In the last days we commented about social media and it’s use with conferences and workcamps. (and you can see local youth minister Wayne Hipley blogging his own Base Camp experience this week.)  It is playing out in much larger venues. Twitter and facebook are the media of revolution that is occurring in Iran. Note that the US State Department asked twitter to delay a planned upgrade that would have cut daytime service to Iranians who are disputing their election. (see here.)

First, let’s please keep peace and the continued efforts towards valuing the dignity of each human person deep within our prayers.

Next, let’s learn from this… Again, we go to the brilliant TED series to learn more about technology and communication.  In this presentation (which was filmed in May) we have greater insights to the interconnectedness of the new media and our role in it.

The punchline quote (emphasis mine): The media landscape that we knew – as familiar as it was, as easily conceptually as it was to deal with the idea that professionals broadcast messages to amateurs – is increasingly slipping away. In a world where media is global, social, ubiquitous, and cheap. 

In a world of media where the former audience are now increasingly full participants. In that world, media is now less and less often about crafting a single message to be consumed by individuals and is more and more often a way of creating a environment for convening and supporting groups.

And the choice we face… I mean, anybody who has a message they want to have heard anywhere in the world… isn’t whether that is the media environment they want to operate in; that’s the media environment we’ve got. The question we all face now is How can we make best use of this medium. even though it means changing the way we’ve always done it?