One aside about this book’s trajectory. The book mostly assumes that you’d want to build a platform to establish something to extend your influence so you can sell your products and services, even though the subtitle does say it’s for anyone with something to say or to sell. And the assumption behind that is you’d have to provide content that is valuable to a large enough of a number of people. Not every topic has that, like many things I believe to be important and worth having a voice, even if big groups of people don’t value it. Nevertheless, Platform is still a very handy reference book that can be adapted for when size doesn’t matter — hint: skip the parts about measuring.

What I love about the author Michael Hyatt is that he’s a CEO type (most recently of Thomas Nelson publisher) and yet willing to put himself personally out there online. They make too few of them like that. I sure hope, as his platform continues to grow, he’ll be an example and prototype of leaders in the 21st century, someone who is accessible, personal, and generously shares with others the valuable skills and lessons he’s learning along the way.

By the way, buy the book this week, send Michael Hyatt the receipt, and he’ll give you a gob of valuable bonus material!

[disclaimer: I received an advance readers review copy of this book]

Here’s a list of churches on Pinterest I’d found, with a current count of pins when this list was compiled (please do add more) ::

http://pinterest.com/marshill/ Mars Hill Church (577 pins)
http://pinterest.com/foresthillpcusa/ Forest Hill Church (477 pins)
http://pinterest.com/uuca Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta (346 pins)
http://pinterest.com/wheatonbible Wheaton Bible Church (129 pins)
http://pinterest.com/fellowshippins/ Fellowship Church (76 pins)
http://pinterest.com/worthingtoncc/ Worthington Christian Church (58 pins)
http://pinterest.com/forefrontnyc/ Forefront Church (34 pins)
http://pinterest.com/bafchurch/ Bay Area Fellowship (4 pins)
http://pinterest.com/gopcmodesto/ (1 pin)

[update: added after original post went live]
http://pinterest.com/northviewchurch/ Northview Church via @brianbarela

At the moment, Pinterest is invite-only. Add a comment and I’d be more than happy to give you an invite.

“You’re about to read a dangerous book…” — Steve Sjogren, author, Conspiracy of Kindness, Kindness.com.

“Can our churches have an impact on the community around them? What does it look like to be Jesus to a group of skateboarders? In his first e-book, Charlie Wear–ex-pastor, editor, lawyer–shares his fascinating insights and experience of what it looks like to be church outside the walls, to “be Jesus” to people without the religious trappings. If you want to maintain the status quo, don’t bother to read this book…” — Felicity Dale, simplychurch.com, co-author Small is Big.

This is Charlie’s story about himself, a “recovering pharisee”, and his adventures from being a burned out, divorced, depressed church dropout; more church life in which he accidentally became a pastor, trying to look good as a preacher; another miserable failure; then how, out of the ashes of his attempt at church, true ministry was birthed. … It’s about how God uses a broken man with a broken heart to take the gospel to places the traditional church could never go. If you’re tired of normal ordinary “church”, this will inspire you. — Robby Charters, author of Pepe

One particular quote sticks with me and keeps me searching my own heart: “I used to think I was a Christian, because of what I believed, how I behaved and perhaps, because of how my associates thought of me.” If you’re interested in being liberated from this brand of “Christianity,” get Charlie’s book. — Scott Bane

But you’ll need a Kindle to read the e-book (or you could use a Kindle app, I suppose.) How about this: Win a brand new Kindle e-reader by entering the contest below. Odds are really good that you’d win a copy of the e-book (100 winners). But you don’t have to take a chance and just go buy it for 99 cents.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

[this is a sponsored post + contest by Charles Wear]

I logged-in earlier and gave my points to boost the story of the cause to raise $$ to give hope to 2,000 kids via Joy Jars. You may have heard of Joy Jars, the inspiration of Jessie Rees who wanted to get 50,000 fans on her Facebook page to raise awareness and bring joy to other kids who have cancer. That page now has over 147,000 fans. So join in and use your free starter points and let’s brighten the lives of a couple thousand kids with joy and hope!

Partial transcripts – text of interview with Rick Warren at ABC News Blogs:

• ‘Coarsening of our Culture’ Concerns Me – “We don’t know how to disagree without being disagreeable… you can walk hand-in-hand without seeing eye-to-eye. And what we need in our country is unity, not uniformity.”
• Rick Warren’s Easter Message: ‘When You’re Going Through Hell, You Keep Going’
• Fundamental Differences Between Mormons and Christians
• ‘Inability to Delay Gratification’ at Heart of Economic Woes
• Uproar Over Tim Tebow a Sign of Regression
• ‘Newsweek’ Exploiting Easter With Religious Cover
• ‘God Hates War, but God Loves Every Soldier’
• Ministering to Trayvon Martin Community
• Contraception Debate About ‘Greater Principle’ of Religious Freedom
• Our Church Has Lost Over 250,000 Pounds
• Don’t Worry, Dogs Go to Heaven

[disclosure: I attend Saddleback Church @ Rancho Capistrano]

This American Life has retracted this story because we learned that many of Mike Daisey’s experiences in China were fabricated. We have removed the audio from our site, and have left this transcript up only for reference. We produced an entire new episode about the retraction, featuring Marketplace reporter Rob Schmitz, who interviewed Mike’s translator Cathy and discovered discrepancies between her account and Mike’s, and New York Times reporter Charles Duhigg, who has reported extensively on Apple. Ira also re-interviewed Mike Daisey to learn why he misled us.

As a journalistic genre, This American Life is committed to certain journalistic standards, and this one episode got away. On their blog with the press release, the Executive Producer and Host Ira Glass wrote:

I have difficult news. We’ve learned that Mike Daisey’s story about Apple in China – which we broadcast in January – contained significant fabrications. We’re retracting the story because we can’t vouch for its truth. This is not a story we commissioned. It was an excerpt of Mike Daisey’s acclaimed one-man show “The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs,” in which he talks about visiting a factory in China that makes iPhones and other Apple products.

Episode #460 explained more about the fact-checking after the airing of the original episode, its retraction, and an interview with Mike Daisey to seek an apology and explanation. I’ve listened to both episodes. Painful. (And what might Apple’s legal department be plotting?)

Daisey felt justified in doing what he does as a storyteller and believes his work is a legitimate exercise of artistic license. Sure, a scriptwriter has the freedom to create a work of art as movie or play or book by rendering a dramatization based on a true story. There’s a place for that. That place is not a journalistic-style radio show. Maybe Garrison Keillor? Or Jon Stewart? Stephen Colbert?

This kind of problem will keep aggravating the world of journalism as social media enables anyone and everyone to have a public voice. Everything is looking more like op-ed pieces. Journalism perhaps isn’t able to uphold as high a standard as it used to because of an accelerated news cycle in a 24/7 communication world, or maybe new media is revealing the subjective biases and inaccuracies of the reporters’ work.

I’ve had a few encounters with journalism, and news reporters (with news involving people I knew) did not get the facts nor details right. This recently happened in the OC Register and its February 23rd article Rick Warren builds bridge to Muslims. Rick Warren was forced to respond amidst an already busy highly-demanding schedule. First to clear up theological issues, in an interview with Brandon A. Cox and The Christian Post. Secondly, a line-by-line documentation of the factual errors in News & Views 3/10/12: ON RESPONDING TO FALSE ACCUSATIONS (also posted at ocregister.com), the Saddleback Church email newsletter. Some of the damage may be irreparable, as OC Register noted on 3/9/12 in Effort to reach out to Muslims stirs outcry. And media representative A. Larry Ross wrote up this article, Saddleback Church: Setting the record straight on outreach to Muslims, published at ocregister.com .

My hunch is that as media technologies keeps developing and maturing, the lines will only get more blurred. And, these situations are indicators of a shift of trust away from faceless institutions towards individuals in one’s social network.

Oh, and the dust hasn’t settled yet on Mike Daisey and his American Life episode. There’s more.

On March 19th, “… at a long-scheduled appearance at Georgetown University, Mike Daisey gave his first public talk since the news broke last Friday that This American Life was retracting the now-infamous episode featuring his work. Daisey is a complicated and conflicted figure, and, it’s hard not to feel complicated and conflicted about him and about his work. His talk last night provides a new dimension to the story that is now at the center of a scandal.” —The Atlantic Wire

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On this lovelee Valintine’s Day, I ideated 10 ways that Charles Lee is like Jeremy Lin:

1. They have pun-able last names, they realee do
2. They’ve extended their platform and visibility through social media like Twitter and Facebook: @charlestlee facebook.com/GoodIdeaBook @jlin7 facebook.com/jeremylin7 [what are you waiting for?]
3. There’s talk about their legacy already – Charles opens his book with a preface titled “Born into a Legacy of Idea Makers”
4. They’re team-players and collaborators
5. They make everybody else look good (even great!) – Jeremy for his teammates every time, Charles for creating a platform for unknown idea-makers thru The Idea Camp and The Ideation Conference
6. They’re unapologetically Asian American Christians
7. They both know what it feels like to be overlooked, misunderestimated, and being an underdog
8. They’re pastors – Charles is a has-been and Jeremy is a wanna-be
9. They’re humble and not self-promoting
10. They’re my Linspiration!

I’ll say one thing about the book. When I first heard about it and chatted with Charles by phone, the aha for me was his genius to avoid using the E-word (entrepreneurship) and empowering not only leeders but everyone to make their ideas and dreams come true! (I know I need the help as an ideator purist.)

And, Charles Lee throws the best parties, hundreds have connected at boutique events like the i2i Social Entrepreneurs Gathering at cool venues like the Toyota automobile museum. This Thursday is a book release party at the hipster Project 7 office space in Costa Mesa. This is the place to be! No cover charge! Live music! Free food! And Charles will be there in person!

Wired magazine recently featured a dozen or so Partners in The YouTube Laugh Factory: A Studio System for Viral Video (December 2011) and distilled these 5 rules for getting noticed according to YouTube Partners (people making money via YouTube):

1. Make a lot of content. A lot.
2. Target a niche.
3. Connect with your fans.
4. Collaborate.
5. Optimize for the algorithms.

These YouTube Partners are mentioned in the Wired article:

Tay Zonday https://www.youtube.com/tayzonday
Shane Dawson http://www.youtube.com/shanedawsontv
DeStorm Power http://www.youtube.com/DeStorm
Olga Kay http://www.youtube.com/OlgaKay
KassemG http://www.youtube.com/kassemg
Ray William Johnson http://www.youtube.com/RayWilliamJohnson
LisaNova http://www.youtube.com/LisaNova
Corey Vidal http://www.youtube.com/ApprenticeA
Shaycarl/ Shaytards http://www.youtube.com/shaycarl
Freddie Wong & Brandon Laatsch http://www.youtube.com/freddiew
Jimmy Wong http://www.youtube.com/jimmy
Nice Peter http://www.youtube.com/nicepeter
MysteryGuitarMan http://www.youtube.com/MysteryGuitarMan
Michelle Phan http://www.youtube.com/MichellePhan
Phil DeFranco http://www.youtube.com/sxephil
Ryan Higa http://www.youtube.com/nigahiga
Vlogbrothers http://www.youtube.com/vlogbrothers

According to a USA Today article (June 2011), there are over 20,000 YouTube Partners and a few hundred are making over $100,000 per year. At least 1 has made over $1,000,000. Revenue estimates 2010 are projected in this article, How Much Money Do The Top Grossing YouTube Partners Make? quoting the Business Insider piece, Meet The YouTube Stars Making $100,000 Plus Per Year.

According to a YouTube Partners discussion thread, the legal (and confidential) agreement states that “… You may accurately disclose the amount of Google’s gross payments to You pursuant to the Program” though it’s often erroneously rumored that YouTube Partners are prohibited from disclosing earning figures.

Note you can make smaller amounts of money at an entry level called Revenue Sharing on YouTube videos; but to make bigger money and get extra perks, apply for approval to the Partners program. And YouTube provides tips and resources for producing quality videos at  Creators’ Corner and Creators Hub. After all, if you make money, they make money.

Here’s 5 Secrets of YouTube’s Success (April 2010), an article published for the 5-year anniversary of YouTube with observations about why it’s succeeded beyond survival, and how it’s thriving and growing –

1. It elevated the absurd.
2. It got creative with advertising.
3. It plays nice with Hollywood.
4. It launched a new creative class.
5. It’s willing to reinvent itself.

And, by the way, it’s messing with our brains - Clive Thompson on How YouTube Changes the Way We Think (December 2008). Keen insights from the communication-meister Marshall McLuhan:

Marshall McLuhan pointed out that whenever we get our hands on a new medium we tend to use it like older ones. Early TV broadcasts consisted of guys sitting around reading radio scripts because nobody had realized yet that TV could tell stories differently. It’s the same with much of today’s webcam video; most people still try to emulate TV and film. Only weirdos like MadV are really exploring its potential.

A bigger leap will occur when we get better tools for archiving and searching video. Then we’ll start using it the way we use paper or word processing: to take notes or mull over a problem, like Tom Cruise flipping through scenes at the beginning of Minority Report. We think of video as a way to communicate with others—but it’s becoming a way to communicate with ourselves.

Many of you, like me, use both Twitter and Facebook. But given the disparity in numbers, many more are on only Facebook and not Twitter. Thus, my rationale for sharing my Twitter tweets (which I use more) to my Facebook status updates, so that both my Twitter followers and Facebook friends can see my latest finds — a large %age of my updates are links to goodies I find. (I do have my Twitter Facebook app configured so that my twitter @replies do not get posted to Facebook.)

I didn’t want to be insensitive to my friends on Facebook; I’ve recently asked them if I should continue feeding my Facebook status updates with my latest tweets, or keep the two separated. The results ended in a close heat, by a margin of 9 votes, more of my friends wanted to keep my tweets connected!

The wisdom of the crowd is split on whether you should or shouldn’t have social networks connected with mirrored content. My counsel: be considerate of your Facebook friends, yours may be more Twitter-averse.

Here are comments that came in during polling season, for your reference, to assist you in making an informed decision about how you might use your Twitter and Facebook accounts:

KL: “It annoys me when people post to both twitter and FB because I have to see the same thing twice. Then again, I don’t follow many people on both twitter and FB so in practice this isn’t really a problem.”

TL: i think ideally you want to separate fb and twitter because they are different mediums with different purposes and circles (no google+ pun intended). so tweet certain things and fb post other different things. but who does that really?

i think the reality is that most people are heavier users of either one or the other. so it’s probably the minority that would see your posts duplicated on twitter and fb (and previously buzz)

KH: i think connecting different social media platforms is a great invention! =)

SM: i don’t know about ‘overwhelmed’, but i tend to prefer separate streams…

RM: Only because every one else says this.

WS: And I like to read them here too!!

LL: selective tweets is a good option so it doesn’t flood your fb

VS: it is a question I’ve wrestled with myself. At the moment the “time” issue is the determinant…I don’t have to do independent posts. When that changes, I will probably split the information.

MM: I also use the Selective Tweets. I appreciate the option of determining which tweets come to Facebook.

SK: I’m probably not a good one to ask, because I port all my tweets over to Facebook. Using Selective Tweets is too mentally taxing. I don’t have time to parse whether a tweet is “appropriate” for Facebook or not. I just know that everything I post on Twitter shows up here on FB, and that’s fine. Two different audiences (for the most part). Different conversations take place around the same content. It’s all good. That’d be my vote, keep on keepin’ on.

SS: I’d say go with your instinct, your gut feel. I like the way you think and reason!

SO: I would vote for Disconnect if it wasn’t for the parenthetical addendum. Its for strategic reasons I advocate separating them, not because I am “easily overwhelmed”

LS: Pile it on! I love reading your stuff.

DI: I say disconnect them! Why follow on facebook & twitter if both have same content?

CM: I use selective tweets. I think that works best also!

JR: I follow you on twitter. plus you can use selective tweets.

BW: I see all your Tweets on Twitter, so I wouldn’t need to see them here too. But, if it’s easier for you, I don’t mind them in both!

BR: Use select tweets so updates appropriate for FB can still be brought over. [re: what is appropriate?] Things that you think your friends might comment on as well as just less than twitter. Things w/o hashtags too.

What counsel would you add about whether or not to connect Twitter to Facebook?

Now, It’s also possible to connect things the other way, so your Facebook status updates get automatically posted over to Twitter. When do you think it’s better to connect it the other direction?

In the Christian podcasting world, most podcasts are sermons or teachings or devotionals or church tech; that’s okay for the masses. I’m looking to check the “other” box, not so much what books tag as “Christian life”; just Christians (and Christian-friendly people) talking about a faith-informed life.

Here’s a list of active podcasts I’ve found so far — if you know others, please do add a comment:

• Frank the Podcast - a humorous and irreverent look at life informed by faith (w @DarinMcWatters et al)
• One Extraordinary Marriage –  Tony and Alisa DiLorenzo share tips and stories on how to create the marriage that you want 
• Something Beautiful - stories worth talking about: stories about God, life, friends, family and why it all matters (w @JDBlundell et al) 
• Foster Parenting – foster parents Tim and Wendy as they discuss foster care and adoption
• Homebrew Christianity – Tripp & Chad crafting, experimenting, imagining, and sharing a Christian faith that is life-giving
• Let’s Talk It’s Relationship - Bob, David, and Loren from Family Room Media discuss real life issues and the exciting journey of life in God outside of institutional Christianity 
• Beyond the Box - life beyond the box of institutional religion 
• Two Blind Squirrels Podcast - Christian comedy podcast that features everything from new contemporary Christian artists to two off key goofs singing about nothing.
• [update] Lifehouse Podcast – discuss how God has influenced our lives and interviews with other Christians [iTunes]
• Frederica Here and Now with Frederica Matthewes-Green and more podcasts at Ancient Faith Radio
• International Arts Movement (IAM) podcast
• The Wally Show – Wally infuses Christian radio with a good balance of humor and heart

Aside: the term “podcast” has been co-opted for audio files posted on a website. Podcasts I’m listing here are those that can be subscribed via iTunes or a podcatcher app (cf. Google Listen or Podkicker on Android), and are recorded & produced only for the podcast show, not recordings from other broadcast media. This list isn’t for dormant podcasts (cf. The Nick & Josh Podcast, Wired Parish), only those that are actively updated, like weekly.

Popular posts this year

1. Least Churched Cities in America
2. Top Church Pages on Facebook
3. 30 emerging leaders listed in Outreach Magazine
4. top 15 most popular varieties of apples
5. 5 types of personal branding websites for web presence
6. Table a free social network for just your church
7. Perception of Asian Americans as a brand
8. churches dying with dignity and recycling
9. talking is the new texting
10. Great Bible teachers you’ve never heard of

Popular posts from past years (“long-tail effect“)

1. churches closing and pastors leaving (2010)
2. How to stream and record video chat interview (2009)
3. Emotional maturity and stages of development (2009)
4. what is emotional maturity? (2008)
5. video chat between Mac and PC (2006)
6. how to develop emotional maturity (2008)
7. emotional immaturity vs. emotional maturity (2008)
8. evening worship around Washington DC (2006)
9. Why I like Keller more than Piper (2006)
10. perceptive differences between Asian and European Americans (2005)

Featured Posts from 2011

• OC Christmas Tour 2011 recap - attending 10 churches for Christmas
• Untapped potential of Asian Americans
• Remembering Bob Chih-Pao Chuang
• Multi-Asian Church Podcast Series (6 episodes)
• Why we need Asian Americans to be Asian Americans (5 parts)

First, the big number, that is, how many churches in America. Hartford Institute estimates there are roughly 335,000 religious congregations in the United States. Of those, about 300,000 are Protestant and other Christian churches, and 22,000 are Catholic and Orthodox churches. And: According to the book Beyond Megachurch Myths, there were 320,000 Christian U.S. churches in 2007.

 Two surveys have an answer for how many churches have websites: 69% and 78%. Doing the math on the conservative side (because just having a website doesn’t mean the information is current), 69% of 300,000 is 207,000.

Here’s the numbers behind the numbers –

The FACT 2010 Report: A Decade of Change in American Congregations 2000 – 2010 cited “… By 2010 over 90% of congregations used email; seven in ten had websites, and four in ten had Facebook pages…” // … the FACT 2010 national aggregated data set includes responses from 11,077 congregations, and over 120 denominations. … Sampling error for a survey such as FACT2010 can only be roughly estimated. We believe a conservative estimate is +/- 4% at the 95% confidence level. … with responses from 14,301 congregations it remains the largest national survey of congregations ever conducted in the U.S.

LifeWay Research study sponsored by Axletree Media cited “… survey of 1,003 Protestant churches found that while 78 percent have a website …” // Their methodology: LifeWay Research conducted a phone survey among a stratified, random sample of Protestant churches Sept. 8-20, 2010, interviewing 1,003 staff members most responsible for making decisions about the technology used in their church. Responses were weighted to reflect the natural size distribution of churches. The sample provides 95 percent confidence that the sampling error does not exceed ±3.2 percent.