Learned from Twitter: Week ending June 27, 2009

This is the first full week of summer and for the youth worker that means not being in the office. That was noticed this week on Twitter, as many days were low on the tweeting by friends. I can only hope this means a lot of ministry was done with teenagers. Anyway, here are a few things I learned this week...

1. jenhowver (Jen Howver) shared an article on conducting surveys.

"an ingenious way to conduct a survey (& probably get a good grade on your research project!): http://bit.ly/xtxfV"

2. ellerytheband (Ellery) has been sharing thoughts on what is going on in the studio. A new album is coming. If you do not know Ellery, check out their music - its good.

"Several times through "Christopher," and a new idea w/ each try. Finally have an arrangement we're living with; feels good."

3. MarkMatlock (Mark Matlock) passed along an article on teens and sex. If you work with teenagers, you'll want to check out this article.

"Teens Just as Likely to Have Sex, But Less Likely to Use Contraception Than They Were A Few Years Ago http://tinyurl.com/m5mp8o"

4. outsideallday (Andy Brazelton) announced a brand new small group curriculum from Simply Youth Ministry. The Live curriculum is a downloadable 4 year curriculum that is easily customizable to fit your group. (I am honored to have been able to contribute a few of the lessons for this curriculum and hope they challenge students to live for God)

"Drum roll please...after several years in development, check out our brand new 4 year small group curriculum plan. http://budurl.com/bwaf"

5. FlowerInTheRain (Janelle Painter) passed along some sad truth about Apple and the iTunes App store. They are now allowing porn in their apps, which means I am disappointed in Apple.

"RT @kcampos: Porn is now allowed on the iTunes App Store, because 3.0 has age restriction ability. http://is.gd/1daEV // such a shame Apple"

What did you learn from Twitter this week?

Learned from Twitter: week ending May 30, 2009

Another fun week on Twitter. Here are a few things I gleaned while learning what people were doing in 140 characters or less.

1. mclanea (Adam McLane) shared a link to a pretty cool new tool for youth workers. If you haven't seen this iPhone app yet, you need to check it out. (Tough Topics discussion starters right on your iPhone or iPod Touch for only $1.99)
"Is happy about this: http://eepurl.com/bqWz Feels good to finally see a project hit shelves... long time coming."

2. saraeden (Sara Eden) was kind enough to help another minister celebrate his anniversary.
"kid-sitting for a few hours so a ministry colleague can take his wife out for their anniversary."

3. outsideallday (Andy Brazelton) is looking for some jr. high specific content for something at Group Magazine. If you have anything you can share, let me know and I'll get you the contact info.
"Need jr high-specific games, Bible studies, devotions. Also partnering with parents and building volunteer team. [let me know & I'll connect you]"

4. bgray (Ben Gray) unveiled his new design business. Earlier this week, I said that you should consider Ben when you had a design need, well this is how you do it.
"Shadeofgray Design is open for business. Tell your friends. http://shadeofgraydesign.com/"

5. billdawgcbc (Bill Nance) loves middle school lunch. But when its chicken nuggets, how can you not.
"Middle school lunch yay for chicken nugget day!"


What did you learn from Twitter this week?

Free phone line: Ooma a new voip service

I just ran across an article on USAtoday.com about a new (free) phone service. Well, its free with an asterisk.

It seems like the system is $400 (will be $600 in 08) and then you don't have to pay a monthly bill. That is unless you decide to keep your land line for emergencies, like your internet going out.

Though there is no way I will be buying one of these now, it does look like a cool concept. I guess I feel about the same as I do with the iPhone - wayyyy too much money for what I need/want/am able to do with it. Maybe this makes me a non-early adopter or maybe it just means I don't have a lot of money to throw around. Though I think I'd rather have this than the iPhone.

This pretty much sums it up (from the USA Today article):

http://www.ooma.com/

Price: $399 for Ooma Hub ($599 starting next year), $39.95 for companion Ooma Scout devices.

Score: 3 stars (out of four)

Pro: No more monthly phone bills. Pretty simple setup and fine voice quality. Well-designed hardware. "Virtual" second line and answering machine with call screening at no extra cost.

Con: Expensive upfront cost. Requires broadband, and you lose phone service if your Internet connection is disrupted, unless you continue to pay for a landline (most likely on low-cost plan).

Apple's changing product design

Nice post on the evolution of apple products. I remember a few of these from school.

check out the cool poster:


Go here to see a bigger version.

iPhone mania: 5 ways to avoid it

I'm thinking about keeping my iPhone overload to a minimum today. How can I do that you ask? Here are my ideas...

1. I won't watch TV (I've only watched 5 minutes of TV today and already heard/seen it on 2 morning shows)

2. I won't visit internet news pages (I'm willing to bet all the "tech" stories will be iPhone related - not to mention all of my RSS feeds that will be iPhone related.)

3. I won't visit the Apple store (for obvious reasons). Okay so that will be super easy for me, I think the nearest one is at least 2 hours away.

4. I will limit the amount of radio I listen to. Everyone will want to talk about the iPhone - so cds will be my choice in the car today.

5. I definitely will not be visiting Apple.com today.

or, if you can't get enough of the iPhone and want to "waste" your entire day doing no work, might I suggest you do everything you can to soak in what is "iPhone mania."