Yesterday I posted 5 questions I was hoping to get some feedback on. Most of the feedback I received was with interactions with people I know here in Vegas, but as promised I thought I would share some of my own thoughts about social networking:

What do you love about social networking?

• I think what I love the most about social networking besides all the great points that everyone has mentioned thus far, is the idea that anyone can connect with anyone. Very busy and very influential people whom I would never had access too in the past have all sent me messages at one point or another when I had contacted them about something. Social networking makes a huge world a very small 6 degrees of separation.The second thing I love about social networking is that it allows life to continue in real time. When I head back to Michigan to see my family or friends I don’t have to spend hours “catching up” but our friendships can continue as is. We can go out and make new memories and share new experiences rather than spend all our time catching up on things that we missed out on. There is no lag time between visits. My friends have been following my tweets, my Facebook or my blog and they know what I am up to and vice-versa.
  

What drives you crazy about social networking?

• Maybe it is just me but one thing that drives me crazy about social networking is the fact that because it allows people to stay connected in real time it leaves a lot of room for feeling left out. When particular friends hang out, post pictures or a department goes bowling, etc and you are not invited, you feel left out. The online real time of social networking can create a disconnect with actual relationships.
  

What are some of the biggest mistakes you’ve seen people make – specific anonymous examples.

• I think I made the biggest mistake of my life when I first started Down Write Honest. I had been blogging on Xanga/Myspace/Blogspot/Wordpress.com for nearly 5 years when I started DWH, but to be honest I wasn’t a “power blogger” who knew what to do or what not to do. I was young man who was hurting. 3 days into DWH I posted a blog that received almost 10,000 hits in four hours (post has long been removed). It lead to meetings with my leadership team and I almost lost my job here at Central. I blogged my garbage to the world. Some of you read it, some of you didn’t but it was a mess for others to oversee and for me to clean-up. Being on staff at a church does not put me on a pedestal, but it does mean that there is a watchful eye on me. I learned a lot from that post and the aftermath, but the most important thing I can say to a church staff person who interacts in social networks and blogs is to think about your audience as write. Your audience is one that looks up to you even when you don’t think so and there is someone always watching to see what you are doing or saying. I found this out the hard way.
  

What advice do you have for people who are new to social networking?

• Here is what I say to people who are starting Facebook/Twitter/Linkedin/Blogging -> Add value to people’s lives. Social networking can seem like a rat race of information that is constantly progressing. In that progression there are ultimately two types of people, those that take from others and those that add value to the lives of others. Do you want to be the kind of person who adds value? Or takes it? (And by adding value I don’t mean sending me gifts for my imaginary farm!)
  

What are good ways to use social networking for your church/business/ministry?

• Social networks can be leveraged towards amazing connections, especially for a church. It is hard not to use these things for marketing if you are business, but as a church/ministry you are more of an embodiment of the person of Jesus so being “social” shouldn’t be too hard, after all Jesus spent most of his years in ministry interacting with people, not marketing to them.
  

Do you have any more thoughts about social networking? Any thing stand out to you that you would disagree with?