This is the third of four online training webinars that I am working on at work. We are starting this new emphasis on empowering our clergy using the Google+ Hangout system. We suffered a glitch in the webinar today where it didn’t seem to be recording the first few minutes to the archive. I noticed that it had glitched during the presentation and started it up at somewhere around the 12-14 minute mark. The archive missed the introduction as well as a description of the major browsers. The main part of the discussion was preserved.
In case you are wondering, you should use Google Chrome for everything. Period.
This is the second of four online training webinars that we are working on for the members of our Annual Conference. This session covers the basic features of Gmail as well as walking through all of the configuration settings. You can find out more about the webinar schedule here: http://nccumc.org/it/webinars/.
We are experimenting at work with technology webinars delivered over the Google+ Hangout system. This was the first of four that I am working on this week. It’s a very basic discussion of the history of technology, where are are now and a brief overview of social networks and hardware options. The class is designed for our clergy that want more of an overview of various technology topics. It was well received when I went on a recent training trip so I thought I would repackage it here for online viewing. You can find out more about the webinar schedule here: http://nccumc.org/it/webinars/.
I have narrowed down my Google Reader replacement choice to either Feedly or The Old Reader. I have set up accounts with both services and tried using each for a few days. Here’s what I’ve found:
Feedly has a nice looking interface that takes some time to adjust to.
Feedly was the first service that I tried to use. After being used to the Google Reader interface for several years this was quite an adjustment to make. I was looking for a concise presentation of headlines with perhaps a small snippet of the article itself. Feedly’s interface concentrates more on the presentation of the data instead. It took me awhile to get used to this interface. The mobile apps for this service mirror the website closely. I was able to use it on my smart phone, tablet, laptop and desktop computer.
The Old Reader has the closest interface to Google Reader. Mobile support isn’t that great though.
The Old Reader had the closest interface to Google Reader. The layout felt familiar and was the easiest to adjust to. The biggest problem with this service was the lack of good support for mobile devices. There is no corresponding app for smart phones or tablets. The website interface didn’t seem to work well in the mobile browser. I kept accidentally clicking the wrong links as I was using it.
At the end of the day I decided to stick with Feedly. Both sites were very easy to configure and start using. After I imported my Google Reader feed list they picked right up where Google dropped me. Even though Google Reader is still going for a few more months I’ve already switched. The key factor in my decision was mobile support. You just can’t beat a solid mobile app.
I’ve finally done it. I suspended my Facebook account. I’m going to take a break for awhile. Don’t worry, Facebook is still sending me e-mail occasionally so I can still keep in touch somewhat. From their website:
Note: Even after you deactivate, your friends can still invite you to events, tag you in photos, or ask you to join groups. If you opt out, you will NOT receive these email invitations and notifications from your friends.
I thought their account deactivation page was very clever. I’ll share it below:
Don’t go, everyone will miss you!
I’ll still see some stuff via e-mail. I’m not sure how long this will stick but I’ve set myself a goal of 30-45 days. We’ll see where it goes from there. If you would like to keep in touch with me until then you can find me on DouglasWard.net, on Google+ or on Twitter. See you soon!
Facebook has a feature allowing the download of your complete profile. This includes photos, status updates and most of the rest of the information that was uploaded to their website. Since I’ve decided to take a break I thought I would go ahead and download my archive. Just in case I decide to not reactivate my profile I would like to already have my files downloaded.
Start by heading over to Account Settings and clicking on the link to download a copy of your Facebook data.
You can download your entire Facebook Profile!
Click the Start My Archive button to start the process. This is when you start waiting for the archive to process. If you have years of history on Facebook (like I do) then it might take awhile.
Click the button to start the archive process.
No big decisions can happen without being asked twice if you really want to do it.
Every major question needs to be asked twice, right?
Now we wait for the archive to process. Facebook will send you an email with a download link once the file is ready.
…And now we wait.
Facebook also has an option for downloading an expanded archive. This archive contains a lot of the internal system information that Facebook tracks behind the scenes. It includes login times, who you are friends with, etc. This archive processes a lot more quickly but doesn’t contain any of your pictures, status updates or any other personal information.
The expanded archive includes more technical data than just your posts and photos.
Same prompt as before when you click the button to start creating the archive.
The screen that you see while waiting is nearly the same as well.
…And now we wait, again!
That’s about all it takes to get your files (in theory). My archive failed twice. After spending a good deal of time trying to figure it out I gave up. I’ll take another swing at this later and see how it goes. I hope it works better for you!
I spend way too much time on Facebook. It’s been bothering me for awhile now but I’ve ignored it. At last count I have 242 friends in that service. With all of the groups that I subscribe to, my likes (and my friend’s likes) and various other interactions there is a lot of background noise on that site. I spend a great deal of time filtering through that noise.
Some of my friends post genuinely funny, witty and relevant content. I love interacting with them and finding out what is going on with them and their families. I also enjoy keeping up with my own family. Facebook keeps me in closer touch with them than I ever was before they started using it. It is a very valuable tool for interacting with the people that I am journeying through this life with.
The rest of the system is a giant noise generation machine. People post the same memes and joke photos repeatedly. Blocking game notifications is a lot like playing whack-a-mole. My likes and my friend’s likes keep cluttering my news feeds with advertisements. I won’t even comment on presidential elections, the gun control debate, how much I love Jesus, support the troops or any other major news story of the day. My news feed settings seem to change from time to time, burying content from the folks that I interact with regularly underneath a digital waterfall. It’s true that everyone is entitled to their own opinion. If you take that one opinion and multiply it by 242 and the sound can be deafening.
I don’t mean this to be a complaint against Facebook. I’ve been using it since it was first released to the public. I still enjoy using it. I just remember when I didn’t need to spend a lot of time every day keeping up with all of that content. I’m burned out. I need a break.
It would seem that the easy solution would be to cut into my friends list. We all have a bunch of folks that we added on a whim, or because it seemed like a good idea at the time. Maybe they were much better friends in the past than they are now. People change. People move on. Paths diverge and people head off in opposite directions. No hard feelings, right? It turns out there are hard feelings after all. Somewhere along the way people started tying their personal identities into their Facebook profiles. Some people (myself included) don’t mind if they get removed from other’s friends lists. It’s nothing personal. After all, it’s just a website, right? Others take it personally. The first time I had to deal with personal fallout from my friends list was an eye-opening experience. Fast forward to today and I’m getting tired of worrying about it. I could hide them from my news feed. I could even limit what they can see. That’s not the point though. It’s my profile, not theirs. When I start feeling like I can’t remove people because of how they will take it then I’ve lost control of my information. I find that to be unsettling.
The fact that I’m tired is also troubling. It means that this social network has become way too heavily integrated in my daily life. I’ve been going back and forth with this decision for a long time now. I’ve finally made up my mind. I’m going to take a break. I’ll write about that process as I work through it. Will it stick? Will I be able to handle the silence? Time will tell. I’ll write more on this decision later. For now though, it feels good to have finally made up my mind. Instead of reading Facebook today I think I’ll read a book!
I think I may have found a good replacement for Google Reader. After reviewing a few different options today I have settled on The Old Reader. This site looks and feels a lot like Google Reader did. It offers nearly the same functionality at the same price (free). This service also comes with a Chrome extension. The articles don’t seem to refresh as quickly as Google Reader but I can be patient.
Wait your turn!
It looks like it will take awhile to set it up. There’s quite a queue of people waiting to have their subscription lists imported. It’s a good thing I can wait until July 1st. I like this service so far. You should give it a serious look if you are set adrift from Google Reader like I am.
Google announced today that one of my favorite web services will be shut down:
We have just announced on the Official Google Blog that we will soon retire Google Reader (the actual date is July 1, 2013). We know Reader has a devoted following who will be very sad to see it go. We’re sad too.
I don’t think they feel as sad about it as I do. I have used this service nearly every day since it launched way back in 2005. I manage literally hundreds of feeds and scan through thousands of posts every week. I access it via the website and all of my mobile devices. To be honest, I’m not sure what I’m going to do to replace this service.
So, what’s a good replacement service that offers the same (or similar) feature set?
Last week the United Methodist Church met globally for a Leadership Summit. With membership declining steadily over the last several years the denominational leadership hosted a global brainstorming session. Video from the main session was broadcast globally as United Methodists gathered around the world to discuss the issues facing the church today.
Conference Staff Attending The Leadership Summit
The event was nicely done from a technology standpoint. It was an interesting experience to know that we were participating in the same event with United Methodists in the Congo, Germany, Zimbabwe, Liberia and elsewhere all over the world. We all sang the same hymn and prayed the same prayer, regardless of timezones. It was a great experience. I hope we do more presentations like this in the future.
This is one of the reasons why I think that all of our churches should create a technology budget for their leadership. All of our pastors need access to modern computer equipment and smart phones. These devices will help our clergy become more connected with each other, the annual conferences and the general boards and agencies.
RT @5Microphone: 2 things I've figured out covering @UMCNIC & @NCCUMC ac's:
1. I think they are sharing a Bishop 2. NC is better @ twitter … 2 days ago
