Transliteracy: Technical term for "Its all blurry?"

Some people really get into theory. Their eyes light up as they ruminate on the theory of something something something. I'm a little thick and I find theoretical thinking difficult. But it is good for me. Right? Just no more reading Foucault (though maybe a little more Derrida for Louis-Charles.)

I have the privilege of lecturing at the School of Information Management @ Dalhousie.  I teach a course called Managing Information Literacy Instruction.  We explore how to equip people to engage with information: to know when they need it, to find it, to evaluate it, and to use it effectively and ethically.  I have students who are much more intrigued with theory than I.  One concept we have engaged with is Transliteracy defined as "the ability to read, write and interact across a range of platforms, tools and media from signing and orality through handwriting, print, TV, radio and film, to digital social networks." This is the new dimension to using information.

I've referred a couple of times to Chris Helland's distinction between "religion online" and "online religion."  The former is comprised of religion information accessible on the internet, like most church websites that are not really interactive. The latter are online environments where religion can be practiced. This is not just about virtual worlds, but includes interactive elements like online discussion and prayer groups. Chris developed this useful distinction around 2000.
But religious online engagement has changed: social media is being rapidly embraced, the pulpit is becoming more visual, and on Sunday I'll turn to my Bible app, while the service streams to the world.  When I attended the Conference on Media, Religion and Culture 2 years ago there was already much discussion around whether the distinction between online and offline still holds.  They are bleeding into each other.

Now enter transliteracy.  Does format matter anymore?  Is the medium fluid?  Is text now text+?  In September I was able to attend the #Influence12 Symposium on Measuring Influence of Social Media.  Sessions ranged from "Facebook's Influence on the Egyptian Revolution" and "Data Mining as Social Research."  It was a fascinating yet unsettling symposium.  The online and offline bleed together, and whether we like it or not, new medias (twitter, facebook, pinterest, etc) are transforming how we interact with each other, on personal and global scales.

• The challenge for the symposium was to understand the power of that impact.  
• The challenge for my students is to equip our communities to engage with this new world.  
• The question for me is to understand faith lived out where the online/offline bleed together. 

 The theory hurts my head; the practice...well, I'll get back to you on that.

InfoGraphic http://pinterest.com/pin/176344141629601788/

Read More

Gaga and Beiber out-tweeted by Religious Leaders

So God beats glitter!  I've blogged about my ambivalence about twitter but maybe I should take it more seriously.  The New York Times has published a story this summer about the popularity of twitter among evangelical leaders. It seems though Lady Gaga has many more followers (29 million and counting) "religious leaders show much higher levels of engagement."  It is simple math; they may have fewer followers but their tweets get much more mileage with responses and retweets.  In a head-to-head response/retweet comparison between evangelical Joyce Meyer and Lady Gaga for instance; Meyers followers engaged with her tweets 27x more often.  The Times survey was admittedly a small sampling of religious leaders and celebs but it is a intriguing way to measure impact.

A story was posted in the Facebook group "New Media, Religion and Digital Culture" (thanks Chris) that noted the explosive growth of the Dalai Lama's followers in cyberspace with an impressive 5 million Twitter followers and 4.3 million Facebook friends.  The article noted that 3 million Twitter followers were added in one year. His speeches are regularly posted on YouTube.  

So how do you measure online influence?

This week I attended the Influence12 Symposium and Workshop on Measuring Influence on Social Media.  It was a fascinating interdisciplinary gathering of information scientists, sociologists, computer scientists, business and government.  Great to see familiar faces and meet some new people.  I might not have paid much attention to twitter but others certainly have.  It was both fascinating and sober to consider how social media is mined and managed by celebs yes, but by big business and government.  Predicting the unpredictable and managing it has become big business.  I couldn't help but think of Asimov's Psychohistory: individuals' behaviours cannot be predicted but statistics applied to the behaviours of large groups of people can be predicted.  If we could track trends in social media, could we have predicted The Facebook Revolutions of the Arab spring?

Measuring online influence.  Influencers and authorities online.  Lots to think about. Yet somehow it seems far removed from the Galilean carpenter sitting on a hillside before a crowd of the curious saying "Blessed in the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

If you're on twitter you can follow the play by play tweets #Influence12 . 

Read More

Only Milk from Christian Cows?

The Internet is world transforming/The Internet is soul destroying/The Internet is simply a tool.

Yes unarguably, yes possibly, yes qualified.

However you conceptualize the Internet, it has changed our culture in a myriad of ways both good and bad. I don't buy that it is a neutral tool. It is an idea imbued with values that need to be critically examined. Having said that, I live connected to the online, hopefully reflectively. Not everybody is comfortable with the possibilities. ChurchMag recently posted an ad for a new Evangelical Christian tablet called Edifi. Essentially this is an android tablet preloaded with a variety of Christian book and music apps, Christian radio app, Bible app (YouVersion), and a SafeSearch Browser.

The rationale for a Christian Tablet is suggested by a Bible verse in their promotional video: Romans 15:2 "We should help others do right and build them up in the Lord." So by providing approved Christian resources, and limiting access to inappropriate Internet content, this tool will edify (build up) Christians. The text quoted is part of the Apostle Paul's direction to Christians who were quarreling over religious rules (what foods were religiously acceptable to eat). He concludes that sometimes it is better for the person with stronger faith to limit their freedom, rather than to lead a person of weaker faith to do something that they believe (even wrongfully) is inappropriate such as eating certain foods. So the implication here is that it is better to limit our access to the Internet than risk shipwrecking another's faith.

My concern with that argument: when do the weak of faith grow up? How long can we stay secure inside the Christian bubble? Will we only ever use Christian tablets, laptops, and PCs?

When do I learn good judgement?

I understand the intent of the developers, and commend their desire to build up the Church. But I admit when I first saw the ad my mind went back to a song from the 1980s by Steve Taylor entitled "Guilty by Association".  Taylor was a very outspoken critic of what he saw as inconsistencies between Evangelical Christian culture and Biblical teaching. He used satire and the medium of pop music to make his point, back when Christian contemporary music was in its infancy. In "Guilty" he responds to his music critics:

"I have found a new utensil  
In the devil's toolbox  
And the heads are gonna roll 
If Jesus rocks
 
It's a worldly design  
God's music should be divine  
Try buying records like mine  
Avoid temptation, guilty by association"

The idea Taylor is resisting is that you can't use the Devil's tools (i.e. pop music) to do the Lord's work. The metaphor he uses to describe this attitude is that good Christians "only drink milk from a Christian cow" or might I add "only surf the web on a Christian browser." 

Is this the same thing? Am I being fair? Would you buy Edifi?

Read More

Salesmen, Tribes, and an Overdue Crisis

Some days it is hard to keep doing what I am doing.  Librarianship is a difficult go right now; it can be a time of great opportunity for visionaries.  Alternatively many a library in this country will die, and librarians wearing sensible shoes will dutifully carry the caskets.  I checked my email this evening to find an ad for a textbook salesman.  It was tempting.  Do a Google search for the phrase "leaving librarianship" and you'll see I'm not the only one who has those days.

http://www.amazon.ca

I have been reading Tribes by Seth Godin.  I mentioned him a few months ago in a post about making leaders.  He argues that we are past the age of mass media and re-entering the age of tribes; specialized communities, linked through the the internet and new media.  New tribes need new leaders who can connect like minded people.  I like the quote: "The Beatles didn't create teenagers, they merely decided to lead them." Intriguing stuff.

I've been wrestling a lot with my own career path.  Presently I have feet in two work worlds: academia, where my worldview about people and information is being transformed, and librarianship, where I am engaged with people seeking answers.  There is a tension here; the two worlds don't talk to each other like they ought.  A wise friend has challenged me to "choose my tribe."  Professor or Librarian. Academic or Practitioner.  Then I think of Seth Godin's comments, and I wonder if there is another tribe to choose.  Perhaps a tribe of misfits like me.  Maybe a completely different tribe.

The tribe I want to belong to is terribly dissatisfied with the status quo in information-work, and desperately wants to change it.  I like Micheal Ridley's presentation blurb from the CLA conference "Is there a Crisis in Academic Librarianship?...Yes, and frankly it's about time."  Wish I could have heard that one. 

So where then do I find my local tribe?  I guess I need to ask around.  "Excuse me: Are you my tribe?" (On a unrelated note... for those Doctor Who fans out there: "Are you my mummy?")

Don't want to read the book? Here is Seth's TED presentation.

Read More