Its been the rage for at least the better part of the past two years for companies to compile the information for and then produce an infographic. Originally, this served as a means for take what some companies were doing with larger, more complex datasets to make them more accessible to the “reading” public. These days, its almost normal fare for companies large and small, whether they did the work on collecting the data, or are making a product they want you to purchase from them because of the data they found and made into this information-graphic.

Well, we recently were presented with an infographic about mobile and social media trends and some numbers that need to be taken into account (which, if I am just being a bit Berean – Acts 17:11 – about it, means that its time to do some fact-checking, statistics rereading, methodology/approach investigating, and then further looking into the company that produced the infographic). Instead of just making it homework for MMM to do and publish, we thought it a good idea to put the infographic out there and since many of you are working in this space, to have you do the same investigation and let us know what you find that is a truth, stretched truth, or just a bit of something to draw your eye to something that might not matter much. Consider it homework of a different kind as you go into your weekend (click on the image to view it at full-size):

10 Reasons Why You Need a Mobile Site Infographic by AD:60

Using some of the resources found on our Resources, Statistics, and other Metrics Listing, what can you pull out about this infographic that’s worth taking forward into your mobile ministry (#mobmin) activity? And what should be thrown away as its not good/valid/true info?

For a good while now, we have been asked here about what we do to monetize efforts around the site. As you have probably been able to tell, there are no ads, and there is very little in the way of sponsored content. Part of the has to do with the low-overhead nature of MMM (online, opt-in email/RSS, free). And the other part is that it is generally pretty distasteful to have a site full of ad/sponsor space, and then pigeon-hole content into a site built around that.

What we used to do on the site was have a section of the front page called Ministry Partners, where people who financially, prayerfully, and socially supported MMM were recognized with a link to their site. The links were simply a small square icon, with a link to the partner site. We want to bring those things back to the site, but also in such a way that brings a bit of revenue and attention back towards MMM.

This is going to happen two ways. The first happens with the reintroduction of the Recommended Partners section. This is going to be added to the Mobile/Web Services page in its own section, and linked from the sidebar on each page (unless you are reading this via the mobile site). The links from the Recommended Partners area points specifically to those companies and groups whom are doing some activity related to answering the question of what happens at the intersection of faith and mobile. This could be marketing, software development, or ministry organization. These are pointing to service-oriented organizations/businesses, and so these links are tracked for referral revenue which comes back to this site to support Antoine (who runs this here solo).

The first two groups featured here are:

• Mobile Cause
• IT Hands

Both of these groups will be talked about in some more detail in a future article. We plan to unveil a few more of these Recommend Partners before the end of the calendar year. There is a bit of a process that happens on both sides before a partner is added. If you would like to begin discussions about this, please give is a buzz.

The second happens with the introduction of sponsored content. We have seen this in some ways with the press releases that have gone up the past weeks. We want to continue to highlight those groups which might not be partners, but have already done the work of creating content that talks about their efforts. Sponsored content is a bit different though in that this is something highlighted (featured) on MMM for a period of time. Once that period is over, that content folds back to the normal stream of content archives made here.

A note about the Recommended Partners. It may be the case that for MMM to engage in partnership, that we in turn have to offer some kind of services. This might include partnering on a project, speaking engagements, or other items. Where this is directly related to content on the site and does not break NDAs, we will make note of that on the respective articles. These partners might also have sponsored content appearing on the site in the form of articles or case studies. These too will be designated as such.

This was a long an prayerful decision process. But frankly, this site doesn’t make enough for me to live on with just the writing pointing to the content. Going back to the model where I worked partly in this space and then used those lessons to create content and conversation here would at times be good, but also a bit less restrictive. There is always the possibility of that happening again, but it more or less seems like if I am back working and doing MMM on the side, that it is because I am working on something to prove and validate the views held here, not something so at removed that it becomes another dealing of two lives.

It’s been a hard last two years. And I continue to learn a ton about how MMM fits into this space. This might or might not last. But, at least for now, I hope it’s offers some direction as to how MMM would like to continue being a suitable resource for you.

Been thinking a bit more on this topic of mobility and the changes that are happening in many developed nations. Specifically, am looking at why there is a disconnect to mobility when there are so many people who commute. What I’m finding is something very simple, that just might be missing in the conversation of all of this tech – commuting doesn’t necessarily equal mobility.

For example, taking a look at some statistics on commuting there are about 128 million people in the USA do so. Inside of that number, 51% of those people travel between 1 and 10 miles (1-5mi = 29%, 6-10mi = 21%, source). Unless you are using public transportation (a smidgen less than 4% of commutes are bus and/or subway), that time is spent in your car, probably alone (75.7%). That’s not a lot of time to be paying attention to an attention-seeking device like a mobile, or fiddling with a user interface designed for touching when you aren’t also being propelled forward.

If there are so many people spending time alone, then where does mobile technology come into play as an enabler towards fostering healthier spiritual transformations? If you will, is there something we are missing in the design of devices, content, applications, and even how we communicate with one another over these devices that might better take advantage of the type of contexts we find ourselves in? For example, shouldn’t I be able to have “prayer mode” on my mobile device that subtly broadcasts a signal to other mobile devices and autos nearby which indicates that while I am traveling, I am also taking some time to talk to the Lord? Or, if I am a bicycling commuter, wouldn’t it make sense for my Bible application to have an audio-reading component that is easily usable either through voice commands or by a larger interface (something like what is found on Nokia’s Car Mode app)?

Don’t get me wrong, I still think that we totally have something to say here towards mobile and modes of mobility. But, I think we’ve been copying the PC/laptop paradigm a bit much, and not adapting the tech’s best use to how we are usually finding ourselves.

There is mobile, and then there is what happens after mobile. After devices have become smaller enough to be worn or implanted there becomes other questions. At the intersection of faith and technology, there becomes yet another question when technology and behaviors evolve. For example, in a recent article Cyborg America at The Verge, we see this following snippet:

Medical Need Versus Human Enhancement
Neil Harbisson was born with a condition that allows him to see only in black and white. He became interested in cybernetics, and eventually began wearing the Eyeborg, a head-mounted camera which translated colors into vibrations that Harbisson could hear. The addition of the Eyeborg to his passport has led some to dub him the first cyborg officially recognized by federal government. He now plans to extend and improve this cybernetic synesthesia by having the Eyeborg permanently surgically attached to his skull.

Getting a medical team to help him was no easy task. “Their position was that ‘doctors usually repair or fix humans’ and that my operation was not about fixing nor repairing myself but about creating a new sense: the perception of visual elements via bone-conducted sounds,” Harbisson told me by email. “The other main issue was that the operation would allow me to perceive outside the ability of human vision and human hearing (hearing via the bone allows you to hear a wider range of sounds, from infrasounds to ultrasounds, and some lenses can detect ultraviolets and infrareds). It took me over a year to convince them.”

In the end, the bio-ethical community still relies on promises of medical need to justify cybernetic enhancement. “I think I convinced them when I told them that this kind of operation could help ‘fix and repair’ blind people. If you use a different type of chip, a chip that translates words into sound, or distances into sound for instance, the same electronic eye implant could be used to read or to detect obstacles which could mean the end of braille and sticks. I guess hospitals and governments will soon start publishing their own laws about which kind of cybernetic implants they find are ethical/legal and which ones they find are not.”

And this is just the short, side-article. Read the rest of Cyborg America at The Verge

And now its your turn. After you’ve pushed the merits of mobile as a ministry technology, are you ready for the implications of cybernetics towards ministry? Its coming, and in some respects, is here. And as we seen from the recent Olympics (South Africian 400m runner Oscar Pistorius), there’s another challenge to consider when we become the device not just the user.

Bonus: a person who’s digital appendage allws him to see in color using sound:

One of the points that we’ve raised at many points here is the aspect of seeing more than just another Bible reader or devotional application developed when it comes to exploring the ways in which immersive digital experiences can instigate spiritual transformations. An idea that we’ve had in this has to do with looking at putting us in God’s shoes towards creating, making decisions on justice and judgement – situations that mirror the lessons that we get offline but aren’t always given from the perspective of letting us learn from a first-person point of view.

This weekend, when doing some nominal reading around the web, there was a game that’s been recently made available for Nokia Symbian and MeeGo devices called Doodle God (it was already available for iOS and Android mobiles). The premise of the game is that you get various elements and need to create something new from it. Very much like the days 2 through 6 in Genesis 1 where God uses the elements and environmnet around to create what we’ve come to see as this earth heavens, you get elements and have to create new creatures.

Now, on Twitter, I put the question out there about this game (and similar), is simimply, does a game like this (or the SIMS, or Black and White, etc.) challenge rightly or wrongly the conversations that we do or don’t have about this aspect of the faith conversation. Yes, we are created in the image and likeness of God, but when we talk about having and skillfully using that likeness to create and destroy, are we teaching it from the 3rd person (“a good person recycles,” “do your part and conserve,” etc.)? Or, are some of those lessons coming from building out simulations using this digital tech that puts us in a view that is similar to God’s when He created the heavens and earth to these specificiations?

I just wonder, and not just because we don’t see these kinds of games more in the mix of how we teach this aspect of likeness and stewardship, but because we don’t see developers and organizations taking this digital canvas and creating these lesson moments… are we skillful enough to have this conversation? Or, like those who would not include Enoch into the cannon in part because of how it would open a challenge towards conversations of wealth, power, and intelligence, are we afraid of the challenge to faith? In either respect, life and faith are more than a game, shouldn’t the digital immersive experience enable that?

Press Release: Churches Create Apps to Support Their Community Anytime, Anywhere with TheAppBuilder

San Francisco, 08 August 2012. DIY mobile app building website TheAppBuilder.com (www.theappbuilder.com), has unveiled a new service to help churches reach out and support their congregation at any time of the day or night; the ‘pop-up app’. Churches can launch a free mobile app by spending a few minutes entering information about the church, its services, words of strength and social activities. The app can then be set live instantly for use by members of the church’s community.

TheAppBuilder was launched in March of this year as a means for organizations and individuals to rapidly and easily create mobile apps, at no cost and without needing to have any technology skills. It has been such a success that over 30,000 apps have been created in the 5 months since launch.

The team behind TheAppBuilder have been overwhelmed by the number of churches using the system to create apps which bring their community together anytime, anywhere.

James Scott, CEO of TheAppBuilder explains why there has been such an uptake, “We always knew that there was going to be demand from churches and community groups to create apps, but the volume has been surprising. Having spoken to a wide number of customers they have told us that the benefits delivered by an app are particularly relevant for churches.

“An app provides members of the congregation with a quick reference point to the church no matter where they may be during the week when they are involved in their daily routine. This may be as simple as checking out what church activities are happening, when and where. Alternatively they may wish to review the previous week’s sermon notes for strength and reflection. When an app user needs to access this material it is as simple as a few taps on their phone, which can be done on the move and without delay.”

Churches can use TheAppBuilder to create a bespoke app for their church, or alternatively can populate and publish a church template. In either case news can be sent direct to the user’s phone, sermon notes can be viewed, prayers can be requested, and social activities can be arranged and shared using social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Images and videos can let those who missed an event feel part of the experience.

The huge benefit to church administrators with little time and often stretched budgets, is that TheAppBuilder’s standard plan is free. A web app can be created in minutes using the simple drag and drop interface, and published immediately. There is no cost and no there are no limits to the number of updates to the app. Premium features such as submission to the popular app stores (iTunes for iPhone/iPad, Google Play for Android phones/tablets and Windows Phone Marketplace) are available for a small cost.

Scott points out, “We are now living in the age of the mobile community, one which is fast-paced and dispersed. However, the emergence of mobile technology has also provided the opportunity for communities to support each other. This appears to be a growing trend for churches, where apps are extending the support of the church beyond its traditional confines.”

For more information visit TheAppBuilder’s website or follow them on Twitter (@theappbuilder);

Last year, I wrote over on my personal blog (Painfully Hopeful) about an unintended benefit to a mobile technology experiment:

Several weeks after we implemented our QR Code experiment Central Baptist had a new couple come for a visit.  I saw them entering the building one day, and helped direct them to our Sunday School Auditorium.  Accompanying them was a seeing-eye dog, because both people in the couple are severely visually impaired.  As my son also has a significant visual impairment, I’m rather sensitive to the needs of folks who share some his struggles (in this case, the struggles are much worse than his own).  After inquiring as to our guest’s level of sightedness, I asked the couple if there was anything I could do to make the worship more accessible.  The answer I got blew me away.

No, thanks. You guys have a great web-site and we found your bulletin on-line so we know what’s going on.

Now, I had literally activated a new web-site layout the very week this couple visited Central, so the fact that it was obviously accessible sent me in near-earth orbit.  At the same time, however, I was blown away.  I had put the Bulletin on-line in order to allow the data to be transmitted optically – and here that decision make our worship accessible for brothers and sisters in Christ whocannot see. How’s that for an unintended benefit?

Upon a recent reflection on this, I find that its easy to take a guess at the downsides of technology, but much harder to see benefits outside of our personal/organizational views. Are there more of these unintended benefits happening and we just aren’t seeing them because while we are using this tech for ministry, we aren’t looking at this tech as one being ministered to?

Its honestly kind of interesting looking at Bible software on mobiles these days. There’s not as much movement happening in terms of new features, but there is a good bit of attention being paid to the overall experience that speaks towards a sense of maturity in terms of the projects. Here are some pointers to recent (and not so recent) updates from a few Bible apps we like:

YouVersion

…here’s what’s new to love on the Bible App for Android:

Slide Out Menu. Get instant access to all of the Bible App’s features, now just one tap away. On any Bible App screen on your Android phone, touch the menu icon at the top to see the full Bible App menu: Reader, Plans, Bookmarks, Notes, Share…and more!

Available Actions Popup. Wherever you are, when you tap a verse, a handy context-sensitive menu now pops up, with icons for everything you could do with that verse. Tap the verse, then tap what you want to do. It’s fast and easy.

Today View. At the top of the slide out menu, you’ll find the “Today” view option, brand new to Android phones. Today displays the Verse of the Day (ready to share), along with one-tap access to a list of other common tasks: the last passage you were reading, today’s readings for all your active Plans, and the last passage you bookmarked. Taking you immediately to the things that matter to you the most, in this release of the Bible App for Android, the Today view is the new default home screen. (You can change this in your Settings at any time, of course.)

Cleaner Interface. We’ve tried to make your entire YouVersion experience on your Android phone more pleasant all around, with subtle tweaks that make it not just easier to use, but even nicer to look at. When you tap a verse, it displays with a dotted underline to show what you’ve selected. The icons for switching chapters are cleaner and more simplified, as are the audio player icons. While we’ve long offered settings like font, text size, and brightness adjustment to make your reading easier, now you can get to them directly from the Bible reader…

Read the rest of this article at the YouVersion Blog; you can download YouVersion for iOS, Android, Symbian, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, and a few other mobile device platforms.

PocketBible

…Are you still using the first version of PocketBible on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch? If so, we highly recommend moving to PocketBible 2 so you can apply program updates as they are released; we won’t be updating PocketBible 1.4.7 further.

Before we explain how to make the move, check your version number in PocketBible by tapping on the Menu button and selecting About PocketBible. If it says anything less than PocketBible 2.0.X, keep reading…

Read the rest of this article at Laridian’s PocketBible blog; you can download PocketBible for PalmOS, Blackberry, Android, iOS, and Windows Mobile devices.

Logos

…Sync your reading plans from your PC or Mac to your Android phone or tablet! Take your daily readings with you—wherever you go. Get caught up on your reading in the waiting room, at the DMV, or anywhere else you have internet access.

Choose one of the reading plan templates inLogos 4 or create a custom Bible reading plan to suit your needs. You can start right away, since Logos 4 lets you set the beginning and end dates for every plan—no matter when you start.

You can follow along with daily reminders on your Logos 4 homepage or on your Android device…

Read the rest of this article at the Logos blog; and don’t forget that you can download Logos for your iOS and Android devices.

OliveTree

If you’re like many of our users, you really like taking notes, highlighting and adding bookmarks in your books and Bibles. Maybe you have even accumulated more notes than you can scroll through.  Adding categories can be a helpful way to sort through all of those gems you have in your Olive Tree Bible app. Here’s how to add categories:

Adding Categories to Highlights and Bookmarks

Open the “My Stuff” folder by tapping on the suitcase icon. Select “Highlighters” or “Bookmarks” and find the one you’d like to add to a category. Tap on the blue arrow next to the note or highlight you’d like to categorize and select “Change Category.” The default category is called “Annotations.” To add a new category to the list tap on “Create New Category” at the bottom of the pop-up menu.

Name your category and tap the “Create” button on the top right. Notice that you can also select a different parent category, meaning once you’ve created a category, you can nest other categories within it.  For example, if you added the category “New Testament Highlights” you could then select it as the parent category and create more categories within “New Testament Highlights” for the gospels, Pauline epistles, etc.

Other Bible Apps?

These are only a few of the Bible apps that are available for mobile devices. You can take a look at a selection of these on our Bible Apps page, or do a search on the application store on your mobile device.

If you’ve got an update that’s recently happened to a Bible app that you like or develop, do respond in the comments with what’s new. Or, if you are really bold and going about building your own Bible reader, let us know on your progress towards it.

In following the conversations about the NASA Curosity Mars exploration rover landing, it is interesting to listen to those who have been in and around science fields for sometime talk about what is missing from today’s viewpoint of the sciences. They talk of so many innovations inside of boxes, but little exploration outside of them. Some speak of the pace of education slowing down the pace of dreams. And some others even talk of the lack of applicaiton towards something better, even having more power in our hands than what was used to put men into space and on the moon.

It’s an interesting perspective and ends up causing something of a reflection towards the conversations that we have in and around #mobmin (mobile ministry). To people who have been doing faith-flavored tech, seeing the acquisition of various technologies is pretty exciting. To some, there is some question though of what people are receiving from their faith leaders as they acquire this tech (boundaries, lessons on sustainability and stewardship, becoming creators/producers, etc.). They talk of it being great that we have apps to be taught and broadcast content, but also of how the general Body is still separated from the conversations of what drives faith because of instutional processes that haven’t kept pace with the people in them or the tech. Some speak towards access as if it’s wide reaching, and others willingly hold themselves out of the stream of some of this tech in order to maintain a presence and reputation towards those who are out of the stream but by class/economics and not by choice.

You hear these streams and wonder where the dreams are for faith and tech. Is it merely to convert all? Is it to wave a flag of freedom of faith and expression? Or, is there a greater, knitting vision to be had. With the Curosity mission, all eyes and energies are set on the question of “are we alone in this solar system?” I wonder if tech in the faith has a similar question at its core. One where we all can rally around our screens and speakers and share in some collective joy.

Or, is this just a tinkling brass (of silicon and electrons)?

Where is your church or organization’s perception of the shift? You know, that shift that companies such as The Financial Times are experiencing right now. That shift where the digital product is as profitable and as compelling as the print product?

Not possible? Or, not in our lifetime? Well, think about it a bit. Then ask yourself, when you needed the latest news, did you wait until the evening paper was delievered, or did you tune into your favorite news portal? Why should engaging into religious texts be any different.