IS40:8 (part 8) - Gospel according to X (twitter)

 

JesusLife/wikipedia

Easter falls this April 20th in 2025.

As we're presently in the midst of Lent, many reflect on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Many reflect on this all year round.

If X(twitter) existed 2000 years ago, the story may play out in cyberspace as such:

https://youtu.be/T2u2fuFpY_c?si=Akot0sZw6aQvNn4A

Blessings
and
Peace.

Happy Easter.

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Isaiah 40:8

The grass withereth,

the flower fadeth:

but the word of our God

shall stand for ever.

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For other posts on this thread, search:

IS40:8

Similar threads (search blog):

Faith

10C - The Ten Commandments

Biblia Files

PPP - Psalms, Proverbs, and Politics

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Photos: JesusLife/wikipedia

Biblia Files (part 7) - Follow Me

The Good Shepherd/everystockphoto.com

As I write, we are half-way through Lent.

And below is a video of what it may have been like if Jesus walked the earth during the days some social media. Especially twitter. And hash tags. Such as #jesustweeters.

(reference: https://youtu.be/S-hW680pCLs )  

Follow Him? Where will He take us?

The Good Shepherd only knows. But we have His promise:

When Jesus spoke again to the people,
  

He said,
 

 “I am the Light of the world.

Whoever follows Me

will never walk in darkness,

but will have the light of life.” 

 John 8:12(NIV)


Blessings to all who follow Him
and spread His Word in every way,
including on social media.

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Recent posts in this series:

Biblia Files (part 1) - Thru the Bible (2013)

Biblia Files (part 2) - What is the Bible Basically About? (2013)

Biblia Files (part 3) - Gideon - weakness, warts and all (2013) 
   
Biblia Files (part 4) - Holy Hyperlinks (2014)

Biblia Files (part 5) - Waiting .... (2014)
  

Biblia Files (part 6) - Crowns and Frowns (2015)

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photo: The Good Shepherd/everystockphoto.com

Tech (part 1) - The Gospel and Tech

Gospel/wikipedia.com

Twitter is one of the popular networks in social media. It can connect us to countless people across the world. Through it, we can quickly share information. And that can be vital during disasters.

Tweets can also divide us, incite mob rule to pile on a hapless twitterer of an unpopular opinion. And it's so easy to snipe from the anonymity of a keyboard.

Likewise, the words and action of public figures can divide us. As we approach Easter, we have a perfect example of that, 2000 years ago.  That is Jesus, of course. And the mob had Him crucified. Only He did not stay dead. That's why we celebrate Easter.

How Jesus divided people is recorded in the Gospels. And there is a good booklet (in pdf format) describing this, provided via the modern marvels of computers and hyperlinks:  The Cross Divides Men

The Gospel and 21st century tech 

If you are reading this blog, it is a marvel of our social media, like blogging. And I most likely tweeted the link you are reading, or posted it on Facebook, or you googled it on your browser.

How would the Gospel be told via twitter in our times? Below is a video embedded from YouTube (another modern marvel) showing that:

(reference: https://youtu.be/S-hW680pCLs )

So in the 21st century, tweets and posts with hyperlinks can quickly spread the Gospels across the world.

The Gospel and 1st century tech 

During the first Easter, the tech of the times also prepared the world to spread the Gospel.

Alexander the Great conquered the known world and made Greek the universal language of its time. They also translated the Jewish Torah (Old Testament) into Greek, known as the Septuagint.

Later the Romans conquered most of the known world.  They built roads, brought law and order, and peace and security to most of its denizens, known as the Pax Romana.

The New Testament was written mostly in Greek, the universal language of the known world. And the apostles like St. Paul, spreading the Gospel, traveled down the Roman roads in the relative safety provided by the Pax Romana,

So these military and technological feats paved the way to spread the Gospel.

[Reference:  Preparation of the World for Christianity ]

The Great Commission

So to this day, the disciples followed one of Jesus' last commands before leaving this earth, using the tech of the times-whether the 1st or the 21st century:

Then Jesus came to them and said, 

“All authority in heaven and on earth 

has been given to me. 

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, 

baptizing them in the name 

of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 

and teaching them to obey 

everything I have commanded you. 

And surely I am with you always, 

to the very end of the age.”

Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)

So on this note begins another thread - Tech.

From 20 centuries of tech of the times, may readers continue to receive the blessing this Easter.

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Related articles:

Popular Science

Thru the Bible

Blogs - Entcon 2009

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Photos:  Gospel/wikipedia.com

Signs of the Times (part 6) - Fear of Missing Out

everystockphoto.com/Social Media Patterns

First World Problems?

May these be one of the Signs of the Times?

What are some of these big First World Problems?  And in this world of pain, doom, and strife, they seem rather trivial.  Here are a few of them, which you can tweet - for grins: First World Problems - Funny First World Problem Meme Images

Along with these First World Problem comes another phobia - much of it rooted in social media and the deluge of information coming at us from the ubiquitous internet:

FOMO - Fear of Missing Out

It's an understatement to say there is a lot of information out there.  How do we begin to filter what is important?  Some of this was addressed in a previous blog:   Proverbs (part 1) - Information vs. Wisdom .  And in the cyberspace, we did make many searches, so we would not miss out, such as is summarized here:  Infographic: What You Searched Google For 2014 | Digital Buzz Blog

But the video clip below explains this new First World Problem fear - FOMO - with its philosophical spin:

(reference:  http://youtu.be/KsSmFZNrpLc )

And King Solomon expressed some of this FOMO - the longing in the human spirit for something more, that there is an intuition that there is something greater.  He infers that the Creator made us this way:

He has made everything beautiful in its time. 

He has also set eternity in the human heart; 

yet no one can fathom what God has done
from beginning to end.

 Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV)

But to not to commit?  Really?  Not make a choice?  Is that not a choice?  Actually, there is an old saying about this phobia (from James, the Just, the half-brother of Jesus):

A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

James 1:8 (KJV)

Perhaps, this restlessness, wanting it all, but not committing, refusing to choose, being double minded, unstable, is one of the

Signs of the Times? 

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Previous posts in this series:

Signs of the Times (part 1) - Camping in the Parks (2012)

Signs of the Times (part 2) - Layaway (2012)

Signs of the Times (part 3) - Layoffs (2013)

Signs of the Times (part 4) - Doomsday Preppers  (2013)

Signs of the Times (part 5) - Staycations (2013)

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Photo from:  everystockphoto.com/Social Media Patterns

On a Positive Tweet

Write interesting thoughts.
Ask interesting questions.
Attract like minded people.
Publish something of value.
Create a ground swell at a viral level.

As an evolving writer, I aspire to all these goals. And Bill French’s Social Media presentation punctuated these goals at the 2009 EntConnect conference.

My previous blog had pointed out the dark side of Twitter, yet Twitter can be used for good, for example, in public service and safety. During disasters, bad traffic conditions, severe weather, twitterers can relay - as fast as they can type - status, new route suggestions and other critical information.

December 2008, right after the Denver air crash, twitterers micro-blogged immediately at the crash scene as written in the following articles:
Plane crash geek Twitters from burning Denver aircraft
Man Used Twitter From Plane Crash

What’s in the near future for Twitter?

I’ve seen Audio Twitter, audio boo, on tweets lately. Like the TwitPic, the boos play a short sound bite. Here is allegedly the first boo: first-twitter-boo

More great twitter tips tweet came from @ZebOlsen. He blogged Top Twitter Tools Exposed and Explained at Lightning Speed!

As always, google Twitter for latest information.

On a final tweet note, as I delve into this brave new world of social media, I feel more entangled in the world wide web. Bill French suggested another application that can help get a handle on information overload. Ping.fm is “a simple service that makes updating your social networks a snap.” Whether, twitter, myspace, facebook, linkedin, plaxo, yammer, etc. Ping.fm allows you to post your messages wherever you want. Maybe worth looking into?

Whew! Those were some of the high points in the keynote EntConnect speech. Next blogs will cover different topics from presenters, who range from teenagers to octogenarians.


Related links:

EntConnect website: www.entconnect.org

Twitter and related social media applications:
Twitter: twitter.com
first-twitter-boo: audioboo.fm/boos/4110-first-twitter-boo
ZebOlsen: Top Twitter Tools Exposed and Explained at Lightning Speed:
zebolsen.com/top-twitter-tools-exposed-explained-at-lightning-speed/
Ping.fm: ping.fm

Denver Air Crash and Twitter:
Plane crash geek Twitters from burning Denver aircraft: technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article5383144.ece
Man Used Twitter From Plane Crash: news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Twitter-Man-Microblogged-From-Scene-of-Continental-Airlines-Crash-In-Denver/Article/200812415192585


Bill French links:
myst-technology.com
blogsite.com

The Dark Side of Twitter

“It's a dangerous business, going out of your door. You step into the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.” (The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien)

The same could be said of stepping out into the twittersphere.

When I first started to twitter, one of the first people I followed was the CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, Michael Hyatt. He graciously sent me a direct message: “Thanks for following me. New to Twitter? You might want to read my "Beginner's Guide": http://michaelhyatt.com/2008/05/the-beginners-guide-to-twitter.html.

And I’m glad I read it for his fatherly advice.

Point 5 warned that anyone could be listening in my conversation.

Point 7 cautioned care in posting sensitive information, which could compromise my safety.

My previous blog offered evidence that the twittersphere is constantly being monitored. The current twitter interface exposures my recent tweets, my followers, and who I am following to cyberspace. And not everyone listening in is my friend. Yet, the twitter interface has mechanisms to lock data and only grant access to those who have my express permission. Also, Twitter administrators do police and suspend accounts for suspicious activity.

Is this enough?

At the 2009 EntConnect conference, business owners expressed their concern for the protection of their sensitive information. Bill French, the keynote speaker, pointed out that entrepreneurs have stepped up to fill this need with secure twitter-like applications.

Yammer is one of them. It is separate service to secure private information and allow safe collaboration on the web. Its basic service is free to companies. For a nominal fee, Yammer allows upgrades. And you can bet there are more companies out there that supply similar services.

Meanwhile, twitterers, as always, be safe!


Related links:

EntConnect website: www.entconnect.org

Twitter: twitter.com
Yammer: yammer.com

Michael Hyatt links:
Michael Hyatt: michaelhyatt.com
Beginner's Guide: michaelhyatt.com/2008/05/the-beginners-guide-to-twitter.html.

Bill French links:
myst-technology.com
blogsite.com

Around the World in 80 Tweets

Twitter as a micro-blog can begin a conversation that is truly global. This can be seen, literally, with the following visual applications:

Twittearth maps a sampling of tweets on a 3D model of the world.

Likewise, Twittermap displays its samples on a goggle map.

Twittervision can toggle from a classic 2D map to a 3D model of the earth as the tweets roll in around the world.

With geocoding applications, twitter maps can display tweets for customized scenarios. An example is tracking attendees at a conference. A street map may be tailored to pinpoint the comments tweeted at specific locations within the campus of the event.

If you are into graphics, Twitter StreamGraphs allows the user to plot keywords versus time. This graph presents a visual model of how people are conversing on different subjects on the web throughout the public timeline.

As a part of marketing strategy, savvy companies strive to address consumer needs. Therefore, Cotweet, that’s for company tweet, can become an integral part of Customer Relation Management (CRM), helping companies reach and engage their customers.

All the above were more cool twitter applications Bill French shared at the 2009 EntConnect conference.

Bill gave a specific example of a twitterer complaining about her cable TV service. Shortly, a cable rep twittered her back asking how he could help. This is evidence that large organizations are regularly monitoring the conversation within twittersphere. And when a hot, new product is released, you can bet that tweets are taken most seriously.

Information is power, especially for a writer, who is taking the public pulse on any number of subjects. Yet, as twittering is exploding globally, this conversation creates responsibility, which will be the subject of my next blog.

Any thoughts on this brave new twitter world?


Related links:

EntConnect website: www.entconnect.org

Twitter and its applications:
Twitter: twitter.com
Twittearth: twittearth.com
Twittermap: twittermap.com/maps
Twittervision: twittervision.com/
Twitter StreamGraphs: neoformix.com/Projects/TwitterStreamGraphs/view.php
Cotweet: cotweet.com/

Bill French links:
myst-technology.com
blogsite.com

Twitter on Steroids

The Twitter interface is an ugly environment. In spite of itself, there are 32 million twitters and growing.

In the keynote speech at the 2009 EntConnect conference, Bill French reminded us that. Since I’m hooked on Twitter and my followings have been increasing, I see what he means. I’m becoming overwhelmed, which kind of defeats the purpose of getting connected and starting a conversation in the first place.

One busy entrepreneur asked about the Twitter “Signal to Noise Ratio,” - that is tweets of interest versus the irrelevant. Truly one person’s noise is another person’s signal. How do we manage this?

Tweetdeck, an Adobe Air desktop application, was offered as a solution, which I am now using. It allows me to create groups, so I miss fewer tweets of interest. Yet, if I don’t frequently monitor the interface, older tweets can quickly roll off my TweetDeck and I still miss them. Also, I can’t use more than 10 columns, which is a limitation on creating multiple groups.

Bill demonstrated Twhirl, another desktop client. It can customize your dashboard so that more than one twitter account can display your tweets of interest in one neat column. Also, Twitter allows searching on keywords via search.twitter.com, which pulls out tweets from the public timeline.

Another serendipitous find was from a twitter tweet tip, “Twitter tips & apps for journalists & everyone else.” This busy journalist listed many useful twitter applications on her blog:
assignmenteditorminds.blogspot.com/2009/03/twitter-tips-apps-for-journalists.html

I like what computers can do for me, but not what I have to do for computers. So I see a great future in the user friendly twitter applications which can be easily customized.

Do you have favorite user friendly applications? Any suggestions on how to effectively manage your tweets?


Related links:

EntConnect website: www.entconnect.org

Twitter and apps:
Twitter: twitter.com
Tweetdeck: tweetdeck.com
Twhirl: twhirl.org
Search: search.twitter.com
Twitter tips & apps for journalists & everyone else:
assignmenteditorminds.blogspot.com/2009/03/twitter-tips-apps-for-journalists.html

Bill French links:
myst-technology.com
blogsite.com

The Gist of it all

Gist. Merriam Wesbter defines it as “the main point or part : essence”

Writing can involve many aspects of Social Media. In addition to twitter, there are emails, blogs, facebook pages, forums, favorite sites we like to peruse, etc. It can be overwhelming tracking it all. And how do we make sense of all the babble?

True entrepreneurs see a need and move in to fill it.

Bill French, the keynote speaker at the 2009 EntConnect conference, presented Gist as a good monitoring tool to listen in what is going on. Gist allows you to customize your dashboard, displaying private vs. public information. Hence, Gist’s motto: “Where your inbox meets the web.”

Here are some benefits of Gist from their website:

From the “About Gist” page:

“Gist is an online service that helps you build stronger relationships. By connecting your inbox to the web, you get business-critical information about key people and companies.”

From their Index page:

“Control information overload. Emails, links, attachments, blog posts, news—all relevant data is organized and prioritized by contact.”

“Focus your time. Rank importance and fine-tune your experience to pinpoint specific news about your most important people and companies.”

“Discover new insights. Be the first to know about relevant news that gives you more opportunities to reconnect.”

Journalists could find Gist as an ideal tool to access and sort out timely information for articles. In general, whether fiction or non-fiction, writing involves organizing the chaos and focusing on thoughts to communicate a good story. Gist provides a model for that.

I have not tried this tool yet. But I’m glad I know about it. Anyone have any experiences with Gist that you would like to share?


Related links:

EntConnect website: www.entconnect.org
Twitter: twitter.com
Gist: www.gist.com

The Twitter Big Bang

The Big Bang has happened. Twitter is everywhere.

Need proof? 61 percent of TV sitcoms recently mentioned twitter.

So Bill French’s story began at the 2009 EntConnect conference.

What a timely topic. Last November, my writer’s group,
Words for the Journey, had turned me on to twitter so I have an elementary understanding of it.

Bill French was the first of many presenters to speak on Social Media. He is one of the founders of MyST Technology Partners, Inc., which is “… focused on creating new and useful Web 2.0 products and services.”

Okay. What does Web 2.0 have to do with writing? Among many things, Web 2.0 facilitates communication and collaboration on the World Wide Web. And if you are reading this blog and commenting on it, you are doing just that.

Bill started with the basics.

Social Media participation necessitates two ideals:
1. Outbound messaging – How you message
2. Inbound monitoring – How you listen

The micro-blog tool, twitter, limits these information chunks to 140 characters.

Bill envisioned twitter like a giant water main, carrying an ever growing stream of information. In itself, twitter has no monetary value. The real value comes from the siphons. Applications tap into this stream of consciousness and derive meaningful information from this public timeline. Bill projected that by 2010 there will be 1100 twitter applications created to do just that.

As a writer, twitter and its applications can be a valuable tool for listening in the global conversation, gathering information, and starting a conversation, but certainly not ending it.

The following blogs, I will share some of the social media tools presented at the conference and how they may be of value to writers. And I would like to hear your thoughts, experiences, insights.


Related links:

EntConnect website: www.entconnect.org
Twitter: twitter.com

Bill French links:
myst-technology.com
blogsite.com