The Catholic Church in New Media (#CNMC11)

This presentation was given at the 2011 Catholic New Media Conference. Below are my notes on the presentation:

The Catholic Church is out of control ... of our message.
Being overly cautious about our message has been detrimental to our image.
Catholics aren't really using Catholic new media; they're not really using old media either...
- 2% of Catholics follow religious/spiritual material on Facebook.
- 11% listen to Catholic radio.
- Reason? Catholics aren't 'not interested in Catholic media' – Catholics aren't interested in their Catholic faith.
Technology is not going to bring people back to the Church. YOU are. People are. Needs meaningful relationships.
Online Search (we stink)
- Examples: Jesus (nothing Catholic on the first page), God (nothing Catholic on the first page), "Who is God?"

Good examples: Catholic Channel, CatholicTV, CTT, CatholiCon, DivineOffice.org, blogs, etc.
Pope Benedict gets it.
We are slowly rekindling a missionary spirit.
There is less blaming others and more doing our part.
Recruiting talent and leaders.
Entrepreneurial Evangelization: Where is the Catholic Silicon Valley? Who will incubate great Catholic ideas?
Idea: Turn the parish's annual financial report into a statement of mission, success.
- "Donors don't want to support a spreadsheet. They want to support movements. We need to tell our stories."
We live in exciting times!