Everyone can stay in the know
I ran across a very interesting article from Tony Morgan today. He cites a Nielsen study that shows that teens text more than they talk on their mobile devices. In fact, no age group (with the exception of senior citizens) spend less time "talking" on their phones. Interesting. They text. They don't talk.
I can relate. I prefer text too. I also prefer Facebook. Twitter. And email. There are some people in the church who I know if I email them, they not only won't respond, they won't even read it sometimes for weeks, but if I send them a Facebook message, it'll get a response within a few hours.
Others you have to call. A few you have to call on landlines. Tony drew the connection to churches trying to follow up with visitors and how it's changed over the years.
Communication in today's world is really tricky. How do you get a message out?
The school my kids attend is terrible. They send weekly email newsletters... AS ATTACHMENTS. And often those attachments are in Word.doc format. Who is going to open that? Not only is it time consuming, but you are begging for a virus. (BKK Prep - you are a great school, but if you are reading this, purchase a web newsletter service. It's cheap and much more effective. And you can track open rates and all kinds of info. If you'd like, contact me and I'll show you how.)
One thing I've learned is that one form of communication is just not sufficient. We have to use multiple media. If you are part of a church or group that regularly needs to communicate to you, you can help us by telling us your preferred mode of receiving communications. And then don't be offended if we hit you with more than one kind. We're just trying to get the information into everyone's hands without having to develop a personalized plan for each individual... but that's where we are headed.
I can relate. I prefer text too. I also prefer Facebook. Twitter. And email. There are some people in the church who I know if I email them, they not only won't respond, they won't even read it sometimes for weeks, but if I send them a Facebook message, it'll get a response within a few hours.
Others you have to call. A few you have to call on landlines. Tony drew the connection to churches trying to follow up with visitors and how it's changed over the years.
I think this is true. We email if we can. About half of the people respond in some way. Some people only leave a mobile #. How weird would it be to try to call someone you've never met (or met briefly) on Monday morning during Staff Meeting time. "Hi, I'm calling from the church you visited yesterday. Can I tell you about Jesus?" Somehow I think they'd keep looking. ^_^
It used to be that home visitation was expected. In fact, I’m guessing my grandparents would have welcomed that.
When that became creepy, we started to make phone calls and send something in the mail. My parents probably loved getting something in the mail and then having the opportunity to make a personal connection with someone by telephone.
Then my generation started using answering machines and screening phone calls on their mobile phones. We stopped talking to anyone that wasn’t already in our contact list. When the nuisance of junk mail and telemarketing calls became a barrier, we found out that email messages offered a nice, personal touch.
Communication in today's world is really tricky. How do you get a message out?
The school my kids attend is terrible. They send weekly email newsletters... AS ATTACHMENTS. And often those attachments are in Word.doc format. Who is going to open that? Not only is it time consuming, but you are begging for a virus. (BKK Prep - you are a great school, but if you are reading this, purchase a web newsletter service. It's cheap and much more effective. And you can track open rates and all kinds of info. If you'd like, contact me and I'll show you how.)
One thing I've learned is that one form of communication is just not sufficient. We have to use multiple media. If you are part of a church or group that regularly needs to communicate to you, you can help us by telling us your preferred mode of receiving communications. And then don't be offended if we hit you with more than one kind. We're just trying to get the information into everyone's hands without having to develop a personalized plan for each individual... but that's where we are headed.
