Web 2.0 Suite step 4: socializing

In my previous post, I went over some ideas on how to get your web site found by those who are looking for it. But that leads to the question: how do you reach people who don’t know you exist? How do you find them? The answer is simple: go where they are.

And where are they? In this web 2.0 world, more and more people are turning to sites where they can share their lives with others. Social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace are the prime examples of this. In these sites, you can create events and groups that others can find and link to. For example, in MySpace, someone created a group for those who attend Rock Harbor church. In this group, calendar events and message boards can be set up. Besides social networking sites, others are turning to media sharing sites such as YouTube and Flickr. The folks over at Internet Evangelism Day created this nice article on how to use YouTube and other sharing sites to reach the world for Christ.

Your organization may need to take some time to talk to your community to understand exactly how they spend their time online. By understanding the Internet habits of those whom you are trying to reach (whether it be existing parishioners in a church or new supporters for a missions organization or . . .), you can then find them where they are.

In my next post I will wrap this “Web 2.0 Suite” series up, taking a step back and looking at the big picture.