If you have not yet been introduced to social bookmarking, then don’t delay any further. This video by CommonCraft offers a fantastic introduction to Del.icio.us, one example of a social bookmarking service.
Del.icio.us is a resource that could prove extremely valuable and useful to the Christian community. It is a powerful tool for research, communication, interaction, collaboration, information storing, and information sharing. Here are some practical and basic ways in which you might utilize social networking to enhance your Christian walk or ministry:
- Bible Studies – Do you lead a Bible study? Encourage all members of your study to register for Del.icio.us accounts. This will allow you and other group members to easily share relevant web resources, articles, and commentary.
- Churches – There are numerous ways in which a church (large or small) might utilize social bookmarking. Share articles, blog postings or videos that correspond with your current sermon series. Your church supports a team of missionaries in Zambia? Tag online news articles reporting on current events in the area and post the running list on your website.
- Debate, Dialog, and Encouragement – Social networking makes for a great platform for interaction and conversation. Share an uplifting link with someone needing a bit of encouragement. Engaged with another in dialog or debate? Share a challenging article with your counterpart that illustrates your point-of-view.
- Leadership Teams, Youth Ministry – In college, I was a member of the leadership team of a parachurch campus ministry. We focused on topics such as evangelism, apologetics, and discipleship. Social bookmarking would have provided a wonderful means by which supplemental web material might have been tagged by topic and shared all members of the leadership team.
- Study and Research - Del.icio.us is a great place to search for study and research resources. Unlike traditional search engines, all results have gone through a human filter. The results you find will be those deemed worthy of tagging by other users.
This list is only the beginning. For more practical ideas about how to use Del.icio.us, simply perform a Google search. Better yet, search Del.icio.us for ideas!
