q: Is the newsletter on the web-site?
A:   It is under the section Listen & Read, choose Bulletins and Newsletters.  Then scroll down to the date you want.

Q:  Why are the photos so old on the website?
A:  Several reasons:  people need to send Cathy Schindler newer photos.  Also, we need parental approval to post children’s photos on the internet.  The blog can manage more current photos than the newsletter or web-site..

Q:  What is the difference between the newsletter, blog and web-site?
A: The newsletter has primarily announcements and has space restrictions.  The web-site is the brains of our communication with everything a person would need to know about the church:  calendars, bulletins, descriptions of programs, directions.  The blog is more like a magazine with photo albums and inspirational pieces.

Q:  I subscribe to the blog and just looks like an e-mail---isn’t it more than that?
A:  If you click on the title, you will go to the actual blog.  A blog is “a web log”---it has every post we have done the past few years.  If there was one you liked, you can refer back to it.  As the historian of the church, it is a new way of writing history.  Also, you can leave comments below each post.  So, it encourages a dialogue among members.

Q:  How do we know who to send photos, inspirational pieces, interesting videos or links we find that we would like to share?
A:  If you have an announcement or photos of an event send them to J. Morgan (for the blog) and C. Schindler  in addition to Carol Pfeil or put them in the Communications mailbox .  We each operate independently and for the best coverage, we all should be sent information:  cschindler@discoverstmark.org  for the web site and cpfeil@discoverstmark.org for the bulletin or newsletter. Look in the directory for J. Morgan's e-mail.

Q:  Will we ever have videos or streaming of Sunday Worship?
A:  We need individuals to volunteer to do it.  Other than the newsletter and bulletin, we are all volunteers, many with other jobs and responsibilities.  Maybe some day we will have someone whose job involves a digital ministry who can oversee all of this. 

Q:  Are there any young people on your committee?
A:  LOL—you are looking at us.  Our web site design team for our new web site has some younger individuals, but we welcome involvement from younger people.  Just have them contact John Northrip.

Q:  Who has time for all of this Facebook, Instagram, Blog, Twitter, Pinterest?
A:  Few people visit all of these places every day.  Generally, Pinterest appeals to women who want craft, decorating, fashion, recipe ideas.  Twitter and Instagram appeal to younger people.  Twitter has been very beneficial when publicizing events which involve a local charity or business like Lydia’s House, The Corner Pub, Sprout and About and City Museum.  When they tweet the information, it reaches a wide audience.

Q:  What kinds of changes will be made to the new web-site?
A:  Hopefully, it will be a cleaner design and easy to navigate.  It should reflect our community and congregation. 

Q:  What is the difference between Technology and Communications Committees?
A:  While we both work with new technology, we are more like Yin and Yang or software and hardware.  In addition to the Sound systems, projectors, Technology’s job is keeping the church safe, secure with the server and wifi.  Communications oversees publicity and reaching out to the congregation, community and the world using the technology.

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