We communicate and share a message of Salvation that’s perfect and qualified to save men for eternity. Unfortunately, the medium by and through which we do this is neither perfect nor qualified, in and of itself, to save men.
That medium is us. These crippled vessels that somehow are being used, by God’s Grace, to preach and teach truth.
And as we seek to deeply engage in the online world it’s the element of trust that gives us the ability to do what we’re called to do.
This extremely valuable currency is hard to come by, especially in a pluralistic world where everything is relevant and everything “saves”.
That’s why online video is quickly becoming a valuable tool in online ministry: it helps establish trust because of the simple fact that you can see the other person, their facial expressions, and increases the level of intimacy in a world that’s static and void of humanity.
It brings “life” to a conversation, a sigh of relief when you realize that the person you’ve been talking with, communicating with, twittering with, chatting with is actually real.
So when I saw this new study done by Princeton psychologists detailing how the face engenders and communicates trust, I wasn’t all that surprised:
Princeton psychologists recently showed that certain faces, even when expressionless, strike people as trustworthy or untrustworthy. Features like the shape of the eyebrow are part of an unconscious language of trust that powerfully affects human interaction.
Of course, video is just another medium. If you use it poorly or unwisely you can and will lose the opportunity to gain that valuable currency of trust.
What do you think?
AndyC says
Weird, no IntenseDebate? Oh, well.
This seems to be bordering on the study of phrenology.
<a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrenology”Phrenology.
Only kidding.
Ancoti says
That was strange! I could not open ID until I posted that trash above! Give it a mercy killing since I messed up the link. But I still think this is bordering on phrenology!
human3rror says
doh!
Gabe Taviano says
Just seems to me that you can hide quite a bit behind a blog or website. We're all professionals at hiding, not wanting to be known for our failures. One of the biggest things I don't like about the internet. The fake "I'm a hero and you need to listen to me" syndrome, when our lives are sometimes not the example to follow. But people would only know that through in-person or extended time with video.
human3rror says
Definitely agreeing with you here. we need some “real” authenticity, no?
Ben Cotten says
Yeah, I think there is a basic level of skepticism we all have about the image that people project of themselves across the web. We all can imagine that the 20 year old guy is actually a 53 year old woman. You really don't know until you see them. Video pushes all that kind of skepticism aside and lets you get down to connecting without fear.
human3rror says
definitely ben. the skepticism can be healthy, but too much of it keeps some from ever trying new things…
Brad Davis Seal says
Video also transforms interviews into a completely different experience than a text interview. It can create a massive amount of trust but it can also destroy it faster than text. Gary Vaynerchuk at Wine Library TV wouldn't be where he is without the trust he's received from his videos. On the opposite side, Sarah Palin's interview with Katie Couric did far more to damage people's trust in her than any amount of text could.
human3rror says
oh snap. you said it. not me… 🙂
Brad Davis Seal says
YouTube just turned on high quality embeds! After you press play on an embedded video, move the cursor over the arrow in the bottom right corner and select HQ.
human3rror says
that they did… good stuff! 🙂