Facebook vs. Google + - What's Your Preference?

There is a fascinating debate going on, mostly on Google +,  about whether G+ will replace Facebook. I can't for the life of me see how some people will ever connect with G+. Right now it is populated with early adopters, techies, syndicators and curators, geeks, gadget freaks, and social media types. It seems to me almost like a combination of Facebook and Twitter, with a little Skype thrown in. Don't even know what I am taking about?

Exactly.

This poll was created by Brian Solis, possibly in response to a poll of PC Magazine readers in which fully 50% said they would abandon Facebook. I am reluctant to make a sweeping generalization about FB versus G+ based on that since most people (my age, particuarly) are not that technically inclined. I think it is a little like polling only the members of the NJ Education Association and then making a sweeping generalization about whether NJ Gov. Christie will be reelected.

I just don't see Great Aunt Millie who just figured out Facebook migrating to Google Plus. Many of my readers are not especially technically inclined, so I thought I would ask you. I don't mean to be insulting, it's just that you represent the person who is online but doesn't use, or know about, or care about all the bells and whistles. The person who likes to read blogs, but may be experiencing social media overload and is a little sick of the whole thing.

Kind of a reverse poll of the PCMag readers.

Be sure and comment on this post and let me know how you voted.

The poll ends in about 5 days, and Brian Solis will be writing about the results of the poll. Let your non-tech voice be heard! I will update you when he writes about it. 

Sorry, Harold, You Were Wrong. Again.

Well, I'm still here. And so are all my Christian friends. And my non-Christian friends.

And Harold Camping.

Sorry, Harold, you were wrong. Again.

You were wrong in 1994. And other clowns were wrong in 1988 and 1992.

"But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." - Mark 13:32

"But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. " - Matthew 24:36

What part of  "NO ONE KNOWS" did you not understand? Jesus said that even HE doesn't know the day or the hour. What ever gave you the idea that you had some secret knowledge not available even to the Son of God?  It embarrasses me to even think about it.

If there be any good from this it is that there have been more than a few serious conversations about the return of Christ that would never have happened. They may have started with people making fun of you, but they probably ended on a more sober note. Because Jesus IS coming back. You have that part right. Even if you were off on the "yesterday" part.

There have also been people who may not otherwise have thought about what they are doing with their lives. I pondered this in my Facebook status yesterday. You can bet if I believed that Jesus was coming back yesterday I would not have wanted him to "Find Me on Facebook."  How much time to we spend on distractions and foolish entertainment instead of loving and serving people and doing the good works God has "prepared in advance for us to do"?

No, I'm not getting rid of Facebook. Or even the addictive new social media/investing game I have been playing lately called Empire Avenue. But I am giving some serious thought to the proportion of time I am giving to the temporal instead of the eternal. 

A whole lot of joking has been going on in recent weeks about this, but it is time to remember that the return of Christ will be no laughing matter. Are you ready?

Passion of the Christ - Facebook Style

Here is another retread from 2009, but with an update - the original website where it appeared has gone offline! I managed to locate a PDF of it on another website. You can click on the picture to go to that PDF file.

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Here is a clever retelling of the Easter Story as if it appeared on Facebook. I found it in bob.blog. From a comment in the story: "I'm going to go on a limb and say I don't think God holds himself above satire. Since really when you think about it, what is the point of satire? It brings more clearly into focus the truth of the object of satire. Which in his case, is something worth thinking on."



I thought this was worth sharing with Christians, those who really love satire, or anyone who really appreciates Facebook. It could be the funniest thing you read all day, or the most offensive. It is satirical - if you are too religious to have a sense of humor, don't bother. If you are too much of an atheist to click on something about Christ, don't bother. And it is coming from a particular theological stance that I do not agree with. But I know that some of my readers wouldn't agree with ANY theological stance, so what difference? I am taking a cue from St. Paul as we wind our way through the holiest week on the Christian calendar: "But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice." Phil 1:18

Facebook Style "Passion" Worth a Second Look

I posted this last year in time for Easter. It might be construed as a tad irreverent, and it is actually also a tad inaccurate, but kind of like with modern Bible translations, the Holy Spirit can meet you wherever you are and make sure you get the point when you are reading.

You can click through from the old post to Digg , which is where I first saw it, or if you click on the screenshot, you can actually go to a PDF file of the whole thing.

Whatever else it is, it is VERY clever, and whoever created it had to do a lot of planning and  tweaking and Photoshopping.


I decided to repost it today when I saw that someone has already visited last year's post after doing a Google search on "the easter story facebook style". 

Chances are someone will be offended. Some of those will be Christians and some of those will be non-Christians.  My intent is not to offend, but inform. And St. Paul said it best,  "But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice." Phil 1:18

8 Hot Social Media Marketing Tips You Need To Know

This is a little different from my usual post, but today I want to showcase a free webinar entitled "8 Hot Social Media Marketing Tips You Need to Know."

This free live event is this coming Tuesday, April 6.  The webinar will feature social media experts Mari Smith (author, Facebook Marketing), Chris Garrett (author, Problogger), Denise Wakeman (founder, Blog Squad) and Michael Stelzner (founder, Social Media Examiner) , who will talk about what's new and what you need to know about social media marketing.

Social what?

The "in-the-know-marketing-guru" name for how to leverage Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Mixx, MySpace, blogs, mobile, and other platforms to grow your business.

Who cares?

The reason this matters to me, and I think it will matter to you, is that one of the things I have been doing over the last year to move my own business forward is to participate in a certification course through the International Social Media Association (ISMA), the completion of which entitles me to call myself a -ahem- Certified Social Media Specialist.

No kidding.

Anyone who is a friend on Facebook or follows me on Twitter has probably bumped up against my challenge of combining my personal and professional interests.  I joined Facebook to connect with my daughter and her friends, which quickly spread to friends from church, then youth ministry, then eventually politics, pro-life interests, old friends from a million years ago, and then marketing.

As an old MLM'er, I now had to figure out whether to continue to promote network marketing companies, or my newfound "legitimate" status as a social media professional.

I still have not quite figured it out. My marketing peeps still get their share of Bible verses and blog posts about homeschooling, and "my kids" get invited to opportunity meetings.

Whatever. I am who I am.

The last six months I have been so busy doing social media consulting, I have not had a lot of time for personal blogging, or network marketing either, for that matter.  Internet marketing has taken an exciting turn in the road, and social media is a big part of that.

The webinar is limited to 1000 seats, so if you have ever wondered how to take your home business/small business to the next level online, this is the event for you.

And don't think it isn't for you because you are a stay at home mom who is somewhat the other side of 40 (50?) with a little home business. Did you know that most social media marketers are aged 30 to 60 and have only been using social media for a few months?

In fact, even traditional businesses like Ford Motor Company, Clorox and State Farm Insurance are heavily focused on social media.  This is not some "young kids" phenomenon.  As a matter of fact, most young people don't "get" Twitter at all. The most successful users of Twitter are over 40.  And the fastest growing group of Facebook users (at least it was a few months ago, not sure if that is still the case) is women over 55!  Go figure!

There will be a recording of the event for those who are registered.

In the spirit of full disclosure, the webinar is a promotional event for the Social Media Success Summit, for which I will receive a commission if you should decide to attend.

But I guarantee you, you will walk away with plenty of useful information even if you just attend the free webinar.  The four social media experts who are running the webinar are tops in their respective fields.

I will be there - if this sounds like something that will benefit you, join me.

If not, catch me later when I am talking about homeschooling again. I still have not addressed the "Titus 2" part of the question about whether homeschoolers ever really retire.

Because at the end of the day, I am still a homeschooler.

Passion of the Christ - Facebook Style

Here is a clever retelling of the Easter Story as if it appeared on Facebook. I found it in bob.blog. From a comment in the story: "I'm going to go on a limb and say I don't think God holds himself above satire. Since really when you think about it, what is the point of satire? It brings more clearly into focus the truth of the object of satire. Which in his case, is something worth thinking on."

I thought this was worth sharing with Christians, those who really love satire, or anyone who really appreciates Facebook. It could be the funniest thing you read all day, or the most offensive. It is satirical - if you are too religious to have a sense of humor, don't bother. If you are too much of an atheist to click on something about Christ, don't bother. And it is coming from a particular theological stance that I do not agree with. But I know that some of my readers wouldn't agree with ANY theological stance, so what difference? I am taking a cue from St. Paul as we wind our way through the holiest week on the Christian calendar: "But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice." Phil 1:18

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