Church Production Magazine, We challenge YOU!

[WORDpictures]

Originally Posted by Tim Eason

I think in this day and age that print technology is way too slow to produce.

Well, I have worked in print magazine design & production - and you're right, you definitely don't want to go there for many other reasons! The same result can be accomplished much more simply through online options - don't start with an "e-zine." Podcast articles?

Podcasting is probably the fastest, but least visual way to get information out. Since a lot of our subjects are visually oriented it would only work for certain subjects. Videocasting is actually a breeze now. With a $150 camcorder you can record your "show" and upload it.

Personally I think the best and easiest option is a WIKI. I can set it up easily enough. The question is -- will people actually contribute to it? If so, I can advertise it on a regular basis. There's no real need to create monthly "issues." That's old school . An ongoing information database of articles and tutorials would work great, IMO. We can even do it within the present CMN community software, but that hasn't gone over real well in the past.

Another problem that I've had is people screaming for updated versions of articles I wrote years ago. Most of those took 3 days to a week to write. It's not easy to keep them up to date. With a WIKI system other authors could update stuff as they find it.

[MediaGuy]

Originally Posted by Tim Eason

Another problem that I've had is people screaming for updated versions of articles I wrote years ago. Most of those took 3 days to a week to write. It's not easy to keep them up to date. With a WIKI system other authors could update stuff as they find it.

..I was hoping for more of a user profile, like CPM does... a kind of "This is who we are, and this is how we do it." Those ALWAYS go out of date, but that's not a big deal, because we're expecting to grow.

Originally Posted by MediaGuy

..I was hoping for more of a user profile, like CPM does... a kind of "This is who we are, and this is how we do it." Those ALWAYS go out of date, but that's not a big deal, because we're expecting to grow.

I'm not sure I'm following... but, yeah, there are those "timeless truth" application-type articles and then there are those that are more specific to a particular type of technology. Reviews of equipment and software are what I wrote about most of the time, because that's what the magazines wanted. Again, that ties in with advertising. When starting the article you would kind of need to define if it has an expiration date. Is that what you mean?

My book is a great example. You can apply almost all of the first 1/3 of the book still today, but the rest of the book is based on software and technology that is... well... six years old. You can still apply the principles to newer versions of the software, but it's still technically obsolete.

[kbob]

well, Tim, I'd say count me in for whatever I can contribute...

using cordless soldering irons to wire an entire church sound system

how to use slide numbers in power point, and why NOT to use them...

freeware/open source software for budget-absent ministries...

how to win friends and save money-at your local music/sound store

Do what Tim says-success in Ministry!

[Ron J.]

I know I would benefit from this venture. I would be soaking it all in. We are a church of 150 - 200 if everyone showed up on the same day. I have looked for and have had a hard time finding stuff that Kbob just talked about. I would love to do what some of the larger churches do with AV but can't afford yet. To see ways to get started in that direction would be great. I've got great ideas of what needs to be done in our church and upcoming school but need to find where to start. Some of that is consultant but do the work ourselves.

[MediaGuy]

CMN Member Focus:
1) How big is your church?
2) How big is your team (are you solo)?
3) How are you organized (or how bad do you suffer if not)?
4) Give us a breakdown of your system(s)
5) Detail the "special" connections you have to make it work
6) Give a typical Sunday workflow, and your solutions for difficulties doing so


This is what I think would be cool - send this (or similar) questionnaire out to one CMN member a month, and feature an article written from their response on the home page.

...Oh - but please don't ask me to do it! I don't want the community to depend on me when it takes hours to write up a good article; This took all of 5 minutes to write.

[Brad Herring]

Fortunately, there are many GREAT resources here and on websites like this one.

We've recently started a new e-magazine (about a year and a half ago) that is dedicated to helping small churches use Media and Creative Arts to reach people. It deals more with "how to use these tools to reach people" and a little less of "turn this knob and get this sound".

It might be worth a look to see if you think it's helpful. You can google "Worship Arts & Technology Magazine" to find it and get a free subscription if you are interested.

We are also always on the lookout for contribution from folks in the trenches if you are interested!

[AlexH237]

Any updates on starting the CMN mag/wiki/vidcast?

[Lucas]

Well, I tried to register ChurchMediaWiki.com and .net, but surprise surprise, it's registered to Tim Eason.

I'd be willing to take care of the hosting etc of it.
I have a HUGE and ridiculous amount of webspace and bandwidth I don't use each month.

[Lucas]

Surprise!

Church Media Wiki is now supported by the rePraise Project.

It can be found at www.churchmediawiki.org

Feel free to add content.