LDS Media Talk

Last week I added a video sidebar widget to my personal WordPress blog called Video Widget. The primary reasons I chose this particular widget are because it:

• 1. Supports videos from over 25 video sources such as YouTube, Flickr, Google Videos, Metacafe, and others.
• 2. Is easy to configure and can run just one video or have a different video appear upon each page refresh.
• 3. Requires no HTML code pasting, just add an ID from each video source.

Videos are a great way to connect with your audience and keep them engaged on your site. In this particular case, I can use this widget to share gospel-oriented videos and other types of videos I think will be of interest to my audience.

Installation and Configuration

Like other WordPress plugins, upload the video-widget folder to the /wp-content/plugins/ folder and then activate the plugin via the Plugins menu.

Video Widget is fairly simple to configure. Just choose the title you want displayed in your blog’s sidebar, plug in the desired width and height of the video, and then add all the video IDs you want to play in the Multiple videos dialogue box.

Or, if you want to have just one video available in your sidebar, delete the preset ID and videos listed in the Multiple videos dialogue box, and then plug in the ID of the video of your choice for a Single video. That way, only that video will be available for viewing.

I installed the widget on both the main post sidebar and on each individual post sidebar of my blog. Each can be configured separately so different sets of videos are available to your visitors.

Share Videos About the Gospel

Although you can share any video or set of videos you want using this widget, one of the reasons I installed it on my blog is to share gospel-oriented videos. Below is an image from the LDS Public Affairs video Are Mormons Christian? on YouTube which is one of the videos available on my site.

There are a number of high-quality videos on the LDS Public Affairs YouTube Channel to choose from (a hidden resource that is slowly growing in popularity). And there are also some great videos being produced by Church members and other organizations. Here’s just a short list of those who are actively adding videos from which I chose to put on my blog:

• lds9999 on YouTube
• SethAdamSmith on YouTube
• fairldsorg on YouTube
• William J. Hamblin (hamblinwj) on YouTube

There are scores of others. Just visit a few video sites, do a search and add the ID to the widget. It’s that simple.

Let us know your favorite gospel video sources.

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I have always believed that movies (and storytelling in general) can be a powerful force for good by teaching correct principles in an engaging manner. I recently came across a fun list on UnSpun by Amazon called Best Positive/Uplifting Movies Ever. The community there has ranked their favorite uplifting movies. The top five are:

1. Rocky
2. Rudy
3. It’s a Wonderful Life
4. Forest Gump
5. The Pursuit of Happyness

Seeing this list made me want to create my own personal list of movies and books that teach principles that my family could benefit from. Children and youth, in particular, often seem to learn things best by watching a film or hearing a story.

As a family, we sometimes watch a movie or TV show together and then have a discussion afterward about what we learned from the story. We will point out gospel principles that are embedded in the story–such as honesty, loyalty, courage, etc. Unfortunately, this drives our teenage son crazy. He will say things like, “Can’t we just watch a movie without ‘likening it to the scriptures?’” Despite his protests, I believe he appreciates these family discussions more than he lets on because I have caught him sharing the same insights we have talked about with others.

Sometimes, movies can have a powerful therapeutic effect on children. One of my favorite movies is Bridge to Teribithia. Although marketed (almost deceptively) as a fantasy movie, this is actually a powerful story about the death of a loved one and dealing with the guilt that comes with such a tragic event. My children lost their mother in 2005 and this movie provided an excellent opportunity to get them to open up and talk about their own feelings of loss and guilt.

What movies would you place on your list of the Best Positive/Uplifting Movies Ever or use to teach gospel principles to your children?

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Have you checked out some of the recent online offerings from the New Era?

• The New Era has posted a video promoting its October issue, which is a special issue on the pamphlet For the Strength of Youth. Check out the video, and get a glimpse of this special issue.
•  The New Era home page has downloadable MP3 recordings of the song “Steadfast and Immovable” whose sheet music appears in the October issue.
• The New Era is also conducting an online survey on dating with questions like “In your opinion, what is the difference between dating and hanging out?” and “In your opinion, what makes somebody a ‘boyfriend’ or ‘girlfriend’?” Come on, teens, voice your opinions!

Read the Mormon Magz blog to keep up with the latest about Church magazines.

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Hi. My name is Greg McMurdie and I just joined LDS Media Talk as a new blogger (thanks for the invite Larry!).

I am a search engine marketer and have worked in marketing and sales most of my career for companies such as Intel, Symantec, McAfee and a few small startups here and there. Concerning my educational background, I received an MBA from Indiana University with an emphasis in Marketing and a Bachelor of Science degree from Brigham Young University in Business Management. I am married to the former Carolyn Tillman and we have one son named Andrew.

Over the course of the coming weeks and months, I look forward to interacting with you on a variety of topics and subjects. So check back often, leave a comment or two, and if you’d like to get in touch with me about possible blog topics and/or suggestions/improvements to our Web sites, please email me at mcmurdiegm (…at…) ldschurch (…dot…) org. Oh, did I mention I enjoy road biking? Just not up the east side of Big Mountain in July! For some reason I am always the last one up the hill…

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Twitter is a micro-blogging service that allows friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to the simple question “What are you doing?

This video is a quick and plain-English intro the micro-blogging service Twitter.

Personally, I don’t care about the “tweets” from people who simply say “I’m eating dinner” or “I’m going to bed.” But I do enjoy tweets that comment on great things they just read, cool Web sites they just found, or epiphanies they just had.

If you like Twitter, you may want to check out Twhirl, a desktop tool for Twitter users. It allows you to do almost everything you can on Twitter but in a small window that resembles an IM chat window.

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Utah is the most tech-savvy state in the nation according to a study published in InformationWeek. The study covered a wide range of areas from infrastructure to online applications and new Web 2.0 technologies provided to residents.

The top 10 tech-savvy states, in order: Utah, Michigan, Virginia, Arizona, California, Washington, Kentucky, South Dakota, Maryland, and Tennessee and Pennsylvania (which tied for 10th place).

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In August, a Thai distributor halted sales of the video game Grand Theft Auto after a teenager confessed to robbing and murdering a taxi driver while trying to recreate a scene from the controversial game. Grand Theft Auto, now available in its fourth edition, has been criticized for depicting violence including beatings, carjackings, drive-by shootings, drunk driving, and prostitution.

In 2005, a multi-million dollar lawsuit was filed in Alabama against the makers and marketers of Grand Theft Auto, claiming that months of playing the game led a teenager to kill two police officers and a 911 dispatcher.

The American Psychological Association warns that violent video games can increase aggression, and, in fact, may be more harmful than violent television and movies because of the interactive nature of the games.

I think these are wake-up calls, but to do what?

• Should we encourage the government in tougher regulation of violent video games?
• Should the makers of video games implement stronger rating systems?
• Should retailers better enforce the sale of videos games to minors based on the ratings?
• Should parents pay closer attention to what their children play?
• Should parents restrict the number of hours that youngsters can play the games at home and in public arcades?

Do you have suggestions on how parents should handle these issues?

Read more about the effect of video games on crime and violence, sexuality, social development, and video game addiction.

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People often use photosharing sites (such as Flickr), as a safe back-up of precious photos. You can keep them private (viewable only by you or your family) or public so others can view them as well. These sites also let you categorize and tag the photos so you can find and use them efficiently in the future.

The following is a short video that explains how photosharing sites work:

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The new mormon.org is now available.

Check it out here.

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• Less than one third of 13-year-olds are daily readers.
• Children in home with fewer than 10 books had test scores 20-50% lower than kids from home with more than 100 books.
• 22% of 17-year-olds read daily
• In 2007, only 35% of high school seniors read proficiently (compared with 40% in 1992)

Source: Kindles for kids: “Any Book, Any Kid, Any Time”

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The LDS Church magazines are begining to post galleries of images to enhance articles in the Liahona, Ensign, New Era, and the Friend.

• The New Era has posted a gallery of photos from the article “From Generation to Generation“ in the September issue. The article centers on two teenage members of a family in Guatemala. They tell the story of a hard-working family trying to pass along important life skills to the next generation.
• The Friend’s Web site has posted a slideshow of “Our Creative Friends” drawings from the September issue.
• You can always find the gallery of Mormonads from the New Era organized by topic.
• And the Friend coloring pages are also online by topic.

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Internet users are becoming more aware of their own digital footprint. 47% have searched for information about themselves online, up from just 22% five years ago. However, few monitor their online presence with great regularity. Just 3% of self-searchers report that they make a regular habit of it and 74% have checked up on their digital footprints only once or twice.

60% of Internet users say they are not worried about how much information is available about them online, and most do not take steps to limit that information.

Why not google your own name today to see what information is available online?

Learn more by reading the Pew/Internet report “Digital Footprints: Online identity management and search in the age of transparency.“

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