Kem Meyer on Less Clutter & Noise

People still ask...Isn't TWITTER a waste of time?

Even after all this time (I've been on Twitter since 2007), I still get asked on a weekly basis:

• Isn't it a waste of time?
• What IS it anyway?

I've weighed in before and recently, Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson, Inc. answered both questions quite well in his post: 12 Reasons You Should Start Twittering.

1. It will enable you to experience social networking first-hand. One of my pet peeves is people who pontificate on new technologies but have never actually used them. This is particularly annoying—but common—among CEOs. 
2. It will make you a better writer. Twitter only allows you to post 140 characters at a time. As a result, you are forced to be concise. In my opinion, this is one of the hallmarks of good writing. Short messages. Short paragraphs. Short sentences.
3. It will help you stay connected to people you care about. This is one of the few technologies I’ve found that actually contributes to community-building. In today’s busy world, it’s difficult to keep up with others.
4. It will help you see a new side of your friends. In an odd sort of way, Twitter “humanizes” people and provides a context for better understanding them. If you follow me on Twitter, for example, you’ll quickly see that I get excited, bored, frustrated, and confused—sometimes all in the same day. You’ll also learn what is important to me and what drives me crazy.
5. It will introduce you to new friends. I have now met several new people via Twitter. These have contributed to my life in small but significant ways. 
6. It is faster than text-messaging. In a sense Twitter is a universal text messaging system. You can broadcast to people who subscribe to your Twitter feed or send a direct message to just one. 
7. It will make you think about your life. You start to see your life through the lens of the people following you. Interestingly, it has made me more intentional and thoughtful about my life.
8. It will help you keep up with what people are talking about. Via Twitter, I have learned about hot books, cool software, breaking news, and even great restaurants. Because the information is coming from real people who care enough to Twitter about it, I have found it more valuable and authentic.
9. It can create traffic for your blog or Website. I have noticed a 30% uptick in my blog traffic in the last 30 days. It may be related to the fact that I have been in the news more or have been writing on more controversial posts. However, I also think it is related to the fact that I am Twittering every time I post a new blog entry. This seems to have a viral effect.
10. It requires a very small investment. Twitter itself is a free service. In terms of my time, I probably invest less than 10 minutes a day. Since “tweets” (i.e., posts) are limited to 140 charters or less, you can scan them in a second or two. Writing them usually takes less than 30 seconds.
11. It can help build your personal “brand.” When people hear your name, what comes to mind? What is your reputation? What is the “brand promise”? Brands are built incrementally, one interaction at a time. Twitter gives you one more way to build your brand, one tweet at a time.
12. Twitter is just plain entertaining. Following your family and friends is kind of like watching reality TV. The difference is that you know the people and actually care about them. In this sense, it is even more fun, because you know more about the people from other contexts.

You see, Twitter is one practical illustration of how we've moved past the industrial age through the information age to the interconnected age. But, naysayers are still calling it silly and dumb. Hello. Anything can be silly and dumb--depending on how it's used.

• "Like most areas of life, the greatest dangers often come out of the strongest positives. And we don't stop using good accounting principles because of the bookkeeping abuses of Enron." Phil Cooke
• "Technology is a neutral medium.  Technology only amplifies what is already inside of me, for good or for bad. Sometimes,I forgot the obvious. It's easier to blame something outside of me versus face up to the internal realities." Rob Wegner

Still wary? Consider this...it might just be a relational responsibility.

I found something Hallmark doesn't make a thank you card for...

Ten things to fix on your web site

Our Web Director, Daryl McMullen, went browsing hundreds of church web sites in the past few weeks and lists 10 things we need to fix.

1. Contact information.
2. Color scheme.
3. Multiple navigation menus.
4. Bad pages/links/content.
5. Promotional banners/graphics.
6. The "inside jokes".
7. Widget Overkill.
8. Basic functionality.
9. Search engine optimization.
10. Overwhelming content.

Entire post.

And the winners are...

Thanks for playing! I was amazed with all of the creative, must-see, must-do activities, eateries and experience suggestions for our road trip next week. We're going to try to incorporate as many as we can. As much as I wish I could, I don't have enough prizes to mail a reward to everyone but it was also impossible to pick just one winner. So, I changed the rules. It's my blog. I can do that.

Congratulations to the following players.

• Greg on the Run. You were the first to recommend the iconic stops Wall Drug and Mitchell Corn Palace (wait, Dave Welch was the first). But, you were the only person to recommend an experience that includes live animals putting their noses in our car. You win a free copy of Frank Viola's new book From Eternity to Here.
• Isaiah Henni. You were the most comprehensive with multiple ideas for multiple states. From Flintstone Bedrock City to The Stanley Hotel to buffalo burgers at Lucy's Place and more...you covered everything. You win a free copy of Dave Gibbon's new book The Monkey and the Fish.
• Diane. You introduced something completely new I've never heard of before plus all of the links I need to learn how to letterbox. It has the potential to make me look like a hero with my kids. You win a free copy of Dave Browning's new book Deliberate Simplicity. 

Greg, Isaiah and Diane...drop me an email with your snail mail address to get your new book.

• Liz Wrigglesworth and Jeff Marbut get honorable mention for free and cool tour ideas: Celestial Seasonings and Coors Brewery. I've run out of prizes but you still get props--your name in blog lights.

From eternity to here...

Frank Viola was generous enough to send me a free copy of his new book, From Eternity to Here. The thing Frank didn't know is that this book is way outside the lines of my concentration capacity. Did you see the list of doctors and theologians endorsing it? Ed Stetzer, Myles Monroe, Greg Boyd, Leonard Sweet, James Goll, Alan Hirsch, Shane Claiborne, Dan Kimball, Brian McLaren and more.

Uh, yeeeaaaah. Frank, I'm not a big brain like the giants on that list. But, I know people who know you and they say you and your book are legit. So I dedicate this post to you and will give away a free copy of your book to the winner of a little fun & friendly competition I've cooked up.

Next week, my family is hitting the road for Spring Break. We're driving from Indiana, to Mt. Rushmore, to Avon, Colorado (where we'll spend a week) and back to Indiana.

                 The Meyer Family Drive from Here to Eternity. (Like the tie-in? I try.)

 

Here's where you come in. I'm looking for fun, creative, must-see, must-do activities, eateries and experiences along the route or at our destination. We is smarter than me every time and we've never made this trek before as a family. What recommendations do you have? What should we see? What should we do? Where should we eat? What should we experience? What do you know that I don't know?

The comment I pick as the most creative, surprising, unexpected or fun (just make sure it's realistically do-able) wins a free copy of Frank's book, From Eternity to Here. I'll drop it in the mail right away. Doesn't this sound fun? Wanna play? Leave a comment.

Blog tour after party...Deliberate Simplicity.

Last week Dave Browning made the rounds on a blog tour for his new book Deliberate Simplicity. "Less is more and more is better." You KNOW that topic is right up my alley, but I was still challenged. I found myself on both ends of the continuum; agreeing and disagreeing -- engaged the entire read with practical questions throughout.

I figured Dave was tired from his travels. After all, he hit Illinois, Tennessee, Louisiana, California, Michigan, Minnesota and more in one day. I asked to stop by Indiana (that's me) for a blog tour after party to answer some questions. Enjoy.

Kem: You grew up in Alaska. Did you go to school with Sarah Palin?

Dave: I graduated the same year as Sarah Palin, but from different schools.  I do have a faint connection with her in that a friend of our family is her pastor.

Kem: Your book is about a topic that so many people seem to have a hard time grasping. The human condition goes against ‘deliberate simplicity’. We seem to think we’re not doing enough and can’t find the clarity to see we’re doing too much. What is your two sentence definition of deliberate simplicity in the context of church?

Dave: Keep the main thing the main thing.  It's about relationships.

Kem: If somebody "gets it" and is ready to get started. Where do they begin?

Dave: Craft a mission statement that answers what precisely you are going to be doing and how precisely you're going to be doing it (remember: better to do a few things well, than many things poorly). Then look at everything through that lens. Be courageous enough to not say yes to everything.

Modern day miracle...good Samaritans on Twitter & Facebook

A couple of weeks ago, I found myself in a bind. I needed help and it required hours of work at the last minute with no pay.

I put out this SOS on Twitter and Facebook.

"This is crazy, but worth trying. Is there anyone out there who's a pretty speedy reader, great @ proofing w/ flexibility in next 24ish hrs?"

Within five minutes, more people responded than I could reply to. They all said some variation of this:

"I can help. I want nothing in return. It's a ridiculous ask, but I am in. What do you need me to do?"

Wow. We live in an amazing time of online social connectedness.

Wow. There are some very cool, giving people out there.

Wow. This gives random acts of kindness an entirely new definition.

The first four people to respond won the awesomely huge opportunity to proofread an entire 288-page book in less than 24 hours. I'm extremely grateful to these selfless heroes who rescued me.

• Jessica Mast from Ohio.
• Sam Mahlstadt from Iowa.
• John Ireland from Kentucky.
• Faye Bryant from Tennessee.

Also, thanks to the rest of you out there who responded with an "I'd be happy to help!" I am humbled at your abundant generosity.

Mixing up the message

Thanks to our Elkhart campus pastor Jeff for sharing this YouTube sensation. I love it. The dude gives his best. He thinks about how to make it interesting for his audience. Has fun in the process. The joy is contagious.

 

A few of Jeff's afterthoughts:

• Repeatedly communicating the same thing the same way repeatedly results in a deaf ear. Mixing up the same message (new voice, new media, fresh way) increases the likeliness that it's being heard.
• I love that what he's doing - the freshness, the quirkiness of it - doesn't cost a thing. Everyone feels the constraints of a budget. The best ideas often come when we're forced to be creative.
• Did you notice the response of the passengers? The business class guys in the front stopped what they were doing...and participated. I wonder why?

There's more.

My favorite thing about Tony Morgan's book, Killing Cockroaches

Another reason I love this book is because it's easy to read in short bursts with profound, lasting impact. Tony has proven experience with effective leadership inside and outside the ministry environment; and he's found a way to share what he's learned in a practical, humorous and challenging way. This book helps all of us do a better job leading up, down, sideways and (most importantly) in.

As you read each individual entry, you'll find yourself laughing out loud, furrowing your brow, surprised by a revelation and impacted by the weight of the privilege we have ahead of us in the church today.

No matter what your role--volunteer, senior pastor, administrative assistant, ministry leader, artist, board member--this book can make you better.

You know you are living in 2009 when...

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.

2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.

3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 4.

4. You email the person who works at the desk next to you.

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have email addresses.

6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.

7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.

8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.

10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.

11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )

Thanks for sending me this, Lisa. Funny stuff.