The 'Wiki Encyclopedia of CityReaching' is collaboratively sponsored by the 'Center For Urban Innovation'... "Producing Innovative CityReachers."
Designing A Communication System... for YOUR city...
[See the Indianapolis 'Communications Team' wiki-page where we're now organizing our 'New-Media Communications Team'.]
"Truth will prevail. And truth at the speed of Light, will prevail at the speed of Light."
"Out of all these troops, the best 700 were left-handed. Each could sling a stone at a hair and not miss." (Judges 20:16)
Objective: Below, we want to collaboratively (discuss in our CityReaching Facebook group) design what might the optimal COMMUNICATIONS CAPABILITIES throughout the cityreaching movements in cities everywhere... compellingly communicating the 7 primary varieties of 'Information for Change'.
'Interactive Community TV' is the 'point-of-the-spear'
...for the cityreaching movement in any city.
- Its purpose is to help accelerate the cityreaching mission in any city... by expediting the communications process.
- Think of 'Community TV' as the tip of the spear. It's the very point of the arrowhead's razor-sharp new-media technologies... and followed by the 'long tail' of the blogosphere... as it cuts through the information forest to hit its target.
- Like a regular television station, Community TV can go (truly) LIVE on a moment's notice.
- Including but not limited to... Emergency & Disaster Management situations.
- It can run videos produced by cityreachers... or use publically-available grassroots videos via YouTube, etc.
- Originally we'll start with one collective channel... originating from the heart of Indianapolis.
- This channel will serve the larger cityreaching movement as a prototype.
- It will carry cityreaching-type programming for Indianapolis... and beyond.
- Currently 2 differing technologies are being beta-tested. Mogulus. And _________.
- Because new media is nearly cost-free, it can be implemented down to the Neighborhood level.
- And can scale quickly.
- A future objective may be to stimulate a spin-off 'outreach' version to compete in secular space.
- But the current objective is to focus on connecting & communicating among The Church, city by city.
- Community TV will have affiliated trickle-down forms of new media, such as...
- Citywide cell-phone-trees, utterz, twittering, podcasting, radio, blogs, photo pools, RSS-feeds, and (ugh...) email.
- Because we're using collaborative technologies, all these can be implemented by volunteers.
- Money, if/when available, can be used to accelerate the process. Or enhance the quality-level more quickly.
- Our message will be optimized to move down through the 'long tail' of the internet.
- It will also be optimized to travel to & through traditional media... tv, radio, newspaper, magazines, newsletters & flyers.
- Since mega-churches have money for traditional media, new-media is mostly targeted to help small-but-collaborative ministries.
- Money, if/when available, can be used to accelerate any of the above. Or enhance the quality-level more quickly.
- The 'Center For Urban Innovation' has stimulated this collaborative 'Community TV' initiative...
- ...co-venturing with a collection of 'Indy Christian Geeks' involved with the 'Ask Anything Saturday' program.
- The Center seeks to produce innovative cityreachers, and cityreaching innovations.
- The Center's philosophy focuses on low-cost innovation to be implemented from the city's urban core.
- Christian community computing centers (TechMission locations) will be preferred training centers.
- Replicating new-media professionals and amateur 'embedded reporters' will be an object of this initiative.
- ...especially focusing on our urban neighbors needing new skills & employment.
- 'Each one, Teach one' is a key strategy, as practical.
- Cityreaching is always to be 'multicultural', and 'multi-generational'. Urban & suburban.
- Cityreaching is always to be 'collaborative'.
- And Innovative.
- 'Community TV' can accomplish all of the above, Lord willing. Pray for our success.
Recent 
'MEDIA' tagged items around the internet.
Recent 'BLEWS' tagged stories -- our collaborative bin for sharing 'Blogs+News=Blews' items around the internet.
Also see the national 24x7 LIVE MEDIA TIMELINE page -- to help everyone sync some important scheduling.
WHO should be involved in this overall design discussion?
- Bible-believing CityReachers everywhere. In today's world, EVERYONE can be a 'new media' type... even social-networkers who are simply communicating via their Facebook profile, etc. Or 'embedded reporters' wherever you are. [Or prepare to be an EMERGENCY REPORTER.]
- Are you a Mainstream Journalist? Would you be willing to pull one or more of the RSS-feeds listed below, and perhaps do a story, or followup with an interview of leaders making a difference in their cities? And if you tend to be such a journalist, please add YOUR RSS-feed below. [What is an RSS-feed?]
- Are you a Blogger? Consider joining the Christian Blog Network. And if you're a cityreacher variety of blogger... contact us to make sure we get your RSS feed into the CityBlews.Net aggregated feed. [see RSS section below.]
- Are you a Reader? Sharer? If you already know how to use GoogleReader to stay abreast of the important news/blogs, get in touch. Your 'SHARES' might be going up in value! [eg... see SHARES deployed in the sidebar at IndyChristian.com]
- Are you a Tagger? Consider joining Delicious Christians. Details at Tags4God.com.
- Are you a Webcam Skyper? Be sure to add your name to the list.
- Are you a Twitter fan? Got ideas how to leverage it to expedite short, quick communications?
- Are you a Podcaster, Video, InternetTV fan? YouTuber? Got a cam? Internet TV? Podcaster? Any of the above? Get on the 24x7 Timeline !
- Are you a Social-Networker... ie, 'connector' ? Join this Facebook group... "City Reaching Movement".
- To quote a (secular) new-media guru.... "Robert Scoble IS media.".... ie, we ALL are, if we're e-capable and willing to communicate with these great new available tools of the 21st Century.
WHAT would we be trying to communicate far & wide?
- Long-term vision, goals, objectives...
- Short-term information that can readily lead to actionable 'next steps'. Eg... TIMELINE of collaborative activities (currently only de facto plan) (currently our only de facto 'plan').
- Important NEEDS-driven information... that can help people right now. Immediately.
- The Score... ie, "How's it going?"... how should we pray at this moment? What's needed? Information on the battlefield that generals and other soldiers (team) want & need. And not just the overall lag-indicators (did we win? did we lose?)... but also the LEAD-indicators... ie, the drivers of success? The things that God's laid out which will indeed make our life mission a success... reading, prayer, connecting, coordinating, learning, discipling others, etc.
- 'New Media' training of driven Christians anxious to make a major impact, albeit operating on a minimal budget. Visit C4UI.org -- "New Media for Urban Change" course.
- Social-networking. Join the 'City Reaching Movement' Facebook group... and encourage your driven Christian friends to do likewise.
- RSS feeds make communications easy. See the list we're compiling below. And if you're not yet using Google Reader to pull numerous feeds you can read as you sip your coffee each morning... shame on you. LOL.
- Vital Vine... is a plan to proliferate urgent, important messages through a citywide (cell) phone tree in your community. [we're plotting HERE for now.]
- Mainstream Media... Christians should work with whatever we already have, to get our message out, including tv, radio, newspapers, magazines, etc. [School of Journalism?]
- Internet TV, podcasting, etc.... [eg. 'Ask Anything Saturday TV']
- And an INDEX of our various cityreaching-related 'TV' productions around the web -- for (conceivably) 24x7 series of sites.
- Leverage all of the above at least MONTHLY in your cities. Could be by using a portion of your meetings, as training. Or inciting your group, by using new media during your meeting -- say to do a webcam-interview with one of our national leaders. Or by connecting sister-cities to help encourage/coach each other and hold each other accountable for progress, etc.
- Video Reports. Provide media assistance for LOCALLY-MAPPED LEADERS to provide a quick 60-sec 'video report' from their sector of the city. Compile 'em into a city 'playlist'... perhaps something that could/should also be added into available slots at 'Ask Anything Saturday TV'. And if it works well in Indy, it could work anywhere. Imagine our national leaders being able to see a compiled playlist of video-reports from all over the country? Most current on top?
- Tagging... Search-block for our DeliciousChristians.com Network.... and Tag Standards -- at least some. See Tags4God.com.
RSS feeds -- Build our list of key feeds to syndicate here...
- IndyChristian.com feed -- IndyChristian.com is a collaborative team-blog that carries all varieties of news, announcements, commentary and innovative instruction for 'driven Christians in the Racing Capital of the World'.
- Blews.Net feed -- Blews.Network is the top-level site of the 50 state sites comprising the network. It prioritizes news, announcements, commentary and innovative instruction for cityreachers everywhere. Definitely read this feed.
- BlewsWire feed -- this is a consolidated TAG-feed that any of you cityreachers can participate in !!! [see instructions at Tags4God.com]
- CityBlews.Net feed -- is a consolidated feed of the various cityreaching news/blogs from around the country.
- Lausanne feed -- Chairman of the Lausanne Movement for World Evangelization... is now blogging!
- Blogs4God feed -- an aggregated feed with a Digg-like rating system.
- Neil's Shares feed -- How about YOUR shares? Are you willing to share 'em with us here?
- YOUR blog feed?
WHEN will our Media Center be particularly helpful?
- NATIONAL-level Timeline of key collaborative activities for reaching our cities... now including the 24x7 schedule (someday) of 'TV' coverage!
- YOUR city's 'timeline' of key collaborative activities. (eg... Indy Timeline)
- Emergency/Disaster situations. [Here are some key links from Christian Emergency Network.] For further thought-development, go see the InsteDD.org (secular) site with some very innovative thinking and prototype project.
- See the national 'TIMELINE' schedule... which now will be including the 24x7 index of (LIVE) 'TV' coverage!
WHERE do we need communication from?
- Everywhere !
- Even down to the NEIGHBORHOOD level of reporting.
- Here's an example of an inner-city neighborhood using internet TV... "Ask Anything Saturday TV"... to share great neighborhood information.
WHY is having a centralized Media Center important?
- Duh !
- To join hands in the preaching work with the growing list of other dedicated Christians who are using the Internet to broadcast the hope of Christ to Internet users. See the examples below of both large and small ministry broadcasters. Listen to them, study them, and pray about ideas of how you can learn to broadcast and join with the CityReaching Group to help others comes to Christ while there is still time.
- Internet Radio (includes Podcasters)
- Internet TV and Video
HOW can we optimally work TOGETHER to build an outstanding Media Center function?
- Click the RED 'How YOU Can Help' link at right --->
- Then help us EDIT this page... adding your ideas & links, etc.
- [And help EDIT any other pages here in the 'Wiki Encyclopedia of CityReaching'.]
Stray Thoughts, Ideas & Links to consider further...
- John Yeats' insightful piece for Baptist Press re Pew Research "State of the Media 2007"... as applied to Baptist state newspapers, etc.
- Article re WorldTV, WorldTV blog, BlogTV, Mogulus, etc... as tools for building your city's live/podcast TV media point. Eg... Ask Anything Saturday TV initiative.
- FishHook Communications (Indy, Dayton, Cincinnati, Miami) are doing ROUNDTABLES among church communications professionals. Excellent concept. Hope to include their RSS feed(s) here when available.
- "Twitter, Facebook Called To A Higher Purpose" (InsteDD)
- Public Relations
- DocuBloggers -- (secular) example of community tv... with encouragement of folks to submit their favorite episodes.
- Levite Chronicles post, including Chris Brogan insights and other links as well.
- How about CCN -- Church Communications Network -- satellite (expensive)... pay-per-view, TRAINING programs... wish they'd put out free content via embedable-code on the net. We'd add 'em, I think.
- "Call It In"
- Homeschools Found Film Company
- Advent Film Group -- Patrick Henry College and related affiliates
-
Here are the sites run by the CCN.TV folks...
www.cloudtownsend.com (Over 1,800 videos)
www.videovine.com (Not launched yet.)
