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[Experiment] Redesigning MMM

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

[Screenshot] MMM Alternate Homepage - Share on OviFor a number of years now, we’ve been talking about redesigning MMM. This has been a much harder process than I would have thought because of changes in the general organization of site assets, as well as other tasks relating to making a living out of this endeavor. That said, things have been happening on that front and I’m ready to put forward something of a beta to what would/could be a new iteration of MMM.

View the Alternate/Redesigned MMM (for those viewing this on their mobile device, see the note at the bottom of this posting for an additional step to see this)

This is following inline with some of the 2012 resolutions we’ve posted so far (practicing what we preach). This is also an evolution in the philosophy behind MMM in being more than simply a destination towards information, but a collection of those stories presented in a way that accents the use of mobile towards addressing those questions and implications of using mobile in faith-based contexts.

Goals of the Redesign
Of the comments most heard about MMM, one of the loudest has been in the findability of information on the site. Indeed, its an issue. This site has been in existence since 2005 and there’s over 3000 posts full of content. In addition to just having those posts, there’s been several themes that have run throughout the site, making it harder still to simply use a search box to figure a direction to find things. This design seeks to make the entry point to the content better (behind the scenes, content is literally being reorganized to fit a consistent paradigm).

The other goal of this redesign is to reflect the overall user experience (UX) goal we’d have for mobile applications. There are a few mobile applications that we’ve published to date, yet none of them were able to capture exactly the kind of reading, searching, and interactive experience that we’vev been after. After careful consideration of the options (using one or more content management services, developing several native applications, etc.), it was decided that to create a single webpage that had most of the features in a mobile-first role would be the direction. This would be incomplete without redoing the entire WordPress template, so this initial design was completed in order to test the feasability of moving forward.

Issues in This Redesign
Its one thing to go mobile-first, its another to meet each mobile device that comes here with the experience that’s best for their devices. This alternate landing page doesn’t address every mobile device. Its JavaScript-heavy, and has some features which would make some of our lower-end mobile devices, without a proxy-based browser such as Opera Mini, to choke on either the size or the features. Mobify is still being used to streamline the existing WordPress template’s pages for mobile viewing therefore. A complete theme would be mobile friendly (responsive web design methods) and might not need that help to do so.

Performance is also an issue. Thankfully, its a lot better than it was in initial testing (was very happy to get this onto the production server and see signifiant page loading gains). There’s going to be an issue though since there’s a JavaScript interpreter on the page rendering the Articles section, which makes for a potential bottleneck in loading for some browsers/devices. Ideally, a full WordPress template (written in PHP) would be better able to address this.

There are some more niggles. I’ll see more as time goes on. If you spot anything, let us know via Twitter (@mobileminmag). Small items will be fixed. Bigger items will be fixed in that WordPress version.

Resources to Address Issues/Goals
What’s good about this alternate homepage is that it is providing a means to relearn some JavaScript, brush up on HTML5 and its newer abilities, and finally put into practice some lessons about working with content management systems like WordPress which require not only development, but content strategy focuses. The resources to do all of this is widely available online, and is constantly tapped.

There are a number of people/groups in the Body who deal with aspects of building this which will also come in handy along the way. Web app developers, WordPress customizers, etc. have the kinds of collective wisdom that would be utilized to make this happen. If at some point the work goes beyond the time/abilities here, its possible that such a redesign project would be farmed out.

Lastly, there’s you. For those of you visiting the site daily – thank you. You coming to the site, offering feedback, or simply hitting areas (constantly) helps to direct projects like this towards completition. The more you use the site, especially this alternate version, then the better we are able to make a resource that fits your needs.

Implicaitons of This Design
There is a good chance that we will probably stick with a web-app method for delivering content from here on out. That would mean that building and maintaining apps which also publish this site’s content would only be done as a means to explore the workings of content mangement systems and publishing experiences, rather than anything strategic towards pushing this site forward.

Another, probably more jarring, implication to this design is that we would be (finally) going back to our roots in respect to being mobile-first in everything. This could mean shorter articles, but definitely means more flexibility and versatility in the data streams that make up MMM. For example, we have a “tab” which has a link to all the places we conduct conversations online. Such an item could easily become a single page stream and RSS/XML feed for those who would rather find content in those methods.

The design is using features of CSS and HTML which are more advanced. Based on some of the stats we can gather form those visiting MMM, those features are supported by those visits. However, that’s not a 100% solution. We would like to be as close to 100% mobile compliant, and not at all desktop browser compliant. We’d like to drive the desktop browser experience to primarly search and RSS versus casual browsing.

We are also going to slowly start making the shift towards getting away from email for non-collaborative tasks, and use Twitter as a means to not just be poked about items, but also conduct the initial parts of conversations. Until we do something a but broader federated (identi.ca and/or XMPP-based stuff from our server), that would help us to best triage communications and move quickly towards managing opportunities in this space.

Or you can look at it in this simple statement: we are going even more mobile and virtual and dragging you along for the ride :)

What’s Left?
Using it, finishing the WordPress custom theme conversion, making mobile apps match its UX… ya know, the normal ;)

Just go to http://mobileministrymagazine.com/m.html and have a go at it.

Note for Those Coming from The Mobile Site
If you are reading this from the mobile site, then on clicking this link, you will have to click the link that says Full Site on that page. That’s simply because of how links from our use of Mobify behave.

 

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7 Years of Moments

Monday, April 25th, 2011

First Post - April 2005 - Share on OviThere was just a small mention on Twitter some days ago. I honestly don’t know how to make this seem like a bigger moment. In some ways, its not. MMM has been very plain and simple from day one. And here, at year number 7, I’m looking back wondering if I’ve done well with the Master’s investment. To be honest, I’m not sure that I have.

That’s not to say that there hasn’t been moments. Creating a platform for “Chrsit in mobile” is intriguing enough to garner a small audience. That was not the focus of this initiative. Those who have supported and pushed because they agreed with the line of questioning have made it possible to get this far. And as far as I know, there are few people still arond from those early days. Psychologically, I’m grateful for people like LaRosa and Sammy – they’ve really been in my corner from the beginning, and I’d given up a number of times if it wasn’t for ears or surprise words from them.

Its been hard, I can tell you that much. What were you doing with mobile and ministry 7 years ago? Exactly. And its not like it didn’t make sense to some. But, it didn’t. And I didn’t fight hard enough to make it make sense. I was honestly just trying to get an answer for myself…

…and stay mindful of the door of escape that God provided for me too many times.

There have been moments. Moments where I was literally steps from giving this up because there was no comments for months on end. No contributions from people who said they would. Because I was tired, and I needed to make a living, not put time and energy into something that I could honestly say – it would be impossible for me to know the extent of its effect… mobile ministry is and always will be bigger than me.

And, man, there have been smiles and tears. That series by Pat, the rescued message from the spam folder that became the BBC interview, the requests to speak to classes and people who were/are well ahead of me professionally and vocationally. I can’t even try to playback all of that, and yet its in here – in every post, every tweet, every started (and failed) initiative. For seven years, this site, this “ministry” has been an anchor like no other for me. For mobile, I’m not really sure. There are moments, but I still don’t know that its understood.

Can you tell I’m a bit tired. I don’t know how you married folks do it. I’ve been wedded to MMM, and can’t see myself without it and can’t stand it all at the same time. I’ve seen other sites come and go. I’ve seen other ministry sites come and go – and each one that left took some life out of me. This site, for better and worse, has stood. I’m so grateful for Damond and Lance for the servers.

I imagine that everyone gets to this point. That moment in their life where they make a genuine assessment of whether it was worth it, whether it matters to keep going or not. I’m there often – definitley more often since trying to do this full-time. I can see the implications of not doing this so clearly, and the areas of my life that have suffered becasue I’ve been so adamant about keeping to this land I’ve been given. For seven years… over 2300 posts. That’s a lot of tilling.

I truly hope that MMM, in all of its tweaks, character flaws, initiatives started/failed/started-again has been able to alert you to the reality of mobile, and a Christian perspective on an opportunity to meet people where computer technology (more than ever) intersects with their life. That intersection can be simply accountability for a single parent whose in school, or for a religious leader who needs to know that the pulpit isn’t a sheid for his frailties. We’ve got to meet people where they are, bring the church/Body of Christ to them and minister justice, mercy, and grace. We can’t be ignorant of the abilities and responsibilities of this tech, nor should we elevate it to be bigger than it is.

I didn’t plan on going this far with MMM. I just wanted to know what the Body is doing with faith and mobile technology. Seven years later I’m still looking, still asking questions, still throwing things against the wall, hoping that something makes sense, something moves us towards serving Christ and one another.

Sending and receiving Christ in mobile. That’s where we stand 7 years in. From this point, maybe it sounds less like ‘a’ voice, and more like ‘the voice of an entire generation.’

 

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What’s Ahead for 2011

Monday, January 3rd, 2011

View of Camera UI for Moto Citrus - Share on Ovi2010 was one amazing, hectic, and transforming year. In respect to mobile, the world seems to have begun hitting a stride seeing mobile as something more than a flash in the pan. That’s always been the view from MMM. Mobile intersects with digital faith behaviors, and enables us to send and receive a lens of faith that’s a bit different, a bit fresher. Chances are, in 2011, you’ll refine some behaviors and push a bit more. How could that look in 2011? Let’s take a look first at mobile, then at what’s in store for MMM.

A Mobile Lens for 2011

Mobile will continue to push towards the front of technology, health, educational, and policy conversations in 2011. What will be most interesting is the overlap. As we talked about some last year, contextualization and cross-functional knowledge will play a bigger part in understanding the role of mobile and the impacts to digital faith behaviors. Those individuals and groups that pollinate their mobile perspectives with multiple arenas will remain ahead of trends and applications.

In hardware, we are still looking at more of the same from basic devices (slates, candybar, tablet, some clamshells). Storage and processor technology is again on the verge of stepping up a generation, but battery power isn’t. We should see a few more attempts with device and network intelligence on devices, but only at the highest model ranges. Look at what you see as high-end right now, it will be low/mid-range by the fall.

Price points for devices will come down to orughly $100USD for a smartphone sans contract (currently $130-150). This will continue the transformation of some (mobile savvy) developed markets towards being largely populated with new smartphones. That said, feature phones will continue to sell huge in most markets – and the 2nd owner market should also grow. Service prices will hold steady for a bit longer before we start seeing more tiers in data service offerings with larger carriers. Keep an eye on SIM cards, these might be changing – and not just in size.

Software will continue to go the route of paying attention to user experience and smoother user interface design, though we will get some attention paid to optimization and information security. I wish I could say that users will care about security, but situations such as WikiLeaks shows us that this will remain governmental and enterprise conversations.

Looks like we are on the verge of some jumps in the amount and attention paid to audio and multi-lingual approaches. However, the easiest paths for developing these solutions will continue to be with web-dependent data and transaction services.

Open source will continue as an area of opportunity and frequent barrier in software and business development. Religious content is one of the heaviest areas where DRM and antiquated processes remain, and so the change here to more fluid models is still some time off. We will see more attempts like the Kiosk Evangelism Project and The Evangelical Exegetical Commentary that will push some open source behaviors forward – the catch being with regional and legal issues which don’t change so quickly.

Mobile applications will continue to dominate the conversation in smartphone-heavy markets. Mobile web will pick up steam after Q1 and newer devices will further blurr the line between web and native applications. Would be nice to see a bible software company lead in this area – Logos’s Biblia was a great stepping stone to this.

We will see people more empowered with mobile to create their own solutions through more app-wizard-like programs and processes. I’m not sure if it will come from the faith-based space or outside, but I can see a few groups doing more with mashup-technologies that empower individuals to create solutions, instead of waiting for a larger network to be the solution.

MMM in 2011

With 3/4 a year under the belt as MMM as Antoine’s primary focus – and the addition of two voices for regional and development interests, there’s been a lot of learning and pushing taking place. Here’s some of what you can expect from in 2011.

If you will,  all of this is simply building on the core so that the depth of content hits on as many applications of mobile and digital faith explorations as possible.

2011 aims to be filled with a lot more sending and receiving of Christ in mobile and we invite you to be a part of the signal. Connect with MMM and let’s continue to enable the Body to see the intersection of faith and mobile technology.

*If you are interested in being a contributor to MMM, make your request known via the Contact Form. Include links to sample writing pieces, up to three (3) areas of focus/interest, and how often you’d be contributing by writing. Those who can write in a language besides English are heavily preferred, though all applicants are equally considered.

 

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MMM Top 10 Topics of 2010

Thursday, December 30th, 2010

Mobile Ministry Forum - Share on OviYesterday, we hit on the top posts of 2010. Today, we look at the top 10 topics based on frequency of use here at MMM. In one respect, this gives you an idea of how we focus on various areas, and in another respect points to areas of interest and notable subject areas throughout 2010.

#10: SMS
Makes a lot of sense that SMS would be a popular topic. Its how it was a popular topic that becomes interesting as you see the various types of posts on the topic.

#9: Software
The software industry is constantly changing, and this year in mobile has been no exception. Lots of viewpoints here from applicaitons to developer relations.

#8: Social Networking
What comes first, going social or going mobile? Hard to tell sometimes with the amount of conversations around both.

#7: Bible
It strikes me as amazing how the Bible stays in the conversation no matter if we are talking reading, communities, software, or successes in this space.

#6: Communication
As with social networking, simply communicating tends to be a common meme within mobile. Lots of potential here for more work.

#5: Education
We’ve been intentional at look at education as a part of the fabric of being mobile, and this year’s posts have fought hard towards that fact. Look for much more in this space in 2011.

#4: Tech
Technology is a term that be be denoted to any tool. Effective technology – especially in this space – is another conversation. We’ve had several of these.

#3: Resources
MMM also serves as a springboard towards research and reosurces in the mobile ministry space. As with education, this is a topic that’s bound to rise higher in 2011.

#2: Community
How does the tech and resources filter into the local community of believers? Plenty of coverage around community engagements such as Lausanne, discipliship, and more.

#1: Mobility
It would almost be obvious to say that mobile would be at the top of the list. Mobility is not just the tools, but the processes, the policies, and the implications. Next year, we might default this one out of the list.

Those areas accounted for lots of coverage here. We are expecting this list to shift a good bit in 2011. What do you think might be some of the topics that would make this list next year here at MMM? Speak up in the comments or on Twitter (@mobileminmag).

 

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MMM Top 10 Posts of 2010

Wednesday, December 29th, 2010

MMM on the N8 - Share on OviBeing the end of the calendar year 2010, we thought it a good idea to take a look back at some of the top posts from this year. Here are the top 10 posts which have generated attention and conversations this year.

#10: Agapage – Internal Church/Org Paging
Proving that there’s still room in mobile for past solutions, Agapage’s church/org paging product showed some of the more innovative tools to come into the mobile space for local church communities this year.

#9: How I’m Using My iPad
It took MMM a while to jump on the iPad bandwagon, but when we did, the response here and on Twitter took off.

#8: Book Review – Thin Places by Chip Furr
A brother who has become a consistant supporter of MMM, his book review here has been a common visit not only for its content, but for its impact.

#7: More Accountability Software
An area that’s getting more and more attention as people are going mobile. How do we take steps to be accountable in such a personal domain?

#6: What is Mobile Ministry?
This year, putting forth a definition of mobile ministry. Next year, well, you’ll have to walk with us and others to see what happens there.

#5: Mike Milton’s Lessons from the 2010 Lausanne Conference
One of the largest gatherings of believers from all over the world in the last three decades. Lausanne presented an opportunity to see and learn from the world’s Christian faith community.

#4: The Evangelical Exegetical Commentary As a Sign of Publishing’s Future
We talk a lot about trends here, and this post highlighting the Evangelical Exegetical Commentary seemed to strike a nerve with many of you. Lots more changes like this to occur in this space.

#3: The Future of Bible Software
Similar to the previous item, talking about something that’s been near and dear to digital faith causes some ripples. This post has constantly ranked high in terms of views since it was published.

#2: Compairson Thoughts on iPad and Bible Study Apps
Showing some of the attention that the iPad has garnered, this post not only strokes the aspect of what applications to use but also how we go about studying.

#1: Bibles for Mobile Devices
The best (hey, we’re biased) listing of free, paid, and open source Bible software for mobile devices. This list has seen several updates this year and points to one very obvious entry point for digitial faith initiatives.

That’s our top 10, what about you? What posts or topics from MMM in 2010 have most impacted you? Speak up in the comments or on Twitter (@mobileminmag).

 

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MMM at BibleTech 2011

Thursday, December 16th, 2010

BibleTech logoJust got the confirmation the other day that my (Antoine) speaking proposal for the 2011 BibleTech Conference was accepted and all signs point to there being a third iteration of MMM presenting at this exciting and engaging conference.

BibleTech is an opportunity to hear from analysts, educators, developers, and missionaries who are in and around web and mobile issues that relate to the study and understanding of God’s Word. In between the sessions are several discussions and engagements unlike what happens at other conferences. And if last year was any indication, there’s going to be a ton of people interested in not just what’s possible with the tech, but where the leaders in this space are going next.

The title of MMM’s topic is “Mobile Ministry: Definition, Contextual Applications, and State of the Body.” As with previous presentations, expect a ton of information, and some neat interactive surprises. This presentation builds on our previous presentations at this event (2009, 2010) and will take what was started here as a definition of mobile ministry and add some context around it.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

 

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