Over the next few weeks I’m going to run a series for utilizing technology in our meetings. I recently heard an idea for using technology to spread the word about your weekly meetings and events by having students “check-in” when they show up. You can do this using either Facebook or Foursquare.
All of us know what Facebook is, but if you haven’t heard of Foursquare it’s a social network that allows you to share with friends where you are and what you’re doing. Either way, when you encourage your students to do this they will want to share it to Facebook in order to let as many people know as possible.
The idea is that when students show up to your meeting they use a smartphone to post a status using their location to say where they are and that they are there for a BASIC event. For students who don’t have a smartphone they could simply put up a post before they leave their room for the meeting. It’s easier to use the Facebook site directly instead of having to share from Foursquare to Facebook, but some of your students may already be using Foursquare and prefer to do it that way.
One of the ways to use Foursquare that could be fun is the Mayor feature. When people check in at your meeting they can claim to be the Mayor of that location. People can then “steal” the title of Mayor from each other. The more someone checks in the better chance they have of being able to claim Mayor status. You could even offer a prize to whoever is Mayor at the end of each semester to encourage students to check in each week.
In order to share your location on Facebook when you post a status from a computer you simply click the little icon shown in the picture above to note your location. From a smartphone you choose the Check In feature in the Facebook app. You may only have a few students willing to do this at first, but it could be something fun that catches on eventually.
The point is that if someone is friends with a number of the BASIC students, then seeing a large number of people posting to Facebook about your meetings could peak their curiosity and get them asking questions. If even 10 of your friends all posted about an event within 5 minutes of each other you’re sure to take notice.
I’ll share another idea next week for encouraging fun, developing community, and spreading the word using Facebook and Twitter. Social networking can be a really effective tool for initiating moments that could lead to further evangelism and as college ministers we should really look for ways to take advantage of all it has to offer.
How about your ministry? In what ways have you implemented technology in your meetings?