Look no further. Up until now, I’ve been recommending vCHURCHES as an inexpensive and effective utility for church website creation. But I ran across something better recently: Clover. Here’s a 60-second video showing you its capabilities:

If you’re in the market, you’ll definitely want to check this out. Also, you should know that I do not receive any compensation from Clover nor will I receive any referral kickbacks for sending you to their site. I simply think it looks like a great product and wanted to bring it to your attention.

vCHURCHES is still a great product and is more affordable, so that may still be your best option. But honestly I think you get a bigger bang for your buck with Clover Sites.

Just when you thought 3,000 people being baptized in one day was crazy (Acts 2:41), along came Web 2.0 (and now 3.0). I saw this video over at Emergent Nazarenes:

What does this mean? It certainly makes me consider the impact a single blog post or video could have if it “goes viral” (gains massive popularity on the internet). How will we handle all of this information?

I saw an article the other day talking about Web 3.0, “taming the deluge of data.” The author of the article, David Griner, gives the following definitions of Web 1.0 through 3.0:

Web 1.0: Mainstream media and retailers dominate, using traditional approaches to broadcasting and sales.

Web 2.0: Blogging, peer-to-peer sharing and Google empower the masses to communicate openly. The old guard struggles to remain relevant.

Web 3.0: Mainstreaming of social media creates a constant flow of information. Challenge for users and businesses alike is to harness the flood without drowning.

Griner cites Twitter as an example of Web 3.0, or at least of its emergence. What do you think? Is Web 3.0 just another cliché or it a genuine shift in how the internet is being used? What does this mean for you?

It’s been awhile since I’ve discussed some of the features of this website and ways you can connect with my wife and I. First things first, the feed.

The RSS feed of any site is the best way to stay continually updated about new content. The feed subscription options on this site are located in the left column directly underneath the logo. You can read a feed in a free RSS reader such as G-Reader or Bloglines, or you can subscribe by email.

Below that, you will notice that you can follow me on twitter, which is another way to stay updated on blog content and interact with me about blog posts and anything else. I will automatically follow anyone on twitter who follows me, so we’ll instantly be friends!

My wife and I also have Facebook accounts. Blog content is posted on Facebook as well. Become my friend on Facebook by clicking here. You can also become my wife’s friend by clicking here.

You also can share blog posts that you enjoy or wish to discuss using various social media sites such as the ones listed above, as well as services such as Digg, reddit, Delicious, StumbleUpon, etc. At the bottom of every post are these buttons:

Notice that you can share any post on twitter using the ‘tweet this’ button. If you mouse over the bookmark button, you will see the following:

These are the services on which you can quickly and easily share my posts. Take advantage of these as you discuss these posts.

And of course, last but not least, you can comment on any post. This has already been taken advantage of by many readers, and we’ve had some great discussions!

I just wanted to remind or perhaps teach you about some of the ways you can connect @prayeramedic.com!

Yes, the Pope has officially launched his own YouTube channel. The Christian Post reports:

The Vatican said it was launching the channel to broaden Benedict’s audience while also giving the Holy See better control over the papal image online. . . .

. . . . The site, http://www.youtube.com/vaticanit, was launched the same day the pontiff praised as a “gift to humanity” the benefits of social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace in forging friendships and understanding.

But Benedict also warned that virtual socializing had its risks, saying “obsessive” online networking could isolate people from real social interaction and broaden the digital divide by further marginalizing people.

And in his message for the World Day of Communications, he urged producers of new media to ensure that the content respected human dignity and the “goodness and intimacy of human sexuality.”

The 81-year-old pope has been extremely wary of new media and their effect on society, warning about what he has called the tendency of entertainment media, in particular, to trivialize sex and promote violence.

Now if the Pope has managed to begin his own YouTube channel, I don’t want to hear any pastors tell me they can’t even start a Facebook account. I think this speaks volumes about Web 2.0 and its effect on our world and culture. The Catholic Church isn’t exactly known for its rapid adaptivity to cultural and technological change, yet they’ve apparently gotten on board with this one faster than most Protestant churches. It is becoming all too clear that Christianity 2.0 will embrace technology as a means of communicating the Gospel and connecting people.

1-800-GOOG-411

Hat tip to Cyberbrethren for pointing this out.

Google now offers absolutely free 411 service — and more. Google is always taking it one step further. . . . Check out this video:

Go to http://www.google.com/goog411/ for more information. Technology never ceases to amaze me. . . .

Feedburner stats are down, Twitter was built wrong, and Google Chrome has fallen by the wayside. At least I have Someone who will never shut down on me, gotta love Jesus!

Today on 390days.com I talked about Web 2.0 and how it is changing the landscape of Christianity. For anyone who still doesn’t understand what Web 2.0 is, and particularly for those who do and want to know how it is relevant to our faith, go check it out at 390days.com!

I saw this on Seth Godin’s blog the other day, and I couldn’t help but be intrigued by it. I can do everything on this list, it comes rather naturally to me. But I know several of my coworkers who can’t, and I have a fairly technological job! This really does show the growing divide of productivity, that is, a growing number of employees are disqualified for technical jobs before they even get a chance to apply, because they cannot perform some of these tasks.

The other day I was helping a friend of mine (who is in his 50’s) to look for jobs online. Almost all of the labor jobs even required the applicant to submit his or her resume and locate openings online. My friend can hardly use a mouse. His lack of technological know-how practically disqualifies him from finding even a labor position. Without further ado, the list exactly reproduced from Seth Godin’s blog:

• Can you capture something you see on your screen and paste it into Word or PowerPoint?
• Do you have a blog?
• Can you open a link you get in an email message?
• Do you read more than five blogs a day?
• Do you have a signature in your outbound email?
• Do you have an RSS reader?
• Can you generate a PDF document from a Word file you’re working on?
• Do you know how to build and share a simple spreadsheet using Google Docs?
• Do have a shortcut for sending mail to the six co-workers you usually write to?
• Are you able to find what you’re looking for on Google most of the time?
• Do you know how to download a file from the internet?
• Do you back up your work?
• Do you keep track of contacts using a digital tool?
• Do you use anti-virus software?
• Do you fall for internet hoaxes and forward stuff to friends and then regret it?
• Have you ever bought something from a piece of spam?

Can you do everything on this list? How do you “measure up” to the productivity divide?

UPDATE: jWinters made a more low-tech list to poll church workers about their technological know-how. Check it out at Theotechnology: Technological Efficiency for Church Workers.

For all of you Guitar Hero fans and parents of fans who perhaps wish the game had a cleaner selection of music, look for Guitar Praise to hit the shelves later this month.

Like “Guitar Hero,” “Guitar Praise” requires players to hit the correct notes on their guitar controller as each song plays. Notably absent, however, will be scantily clad cartoon female guitarists and songs like “Cheat on the Church, “Cowboys from Hell,” or “The Number of the Beast.”

Instead, players will be jamming to tunes from Christian artists including Flyleaf, Skillet, Stellar Kart, tobyMac, Newsboys, Petra, 12 Stones, Spoken, Whitecross, Thousand Foot Krutch, Paul Baloche, David Crowder, Red, and many others.

“Guitar Praise” supports both Windows and Mac personal computers and includes one wireless guitar controller, a USB wireless adapter, plus the game CD-ROM.

Unlike “Guitar Hero,” “Guitar Praise” is not available on Xbox, Wii, nor PlayStation. “Guitar Praise” carries an MSRP of $99.95 (USD).

Too bad the Christian gaming company didn’t think to create it on a platform kids will actually use…. Oh well, it’s a good attempt.

Firefox 3 was released yesterday, and Mozilla set a record for the most downloads of a software program in one day. I’ve been playing with it and enjoying it. It looks drastically different and offers some unique features.

For instance, when you begin typing a URL into the address bar, normally any browser will complete the inquiry for you based on past visited sites. Firefox 3 also gives you the title of the site, so that you do not have to sort through a confusing URL. Here is a picture of what I mean that I took from my browser window:

Notice how I can simply go to youtube, or I can see past videos about drumming or music that I have looked up recently. Also notice the new design interface. This really comes in handy when you don’t remember the URL, but you remember the site title. For instance, a favorite blog of mine is entitled “Crossroads.” However the URL is http://fcov.blogspot.com. As you can see in the photo below, by typing in crossroads, it still pulls it up for me, since it also reads titles as well as URL’s. Very handy.

Also, you know how you click on an email address and it opens up that annoying email client (such as Outlook or Thunderbird)? With Firefox 3 you can set it up to use Yahoo mail and soon other email programs. So now when I click on an email address, it pulls up my Yahoo mail instead! Also very handy.

Overall, I have been impressed with Firefox 3. It also has a lot of new security features. But don’t take my word for it, check it out for yourself: