Spreading the word about LDS Tech

Getting the word out about LDS Tech is something we'd like to see some more of. We have a few ideas about how we can do that, some of which include using badges and widgets. We know that you come up with a lot of ideas on your own, and would like to bring them together in one place. I'd like to ask your opinion about this. Would you like to participate in putting a badge or a widget on your Web site? Have you already made one and would like to share it? In what ways, if any, are you already telling people about LDS Tech?

As soon as I learned about the LDS Tech site last year, I put it as a link on our Ward Website. The rest of it is by word of mouth.

I talk about it in Clerk Training meetings, Stake/Ward Council meetings, and in 1-on-1 training. It is especially helpful to SHOW clerks how to access it and navigate it so that they see it as a resource and not just "something else out there on the Internet".

I will also send links referring to articles on the Tech website to clerks and Bishops when I answer questions that they might have.

These may not be efficient ways (does not get to the masses easily), but they are effective.

Sweet... badges are awesome! I would so do that.

Up till now, it has just been links and lots of referenced e-mails and posts....

I think it will be really fun too!

dobrichelovek wrote:As soon as I learned about the LDS Tech site last year, I put it as a link on our Ward Website. The rest of it is by word of mouth.

What about personal Web sites? I know a lot of us must run blogs.

There were a few ideas kicked around in the last half of this thread.

http://tech.lds.org/forum/showthread.php?t=284&page=3

I stumbled on this site from the lds.org website under:

Serving in the Church --> Melchizedek Priesthood --> New Resource for Stake Technology Specialists

I think the whole "Stake Technology Specialist" part is quite daunting to "lowly" Ward clerks and/or EQ/RS secretaries who use MLS to occasionally enter HT/VT stats. Even the blurb below the link suggests this is NOT for the general membership to get involved with...
[INDENT]New Resource for Stake Technology Specialists
For those called to oversee a stake's satellite receivers, computers, and other audiovisual equipment, the Stake Technology Specialist Web site provides troubleshooting articles, a glossary of terms, and other helpful resources.
[/INDENT]But from what I see, in addition to the STS types, it's the general "users" that you folks are really trying to get interested in this forum.

If that's the case, the Church needs to rewrite this section on their site to something a bit more inviting. Suggestions?

I hope that blurb isn't too misleading. The link from lds.org links only to the forum for the STS, and not the forum in general. You're right though, we need to be careful in the wording so that we don't discourage anyone from participating.

As this site grows, we are getting interest from more departments within the Church. So we will need to review language moving into the future. Thanks for the reminder.

Tom

I just got called as the "Internet Specialist"...and just happened by this site. Over the weekend all my sites suffered complete data loss and as I was rebuilding my LDS site, I was looking for links to put back on it and came across this one.

So sure, it'll be a link on my site and I'll make a post about it too. I'll also be letting people in my ward know about it.

(so as a selfless selfpromotion) come one over to Helaman's Army and join in some fun!

webmired wrote:(so as a selfless selfpromotion)

You mean "shameful self-promotion"

Here is my question...I am an Elders Quorum President who thinks that having Stake and Ward websites through LDS.org is a great resource for members as it provides quick access to accurate information, where the stake directory may be very outdated. What can you do if you are in a Stake (the only one in the area) that does not subscribe to the church website service. Is there information that I can provide to my priesthood leaders that would let them see the benefits of enabling these features for the members of the stake?

mkmurray wrote:You mean "shameful self-promotion"

Close. "Shameless self-promotion".

chrisrpeterson wrote:Is there information that I can provide to my priesthood leaders that would let them see the benefits of enabling these features for the members of the stake?

I'm not sure what you can tell them. The most popular tools seem to be the membership list which is automatically kept up to date by MLS and the calendar which is another item that's quite dynamic and difficult to keep everyone in sync.

Perhaps a better way is to approach the stake president and ask him why he hasn't authorized it. You may need to address those concerns first. Perhaps he hasn't realized LUWS exists or that the ball is in his court to make it happen.

If he does indicate any concerns, I think we can indicate how that's been addressed. The website is only open to members of your stake. If that's still too open for some member's comfort, some or all of their information can be removed by the website admin.

RussellHltn wrote:Close. "Shameless self-promotion".

I was almost positive that was the phrase, but then I started over-analyzing it and decided to go with "shameful". "Shameless" doesn't make sense to me; I can't figure out why that would be the wording of the phrase. Can anyone explain it?

mkmurray wrote:I was almost positive that was the phrase, but then I started over-analyzing it and decided to go with "shameful". "Shameless" doesn't make sense to me; I can't figure out why that would be the wording of the phrase. Can anyone explain it?

"Shameless self promotion" =You are not embarrassed or ashamed to point out the self promotion... That is what shameless would mean in this context.
"Shameful self promotion" = You feel badly for pointing out the self promotion...

That is my explanation.

opee wrote:"Shameless self promotion" =You are not embarrassed or ashamed to point out the self promotion.

To me it's more like making no effort to disguise or hide one's self-promotion.

Thanks, both explanations sound reasonable.

hahahaha
I was thinking this morning I may have said it wrong, but I couldn't remember what I had said and hoped I had said shameless...but I see I didn't...

Oh well...

RussellHltn wrote:I'm not sure what you can tell them. The most popular tools seem to be the membership list which is automatically kept up to date by MLS and the calendar which is another item that's quite dynamic and difficult to keep everyone in sync.

Perhaps a better way is to approach the stake president and ask him why he hasn't authorized it. You may need to address those concerns first. Perhaps he hasn't realized LUWS exists or that the ball is in his court to make it happen.

If he does indicate any concerns, I think we can indicate how that's been addressed. The website is only open to members of your stake. If that's still too open for some member's comfort, some or all of their information can be removed by the website admin.

Back when the only Stake administrator for our Stake website moved out of the stake, our Stake website got disabled. I couldn't get anyone in the stake to do anything about it because they didn't know how. One skill I got from my mission was that I learned to pick up the phone and ask questions. I called Church HQ, found someone to talk to about the Stake Websites and that person said that the Stake President would have to personally authorize it. I ended up providing that information to the stake (one of the tech-savvy clerks) and that clerk then called using the information I had provided him and conferenced in the Stake President who gave his permission to re-join the LUWS program on the stake level, making that clerk the Administrator.

Clearly I didn't have the authority to do it, but nobody ever told me I wasn't allowed to find out what it took to get it done and then provide that information to those who did have that authority.

Your case sounds like it is likely a matter of education. Either the Stake needs to be educated on the security of the system, or they don't feel like they have the time to figure out how to make it happen. I find that providing the information in a manner that doesn't require a lot of time (which both Stake Presidents and Bishops have very little of) helps tremendously.

Even this approach might not get what you want. You SP may for a number of different reasons still choose not to participate. This is the time where you have to be satisfied that you have done all you can do and continue your petitions on your knees only. It is he who has the calling. But don't resort to only that until you have done the other. Good luck!

I just discovered the site today and immediately broadcast a message to all the web administrators, bishoprics and the stake presidency. Where has this been hiding? I thought I had checked all the corners of lds.org but sure missed this one. Would the Church News be interested enough to publish even a brief article?

That's an interesting idea. I'll look into it.

It is difficult to find the site, and that is why we need everyone to be proactive in telling people about it! One thing that I'd like to stress is that not just people who need help as STSs or ward clerks may be interested in the site. There is so much good information and discussion here that many more people may be interested than just those people. And there is so much more to come.

telfordca wrote: One thing that I'd like to stress is that not just people who need help as STSs or ward clerks may be interested in the site.

Maybe I dozed off along the way. My fuzzy memory seems to recall that in 2007 there were a few times where posters were told, essentially, to "keep it technical." I am not against broadening the scope of the forum, but it seems to have snuck up on me.

I sent info out to ward clerks and neighboring stake clerks early on, but saw that only a few (those I knew to be techies) bothered to sign up. Those who did not sign up may have been put off by the "Tech" implication, because they are not techies (conjecture on my part).

Once you get in and get your feet wet, so to speak, it is informative and useful. So, my thought is that any promotion needs to play up information sharing in the various areas of Church interest with less emphasis on the "Tech."

Just my .02 offered for free.

Yes we definitely want to keep it technical. But I think the audience that we may be losing out on are people like myself. I am interested in technology. Know a fair amount about it, but I by no means that technical. If I had just stumbled upon this site, I would hope to find content that would be helpful to them, as well as to the more technical folks.

JLRose wrote:Maybe I dozed off along the way. My fuzzy memory seems to recall that in 2007 there were a few times where posters were told, essentially, to "keep it technical." I am not against broadening the scope of the forum, but it seems to have snuck up on me.

With the success of the forums, we have added a whole Stake Technology Specialist / Stake & Ward Clerk section where they can get help for more than purely technical issues. However outside of these forums, the focus is Church technology. In other words, we are not opening this up to general discussions about anything.

However your point about how informative this can be to the "non-technical" crowd is well taken. There is a lot of information here that would benefit a lot of people.

Thanks,

Tom