That's the question that is silently being asked inside church communities around the country. Why silently? Well, we all know how embarrassing it is to sound like you're "behind the times". So, rather than a bold question, the church is asking it in a whisper. However, the question is so important, that they should be asking it from the mountaintops....What is Web 2.0 and does my church need to know about it?
Web 2.0 is a more mature internet. When the 'net began the sites just sat there. They didn't do any tricks. They didn't have any interaction with the user. They simply displayed information, much like a printed page. They were, what we at Mustardseed call, "Static Sites".
So, Web 2.0 is the next phase. Our sites no longer just sit there, but they now interact with the user. We have blogs (like this) which can have user-comments. We have podcasts that deliver rich content on demand. We have AJAX and Flash, technologies which add motion and responsiveness to your website, and we have online communities where people can gather and hold discussions and share life online.
Not only do we now have all this great functionality but our sites look better too! Web 2.0 sites have some distinct design elements that make them easier to use and more beautiful to look at. They have characteristics like more whitespace, larger text, less text, and easy to find and navigate menus.
But, we don't stop there. All of this design and functionality has a purpose. Web 2.0 is not just functionality or design style, it's an entire philosophy...an entirely new way to look at the internet. Websites are no longer seen as "tools" that people use, external to their regular life. Instead, Web 2.0 sites are becoming meeting places where people gather, discuss, interact, and generally share life. It's not external to their every day existence....it's another place (like the church lobby or the local coffee house) where they meet friends, and "do life".
So, when it comes down to it, Web 2.0 has 3 main elements:
I don't think it will be difficult now to understand why Web 2.0 is so crucial for churches. This new way of using the internet is going to happen and continue to grow whether churches get on board or not. People WILL meet online, they will have discussions, they will interact and build friendships. The question is: Will your church be part of these everyday interactions? Or, will they lag behind, even further, in the technology that is shaping our postmodern culture?
This may explain a little bit about why Mustardseed only builds Web 2.0 style sites these days. When a church asks for a static, Web 1.0 style website, we just don't have the heart to take the job because we know they'll regret this approach in a very short time. Therefore, we do our best to explain why churches need to start having a 2.0 style philosophy when it comes to the web.
Churches are communities. Communities gather. These days, communities gather online. If your church isn't taking steps to make sure it's people can gather online during coffee breaks at work, during lunch, or whenever they happen to have time in front of a computer, you're going to miss out on the biggest revolution in community that the church has ever seen. So, start thinking about Web 2.0 in your church...how will you make that step into the future?
So, this blog entry was pretty short and couldn't possibly show you how extensive this Web 2.0 mindset is, and why it's so important for churches. That's why, coming this summer, we're organizing The Geeks & God Web 2.0 Conference. The conference is sponsored by Mustardseed Media and The Geeks & God Podcast (of which I am one of the hosts). The goal is to show people JUST LIKE YOU how Web 2.0 can be used in your church in a way that anyone can understand. We'll have hands on projects that will start your church blogging, podcasting, and forming online community quick and easy.
So, we hope you'll come and check it out. It will be held in Late-May, Early-June in the metro Detroit area. You can fill out a survey about the conference and there will be a website all about the conference at that link very soon. Hope to see you there!