I’m looking for one that’d do a few key things all in one, and it shouldn’t be that hard, but it sure has been hard to find. I’m looking for a web app (meaning no software download to install for presenter or attendees) that:

• shows video from presenter webcam,
• chat room for attendees’ interaction,
• VoIP or phone dial-in for attendees in listener-only mode,
• presentation area for powerpoint or desktop sharing,
• and one-click recording of the session as a downloadable video file.

Other features would be nice but not necessary. I’ve found dozens of solutions that do all but one of what i’ve listed, but not one with all of ‘em. Sigh. Help?

\\ photo credit: Videoblogging Webinar by stevegarfield

I’ll be facilitating a workshop about social media, sort of a different angle than most of the other workshops that are addressing specific ministry issues. So my workshop, titled “Wielding online tools for connecting and collaborating,” is more about online tools & web apps and how they can be used for ministry. My slides are online [created entirely using Google Docs]. Based on discussions that flow from the 2 sessions of the same workshop, I’ll update this post with more links & references.

[updated] Links to Resources mentioned in workshop:

• video: social media revolution
• Top 100 church blogs via churchrelevance.com
• How to get a domained website = domain name (e.g. Godaddy or Name.com) + web hosting (e.g. dreamhost.com or bluehost.com) + content management system (CMS; e.g. WordPress, Joomla, Drupal)
• free live-streaming web apps: ustream.tv & livestream.com
• • CD’s music : myspace.com/cuzcad + twitter @heyitscd + youtube.com/cd517
  • Kai’s food videos at youtube.com/ltkman
  • And, we launched The Khmer Palate in class! On twitter @thekhmerpalate and blog thekhmerpalate.wordpress.com and youtube.com/missnget

• Choose twitter if you like to text
• Choose blogging if you like to write
• Choose audio podcasting if you like to talk
• Choose video if you like to talk with your hands

When it comes to having an active online presence, it’s basically about content generation. It’s your personal voice. We’re not talking about having a website – which is more of a brochure, or an interactive one. We’re talking about how to get your voice out there, your ideas, your experiences, your thoughts, your questions, your desire to help make a difference in the world.

As twitter and facebook have become more mainstream, and I hear them talked about everywhere, or overhear it, and it’s not me bringing it up. I’m learning to avoid talking about work-related subjects, which is hard to do, when that work closely aligns with the things I love to do and dream about and think about. I’m avoiding an overused word that begins with “P”. Yes, that’s another blog series in the hopper that I hope to get online soon. Might do some during vacation next week. I am not doing an offline unplugged vacation. Oh, so that was off track rambling.

My elevator pitch executive summary is currently this: what is your most comfortable way of expressing yourself? Your favorite way of communicating? Granted, content generation is work, and we don’t need to make it any harder than it needs to be. So choose the easiest way for you, and that will be the more effective one for you. And you do have the option of using these web communication channels as a one-way broadcast or as a two-way conversation. You get to set your own rules, though some people do have strong preferences if you want to fit in with a particular tribe.

If you like to text, twitter is great for that. What you tweet about, you can be a bit smarter about that.

If you like to write, and in this case, it’d be keyboarding/ typing, then blogging may be a good fit. Blogging is great because you get to see what you’re writing and you can edit and make links. The printed word has been a popular mode of communicating for centuries, even the digital printed word.

If you like to talk, turn on a digital recorder and hit record, or record right onto your computer via a mic. It takes a bit more work to get that audio uploaded somewhere to host it, and then to link it up into an RSS feed for iTunes, so if you have someone techie near you, let them do it for you. Alternatively, I’ve used tumblr to call in an audio post, and it’s done near real time! Call it in, and tumblr digitizes and posts it online. Voila. Hear my quick audio post from yesterday.

If you like to talk with your hands, video is the way to go. The majority of computers now have a webcam built in. And with web apps like tokbox.com and youtube.com, you cna record a video through your web browser. And you’re done. Let your thoughts flow, and may your words be wonderful. [video above recorded using tokbox]

Remember, which ever way you go, web communication is instant, global, and permanent. Near impossible to take your words back.

Now there is Christian Web Conference! It’s happening just a month away, September 11-12, at Biola University. (That’s the Los Angeles area, for those of you considering travelling in from afar.) Here’s how the conference is describe itself:

Christian Web Conference is dedicated to fostering fellowship and establishing real life communities among Christians employing web 2.0 technologies to christianly influence the world. The power and appeal of web media technologies is vast. These technologies provide Christians with a new set of Great Commission opportunities.

And how they’re looking to do that:

The Christian Web Conference fosters community and learning through a combination of, idea roundtables sessions, and meal-time fellowshipping with web media experts. Attendees should expect to meet and interact with some of the top intellectual Christian web users in order to form friendships, learn how to improve their web media knowledge and ability from experts, and participate in vision casting for Christian use of web technologies.

Some great people will be there. I can make it to a part of it. How about you?

Add a reply for a 25% discount off registration! First 10 comments on this blog post will get discount code & instructions via email. Currently registration is $60; with the discount, that’d be $45.

Right now I’m in the midst of a heavy travel season: travelling 4 weeks in a row. Not 4 complete weeks away from home, but every week I’ve got a trip away that’ll disrupt the normal routines at home base.

My road warrior gear, whether away or near home, usually consists of: my company-issued laptop (Dell Latitude D630), ear-bud headphones, webcam (QuickCam Deluxe for Notebooks), condenser mic (Blue Snowflake), headset, compact power adapter (Targus Travel Power Outlets). I usually get out of the house even when working from the home office, because being home alone is not a healthy thing for my moods and emotional well-being.

On my most recent trip, I used a wired headset (ear-bud headphone + mic) with my iPhone 3G. This does get me more clarity than a bluetooth headset, and I didn’t have to carry the accompanying power adapter. But, in the hustle-bustle of travelling, the wire did get in the way.

A couple weeks ago, I lost my favorite bluetooth headset, Jabra BT500. I’m getting by with a less-comfortable headset until I need a replacement. Doing my part to be frugal in times like these.

I had signed up for a tokbox account months ago, but didn’t have people to try it out with. So my account signup sat buried in the inbox.

Now webcams are going more mainstream. I noticed (almost?) every laptop at the retail store (starting with the letter B) had a built-in webcam, even the tiny 8″ netbook. And then to hear 2 of my non-tech colleagues get webcams and using Skype for the first time in their lives. (!)

Now that webcams are mainstream (and having broadband internet becoming common helps the cause), I googled for a free web-based multi-user video chat web app. I don’t want to mess with software downloads and installation. I don’t think non-techies want to mess with software either. So, to find tokbox again was a treat. Too bad it locks up when all the CPU cycles are eaten up.

aside: yes, Tokbox handed out tacos outside of Yahoo last week to spread info about their job openings, and spread the good cheer

What I’m thinking of is inbound web content. That is, one-directional internet; you could even call it mobile broadcast.

For years, the President of the United States can freely turn on cable tv to watch CNN or Fox News, so why couldn’t the POTUS pull out a modified blackberry device or gphone or iPhone and get mobile web content?

Having worked at a telecomm company in the past, I’ve heard colleagues say that the said company provided customized telephony to the White House. So, it’s already been a business and government precedence set for custom services to be developed. And, there are cell phones now that get their built-in cameras turned off, right?

It’s reported that Obama will be the first president with a computer on his presidential desk [mobile ver] in that Oval Office. That computer is most likely going to be a MAC. Will Obama using a Mac accelerate its adoption into mainstream? This month was the first time that Windows dropped below 90% market share. [aside: this blog post was composed on 2 Apple products, iPhone and MacBook Pro]

I think he oughta have a unidirectional mobile smartphone to receive near instant inbound web stuff. That’ll keep the questions about the Presidential Records Act moot, and we can keep technological progress progressing. I’m with Bill Brenner, that Obama’s BlackBerry is no security threat: Taking it away could isolate him from the real world.

NOTE: I confess that I haven’t kept up with the news on developments with this issue, so I don’t know if it’s already been resolved. Someone can quickly fact-check and inform me in the comment section.

Yeah, there are possibly many more ramifications and implications that I haven’t considered. Want to voice how frustrating it is for me to see how the laws of the land isn’t able to keep up with the ever-changing ever-developing digital technologies. We’re in an increasingly paperless society.

And I’ve paraphrased Church 2.0 as “stories and conversations of how Christ-followers from churches of all sizes are changing the way church is done“. Don’t quote me.

Whether the term as Greg has coined it will stick or not, we’ll see. I’ve heard from some that Web 2.0 is not well-defined and that introduces confusion, so maybe “Church 2.0” could be confusing, cf. Google has a range of results for “Church 2.0″ // a Church 2.0 presentation by Bart Caylor, book titled The Wired Church 2.0, blog posts by Andrew Jones (circa 2005), Mark Glaser (circa 2006), PBS MediaShift (2006), this Church 2.0 wiki curated by Unitarian Dan Harper, wikipedia had an entry for Church 2.0 – now deleted …

Now, Greg notes that the Church 2.0 Local Forums is not only about tech:

These gatherings are for ALL Church leaders. This isn’t just a “tech” thing. These Church 2.0 Local Forums are where Church leaders gather together to meet, network, discuss innovation, leadership, technology and share stories of what God is up to in their city. I don’t present anything. I don’t sell anything. I simply listen, learn and help guide the conversation. It’s truly a God-thing. I really appreciate your friendship and your support.

Clear? Crystal.

The official Google blog announces it as: A fresh take on the browser. It’ll be released in a beta version, of course.

Google Blogoscoped has early scoop and screen shots, along with TechCrunch and SearchEngineJournal.

The comic book introducing the concepts behind Chrome was drawn up by Scott McCloud, and is available online here or there or over at agglom.

About a month ago, I found this FREE web service that works at the DNS service level of your wireless access point (WAP) or router. It’s called OpenDNS . You could also configure your local PC’s internet DNS configuration too, for the times you’re using a wifi hotspot elsewhere, and get your web content filtered, too.

To give credit where credit is due, I found out about it reading another discussion forum (or a blog?), I forget where exactly. There was a church providing free wifi in its lounge, and needed to find a way to have it filtered. I’ve been using OpenDNS at home for over a month now, and it works great!!

Side note for the cynical, suspicous, or curious: here’s how OpenDNS can provide this service for free.

But I found 3 4 other great free wifi directories online with web 2.0 collaboration that maintains a current and up-to-date directory (but haven’t accrued enough Google juice and I hope my link and yours will help):

• www.openwifispots.com 24,456 spots
• www.hotspotr.com 5,822 spots, 1,629 cities
• www.ilovefreewifi.com (total count not available)
• www.anchorfree.com 12,570 spots in the US

(Statistics were self-reporting from each directory, at time of this blog post.)

There you go — now you can stay connected. Just have to remember to bring your laptop, and keep your battery charged. If you find other great free wifi directories, please do add a comment to this post.

This new way of working enables an organization or company to hire talented people without having to relocate them, and gives people the flexibility to get their work done and perform. It takes a big mind-shift on the management side to realize that the point is to get work done, not to sit at an office desk during business hours (unless the job requires being at a desk.) It’s a win-win all around: the company doesn’t need to pay extra rent for office space, remote staff get flexible hours, company can hire excellent talent without geographical constraints. Even costs for occasional travel for face-to-face meetings wouldn’t likely exceed officing costs.

I’m waiting on an electronic copy of a brochure for the next training event for this Paterson Process, so I can refer to it as I write up some of my lessons learned at last week’s strategic planning facilitator training. One of the things that companies and organizations have to do in today’s real world environment is to constantly learn new things, and launch new initiatives to engage new opportunities. Today, a company/organization cannot go on cruise-control and do the same thing over and over.

One lost opportunity that I just chatted with Rudy about is a wifi router with parental control aka internet filtering. I sure hope I’m not alone in wanting filtered internet protection without having to install (and maintain) filtering softwares on every computer that also drags down performance, especially when I’ve got both Mac and PC at home. I’d like to think that more router and internet filter companies would have seized this opportunity, and build + market an easy to use wireless internet router with parental control. I know there were 2 reviewed by PC Magazine in 2004, and there was one I found via a web searched called iBoss, but I haven’t heard much about, so I don’t know if it works well, and how well it’s selling. Add a comment if you’ve got a recommendation or know about the iBoss. Thank you!