It’s that time again. Word up.
This is our weekly Q and A session with the 8BIT Team. You can ask us anything and one of us will hook you up with an answer in the coming week.
Simple, right? Oh, and did we answer your question from last week? Let us know.
How do you show a live countdown to an event like the ones used by North Point Online http://www.northpointonline.tv/ & Granger Community Church Online http://live.gccwired.com/?
Check out jQuery Countdown.
Here is how the kids at http://northpointonline.tv use jQuery (including the countdown timer):
http://bit.ly/aPpzAy
peace | dewde
What was the new plugin you said was better than wp super cache?
w3 total cache http://human3rror.com/w3-total-cache-plugin-for-wordpress-eats-wp-super-caches-lunch/
Oh, and is there a RSS reader app for the iphone that you’ve come to really like? I know I can visit reader.google.com in Safari, but looking for an app that is killer.
honestly don’t read much on my iphone…
GReaderApp is the one I use. I think it’s just a slimmed down version of what you’d find in Safari. That is- a mobile version.
iTunes link
I use NetNewWire http://www.newsgator.com/individuals/netnewswireiphone/default.aspx
Is there a reason you don’t use WPtouch to view churchcrunch on iPhone?
I have the same question, John. I’ve been using it on my site and love what it brings to those who may do some reading on their mobile device. Of course it wouldn’t be anyone’s primary mode of reading, but I’m known to from time to time.
we’re definitely looking into this. stay tuned. we will, of course, explain our reasoning when we launch!
Sweet! I’d love to know your findings, pros & cons, etc. Perhaps WPTouch isn’t the best….
sure. will let you know.
currently we are looking into a handful of choices.. there are a lot!
Hello,
I have several questions this week. First question – does anyone know of any software or web app that my church could use to register kids for their VBS. Right now, they do it manually with paperwork. It would be nice if this could be done electronically to register kids faster and to check attendance that week of Vacation Bible School.
Second question – My church wants to post online video of a drama that our youth group recently performed. I have a DVD copy from someone that recorded it. What would be the best format to upload the drama in? Should I use YouTube or Vimeo? Also what about software recommendations on a mac that I could use for this.
Lastly, I just want to say what a great blessing it has been to discovered ChurchCrunch last fall. Since then I have moved my church’s website to WordPress and it went live today! Was happy to share with the church the new website and we are now podcasting as well. I wouldn’t have been able to do these things without the resources and help that you provide. Thanks a bunch!
Sincerely,
Rene
Hey Rene,
I can’t think of any registration software or web based apps to point you to off the top of my head. I know events can all be different so finding a perfect solution could be hard.. knowing you are running your church’s site off wordpress (great choice
here are a few different plugins I have come across. I have not tried these but they may be worth looking into..
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/event-registration/
http://code.google.com/p/wp-eventmanager/
http://gigpress.com/download/ <– geared toward bands.. but could be modded
I'm sure with a little tooling around any of these could be hacked together to give you the results you may need.
#2 I would stick with Vimeo, Clean, slick, and better quality. as far as software I use premier Pro CS4 but as long as your not having to do much editing imovie or final cut express is great, and Will give you awesome results!
#3 congrats on your launch! Thanks for being a part in making Churchcrunch!
Hey Rene,
For your video question, I’d say take a look at Handbrake. It’s a free tool, it’s Mac-compatible, and it’ll rip your DVD to your computer without requiring a lot of tweaking.
YouTube or Vimeo would both work fine. They both require that you make an account and they both offer a variety of settings for controlling access to your media. I’d say that the average person is more familiar with YouTube, although I’m partial to Vimeo’s community, look, and feel. You may want to read up on either service and see if either one offers something that’s a big win for you.
Hopefully some others can chime in regarding your other questions!
Tom
Tom +1up goldstar
..I’ll see your 1UP and raise you a fire flower.
Rene:
VBS Registration – I would check out EventBrite. We used them for the ChurchCrunch party we held at the end of last year.
http://bit.ly/96oVPX
From the literature: “You may wish to take advantage of Eventbrite’s custom survey tool to collect additional information of any type from your attendees as they register.” This could help gather more VBS info.
As far as Vimeo vs. YouTube… that is a very subjective decision. I still love Vimeo because it is fairly “white label” if you pay for the account and embed the video, meaning you can customize it and de-badge (remove) the vimeo logo. This means you won’t be doing any free advertising for Vimeo and people will be left alone to focus on *your* content.
With YouTube you will probably gets advertisements popping up everywhere that you have very little control over any part of the experience.
peace | dewde
We use Wufoo http://www.wufoo.com for VBS registration
To convert DVD to video check out MPEG Streamclip http://www.squared5.com/
Wufoo ftw.
So what are the differences between the Standard Theme options?
Is the biggest advantage concurrent uses?
I’m not sure what you mean by concurrent users (as both versions support concurrent domain use), but the licensing for the theme basically breaks down like this:
The Standard License offers some minimal community forum access and lifetime updates. The Community Developer License offers unlimited forum access with access to additional areas on the forums regarding resources, code, design, etc, and free skins (or stylesheets) each month.
I just purchased the Support License of Standard Theme. I have a 2nd WordPress site that I am creating – does ‘concurrent domain use’ mean that I don’t need to re-buy ST and can use my ST license on the 2nd site? If not, what does it mean exactly? I googled the term and the only hit I got is to your reply above Tom. Thanks.
you can use it on blogs that you own.
Why don’t I ever go to sleep at a decent time?
Because you don’t wake up at a decent time…?
Tom- ftw. Zing!
(I too don’t wake up at a decent time….errr go to sleep…)
because you have a red hoodie.
I’m trying to scour the interwebs to find the “static left share thingy” (like on mashable). Is it a plugin or just some CSS? I gotta know!
Are you talking about their Buzz, Facebook, Twitter, etc. icons? That’s just markup and CSS.
If anyone is looking for this, try: sharethis.com.