For about a year now, I’ve been enjoying the social media insights of Justin Wise. Justin is the social media director for Monk Development, an Internet solutions company. He also co-directs the Center for Church Communication. He blogs about social media strategy, personal productivity, lifestyle design, and entrepreneurship. Today, he’s joining me for a conversation about the future of social media.

Justin Wise: I believe that social media will continue to integrate more deeply into the minutiae of everyday life. Social will find its way into what we eat, what we wear, where we are (and where we’re going to be), what we’re listening to. Social is and will continue to be everywhere.

When I say “social,” I really mean two things:

Share and interact. We want the ability to tell people, namely our friends and family, what we’re doing/eating/going to/listening to. We share, much in the same way we’d tell a friend or spouse over dinner, what our day was like. Now we can share socially and experience feedback in real-time, regardless of where our “conversation partners” are located.

My favorite example of this is the Nike+ running app for iPhone or iPod touch. I use this app for every run I complete, and it’s been astounding to see the results. You can connect the app to your Facebook profile, and your friends can “cheer” you on by commenting on the status update the app posts whenever you start a workout. I hear these virtual “cheers” in my headphones as I’m running. Similarly, I can post the stats from my run across social networks and challenge other runners to a timed race. I’ve heard everything from “You run a lot!” to “I’m going to start running because of you.” Social is actually affecting the real-world lives of people that are sometimes continents away. That fascinates me.

This, hopefully, isn’t breaking news. We’ve all experienced the impact of social, whether a small business owner, megachurch pastor, or Fortune 500 company. Everyone has been impacted by social. I see this when I talk to small-town churches who, quite bewilderedly, say something to the effect of “We know social media are important, but we have no idea where to start!” This is not an uncommon reaction.

That said, organizations will build social into their structural fabric by resourcing social media as a department. In the same way that organizations have communications, PR, legal, and accounting departments, they’ll have social media departments.

Brian Solis says that we’re about the enter Social Media 2.0. Much like Web 2.0, culture reached a saturation point with the Web, and innovators started doing what they do best…innovate. We’re starting to reach critical mass with Social Media 1.0, where literally everyone and their grandmother are using social media in some fashion.

Trevin Wax: For many years, I heard social media gurus saying that social media (from a business standpoint) was all about the conversation. You’re not using it right if you’re not heavily engaged in the conversation across social media platforms. I’ve always scratched my head at that kind of talk because – in my case, at least – I always felt like the people who read my blog and follow me on Twitter were doing so because of the content I was providing, not just the conversational aspect. It was passing on good content through my daily link-posts or (hopefully) crafting interesting articles for the main page that were driving the social media engine. A few months ago, I saw that other social media people were now talking more about content creation and content curation as the heart of social media strategy. What do you make of this shift?

Justin Wise: “Engaging in the conversation” is a waste of time. While that may seem like an overstatement, it’s not. I even have the data to prove it.

I wrote a post on this very topic using the data of Dan Zarrella, the social media scientist at HubSpot. Dan equates “engaging the conversation” to unicorns and rainbows—they make you feel better but don’t accomplish anything.

With the addition of iBooks Author, Apple, once again, is creating a “blue ocean” in which to market. If you make ebook creation as simple as Apple has while claiming sole publisher rights to books created with the tool, more and more authors will drift to the platform. This is typical Apple—creating an ecosystem where they control every last detail from start to finish.

The blogosphere is filled with tips from bloggers on how to blog well. I know. I’ve chimed in myself with tips from time to time. The advice generally follows a well-worth path: choose a good theme, work on your writing, post consistently, build a network, etc.

All of these tips are helpful. But lately, I’ve been thinking, What is it about a blog that makes me a regular reader? Which bloggers feature articles that consistently attract my attention? No matter what kind of blog or blogger it may be, I’ve discovered a common characteristic in the best of them: curiosity.

Curiosity works itself out in two ways:

1. The blogger provokes a sense of curiosity and wonder in his or her readers.
2. The blogger has an innate curiosity that enables him or her to write from a unique perspective.

Let’s look at each aspect.

Writing with an Eye to Provoking Curiosity

Good blogs pique your curiosity. The headline grabs you. The first few sentences draw you in. A quote from the blogger’s Twitter causes you to click over and see what the discussion is about. Sometimes, you’re as interested in what the blogger’s community of commenters thinks about a given subject than you are the blogger’s perspective. No matter your exact reason for reading, it’s usually curiosity that drives you to a blog.

Writing with an Innate Sense of Curiosity

But then there’s the second aspect – the blogger’s innate sense of curiosity. Here is where it gets a bit tricky. Some bloggers succeed well at #1 (grabbing a reader’s attention), but aren’t that good at #2. These blogs quickly become stale. The blogger draws me in, but doesn’t deliver what the curiosity-piquing element promised. The title was arresting; the post was so-so. The quote was stellar, but it was only one sentence out of a largely unorganized collection of thoughts.

Interesting Blogs from Interesting People

The best blogs are a combination of the two. The blogger has a curious nature, and this curiosity manifests itself naturally in his or her writing interesting material that grabs the attention of readers. Cultivating a sense of curiosity, a sense of wonder and awe at the world we live in, is vitally important for delivering interesting content day after day.

I have found that interesting blogs are written by interesting people. What makes an interesting person? The ability to be continually fascinated by ideas.

Likewise, I’ve found that the bloggers who are most interesting to read are the bloggers who are most interested in reading. Bloggers more interested in themselves than in ideas rarely have engaging blogs. If you’re not fascinated by something bigger than yourself, chances are – your readers won’t be either.

This is why attempting to build a successful blog is the wrong way to look at the whole blogging endeavor. Readers can see right through it. If your blog merely exists to push yourself in front of others or sell your products, your blog will never be very interesting. The best blogs are driven by the curiosity and generosity of the blogger. Curiousness pushes the blogger into interesting subjects and territory. Generosity is the ability to point to good content wherever it may be found, even if it doesn’t increase your own stature or necessarily build your own reputation.

Three Curious Examples

Here are three blogs that excel at provoking my curiosity:

• Roasted Peanuts: This blogger has interesting content because he posts multiple strips of Peanuts each day. (His goal is to make it through all fifty years in the next decade or so.) But what really makes this blog interesting is the blogger’s comments on Schulz’s work. JohnH finds neat aspects in every panel. He points out interesting art features and unusual character developments. It’s JohnH’s curiosity regarding Peanuts that makes this such an engaging blog.
• Timothy Dalrymple: Though the saying goes, Politics and religion aren’t discussed in polite company, Dalrymple recognizes that without politics and religion, you lose two of the most important and most interesting topics of conversation. Timothy demonstrates his innate curiosity by tackling a variety of subjects. He also succeeds at stirring up interest in the way he delivers his content.
• Mere Orthodoxy: It’s rare that a group blog consistently delivers fresh, engaging content. Why does it work in this case? Because the ever-engaging Matthew Lee Anderson has assembled a variety of interesting thinkers and writers to speak to issues concerning faith and culture. The word that best describes MereO is “thoughtful,” though I would contend that this thoughtfulness on behalf of Matt and the writers is actually rooted in curiosity, a love for good conversation about issues that really matter.

What about You?

I could continue with a long list of blogs that cultivate curiosity, but three should suffice. Now I’m curious to get your feedback on the blogs you read. What are the factors that determine a good blog for you? How important is curiosity (both the blogger’s curiosity and the ability to stoke yours) in blogs?

Today’s post is contributed by Derek Ouellette, who blogs at Covenant of Love.

Over the years of blogging I have learned through trial and error many Christ-honoring principles. In this brief testimonial, I offer four. I have no doubt that if I were to write this article again, four completely different principles would emerge.

Principle #1: Nobody likes somebody who writes against everybody.

When I think back to my first attempt at blogging four years ago, I’m actually quite ashamed. It was as though I had an axe to grind. Blogging became my vent, my release, my grinding mill. I convinced myself that I was blogging to “explore” theology, but in short order my posts began to take aim at every view I had come to reject. At the same time I wondered why I had virtually no visitors to my blog. I let all of my friends know about it, but none of them ever seem to have visited more than once.

Today, I am not surprised that I had so few visitors back then and that nobody ever left a comment. Axe-grinding requires a heavy hand, and it’s the same when blogging with an axe. Exclamation marks [!], CAPLOCKS, as well as bold and underlined words and sentences were all common features of my blog. I thought I had an important message to get out, so I added emphases as often as I could. But for the reader, this translated into a lack of substance. I remember reading somewhere that, like 24-hour cable newscasters, we compensate for the unworthiness of our meanings by being emphatic! Ouch. If everything is emphasized, nothing is. I felt I had an important message to get out, but no one was listening because I was saying it too loudly.

Principle #2: Less is more.

Seeking a fresh start, I opened a new blog and named it Covenant of Love (inspired by N.T. Wright’s book, Climax of the Covenant and Deuteronomy 7:9). I began to make an effort, sometimes with notable relapse, to bring an even-hand to my articles, to write for things I’m for and not just things I’m against, and to add emphasis in a manner that enhanced and strengthen my message. Slowly I watched my stats rise. Occasionally, people would leave comments. But this presented a whole new dilemma for me: not everyone agreed with what I had to say, and often the discussions that ensued would turn ugly, especially if I felt like my views were being challenged (which was always). At this stage I quickly learned two more things:

Principle #3: Know your stuff. Be certain, but be humble.

I blogged like I was the jack of all trades and the master of none. That is, I had an opinion about everything, but was an expert on none of it. Yet the internet is a big place; filled with experts on stuff I didn’t even know people could be experts on. And so these people, more capable than I in their field of interest, would often correct me. It was irritating – like a stranger barging into your home and telling you how to run it. I discovered that something had to change. I had to apply greater care to my words, have some basic critical knowledge of my main points and I had to learn to write in modesty (keeping in mind that certainty and humility are not antithetical). I also had to learn to be teachable, engaging, un-defensive, non-argumentative and a whole bunch of other adjectives that bring me back to Philippians 2:4-11.

Principle #4: Always answer direct credible questions; engage often in conversation; reply occasionally to opinions; never respond to trolls.

I often received blog advice that instructed me to respond to as many comments as possible. The thinking is that if the author personally replies, the audience will return. But I discovered how dangerous to the health of your blog that can be. Not every comment is worthy of a response. Some people think they know everything and feel the need to make the world agree with them, usually by means of derogatory force. By responding to these people you actually lower yourself to the level of the troll and in the process you discredit yourself in the eyes of your regular audience. Other times people just want to give their opinion about your post, often there is no need to reply. And still other times your audience will engage each other in conversation.

Conclusion

Over the past six months my readership has grown significantly. I’m learning plenty of cool stuff from my readers, and they seem to be learning some things from me. Someone notable recently sent me an email saying “I also like the irenic atmosphere of your blog. I like low decibels and an atmosphere where Christian differences are respected.” When I read that I wanted to cheer. Four years ago nobody would ever dream of paying my blog such a compliment. It’s a testament to a new plateau in my journey.

If you are on this blogging journey too, I hope that my testimony would encourage you to stay the course, make necessary adjustments where needed and strive above all to blog in a way that honors Christ. N.T. Wright has said “It really is high time we develop a Christian ethic of blogging” (Justification, p.26). This is true. I’m looking forward to someone writing that book, but in the meantime, I have signed the Blogging with Integrity pledge, and I encourage you to do the same.

What is one blogging principle you have learned through experience?

Today, I’m foregoing a regular post in order to point you to a roundtable discussion about Christians and internet presence. Brandon Smith moderated a discussion between myself, Jared Wilson, and Steve McCoy on the practicality and benefits of social media, not limited to but including blogging.

I hope you find our conversation engaging and that you’ll join in the comments section.

Here are some insightful quotes:

Steve McCoy: Tell your pastor about your blog for accountability. Or maybe find a trusted, knowledgeable friend who can challenge you when necessary on what you are writing.

Brandon Smith: I always remind myself of this: God has given me X number of blog readers, Twitter followers, Facebook friends, and other contacts in order to glorify Him and fulfill the Great Commission in whatever small or large way He has granted me to do so. I would be remiss to prostitute His gifts for my own gain.

Jared Wilson: The best practical way social media can benefit churches and leaders is through the rapid updating of informational “bullet points.”

Steve McCoy: For me social media isn’t about permanence of what is said but the permanence of those saying it.

Occasionally, I receive questions from blog readers who are curious to know how I wound up writing a book. Many bloggers have similar aspirations of writing for a larger audience. So questions inevitably come up:

“How did you get published?”

“What kind of proposal did you do?”

“What is the key to getting a book deal?”

Of course, the questioners are not merely interested in my personal story; they want to follow the same road and get published themselves.

The only advice that I can give about publishing comes solely from the author’s standpoint. I usually recommend that you try to get published in some magazines first. Building a blog audience is a good idea. Try to get your work into other places (whether there is a financial benefit or not). Sometimes, I will tell someone to consider self-publishing, especially if they have many traveling and speaking opportunities.

Of course, all this advice is from the author’s standpoint. The best thing you can do is hear the editor’s point of view.

The world of Christian publishing differs quite a bit from the world of non-Christian publishing, but enough of the same rules apply to non-fiction that one can glean important insights from editors of secular non-fiction. Thinking Like Your Editor: How to Write Great Serious Nonfiction–and Get It Published (W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 2003) by Susan Rabiner and Alfred Fortunato is a good place to get started.

Aspiring authors need to know what editors look for when they see a book proposal. They also need to know a little about the decision-making process. I learned from experience how to craft a book proposal, but it would have been helpful for me to have known some of the suggestions in this book before starting the proposal.

For example, when I first began speaking with an editor of a Christian publishing house, I quickly came to discover that although my editor really liked my proposal, the decision was not his alone. He was going to have to “sell it”, so to speak, to the board of editors that makes these decisions.

It’s a little like American Idol. The first major step forward is simply getting your work to an editor’s desk, just like the thousands of Idol contestants hope they will get the chance to audition for the judges. Once you have an editor who is in your court, you move pass the initial round of going “solo” and now must compete against all the other proposals. (It’s like Hollywood Week.) It’s no longer just you and the editor. Now your proposal has to stand out in a room with lots of other proposals, each of which has support from other editors. If you pass this test, you’re on your way.

If you want think like an editor, I recommend this book. It comes highly recommended by my friend, Justin Taylor, editor at Crossway. And no wonder. This book takes you through the thought processes of a non-fiction editor. The five big questions that every editor wants to answer are:

1. What is this book about?
2. What is the book’s thesis and what’s new about it?
3. Why are you the person to write this book?
4. Why is now the time to publish this book?
5. Who makes up the core audience for the proposed book, and why will they find it appealing?

If you can satisfactorily explain all five of these things, you have at least a shot at getting published.

The book also includes a couple of chapters on how to write well. The authors give tips on writing, using narrative tension, and treating other arguments fairly, etc. There is also a good deal of advice for authors once they have a book proposal that has been accepted. What can an author expect from the publisher? What can an author expect in terms of marketing?

Reading this book after going through the publishing process was especially enlightening. Looking over my initial proposal for Holy Subversion, I can see some of the things I did right. And thinking ahead, I can see some things I will do differently when making future proposals.

Thinking Like Your Editor is what I’m going to start recommending to people when they ask about being published or how to be published. You really don’t need to talk to an author so much as you need to talk to an editor. If you don’t know an editor, this book is the next best thing for writing non-fiction and getting it published.

The blogosphere is changing the world.

Am I exaggerating? Maybe. After all, there are plenty of people who have never seen a blog. Many people give you a blank stare if you ask them what a “blogger” is. But there is no doubt that the way we obtain information in this Internet age is changing, and the blogosphere is a big part of that information revolution.

Blogging has democratized the way we access information. It has also democratized the way we publish information.

The New Media Frontier: Blogging, Vlogging, and Podcasting for Christ (Crossway, 2008) illuminates the promises and pitfalls of engaging in this new media. Especially helpful is the Christian focus that this book brings to blogging.

John Mark Reynolds starts off the book by describing the difference between “live” and “preserved” discourse. He shows how the world has moved from “live” performance to “preserved” performance. Now this pendulum is swinging back towards “live” performance. Maintaing the balance between instant communication and preserved communicatio is of the utmost importance.

An interesting phenomena that Reynolds does not address: ”live” performance sometimes leads to “preserved” performance. Take American Idol for example - direct performances (“live”) that (hopefully) lead to recording contracts (“preserved”). Or the success of bloggers (“live”) who wound up writing “preserved” discourse for this book!

Matthew Lee Anderson warns us about the blogosphere. He sees a number of deficiencies in online communication and so he points out some dangers that should be avoided. Of primary concern is the way that connecting online is inferior than connecting face to face. Likewise, the emphasis in blogging is on posting and publishing. You cannot simply “be” an online presence. He worries that our souls might become shallow and that we might mistakenly assume we can and should control how we present ourselves to the world.

Because this book comes from a variety of bloggers, it contains a wide variety of insights.

• Technical advice on starting a podcast? See the “Beginner’s Toolbox” on podcasting.
• Want to start a blog? Make sure you read Joe Carter’s terrific chapter before you begin.
• Are you a pastor wanting to facilitate more discussion with your congregation? Then see Mark D. Roberts’ chapter (and his blog) for a great model of how it can be done.
• Thanks to Rhett Smith’s chapter on youth ministry, I have now opened a FaceBook account. Otherwise, according to Rhett, I might be unintentionally telling the 20somethings in my Sunday School class that I do not care about their online life.

Blogging is changing how pastors relate to their people, how people engage in apologetics for Christian truth, how classrooms and ”the academy” relate to one another. The New Media Frontier is a must-have book for all those interested in the current revolution in media intake and output. Get this book. And then get to work glorifying Christ on your blog.

Blogging is fun. It takes work and discipline, but it can be a lot of fun. Recently, a friend who is beginning a new blog asked me for some blogging advice. I thought I would pass along my advice to him. If you’re thinking about starting a blog, here are some things to keep in mind.

1. Choose a WordPress Theme that has two or three columns.

It will help your readers if you have a sidebar with some important information in it. For example, at Kingdom People, the sidebar offers ways for people to connect with me, find out more about the blog, see other bloggers I like, and so on.

Most importantly, the top ten most visited posts for any given day are listed down the side. This feature helps first-time visitors find some good material.

(I only have two columns because I don’t like the “crammed” feeling I get when I visit some three or four column blogs.)

2. Include pictures if possible.

I don’t include a photograph with every post, but I try to when I can.  The post should stand on its own merit, but a picture can help it make a greater impact.

3. Don’t worry too much about the name of your blog.

More than likely, people are going to search for ”Your Name” and not the blog name you have. Some link to me as “Kingdom People,” but the majority use my name. Whichever is fine. I know some guys who change up their blog names every now and then for fun.

4. Be personal, but not always personal.

Some blogs are running journals. Whatever is going through the writer’s head makes it way onto the site. While this is a good discipline for someone to get into, I don’t blog this way. I try to vary my posts from day to day, and I will usually take an hour or two a week to lay out the structure for my posts the following week.

For example, this Saturday, the post that will drop (it’s already time-stamped, so I don’t have to actually go in and make it appear – WordPress will do that automatically) is a thought-provoking quote for the week.

Sunday’s post is always a prayer.

Monday’s post is the continuation of a series on the Prodigal Son that will take up 17 Mondays.

Wednesday is my day for book reviews. Two new book reviews will show up on Wednesday. (I’m a big proponent of including book reviews on a blog.)

Tuesdays and Thursdays are usually reserved for a variety of personal insights on the church, culture, or my experiences in Romania.

And then Friday is the day I link to everything I came across that I found worthwhile that week.

I’m not suggesting that everyone work a blog the same way… but adding a structure to your blog will increase variety.

Plus… if you’re in a writing mood and write three or four posts in an afternoon, don’t feel like you have to publish them all the same day. Stretch them out. Let them breathe. Let each one get the emphasis it deserves.

I have found the following sites helpful: they are from some “successful” bloggers on what it takes to be a good Christian blogger:

Blog Appraisals – SaidatSouthern
Tall Skinny Kiwi Blogging Tips
Scot McKnight on Blogging

written by Trevin Wax © 2007 Kingdom People blog

Many of the most popular blogs on the web have risen to prominence from pointing out the shortcomings of other believers. This is a cheap and easy way to gain traffic for your site and build some sort of “name” for yourself on the internet.

Yes, it’s easy to criticize the Church for failing to live up to all that Scripture would have her be. After all, our shortcomings are often evident – and more visible than we would wish.

Much more difficult is the task of going past the critique of today’s Church towards setting a vision for the Church of the future.

I have decided to devote more time to thinking and writing, not about the current state of the Church, but about what the Church could and should be. I want to spend time, not reacting to the current trajectory of the world and the Church today, but proactively seeking ways to navigate through this postmodern morass and out to the other side.

Despite the valiant efforts of many of my brothers and sisters, our society is not returning to a world before postmodernism. Neither is the Church. And I’m not sure we should be trying. Instead, we must be the same Church in the midst of a postmodern culture, adapting to our new environment without compromising the core doctrines and essential beliefs of our faith.

Let’s take a deep breath and remember that the true Church’s survival through this postmodern era is already assured. Jesus told us that “the gates of hell will not prevail against us.” Jesus’ bold words do not describe the Church as a fortress being attacked by the forces of evil. His picture describes the Church storming the gates of the enemy. We must make sure that our focus is not so much on defending whatever remnants of Christendom remain in our world. Instead, we must concentrate on moving forward the mission of God into our fallen, confused society. Continue

This is funny. Because we talk about “death” being “dead” and other religious things like “missions” and “missionaries” here that are “dangerous”… my blog has officially been rated NC-17. Watch out kids! Parents, beware…

HT: Timmy Brister

The last couple of weeks have been busy. Corina and I spent 4 days in San Antonio at the Southern Baptist Convention, and I have spent all this week in Louisville for a 10-hour-a-day J-term on leadership.

The neat thing about these two weeks has been getting to meet some of you… my readers and fellow bloggers. Several times in San Antonio, I met people who, after hearing my name, said, “I read your blog!” This week in Louisville, I’ve met some more readers, including some fellow bloggers like Andy Atkins,  Brandon Rogers, Chip Crush, Owen Strachan, and Reid Moneghan.

Meeting people in person that you have come across online is a neat experience. For me, it has been humbling. Humbling to know that nearly 300 people a day take the time to visit my site and read what I post. Humbling to know how little I deserve someone’s time. Humbling to know how early-on I am in ministry and how much I have to learn, and yet people are gracious enough to accompany me on the journey and disagree with me when I’m in error. Humbling to know that in a few years, I will probably be embarrassed by some of the immature ramblings or unripe theology on my blog today, warts that – because I’m still growing – I can’t see yet.

So… as I head back to Tennessee this weekend to celebrate my 26th birthday and my son’s 3rd… I look ahead, hoping that Jesus will continue to grow sweeter to me daily and that I keep growing in grace, humility, and wisdom.

written by Trevin Wax © 2007 Kingdom People blog