Inukshuk Content
December 21, 2005
I recently read an article on UIE’s website that has got me dreaming and thinking. Here is an excerpt:
Inukshuk is “the name of stone figures created by Inuit hunters as guide markers. The hunters arranged the piles of stones in the likeness of human beings, signifying to other hunters that someone already has passed through and experienced their same journey. An inukshuk provided reassurance and empathy to others and alleviated an Inuit’s fear that they were off the track.”
“In our research [UIE Engineering], we’ve seen that, just like the Inuit hunters, users on the web want reassurance that others have shared their experiences. Many times, users are contemplating important decisions. To understand if they are making the right decision, they often want to go beyond facts. They want to know if it “feels” right.” Read full article
They used the example of The University of Northern Iowa putting “profiles” of students on their site. You can read what it is like to be a student at this school. This “reassures” people visiting the site and helps them to connect with the experience. I think that it would be huge for us (Campus Crusade Internet Ministry) to create this “inukshuk” content for students considering summer projects, students participating in Student2Student, and potential student leaders to launch new campus ministries through GodSquad.com.
What Makes GodSquad.com Successful??
December 21, 2005
I recently got an email from a former Campus Crusade for Christ staff member who is now working with Prison Fellowship. He wanted to get some tips based on my work with GodSquad.com. Here is my response:
To be honest, I am having some trouble in determining what to tell you. I feel like the part of GodSquad that helps new students to consider starting a ministry on their campus is the weakest part of the site. I have redone it several times and I am still not that happy with it. It does communicate our vision and how they can be a part of it. I think it is more of a God thing then what we are doing with the site. I think the rest of the site and the valuable resources are probably a selling point.
I have been considering looking at sites like Weight Watchers and others to see what kind of “preview” they give to those considering “joining”. I would love to have some video at some point showing students who have started a ministry. Another idea I have to start is just have some testimonials with pictures and text so that new people could identify with. Here is a recent article that got me thinking more about it.
I wish I could be of more help. To be honest, I am amazed that I get as many contacts through the site as I do because I think it could be a whole lot better. Maybe the fact that we do a fairly good job of laying out the process that reassures them. Again, I think it is mostly a God thing.
I may be short changing myself. I have put thought into how to cast vision for new students and volunteers to start ministries. But I have never been very happy with the solutions I have come up with. I would much rather have images and video that can help create a more emotional connection which is what you want to do in vision casting. I had started learning Flash a couple of years ago for that very reason. I would like to get some video of a successful launch so that potential leaders could “see it” in action.
Articles I Have Found Helpful
December 16, 2005
Here are some articles that I read recently.
- Prioritizing Design Time: A Long Tail Approach – this article by Joshua Porter got me thinking about the importance of designing secondary pages. It also prompted me to consider how important a homepage really is. With Web 2.0, more visitors will probably enter sites bypassing the homepage so it decreases its importance even more.
- The 5 Second Test – This comes from UIE and Christine Perfetti.
- Joshua Porter has put together an introduction to Web 2.0. He includes links to articles that he terms “foundational writings.” In case you missed it, I did a posting summarizing a presentation Joshua gave at UI 10 Conference in October.
- Dan Saffer of Adaptive Path talks about the types of experiences we might see in the future with Web 2.0. I found it interesting and will probably go back and reread it later.
Added another trick to my belt
December 9, 2005
Today, I was able to add another trick to my web toolbelt. For several months, I have been wanting to do Flash video differently. I wanted to have a static image in the Flash movie that a person would have to “click” in order to see the movie. But I would have to learn Flash or find someone who could teach me enough to pull off what I wanted.
Several weeks ago, I saw a site that did what I wanted to do except they did it with a static image and scripting that would replace the image with a Flash object. The site was Campus Crusade’s site in Canada. I wrote to someone there and finally today, I got hold of the php coding they used to pull it off. I applied it to a video I did for Katrina Relief on the US Campus Ministry website. I always enjoy learning new things to improve the experience of a site.
Back to Hungary in March?
December 9, 2005
It looks like I will be going back to Hungary in March. I have been praying about an opportunity since I was there over the summer. I had expected to go on a “vision” trip that I had done six years ago. But God has something else in mind. An opportunity has come forward to help lead a team of high schoolers over for a week. Several of the students that are considering going were on the project this summer. That has been a draw to me.
We will be working with the ministry there going into the high schools and talking about American culture, our lives and our faith. It will culminate with an outreach on Friday. Tentatively, we would leave on a Saturday, arrive in Hungary on Sunday and then leave the following Monday.
Changes
December 9, 2005
Last Friday, I found out that I am joining another team. I will now be part of the Innovation Center fo Technology. If I understand correctly, I am going to continue to do what I have been doing, which is maintaining and evolving several key Web assets.
Several weeks ago, I had proposed creating an Internet Operations Team because the Campus Ministry has never had a team of “webmasters” to take care and evolve our key assets. For years, I have been the only full-time webmaster in the National Office.
I think my new role was made with my proposal in mind. What it will look like, I still don’t know. Just another opportunity to walk by faith. This change is only the first of what will be many in the National Campus Office.
Radio Interview
December 9, 2005
It was an interesting experience being interviewed on the radio yesterday. I thought it was being taped and it was live and I did not really get prepped. I had prepared some things in my head which was helpful. I think it went well. Much like my wedding. I feel like it went by quickly and just seems like a blur.
Narnia Personality
December 8, 2005
I did a Google search to find “Narnia” personality tests. I did not find as many as I would have thought. Here is what I found:
- NarniaWeb.com – I tested as Tirian – you are valiant, brave and loyal. While you may have a silly name, you help others in the face of adversity and always uphold what is right.
- Beliefnet.com (no longer available) – Not real impressed with this one. I was a “Lucy.”
I was once told by a teammate that I reminded them of Puddleglum. I had not read the books at that point. After I read the books, I was not sure what I thought. She was thinking about how the character could be melancholy but when faith was needed or truth needed to be spoken, Puddleglum stepped up to the plate. I guess that does describe me. I cannot remember much about Tirian. I believe he was the last king of Narnia in The Last Battle. (I just Googled the name and confirmed that he was the last king.)
Going to Be on the Radio
December 8, 2005
This morning I was asked to do a radio interview. Skylight Radio Network contacted Campus Crusade wanting to interview someone about how Christians could use the Narnia movie as an outreach opportunity. My team leader suggested me and our director of corporate communications contacted me.
I have put together some resources on GodSquad.com on this topic and developed Into the Wardrobe, which I mentioned yesterday. I am a bit nervous about representing Campus Crusade. I am grateful for the opportunity to share about something I have been thinking about.
The interview is going to be taped today at 1:30 EST.
Into Narnia
December 7, 2005
I have spent the last five days working on a booklet that students can use to share the gospel using the movie, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I estimated that I spent over 20 hours on it. I was very excited when I finished it yesterday. It was a labor of love and I really enjoyed doing it. The idea came from one of my co-workers. She started to work on it but did not have the time to follow through with her idea. I was able to pick it up and make it happen.
Into the Wardrobe uses Life@Large to share the gospel. I used images from the movie and tied images and quotes from Lewis to the different themes shared in the Life@Large presentation. I am really pleased with how it turned out.
Web Developer Toolbar
December 1, 2005
Another tool that I recently picked up is the Web Developer toolbar for Firefox. I heard about it about the User Interface Conference I went to in Boston. It is a great tool. You can load other stylesheets into the browser. You can resize the window. And much more.