---
title: 359 – The State of Social Media
description: "The WELSTech spotlight shines on social media for ministry as Martin and Sallie (mostly) agree on recommended platforms and talk with blogger Lauren Hunter about a free social media for churches ebook series. Plus Sallie shares a new resource for teaching students to program – starting in Kindergarten! The discussion: Where things stand – We’ve likely moved […]"
---

[WELSTech ](https://welstech.wels.org)

# [359 – The State of Social Media](https://welstech.wels.org/2014/09/16/359-state-social-media)

 Written by [Sallie Draper](https://welstech.wels.org/author/sallie-draper) | Sep 16, 2014 2:01:41 PM

The WELSTech spotlight shines on social media for ministry as Martin and Sallie (mostly) agree on recommended platforms and talk with blogger Lauren Hunter about a free social media for churches ebook series. Plus Sallie shares a new resource for teaching students to program – starting in Kindergarten!

[https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/welstech/WELSTech_Episode_359.mp3](https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/welstech/WELSTech_Episode_359.mp3)

Podcast: [Download](https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/welstech/WELSTech_Episode_359.mp3) (Duration: 1:07:15 — 30.8MB)

### The discussion:

Where things stand – We’ve likely moved beyond the point of calling church and school usage of social media “new territory,” but it is still unfamiliar and at times uncomfortable for many. Martin and Sallie share their thoughts on the best social channels for outreach, inreach and professional development.

Don’t miss a discussion so exciting it was tweet worthy …

> Just recorded [@welstech](https://twitter.com/welstech) on social media and the church with my podcasting partner [@mspriggs](https://twitter.com/mspriggs) and couldn’t wait to tweet about it!
> 
> — Sallie Draper ([@salliedraper](https://twitter.com/salliedraper)) [September 16, 2014](https://twitter.com/salliedraper/status/512000654261628928)

### The interview:

A fresh tech-in-ministry voice – Interviews are back on WELSTech! Martin and Sallie chat with Lauren Hunter, founder and lead blogger at [ChurchTechToday.com](http://ChurchTechToday.com). Listen as she talks about highlights of the 7-year history of the site, tips on church use of social media and predictions of the next big technology tool for ministry.

- Free Church Social Media eBooks from ChurchTechToday.com
- [churchm.ag](http://churchm.ag/)
- [ChurchLeaders.com](http://churchleaders.com/)
- Lifeway Church Tech & Media

### News in tech:

- [Microsoft buys Minecraft maker Mojang for $2.5 billion](http://www.pcworld.com/article/2683173/microsoft-buys-minecraft-maker-mojang-for-25-billion.html)

### Ministry resources:

- Find Out How Churches Benefit From Religious Service Exemption

### Tips & picks of the week:

- [Studio by Code.org](http://studio.code.org/) to teach coding from Kindergarten up 
    - [Teaching Students to Program](https://sites.google.com/a/gapps.wels.net/welstech-wiki/school/classroom-technology/teaching-students-to-program) on the WELSTech Wiki
- [Belkin Bluetooth Car Hands-Free Kit](http://www.amazon.com/Bluetooth-Hands-Free-BlackBerry-Android-Smartphones/dp/B004EHZUYG)

### WELS insider:

- Find out more about Practical Evangelism for Congregations, part of the [WELS Evangelism Certificate](http://www.wels.net/news-events/evangelism-courses-mlc) being offered through Martin Luther College

### Need to know:

- iPhone 4 donations needed for Malawi
- Pastors – Take our 5 minute [Tech Survey (bit.ly/pastorstechsurvey)](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ItZkFKpGm3dYMrwLmfEtZXpOe7xQz82Dobl095i3LvQ/viewform) and you could win a copy of HymnSoft Player 3.0 (a $249.99 value) courtesy of Northwestern Publishing House
- Presenters at ***WELSTech Conference 2015*** (**wels.net/welstechconf**), July 9-11, 2015 at [Country Springs Hotel and Conference Center](http://www.countryspringshotel.com/) in Pewaukee, WI attend for FREE?!! We’re currently looking for presenters and tech topics of interest for our breakout sessions. Give it some thought and [**submit your ideas**](https://sites.google.com/a/gapps.wels.net/welstechconf/call-for-presenters)!

### Community feedback:

- Online closed captioning with [DotSub.com](http://dotsub.com) and YouTube
- Video editing software: 
    - [Adobe Premier](http://www.adobe.com/products/premiere.html)
    - [Camtasia Studio](http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.asp)
    - [Pinnacle Studio](http://www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSite/us/Products/studio/)
- [Creative Cloud Photography Deal](https://creative.adobe.com/plans/photography?sdid=KOTEO) from Adobe
- Share your experience with stationary, unmanned video cameras for live streaming on the WELSTech listserve
- Android app compatibility comes to Chrome OS
- [11 Great YouTube Channels for Teachers](http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2014/09/11-great-youtube-channels-for-teachers.html)

### Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 360 – Take note, next week WELSTech will broadcast live on MONDAY, September 22 at 4 pm – welstechlive.wels.net. Martin and Sallie share the scoop on digital note-taking tools. (Broadcast date – 09/22/14)

### Featured video:

There’s a new entry on WELSTech’s Music YouTube playlist, David Wesley’s [In Christ Alone](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oab9giH2cG0)  –

 

### Get involved:

- Add a comment
- Send us an e-mail [welstech@wels.net](mailto:welstech@wels.net)
- Add to the WELSTech wiki [welstechwiki.gapps.wels.net](http://welstechwiki.gapps.wels.net/)
- Contribute to the [#WELSTech](http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23welstech) Twitter conversation
- Follow us on Twitter – [welstech](http://twitter.com/welstech), [mspriggs](http://twitter.com/mspriggs) and [salliedraper](http://twitter.com/salliedraper)
- Share with the Diigo group [welstech](http://groups.diigo.com/group/welstech)
- Join the WELSTech community: 
    - WELSTech [listserve](http://messenger.wels.net/mailman/listinfo/welstech)
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