Facebook is big, big enough for ministries and churches to take note.
Naturally, it’s been a very important conversation piece here at The Orange Conference, especially because the demographic that the vast majority of those in attendance this week are having to “deal” or relate to their students that are in there 24/7.
But how does a Pastor or a leader, who may not have any idea about Facebook, begin their “study” of it? Where do you start?
Here’s a resource that I’ve suggested many take a look at: Facebook for Pastors by Chris Forbes.
Although it’s a bit old and some of the content doesn’t necessarily apply (because of dramatic changes to the user interface, core functionality, etc) it’s a heckuva better place to start than Facebook’s Privacy Policy (although you should read it too!).
So start there, but please don’t end there. The best way for you to understand Facebook is to actually use it. Use it. A lot.
A final word of caution as well is this: As good and as big as Facebook is today, it’ll be gone tomorrow. Learn the principles of strategic web engagement and not so much the individual (and temporal) tools. One of those will stay with you a lot longer.