What is web 2.0? You may have heard the term mentioned but were never quite clear on it’s meaning. According to wikipedia:
a perceived second generation of web-based services—such as social networking sites, wikis, communication tools, and folksonomies—that emphasize online collaboration and sharing among users.
This is as defined by O’Reilly Media in 2004. Tim O’Reilly went on to further define web 2.0 in 2006:
“Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform. Chief among those rules is this: Build applications that harness network effects to get better the more people use them.“
Still not sure? It seems to me that it’s all about interaction and community. Think MySpace. Think FaceBook. Think wiki. Even blogging is web 2.0 in nature.
It’s all about reaching people, meeting people, interacting, sharing your message, building community and often web 2.0 sites are referred to as social networking.
Most teens today probably have a MySpace page and they are connecting with all kinds of people, both known and unknown.
Should the church go web 2.0? Specifically, should your church website be on MySpace or FaceBook or any other social sites? You may think that initially that would be great if you want to build a bigger youth group. That’s what I thought at first, but check this out, according to the September 4th issue of Fortune magazine:
The MySpace user base is changing. Some 87% of users today are 18 or older; 52% are 35 or older, according to comScore.
The above quote came from this post at ChurchRelevance and Kent goes on to break it down:
The research is quite a contrast from the teenie-bopper stereotypes that is typically assumed to make up the over 100 million MySpace users. Although MySpace has its share of negatives, some ministries are learning how to use the social network to reach new people. However, the ministries doing so seem to be youth groups or college & career groups like previously mentioned Guts Church (Tulsa, OK). Yet the above statistics clearly show that roughly 52 million users are over 35 years old. Yes, there are some ministries catering to this demographic on MySpace, but there is still a huge vacancy in the opportunity to reach them.
It’s a concept that fascinates me and I have been pondering this for quite some time now. I have my doubts but I still wonder. One of my doubts is that from my quick observation, the average age at MySpace is over 35, as a matter of fact, it’s 99. So if the statistics are based on anybody and everybody claiming to be 99, then the over 35 stat is invalid.
However, does that mean the church shouldn’t be there? I don’t know. Would Jesus try to reach people on MySpace? I don’t know.
A fascinating concept to me, worth looking into.
There is an alternative, which I’ll get into next time.
Do churches need to be on MySpace? What do you think?
INMO, The apostles would have used all available medium just to reach as many as they can.
I am in the middle of the same conflict that is discussed in this blog. I have started a myspace account to attract and reach our young adults. I TRULY believe that Jesus would reach out to myspace and draw them. The great commission say “Go ye therefore………….” The verb is “go” not just sit back and wait for the people to come to the church. I appreciate you saying would Jesus reach out to people on myspace. Thats my new moto as I going to use this as I pursue this dream of reaching people wherever they are.Grace and Peace!
In short…Yes. The internet is a powerful way to make your voice heard, but it needs more Christian voices. It is those who speak up and act that define society.
I created http://www.His-Friends.com, as a way for church members to meet, communicate, and share support and encouragement through their personal pages and a Prayer Request Forum. I think it is important for Christians to have a Christian atmosphere in which to socialize.