Don't Get Burnt By a Bad Tech Experience

Technologies are great tools that, in their best form, help us amplify an already powerful message (the Gospel stands on its own, I'm certainly not suggesting otherwise) and reach a broader audience.

Unlike the Gospel, however, technology will occasionally fail us. In the tech training I do in my day job, particularly with reluctant users, I try to regularly emphasize the importance of having a Plan B to fall back on. There are few moments more awkward that standing in from of a crowd wondering if the ailing tool will recover.

With a few exceptions (e.g., software training, video-based messages, etc.), most messages stand on their own with tech tools. Where the breakdown occurs is in the panicked, awkward, deer-in-the-headlights moments that cause discomfort and distraction for everyone in attendance.

You can help minimize such situations by thinking through tech-failure scenarios ahead of time (especially with something new) and asking yourself how you could gracefully recover. Sometimes the solution is to make a substitution, sometimes it's best to eliminate it altogether.

Of course, the most graceful recovery is the one that doesn't have to happen. Surround yourself with people who can help, after all, you have enough responsibility with teaching/preaching without troubling yourself with the tech details. Do a dry run with new tech pieces. Try to recreate the situation as closely as possible beforehand.

Unfortunately, there's not a spiffy web 2.0 failsafe tech for me to tell you about here. Just some well-intended advice.

How do you handle technical hiccups? Add your best strategy to the comments.

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Image Citation:
Reynolds, Leo. “B” Leo Reynold’s Photostream. 8 Feb 2007. 28 June 2007. http://flickr.com/photos/lwr/.

Commoncraft, the folks who brought us "RSS In Plain English," have now produced "Social Networking in Plain English." It stops of little short of explaining what all the hype of social networking is about, but gives a solid overview of the processes behind the tools.



Relationships drive social networking. Given the importance of relationships in ministry, you can't afford to completely overlook the possibilities.

Summer projects are smacking around the Church 2.0 team - for a glimpse of how Kez is occupying his summer, just look at his blog! For me, it's just family stuff and my day job. So, the outcome has been a bit of a slow down on the blog here. Also, in case you missed it, the RSS feed for the last post was a little flaky, so you'll want to make sure you check out Remember the Milk.

Getting on to the point...

Planning Center Online is this really cool tool for planning worship services. Every now and again I use a tool and find myself thinking that the person/team behind this really knows the situation for which is was built. This is one such tool.

I'm not sure how to succinctly summarize this tool's features except to say that it does everything you'd hope that it would (sequence songs, and other elements of the service) as well as store mp3's, lyrics and other relevant attachments (paid version), schedule and email personnel according to their roles, track and report song usage, import song data from CCLI, and transpose chord charts (also on the paid version) - all on an online interface you can share with everyone involved in the planning and implementation of your church's worship services.

The basic version is free and very functional (this is what I'm presently using). Paid versions add some features and the ability to expand with more personnel and multiple ministries.

The Planning Center Team has done an above-average job with tutorials and walk-throughs of the app's features. Their "11-Minute Overview" explains it all pretty well in about, well, 11 minutes.