Digital Natives or Digitally Naive

More than 90 percent of young people in many developed countries are digital natives, with South Korea leading the way at 99.6 percent, according to a new study.

The terms digital native and digital immigrant can be a bit of lighting rod. We’ve talked about it several times over the years, and have grown to treat it with a bit more sensitivity towards its imaginations and realities. What I’ve liked best about the discussion has been what difference in opinions and applications come via economic lines.

For example, in an article at the NY Times, its talked about how the terms fit developed nations differently than emerging nations – and even gradients within both of those.

Everyone’s fascination with digital nativism in the U.S. or, say, Scandinavia is fine, but the places where this phenomenon probably has the most impact is low-income countries in Africa or Asia,” Dr. Best said. “The places where it is most salient are those where the least amount of attention has been paid to it.”

There are also striking differences among developing countries. Malaysia, for example, fares well even against many wealthier countries. Seventy-five percent of 15- to-24-year-olds are digital natives.

As a percentage of the total population, 13.4 percent of Malaysians are digital natives. Malaysia ranks fourth, behind Iceland, New Zealand and South Korea, on this measure, which the study suggests will be an important determinant of a country’s future potential to take advantage of the economic, political and cultural opportunities of Internet use.

And then you have these introspective looks at the utopian effects of mobile and connected spaces. These are things which are probably best understood in action and behavior by someone described as a digital native, but is best seen against those who are not – for instance this article at The Atlantic Cities looking at smartphones causing more interpersonal interactions in some urban contexts:

Especially in big cities, Huttenlocher argued, social media can help people connect with specific groups of people and feel less lost among millions of other residents – and millions of other people on the Internet. “One of the things we’re seeing is the increasingly urbanization of tech and how we use tech. Location is part of that re-personalizing of technology,” he said.

Digital Natives per Country Map – The Atlantic Cities

There’s a good bit to look at here. And depending on your location, the conversation about the significance of being digitally native or not carries a different weight. There’s not a broad sweeping opinion, but there’s also nothing stating that some of the characteristics identified which can be helpful in understanding the trends and applying a decent solution.

Writing Your Own NFC Tags

NFC tags with phone

For those folks looking at person-to-person (p2p) transmission methods, NFC has held a lot of potential, especially when you get past the payments processing end of the conversation. NFC – near-field communications – is something that some feature and smartphones have which enables them to transfer, read, and even write data to tags, which can be read by other devices. What is read/written can be as simple as contact information, or as complicated as a means to shutting on/off functionality.

Over at All About Symbian, there’s a detailed guide on the subject of writing NFC tags, with some good points about what works and doesn’t work from the perspective of Windows Phone devices.

However, one of the lowest-tech and simplest uses for NFC though is in a phone picking up information from a ‘tag’, usually embedded in a poster/sticker, in a business card or badge. The tag is indicated with a logo or arrow or other instruction and you tap the appropriate bit of your NFC-equipped phone to the tag.

And, as you’ll have seen from the idea picking up steam in the Android world from manufacturers like Sony and Samsung, this information doesn’t have to be a URL or contact data, it can also be (admittedly platform specific) shortcut to an application or setting. The other really important thing to note is that any NFC-equipped smartphone can not only read from NFC tags, it can also program them, at least it can when equipped with the right application.

Check out this guide, and even look into using NFC tags for various items in personal and organizational use. Just looking at the image attached to this post, it might make sense to do some “swag” which has writable NFC tags built-in that folks can overwrite and explore other usages with. A scenario that comes to mind is the NFC bracelet – have a branded bracelet for the upcoming MMF Consultation, but then a writable NFC tag enclosed that allows participants to either put a link to their presentation materials, contact information, or something else which might be worth the quick connect.

What might you do with NFC tags and their devices? The limits are your imagination.

[Infographic] Opera Notes Mobile Consumption

Opera, one of the pioneers of the web browser, and definitely one of the leaders for mobile browsing, has recently released a set of graphics noting some mobile consumption trends in the USA. Here’s one of those graphics:

Mobile Consumption Guide

 

One might wonder why we don’t see more information like this, or even how Opera is able to get this kind of info. In Opera’s case, they can pull this information using the analytics gained from the use of their mobile browser products. From that information – including the sites that are being browsed, and the times of day, they can point to trends like this. Its one of many examples of using a common access point to determine how people use your product, and how to position your product development cycle.

Many churches and organizations have a similar data collection point when they offer the Internet through WiFi hotspots in their facilities. Through the data access logs, you can see what it is what people are accessing and when they are accessing it. You’ll want to scrub this information of data that directly identifies who might be browsing – but getting information such as the type of browser, the type of device, the sites being accessed, etc. are enough to understand a bit better what folks are looking at. And if you notice that your web properties aren’t being accessed, that’s not a time to force people to your site, but it does mean that you should look at designing accessible areas on your website which speaks to what people are genuinely interested in.

Infograhpics like this and the one posted a few days ago give those kinds of avenues forward in mobile ministry (#mobmin). Now, its up to you to design and implement a mobile strategy that makes the most of that data.

Updates to Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) Rules

Our partners at Symbiota (@symbiota) have written up an excellent summary of the revised rules under the TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act).

Please be informed that a revised rule under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) goes into effect on 10/16/13 that will require “prior express written consent” for text or voice messages sent to phones for solicitation purposes. For informational texts and other non-solicitation texts, the existing “prior express consent” standard will continue to suffice. For example, the new requirement does not apply to purely informational or transactional calls or messages, such as sending a link to a non-solicitation web site, flight updates, surveys, or bank account fraud alerts; however, an informational text that includes an upsell – such as a flight update followed by an offer inviting the consumer to upgrade to first class – would require written consent. There is limited guidance on what constitutes a solicitation, but to paraphrase the FCC, “if the text, notwithstanding its free offer or other information, is intended to offer property, goods, or services for sale in the text, or in the future, that text is an advertisement.”

Read the rest of this summary at Symbiota

Of course, this counts only for those folks in the USA. Other countries have different and similar rules regarding communications. If you are aware of communication law changes which effect mobile for your region, do make us aware and we’ll get those posted also.

From Sketch to Prototype

Some days back, I caught a neat Kickstarter project called AppSeed that’s able to quickly turn a “napkin sketch” into a functional prototype. Its even able to be pushed into Photoshop and from those layers, UX designers/developers can take those designs to their realized glory.

How do you get from idea to sketch to prototype to product?

Ofcom Researches UK Children’s Use of Media & Digital

Ben Evans posted about an Ofcom study that looks at children and how they have evolved in using digital devices and media on them. There are lots of nuggets here worth hanging some mobile ministry strategy considerations on. Here are a few of those graphics:

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Check out the rest of the post, and a link to the study, at Ben Evans’s website.

You might also want to look into subscribing to Ben Evans’s newsletter. There’s nothing like it and its worth the kind of content discussions you only get from one of the leaders in this space.

A Funeral Over Facetime – Digital Presence Discussions

Of the many discussions intermingled with the terms mobile ministry, digital evangelism, and internet ministry, the topic of being present is tightly held. So much so, that many in-coming practitioners cannot see and outright reject a reality where the virtual presence carries just as much weight as the physical. Sociologically speaking, this is because we are talking about a paradigm shift where the participants have always seen broadcast (or screen-cast) media as a different method of interaction. If you will, its always been a media element that talked at you instead of talking with you.. And as such, when those perons who come in this digital ministry frame don’t have the boundary between physical and virtual worlds, there’s a tug of war towards what is right and wrong… when there’s a good chance that the right answer lies somewhere in the middle.

I bring this up now as we are probably the point in digital ministry efforts where the in-coming practitioners don’t have the frame of reference of being separate from digital and physical contexts. They have been living in both easily for the past 10 years, and not because it was something taught, but because it was the context that was always there. And as such, how they respond, even to the most solem of moments, has its footing in a world that seems at times to skillfully balance the best characteristics of both.

His brother arranged it. Matthew arrived in San Francisco early Sunday morning, just four hours before the funeral in Baltimore. Only a military jet flying at Mach 4 could have delivered him on time to the graveside. But both boys had iPhones.  “I’ll ask the rabbi if I can link you in,” said Jonathan.  A wise woman unafraid to blend the ancient with the modern, she said: “Of course.  Bring him here.”

We did

She delivered a eulogy. We chanted and shoveled dirt onto the coffin as Matthew watched, sitting in a too-large, borrowed suit before his phone as his brother held the camera of his phone to the service. The day was blazing hot; I heard cicadas. I also heard, then saw, a young man 3,000 miles away weeping and knew, sad as he and we all were, that he would carry no special burden, for we—that is, all our friends and family—mourned as one.

Read the rest of A Funeral Held Over FaceTime Blends the Ancient and the Modern at Quatrz.

And yes, I totally understand and want to commend both sides of this discussion. There are moments in which culture and sensibilities seem to dictate that to be present means physical, emotional, and psychological being there. But, what does culture say about those who might have adapted to a different reality? One where a funeral being held over Facetime is received with just as much respect as giving someone the funeral program by hand.

Presence, as it seems, might be due for its own upgrade. Or, maybe digital challenging here might mean we have pushed too far. What are your thoughts?

Case Study and Comment from Mobile Ministry Course

A number of persons have written in over the year asking about various aspects of the two mobile ministry courses that have been on deck. With the CLA course on pause , the MMF/Cybermissions Mobile Ministry Course has been able to target the #mobmin audience with a unique and decent offering. And as such, there are discussions and comments that come forth that don’t always make their way into press clippings. For example, the following case study was posted as a discussion response to the question:

Describe the advantages and disadvantages of these social media platforms (for Christian ministry) – in your particular area?

Here’s that answer, posted from one of our friends at a large media ministry:

I work at a global level so it is difficult to address this week’s discussion topic specification “in your particular area.” So I thought I would pick a particular part of the world where others in the course might think it would be challenging to use social media and share how it is being used effectively and discuss the advantages and disadvantages in this particular area.

Our Digital Strategies leader in Eastern and Southern Africa did not receive the memo that internet strategies and social media do not work effectively in Africa! He is building very effective strategies employing internet-based strategies, particularly social media-based strategies.

Facebook Jesus is the latest strategy and has been run effectively in Ethiopia and Rwanda and will soon be launched in South Africa. Facebook Jesus is an evangelistic strategy mobilizing students and young professionals in a one-week focused effort to influence their Facebook friends with the gospel. Using African communal cultural concepts, people gather in groups for several hours and work together to post videos, stories, poems, Bible verses, and other content on their Facebook pages and interact with their friends who show interest. They pray together for interested friends. They celebrate together for those who respond. They repeat this for several days.

An info graphic gives an overview of the week [click here]

32 people contacted 1006 friends with a total reach of 77,531 engaged users and a viral reach of 195,020 people. (Note: engaged users and viral reach are Facebook social media terms helping measure the impact of the campaign and are based on Likes and Comments.)

Since Ethiopians tend to be friends with Ethiopians, the impact of this week of social media outreach is staggering.

Miheret Tilahun, the Digital Strategies leader for Eastern & Southern Africa, has written and collected guest posts on how to run effectective Facebook Jesus evangelistic campaigns. He has not yet collected these into a specific category so you will have to browse through his website at http://miheret.wordpress.com/. His site is full of excellent tips on how to engage and mobilize people for a Facebook Jesus campaign, how to train online missionaries, what to put on your Facebook page, how to followup, and many other tips.

The Facebook Jesus strategy was taught as part of the recent Ubuntu National Student Conference in Durban, South Africa. You can watch this video of the excitement of some conferees, including a pastor invited as a conference speaker:

Discussion about internet ministry starts around the 3 minute mark in the video.

Here are some comments I transcribed from the video:

  • Social media is a new mission field
  • By being intentional and using the tools that exist on the internet, I can do much more [evangelism and discipleship] than I am doing currently.
  • Social media evangelism is something I hadn’t heard much about before. It’s a very unreached area. It’s something most believers are not aware of. It seems more effective.
  • I was affected by how much I use Facebook and even become an online missionary. It is something I had never thought about. I have a lot of friends on my Facebook page but I hadn’t seriously thought about ways to seriously impact them effectively.

Some advantages of Facebook include: Africans who use Facebook tend to be younger and rising leaders. They are willing to take risks and to try new strategies.

Disadvantages continue to be technological limitations.

There’s a lot to be explored and discovered as the mobile ministry field grows wider and deeper. Courses like the Mobile Ministry Course help individuals and organizations get there. Don’t look past what these can offer for you. And if you have something to contribute, come on in and do so.