Daily Archives: December 18, 2008

The Handoff

Today Hugh Hewitt posted a recent email from a reader about social media and young Evangelicals. The email contains some great thinking and it relates to what I’ve recently posted about on the challenges of electronic media, especially in regards to youth, so I’m linking to it today.

Some pertinent parts:

“The lines of popular cultural engagement are being redrawn, because the rise of new media has fundamentally changed the way people process information at a cognitive level.”

“I have been researching electronic media and intergenerational communication for 10 years, and there really are some broad and deep implications here. One finer point worth mentioning is that print-based communication—which is primarily how the historical works and insights of all religious thought have been preserved—is being displaced as authoritative in society by interactive, and increasingly, peer-based communication. As the influence of new media increases, the influence of the proven ideas of the past stand to decrease. Who benefits from this, and who does not?”

Mark is right on. Go check out his own blog.

Check out some other related posts:

Blogging: An Incredible Opportunity

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Postponing Reality

This is why I love Thomas Sowell.trainwreck

The dude tells it like it is.

You can’t postpone reality forever. Us westerners, who have been conditioned by Tivo and a “I want my rights” culture to believe that we really control our existence, tend to forget that.

Other related posts:

Romney: No Bailout for Detroit

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Blogging: an Incredible Opportunity

Read parts one, two, and three of this series.

Even though I am keen on the downside of electronic media, I am a big fan of it as well.  I am especially a big fan of blogging…duh.

One of the biggest reasons why is because it is an incredible avenue for proclamation of the Gospel and contending for the Christian worldview.

It’s no secret that most of what we call the “old media” is secular in orientation. This goes even for those outlets that are conservative leaning, such as the Orange County Register (*some* argue that its right leaning, at least. It’s debatable on whether or not its right leaning socially.). A wide swath of it is very much left wing as well: NBC, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, New York Times, Los Angeles Times…these guys are off the charts in their love for all things Lefty.

Blogging undercuts that. It levels the playing field. Time and time again, bloggers have called the old media out on their bias and have kept them honest…well, at least more honest than they would be without the blogosphere.

You’d better watch what you publish, because bloggers will fact check your a**.

Patterico’s often haranguing of Andrew Sullivan is a prime example.

George Whitfield was known for his innovative methods at spreading the Gospel message. He made great use of newspapers, which many preachers of the time didn’t. He preached open air outside of churches. This was something the pastors of older, established churches weren’t willing to do very much. As a result, he was a key instigator in the Great Awakening in both Britain and the American colonies. He displayed innovation at a time when it was sorely needed.

pic courtesy of wikipedia

pic courtesy of wikipedia

Christians and conservatives need to do the same today. For all its downfalls, the internet and the blogosphere specifically offer us an unprecedented opportunity. Through blogs, we can reach countless numbers who would never walk through the doors of a church. Will we embrace the opportunity and be on the cutting edge, or will we stay with the dinosaurs?

Click on parts one through three (links above) of this series to see how we can *wisely* embrace such opportunities.

Like this article? Here are some other related articles:

32 Links to Build your Blogging Knowledge

Tips for Making Friends on Stumbleupon

Thoughts on a Technologically Saturated Life

The Ten Commandments of Blogging

The Handoff

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