Evernote - Youth Ministry Tech

I'm just going to put it out there...

Evernote helps me get stuff done.  Flat out.  

I'm not being paid for this spot... I am receiving no benefit whatsoever other than passing along a good thing.  So, this is a genuine recommendation. 

I love Evernote.

Saturday, I was sitting in a gathering/meeting with some other youth pastors.  As my faithful readers will know, last summer I declared the age of the Moleskine in my workflow dead.  At that point, I moved exclusively to working in Evernote.  In this meeting, one of the other youth pastors commented that he had been saving notes in the "notes" app on his iPhone.  When I asked him if he used Evernote, he looked at me like I had 3 heads and 7 eyes (which I don't... in case you were wondering...).  Briefly, in about 2 minutes, I explained the awesomeness that is Evernote and we moved on.  Then he said, "we should have a tech day at our youth ministry gathering."

Then it dawned on me... There are still some who don't know about this wonderful Evernote service.

If you haven't heard, Evernote is an amazing program for just about any device you have.  My experience is Mac-based... sorry PC users... But I have Evernote as an app on my MacBook Pro, my iPhone 3Gs (yeah, still rockin it old school) and my iPad (3rd gen).  Basically, it allows you to create a note... about just about anything... and then tag it and upload it so you have access to it on any of your other devices.  Additionally, you can created notebooks where you can keep notes organized according to type or function.

Currently, I have approximately 1,100 notes in Evernote in a handful of notebooks.  Everything from shopping lists at Home Depot to ideas for upcoming events (like our Holiday Lock-In that I'm planning right now).  The tagging option is great because then I can go back and search for a note and find it. Additionally, most web browsers (I use Safari... but they also have a Firefox app... no idea if Internet Explorer does (does anyone actually still use IE?)) have a clipping option where you can clip articles or pages and save them in Evernote.  I clip blogs... games... ideas... pictures... just about everything that I think I might have a use for down the line.  Then I tag it and I can find it quickly in the future.

As if that wasn't enough... you can email email messages to Evernote and it will add them as notes... You can send tweets to it and it will save them as well.  It really is a handy tool.

One of the best parts: it's free (up to 60mg a month)!!! For a small investment, you can get more storage.  But honestly, I have rarely gotten close to maxing out my monthly free limit (only a couple of times when uploading hi-res photos).  Want to check it out for yourself, head right over here and get rolling.  They just released new apps for the Mac iOS and they are really slick and well put together.

Good stuff...
Check it out and get stuff done!

Jim



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Youth Ministry Tech - Dropbox

I don't think that I've blogged about this... If I have, please forgive me.  But I just really love this tech.

I love the Dropbox program!

I have multiple computers that I use on a regular basis for different things.  My main MacBook pro.  But I also have an iPhone.  Hopefully soon, I have an iPad.  I also have a windows computer that runs slides in the hallway at church.  Additionally, my wife has a MacBook.  I'm always moving files around to different machines or wanting to have some of those files on my phone and will want them on my iPad (when I get it). 

Dropbox is perfect for that. 

It's free.  You can create a free account HERE.  It creates a file folder on the harddrive of your computer.  Whatever documents, pictures, files, etc, that you put into that folder will be available on whatever other computers have access to that folder.  If you want to share a file, document, presentation or whatever with someone else, you can create a shared folder with anyone.  They can upload from anywhere they have internet and "boom!", it's on your computer, iPhone, iPad, iPod or whatever you have it linked to (depending on your network speed and the size of the doc, pic, etc, it might take a couple of minutes to upload).

Easy peazy!!!

I use this program to share documents with folks around the office.  My wife puts documents in there that she wants me to see or that we edit together.  I put mp3s in there of music that I want our student worship band to check out.  I put docs on there that I want to have access to on my phone. Good stuff.
You get a small amount to start out.  But if you jump through a couple of hoops, you get some more.  If folks join based on your usage, you get some more (up to 16gb).  It's not great for moving huge files like 2gb movie files, as it take a while to upload (unless you start it and walk away for a couple of hours) but it still works pretty great! 

Check it out and get started HERE.  Would I steer you wrong?

JC



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Media Stats on the Millennial Teenager

Interesting stuff here:
(thanks Doug Fields... didn't create it... just posted it)

Courtesy of: Online Schools


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Did Evernote just kill my Moleskine???

This has been the approximate location of my Moleskine for about the last three weeks (that's on the desk calendar on my desk in case you aren't familiar with the layout of my workspace). 

It's been coming for a while... But breaking up is always hard to do. 

As many of you know, I've been a faithful Moleskine user for quite some time.  I have several sitting already used and a new one still waiting in the wrapper on the shelf in my office.  The pages are marked with to-do lists, ideas, meeting notes, thoughts, dreams, phone numbers and the like.  I have carried them around on Sunday mornings and always in my backpack to jot down ideas or things that I need to remember.  I have planned countless events and knocked off lots of projects from my ministry to-do list.  Many of those at my church have grown used to seeing me having it with me at all times. 

But times are a changin'. 

The past two or three weeks have been a bit of a test.  A test of whether or not Evernote could handle the Moleskine's work.  And at this point, Evernote is passing with flying colors. 

If you aren't familiar with Evernote, it is an program for both computer (Mac OS X and Windows) and mobile phones that syncs up online.  The free version, which I am currently using, has a limited amount of storage per month.  But I can store just about anything that I want... pictures... lists... ideas... snipets from books that I'm reading... random thoughts... things that I've found interesting on the Internet. 

If you aren't familiar with a Moleskine, it's basically a fancy tablet with lots of blank pages for capturing ideas. 

There are a couple of reasons why Evernote is taking the lead and the Moleskine is fading out of my ministry life:

1. Evernote has limitless pages.  I can jot down a thought or an idea and move on.  I always felt bad or worried that I would lose an idea if I just wrote down one thing on a page... felt that I was wasting a whole page.  With Evernote, as long as I don't go over my monthly quota... and you can get more by upgrading... I don't have to worry about wasting a page.  Plus, I don't have to buy a new Moleskine when all the pages are full. 
2. Evernote lets me "tag" things.  Basically this is assigning a keyword(s) to a note so I can find it quickly in the future.  Nothing frustrates me more than taking 25 minutes to find something that I can't find.  With Evernote, I go up to the search tag and search for it.  Bam! There are all the notes with that word or phrase. 
3. I can save more things that simply written words in Evernote.  I can save pictures... audio files... PDFs of things that I've scanned... websites... pages that I've clipped from websites (Firefox has an add-on that makes that super easy).  If I read something or think that something might be helpful in the future, I can save it super-quick and easy!
4. All my notes in Evernote sync with my mobile phone... which is with me any way.  No need to carry two things.  
5. Evernote is free!  Both the mobile app and Mac OS app are free.  If you want to upgrade for more storage, you can for $45 a year (or two-three Moleskines).  At this point, I've never even gotten close to using up all my monthly usage.  

While I hate that I'm losing a trusted partner in crime and I hate that I'm losing the feel of paper and pen... the functionality of Evernote is making it more practical. 

So, Moleskine, is this the end?  For now, I believe it is.


Links:
Evernote in the Mac App store.
Evernote in the iTunes app store for iPhone.
Evernote websites with downloads for other computer programs (windows, Android, iPad, etc).

By the way: Evernote didn't pay me to write this article or review... Just one person passing along what's working for me. 

Jim


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How do you use your cell phone?

How do you use your cell phone???  It's amazing... I see myself using my phone more like a teen than an adult. 


Jim

Thanks David for the link!


Click the image to enlarge it. 


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Tech that just works! - Dropbox

I love technology that just works. And especially technology that makes life easier.

Dropbox does that.

After a couple of people talking about it (thanks David), I checked it out. I'm playing with it... but I think it's going to work out well.

Basically it's server space for computers and smartphones that works across the Internet rather than on a local network. I can drop a file in the dropbox on my Mac and it will show up on my iPhone and my wife's Mac (when I get it downloaded and installed later). But if I know that I'm going to need a file on my computer on my phone, I can put it in there. (I'm testing out to see if I can do anything with digital media... like movies...)

But so far, it looks like it could be a very helpful thing. Especially the more mobile I/we tend to become. And the price is right... Free for less than 2gbs of storage.

Check it out.

Jim

Social Media Questionaire

Hey faithful blog readers...

I've got a buddy... Ben Taylor... who is working on his Master's Degree (he's getting a master's degree in awesomeness as well...). He is seeking some help with Social Media and it's use among Church Leaders. Since you are reading this, there's a good chance that you utilize social media in some form (i.e.: facebook, twitter, blogs, foursquare, or something of the sort). If you are reading this, there's a good chance that you might be a church leader as well (i.e.: youth pastor, volunteer, staff member at a church, elder, deacon, etc).

Would you do him and me a favor?

I'm going to go with "yes" as your answer there. Answer these questions for him and email your answers directly to Ben Taylor at ben.taylor@onlinecfc.com.

We would both appreciate it a great deal. And you would earn credits toward your Master's of Awesomeness degree!

Thanks from both of us...

Social Media Interview Questions

1. Do have a social media strategy? Why or why not?

2. How long has the Social Media strategy been in place?

3. Define Social Media?

4. Please define your social media strategy? (How do you use social media?)

5. What is your goal by utilizing social media?

6. When you think about communicating to the church/congregation/community is social media a part the strategy?

7. Is Social Media in your context more about pushing information (marketing) or building community? Or both? Explain.

8. What successes have your organization experienced by utilizing a social media strategy?

9. What failures have your organization experienced by utilizing a social media strategy?

10. How do you measure the effectiveness of your social media strategy?

11. Are you satisfied with the results of your social media strategy? Why or why not?

12. If you had the resources to plant a church would you choose to do in the physical or online? What is your reasoning for this choice?

13. Do you see a social media strategy as a ministry of the church as the church? What is your rationale for this decision?

Demographics

· Average Weekend Attendance

· Region of Country

· Percentage of Staff Utilizing Social Media

· Interviewee’s Position

You rock!

Jim

iExit (All Stays) - Youth Worker Tips

This blog post falls into the Youth Worker Tips and Technology section. So if you aren't a youth worker, this post may not apply to you. (But if you are a dad taking the family on a vacation this summer... you might wanna keep reading...)

A couple of months ago, I downloaded an app that I thought would be useful. I didn't realize how useful until this weekend.

If you are a youth worker who takes students on trips... any kind of trip or any length of trip... and you have an iPhone, you need this app.

Here's the basic gist of the app and I think you'll see why this is helpful. When you load it up, it uses the GPS in your iPhone to find you. Then it tells you what exits are coming up on the interstate ahead of you (based on your direction) and what restaurants/gas stations/hotels/etc are at that exit. It will also tell you what the nearest rest area is and how far away it is.

We had a couple of situations this weekend when we're traveling along and students needed to go to the bathroom... Boom! I load up the app and I know how far it is to the rest area or whether we should go ahead and stop now. No more "maybe just a few more miles... can you hold on... hoping there's a rest area around the next corner..."

Also, if you want to provide multiple selections for a lunch stop (cause nobody can agree on McDonalds, Taco Bell or Wendy's... why not all three?), it shows you the best exit to stop for that purpose. It also provides you with phone numbers (if you want to warn the restaurant before your posse of 55 middle schoolers and 3 adult leaders is about to descend upon them) and addresses if you need to reprogram your GPS to take you there. You can also... although I haven't done it yet... save certain exits as favorites so you can remember them for the future.

It's a great app. And for $2.99, it's a pretty good buy for those youth workers who are going to travel with students this summer... or any time.

Pick it up HERE. You won't be sorry!

Jim