Devotionals 11/20/06

Today is from 1 Samuel 2:1-5, from the New King James Version.

“And Hannah prayed and said: ‘My heart rejoices in the LORD; My horn is exhalted in the LORD. I smile at my enemies, Because I rejoice in Your salvation.

‘No one is holy like the LORD; For there is none besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God.

‘Talk no more so very proudly; Let no arrogance come from your mouth, For the LORD is the God of knowledge; And by Him actions are weighed.

‘The bows of the mighty men are broken, And those who stumbled are girded with strength.

‘Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, And the hungry have ceased to hunger. Even the barren has borne seven, And she who has many children has become feeble.’ ” (NKJV)

News Roundup

A couple of news items of note for you all today.

Convio Launches New Features Convio is moving into the Web 2.0 space with a few new offerings. I first read this on nonprofit matrix another blog that I am subscribed to.

Akamai Buys Nine Systems via Giga Om. Many clients are using one of these services for streaming. I think this is good news all around. Nine Systems interface is better and Akamai’s network is the best distributed network out there right now. Giga Om had a rumor about this last week, but now it is confirmed.

The Church Inc. Review

Recently the Washington Post wrote an article about churches running themselves like a corporation and dealing with annual revenue greater than many companies on the NYSE. While it is an interesting read for those outside of the church industry, anyone on the inside understands the complexity of meeting the needs of their members.
Read more >>

Silas U: Microformats

Twice a month Silas gets together for Silas U, our own training and professional development sessions.

I lead today’s session on microformats if you haven’t heard of them before, take a gander.

Microformats are certainly a bit over the horizon for most churches and ministries, but we are always trying to be looking down the road so when technologies mature we will be ready to use them to the Greater Glory.

100,000 Miracles

Christian Blind Mission International is one of my favorite clients; an organization dedicated to improving the lives of the blind and disabled worldwide through efficient, strategic, and often inexpensive means. 100,000 Miracles is a great example of their work - a drive to fund 100,000 cataract operations for the blind in small villages around the world, each for as little as $35. Silas put together a full package for the campaign that include viral components, online ads, and a number of avenues for bringing users to the site, and then keeping them involved throughout the campaign’s 100-day span. A couple of quick, free campaign tools we got to use:

Promotional site badges.

Viral video, hosted on YouTube.

Calls-to-action that encouraged name acquisition, like cheering for Henry Wanyoike, the world-famous blind runner.

It ended up being a nice example of what you can do with a tight timeframe and a few ideas.

Have any insight on other clever promotional ideas? Make sure to mention them in the comments…

How to make the most of a Silas Partnership

Jeff Croft has a good post about some of this things he runs into as a freelance web designer. I would echo his general point: come to us with problems and we can help you solve them, come to us with solutions and you aren’t getting your money’s worth.

I especially like the architect/construction worker analogy. We use that a lot internally to talk about phases of the project. We are of course happy to do both, but when the phases start mixing together it’s like having a jackhammer at a drafting table.

Devotionals 11/13/2006

This was our passage this morning. Below is the New Revised Standard Version.

“As he taught, he said, ‘Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive greater condemnation.’

He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them. ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.’ ” Mark 12: 38-44 (New Revised Standard Version)

Are you 3.0?

So apparently Web 2.0 has passed us by and we are moving right on to Web 3.0. If you believe the New York Times.

According to the article linked above Web 3.0 is the semantic web, that is a web with more meaning. Well if your a client of Silas Partners you’ll be happy to know that you are 3.0.

We do all our coding by hand using semantic markup the best way we can right now. This Thursday I’m leading a Silas U (our internal education sessions) on Microformats which, I guess is very Web 3.0.

So if your site is currently 1.0, maybe with Silas you can skip this Web 2.0 fad.

Uncle Sam Surfs

Let me first clarify: I don’t have an uncle Sam.

The department of US Department of Health and Human Services recently released the 2006 edition of Researched-Based Web Design & Usability Guidelines, a booklet (294 pages) outlining best practices for producing a website.  Aimed at helping anyone consider what a good website should contain in order to aid the visually impaired (think Section 508), it includes an exhaustive list of best practices, and even ranks them based on the strength of the supporting arguments.

Devotionals 11/6/2006

This was our passage for the week, it’s from the New International Version translation.

“When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. ‘Where have you laid him?’ he asked. ‘Come and see, Lord,’ they replied. Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’ But some of them said, ‘Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?’ ”
John 11: 33-37 (NIV)