Infographics on Social Media

You know that saying "a picture tells a thousand words"? Well you're probably familiar with infographics by now. Info-what?? 

"Information graphics or infographics are graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge intended to present complex information quickly and clearly." (source Wikipedia)

Here's a great collection of infographics about Social Media:

http://pinterest.com/seanrnicholson/social-media-infographics/

Think Anew recommended resource

PREZI is cloud-based presentation software ... a favorite of Jerry Wolgemuth, Director of Communications for the Susquehanna Conference

Check it out at http://prezi.com/

Ever wonder about the meaning behind some of the objects, symbols and terms in church? 

Chuck Knows Church is here to tell you all about them in a weekly series of fun, short-but-sweet videos (most around 2-3 minutes!)

Visit http://www.chuckknowschurch.com/ 

And don't forget to share them in your church!!

Infographic: Shutterstock’s Global Design Trends 2013

What hot, new, and evolving design trends, images, colors and technology are reaching and influencing our world in 2013?

Shutterstock, vendor of over 25 million stock photos, illustrations, vectors, and videos have created their second annual infographic on design trends.

Check it out here: http://www.shutterstock.com/blog/2013/02/infographic-shutterstocks-global-design-trends-2013/?customer_ID=3571534&campaign_ID=shutters.29139&launch_ID=13855

Join our Facebook community!

Think Anew also has a Facebook presence.

Join our open group, discuss and share ideas at https://www.facebook.com/groups/thinkanew
(You need to be a Facebook member to join this group)

Or just like our page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Think-anew/517125988319733?fref=ts
(You do not need to be a Facebook member to view this site)

Sugata Mitra: Build a School in the Cloud

TED

If uneducated children living in extreme poverty can teach themselves with just a computer and broadband, imagine the possibilities!

Winner of the 2013 $1 million TED prize, Sugata Mitra turns the tables on traditional methods of education ...

Article: http://www.wired.com/business/2013/02/a-school-in-the-cloud-and-the-future-of-learning/

Video: http://www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_build_a_school_in_the_cloud.html

LINK Commentary: Let’s re-write this bulletin board

Thanks to a Facebook friend, this tongue-in-cheek rendition of a church bulletin board showed up recently. It pokes fun of attempts to accommodate every preference in worship. 

So, let’s rewrite it to send the right message of what we believe worship should be. Send your suggestions of  how you would word this church bulletin board (assuming they are still an effective communicator). Send your suggestions to jerry@susumc.org. We’ll publish some without names.

Glad we could get together.

Jerry Wolgemuth
Director of Communications
Susquehanna Conference 
of the United Methodist Church

Sir Ken Robinson on Passion

Sir Ken Robinson believes that everyone is born with extraordinary capability. So what happens to all that talent as we bump through life, getting by, but never realizing our true potential?

Click here to see Ken Robinson on Passion: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M8Hl5MUr8w

NOTE: He starts focusing on Passion about half way through!

Who's using social media and how?

Social media is expanding at a rapid rate and offers creative, accessible and affordable ways of connecting with people. 

Are you using social media as part of being a "Connectional Church"?

Click below to read State of the Media:The Social Media Report 2012 by Nielson, to find out who is using social media and how they are using it.

http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/reports/2012/state-of-the-media-the-social-media-report-2012.html



Sandii Peiffer
Assistant Director of Communications
Susquehanna Conference UMC

Maximizing outreach through Social Media

Facebook, along with many other social media sites, is continually evolving. These changes affect the way our content is received and viewed. It is vitally important to be aware of how these updates affect the viewing audience, especially for church & business profiles.

United Methodist Communications has created an informative slide show to guide us through some of the most recent changes on Facebook in an effort to help us maximize the outreach potential for our Church profiles.

You can find it here: http://www.slideshare.net/umcom-marketing/fb-newsfeedupdate-20940958


Sandii Peiffer
Assistant Director of Communications
Susquehanna Conference UMC

Think Anew recommends ...

Sir Ken Robinson is one of the most innovative thinkers of our times.

Check out his website and blog here: http://sirkenrobinson.com/

Like him on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/SirKenRobinson

Follow his Tweets at www.twitter.com/SirKenRobinson

Six Thinking Hats

Jerry Wolgemuth, Director of Communications for the Susquehanna Conference is a certified trainer in Six Thinking Hats. 

"Six Thinking Hats® is a simple, effective parallel thinking process that helps people be more productive, focused, and mindfully involved. And once learned, the tools can be applied immediately!" — de Bono Group

To find out more about Six Thinking Hats, visit http://www.debonogroup.com/six_thinking_hats.php

If you are interested in being trained in Six Thinking Hats, contact Jerry Wolgemuth at jerry@susumc.org or 800-874-8474.

TED: Ideas worth spreading

TED

TED brings to us fresh, out-of-the-box, inspiring, innovative ideas in Technology, Entertainment & Design (Education, Health, Science and so much more ...) through TED Talks: there are more than 1,400 videos (most under 15 minutes.) 

Best of all, they're FREE, not only to watch but to share! After all, good ideas are worth spreading!

You can find out all about TED at http://www.ted.com/

Or head straight on over to their YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/TEDtalksDirector

What is your favorite TED Talk?


Sandii Peiffer
Assistant Director of Communications
Susquehanna Conference UMC

Quotable quote ...

Source: http://izquotes.com/quotes-pictures/quote-the-dogmas-of-the-quiet-past-are-inadequate-to-the-stormy-present-the-occasion-is-piled-high-with-abraham-lincoln-247642.jpg

Think Anew recommended resource

Think Anew recommends "Breakpoint and Beyond: Mastering the Future Today"


http://www.amazon.com/Breakpoint-Beyond-Mastering-Future-Today/dp/0887305474/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0

Think Anew recommended resource

Think Anew recommends Daniel Pink's book, "A Whole New Mind."

http://www.danpink.com/books/whole-new-mind

Free photo editing program

Even in this digital age, it's hard to be picture perfect. Maybe you need to fix red-eyes. Is your photo too light, or too dark? There a blemish or two to cover up. Do you want to add a title or caption to a picture? You need to crop or resize a picture for your web page or social media site ... 

If you, or your church, don't have the budget to invest in a high-end photo editing program (not to mention the training required to use it), then give Pixlr a try. 

Pixlr is a web-based photo editing program, with many features found in the high-end programs, but it's FREE! And the learning curve isn't too steep. In fact, there are three versions of Pixlr to play with:

• Pixlr Editor (advanced)
• Pixlr Express (efficient) and
• Pixlr-o-matic (playful - think Instagram for PC - downloadable too)

There's even an app for it!

Try it out today. Click here: http://pixlr.com/

As a user of a professional photo-editing suite, I have been impressed with Pixlr and often use it at home or on the road — if I have access to the internet and a laptop, I'm good to go!

Sandii Peiffer

Assistant Director of Communications

Susquehanna Conference of the United Methodist Church

Romans 12:2