Draw from the Well

Is It Okay to Text Your Boss?

You know you are getting older when you start having personal pet peeves about the "proper" way to do things.  Texting for formal things is one of the ways I realize I've gotten "older".

The article "Is Texting Your Boss Okay?" asks the questions which have been rattling around in my brain. 

Here were some results from a survey:

Among recent college graduates:

• 11 percent think it’s okay to ask for a pay raise by text
• 32 percent say it’s okay to call in sick by text
• 11 percent say you can quit a job by text

Among high school students, ages 13 - 17:

• 18 percent think it’s okay to ask for a raise by text
• 51 percent think it’s okay to call in sick by text
• 20 percent say it’s okay to quit by text message

Ask for a raise via text?  Are you insane?  Do you actually want to get a raise? 

I'm all for social media, but one must keep a proper perspective about things.  We must never use social media in acts of cowardice.  I think the above examples all represent people not raising to the challenge.

What's next: dating and marriage proposals via text to mitigate rejection?

We must be wary of the fact that texting and social media can encourage us to act without thinking through the consequences of our actions.  We are fooled into thinking this form of communication is harmless. Yet once our act is inserted into the web stream, it can be difficult to remove or undo.

Here are some things I believe should not be done via texting (or twittering/facebook):

• don't let your boss know you are sick and ask for the day off
• don't confront problems (misunderstandings will happen)
• don't respond out of anger to anything
• don't break up/fire/generally reject someone
• don't rant against some one or some thing

What do you think?  How do you or don't you use texting/social media?

Read the full article here.

HT: LifeHacker

Social Media at Living Water - A Guide to Who & What

The number one comment I get from people who attend Living Water has to do with connecting with the staff.  Let's face it, we are a big church filled with people who hop from service to service depending on what's happening on their weekend.  One church - three locations, five services each weekend...it can be difficult to feel connected and to actually connect with people. 

It is possible to connect with people face to face, but it takes intentionality.  So I encourage you to be persistent and don't give up.  But also, I encourage you to embrace new ways of connectingthat, while they are not a replacement for face to face communication (which is hugely important!), they can help to augment that sense of connection.

The second area I hope will get fostered is dialog.  In addition to being a big church, it can also be difficult to find places to "talk back.".  I think some of these mediums are great for getting information, but also for joining the conversation.

[Am I not connected with you?  Befriend me here or follow me here. Let's begin a conversation!]

Here are three mediums of connection for you to consider:  blogs, facebook, and twitter.

Blogs provide a periodic (usually weekly) installment of updates and thoughts on numerous topics of interest.  You can interact with blog posts by making comments on them.

Here's who blogs among the Living Water staff:

Obviously me - Draw from the Well

Jon Cobler - Pastor

Tim Wimberly - Regal Campus Pastor

Jake Broeker - Pastor of Administration

Cody Chapman - Jr High Pastor

Eric Williams - Crossroads Campus Pastor

Facebook is the fastest growing social media format around.  It does lots of things but is mainly centered around answering the questions "What am I doing now?" (called a status update).  There are too many people on facebook to make mention, but I do direct you to the Living Water Facebook page here. [Disclaimer: there are somethings I love about facebook and somethings I loathe, keep that in mind.]

Twitter is a more instant and frequent type of communication.  You will get a feel for what is happening "right now" all in 140 characters.  Twitter is a great tool if you have a smartphone or an iphone, but it works from your computer as well! People often tie their twitter account in with their facebook account so both are updated at the same time.  But if you don't like some of the features of facebook, twitter will still give you the feeling of connection without the annoying games.

Here's who twitters among the Living Water staff:

Jon Cobler

Tim Wimberly

Jake Broeker

Terry Fisher- Oly High Campus Pastor

Cody Chapman

Shane Rogers - Pastor of 242 & Generation United

Daniel Hunt - SH Pastor

Cheri Sanderson - Director of Worship Arts

Joy Broeker - Director of Service Production

 

Let me know if I missed anyone (it's definitely possible!)

Also, being the early adopter that I am, I've been experimenting with www.foursquare.com.   See here. I can't decide if it will be a winner or not.  Thoughts?

The Power of Social Media

People will no longer be ignored.  3 days, almost a 1/2 a million views.  Power to the people!  Dave has promised to write two more songs and videos.  I mourn the loss of the Taylor guitar - they are sweet.