LDS Media Talk

If you haven’t added the LDS App on Facebook, you should check it out. It allows you to include on Facebook some of your LDS interests and background. You have the option whether or not to include the information on your personal profile.

New features:

• Share your mission, with dates and experiences, and see other friends from your mission
• Share the temple you were married (or would like to be married). Include the date you were sealed.
• Share gospel artwork on your profile and through messages.
• Group your favorite scriptures together and share your thoughts on them.
• Play some scripture mastery games.
• Reference the help section which overviews all the features.

The LDS App was created by the More Good Foundation. The LDS App now has 39,500 members.

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Every day, the social networking giant Facebook is becoming a larger part of the overall Internet experience. More than 175 million people have joined since its founding in 2005, and its users contribute millions of pieces of content every day.

Every day in February 2009, Facebook users averaged over 3 billion minutes on the site. They updated their status 15 million times and became “fans” of a particular company, brand, product or person 3.5 million times a day.

US residents spent more time on Facebook than on any other Web site, beating out the previous leader Yahoo! Source: eMarketer

You may also be interested in an article in yesterday’s USA Today that explains that social networking is fast becoming a staple for a growing number of adults.

While the Church is still developing a strategy on how to use Facebook appropriately, a preliminary page has been created for the Church, as well as for the Liahona, Ensign, New Era, and Friend magazines.

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In February 2008, it was reported that comScore ranked Women’s Communities as the fastest growing category of sites on the Internet, growing 35% from Dec 06 to Dec 07.  Below is a list of the top Web sites, at that time, in that category:

After seeing the data above, I thought it would be interesting to see if I could find some common themes and features among these top women’s sites.  I started by going to each site, and seeing how they describe themselves (see the descriptions of each site in Appendix 1 below).  By analyzing these descriptions, I was able to come up with four high-level purposes/features that nearly all of the sites’ content could fit into.

• Connections/Support (peer to peer, peer to expert, blogs, photo and story sharing, etc.)
• Information/Research (on health, parenting, babies, relationships, beauty, etc.)
• Home Making (coupons, budgeting, decorating, gardening, etc.)
• Fun/Entertainment (games, celebrity gossip and style, travel, etc.)

I found it interesting that, except for the last category, it seems like most  of the purposes and features of these top women’s sites fit well within the gospel.  Relief Society meetings and visiting teaching provide connections and support.  The scriptures, Sunday School lessons, manuals, and Church Web sites provide information and tools for research.  And with the Church’s emphasis on home and family, our sisters, wives and mothers are among the best homemakers in the world.

Though these topics might fit neatly into the purposes of the gospel, the Church has yet to venture into producing a Web site like these, most of which have social networking/online community-type features.  Do you think the Church should build a Web site to address these functions: Connections and Support, Information and Research, and Home Making?  Or, since there are already many other Web sites providing these functions, is this something the Church doesn’t need to venture into?  Or should the Church address these issues through a Web site and, in our unique and inspired way, better serve women?  Your thoughts are appreciated.

Appendix 1: Descriptions of the top 10 sites for women:
1. cafemom.com (CafeMom is a place for moms and moms-to-be to connect with one another. We invite you to take a look around CafeMom and join the moms who are already sharing, supporting, and having fun with one another at CafeMom.)
2. babycenter.com (Find information from BabyCenter on pregnancy, children’s health, parenting and more, including expert advice and weekly newsletters that detail your child’s development.)
3. ivillage.com (the daily destination for women, with horoscopes, health and pregnancy information, message boards and blogs, celebrity gossip, beauty and more.)
4. oprah.com (The place for everything in Oprah’s world. Get health, beauty, recipes, money, decorating and relationship advice to live your best life on Oprah.com. Plus, the home to The Oprah Winfrey Show, O Magazine, Oprah and Friends Radio, Angel Network, Harpo Films and Oprah’s Book Club.)
5. marthastewart.com (Food and dessert recipes, entertaining and home decorating ideas. Find ideas for cake decorating, baking, and kids crafts. Your online source for ideas from gardening to weddings.)
6. parents.com (Parents – Pregnancy, Babies, Baby Names, Pregnancy Calendar, Ovulation, Birth and More. Expert advice about pregnancy, your life, and family time from the editors of Parents magazine.)
7. kaboose.com (Kaboose is the premier family and parenting destination with kids’ crafts, holiday fun and activities, healthy food recipes, free online games, expert health and parenting information, community message boards, parenting blogs, photos, videos, shopping, interactive quizzes and tools, and much more.)
8. family.com (Family.com provides answers for every family’s needs. Find resources on parenting and raising healthy children, activities, entertainment, recipes, family travel and attractions, budgeting, shopping, coupons, and answers from the experts, other moms.)
9. glam.com (Glam covers fashion, celebrity style tips for women. Celebrity photos fashion designer interviews and beauty advice.)
10. parentsconnect.com (Get expert parenting advice, tips, & recipes for all stages of raising your child, plus connect with other parents)

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Who’s using Facebook?

Inside Facebook, an independent blog that reports on the Facebook platform, found that the faces on Facebook are looking older these days. 45% of the social network’s US users are ages 26+ and nearly 25% are over 34. In fact, women 55+ are the fastest-growing demographic group on Facebook. The number of women 55+ on Facebook grew over 175% since the end of September 2008, compared with a growth of 138% in men 55+.

How often do people use social networks?

Older adults don’t visit Facebook as often as 20-somethings who have been on the site since their college days. In the chart below from the  JPMorgan 2008 Consumer Survey, you’ll see that the percent who log in at least daily (red bars) diminishes with age, from 34% for 18-33-year-olds to only 5% for those 50+.

What do people do on social networks?

The Pew Internet & American Life Project “Tracking Survey” found that 89% of adult users logged on to social networks to stay in touch with friends, 57% to make plans with friends and 49% to make new friends. “Friends” is the overriding theme.

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We previously explained the site LinkedIn. Here’s a short video that shows you how to use the site more effectively.

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Digg is a place for people to discover and share the best content from anywhere on the Web. You can submit articles and other Digg users vote them up or down. That way, the articles on the main page are those that the community finds to be the most interesting or unique. You’ll find articles about the most outrageous construction projects in Dubai and why seven hours of sleep may not be enough for you.

Digg also promotes a conversation about the topic by allowing readers to comment on the article, see who voted on it, blog about it, or e-mail it to a friend.

Digg Alerter can help you keep track of your submissions. It sits in your system tray and alerts you whenever your stories are dugg or promoted to Digg’s front page.

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There has been much said recently about members of the Church using the Internet to share the gospel. (see Sharing the Gospel Using the Internet By Elder M. Russell Ballard)  Elder Ballard and Church Public Affairs have encouraged members to create blogs, leave comments on online news articles, create and post videos on YouTube, and share material from Church Web sites.  (see Guidelines and Helps for Latter-day Saints Participating in Online Conversations About the Church)

While it seems clear that the Church wants members to use their personal Web sites, blogs and social media networks to share the gospel and clear up misconceptions about the Church, many members still have a lot of confusion regarding what they can and cannot do with the Internet.  Part of this confusion is likely due to the language used by the First Presidency in their December 13, 2004 letter entitled “Authorized Church Web Sites.” In that letter, they outline how to identify official Church-sponsored Web sites, and state that unauthorized sites ”should be discontinued immediately.”

But suppose there is a Relief Society president who wants to start a blog to share information about food storage.  The blog could be used to share tips and tricks, recipes and ideas.  She would invite others to participate in the blog, to post comments or perhaps to be guest contributors.  Would such a blog fall into the realm of those not authorized by the Church?

I cannot speak for the Church, but I certainly don’t think this type of site is what the Church had in mind when they asked unauthorized sites to be discontinued.  According to my understanding of the guidelines referenced above, I think this type of blog would be appropriate, provided that the following points are followed.

Clearly, the Church supports and encourages using the tools of the New Media (the Internet, blogs, social networks, etc.) to share the gospel.  Implicit also, I believe, is the notion that New Media can be used to support other aspects of the work of the Lord such as strengthening the Saints and serving in the Church.

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Consistent with this Blog’s goal of discussing topics relevant to LDS parents and youth, as well as considering my professional field of Web analytics, I’d like to talk today about the growth of Facebook and how it relates to LDS families.  Facebook.com is one of the world’s most popular Web sites, particularly among youth and young adults, and has been a frequent topic of discussion at this blog (see What are social networks?, Watch Out Google, Here Comes Facebook, and 12 Ways to Share the Gospel on the Internet).

The Stats
According to comScore, Facebook recently took over MySpace as the leading social networking site, attracting 132 million visitors world-wide in June 2008.  In the US, Facebook’s popularity still trails MySpace, though Hitwise reports that Facebook saw a 40% growth in US market share over the last year while MySpace’s share declined.  Alexa reports that Facebook is 5th most popular Web site in the world behind Yahoo!, Google, YouTube and Windows Live.  Facebook has particularly high usage among teens and young adults; according to a 2006 study, Facebook was named the second most popular thing among undergraduate college students, and only ranked lower than the iPod.

What this Means for Parents and Leaders of Youth
Chances are that if you are a parent of a teenage or a youth leader, you are probably less technically savvy than the youth you work with.  Many parents and youth leaders I have spoken with don’t really understand what Facebook is and most have never visited the Web site.  I’m not advocating spying on your kids (I’ll leave that up to your own discretion) but I do think parents and leaders should visit Facebook and see what the youth are doing online. You will probably be surprised at what you find; pleasantly surprised in some instances, unpleasantly surprised in other cases.

My wife and I have worked with the youth in Church callings for years.  We love staying in contact with these youth that we came to care about so much and Facebook provides a great way to do just that.  It is so satisfying to see the youth that we remember as Deacons and Teachers, Beehives and Miamaids, growing up, entering college, going on missions, and marrying in the temple.  On the flip side, it is saddening to see the poor choices some of the youth are making, as reflected in the things they write on Facebook and the pictures they post.  

Like the Internet in general, there is much good and much evil easily available on social media Web sites such as Facebook.  Church leaders have stated that the Internet is a great tool for hastening the work of the Lord, but they have also repeatedly counseled members to avoid evils that are available on the Web.  Elder L. Edward Brown of the Seventy taught:  ”You have access through the Internet to resources one cannot begin to imagine. However, lurking there as well is a sinister evil, as deadly as a rapidly growing cancer…Self-discipline is required relative to the materials you choose to read and the videos you may select to view.” (”Bring Your Mission Home with You,” Ensign, Dec. 2000, 18).

Join In
I believe that by joining in this online social network, we parents and leaders can help, guide and protect the youth.  To sign up for a free Facebook account, simply go to Facebook.com and fill out the form on the home page. Once you’re in, browse around, see what it’s all about, and request friendships with your youth, family and other friends.  To learn more about how to create an account and connect with friends, check out A beginner’s guide to Facebook, or this Videos Series, “How to Use Facebook”, by eHow.com.

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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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93% of U.S. teens use the Internet, and more of them than ever are treating it as a venue for social interaction. As they embrace the conversational nature of interactive online media, they find it easier to share creations, tell stories, and interact with others. Recent studies show that content creation by teenagers continues to grow. 64% of online teenagers (ages 12 to 17) engage in at least one type of user-generated content, up from 57% in 2004.

• 39% of online teens share their own artistic creations online, such as artwork, photos, stories, or videos (up from 33% in 2004).
• 33% create or work on Web pages or blogs for others, including those for groups they belong to, friends, or school assignments (basically unchanged from 32% in 2004).
• 28% have created their own online journal or blog, up from 19% in 2004.
• 27% maintain their own personal Web page, up from 22% in 2004.
• 26% remix content they find online into their own creations, up from 19% in 2004.

Girls continue to dominate most elements of content creation. 35% of all teen girls blog, compared with 20% of online boys, and 54% of those wired girls post photos online compared with 40% of online boys. Boys, however, do dominate one area–posting of video content online. Online teen boys are nearly twice as likely as online girls (19% vs. 10%) to have posted a video online somewhere where someone else could see it.

However, content creation is not just about sharing creative output. It is also about participating in conversations fueled by that content. For example, nearly half (47%) of online teens have posted photos where others can see them, and 89% of those teens who post photos say that people comment on the images at least “some of the time.”

Not all teen content creators simply plaster their creative endeavors on the Web for anyone to view; many teens limit access to the content they share.

A subset of teens (28%) are super-communicators–teens who use a host of technology options to interact with friends and family, including traditional landline phones, mobile phones, texting, social network sites, instant messaging, and e-mail.

To learn more on this subject, read the Pew/Internet report “Family, Friends & Community.”

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Online social networks are communities of people who share common interests and activities. Social networking sites provide the ability to create a personal profile and various ways to interact with other people, such as  messaging, e-mail, video, text or voice chat, file sharing, blogging, and discussion groups. Social networking has revolutionized the way many people communicate and share information with each another. Social networking Web sites are used by millions of people everyday on a regular basis. For many people, online social networking has become a part of everyday life.

Most social networking services contain directories of categories (such as former classmates) and methods for connecting with people (usually based on some system of referral and trust).

Three very popular social networks:

MySpace has 120 million registered users who create their own profiles (Web pages) for the purpose of linking to friends, posting their interests, photos, music, and videos. MySpace is very popular in the United States and moderately popular worldwide. It is open to people 14 and older; most of the users are under 30. MySpace was purchased by News Corp. in 2005 for $580 million. It is now valued at over $65 billion.

Facebook has more than 80 million users worldwide. Users can join networks organized by city, workplace, school, and region to connect and interact with other people. People can add friends and send them messages and update their personal profile to notify friends about themselves. Recently, Facebook opened its platform to anyone to develop applications within Facebook. The site was initially limited to Harvard University students as a way to get to know other people on campus, but was later expanded to other colleges, and now is open to anyone aged 13 and over. Facebook was started in 2004 by Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg. Today,  at age 24, he is at the helm of this privately-owned company, turning down billion-dollar purchase offers. Facebook is valued at $15 billion.

LinkedIn is an on online social network that connects people with their friends, family, and business associates. It is primarily a business networking site that lets you post resume information and connect with other people in your profession. It currently has about 23 million registered users in 150 countries, with another 1.2 million signing up each month. LinkedIn started just 5 years ago, and is already valued at $1billion.

Sources: Wikipedia, USA Today, New York Post

There are also several social networks targeted at LDS audiences, such as LDS.net, LDS Online, LDS Link Up, and The Hive.

Below is a short video that explains social networks:

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Check out LDS Teacher, a new social site for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to discuss teaching and learning in the Church and at home.

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We think you’ll like this new feature on LDS Media Talk. At the end of every post is a series of social bookmarking icons you can use to store, organize, search, and rate the posts on LDS Media Talk.

You can now use digg, Facebook, del.icio.us, Reddit, Newsvine, Google Bookmarks, Ma.gnolia, Spurl, Yahoo My Web, Technorati, Feed Me Links, Furl, and Stumbleupon. If you have other favorites you’d like us to add, just let us know.

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