The document summarizes a tweet chat about using social media for churches and faith, noting that 498 tweets generated over 772,000 impressions. Top participants by impressions and tweets are listed. The transcript then shares a discussion around the goals and appropriate uses of social media for churches.

1. Tweetchat #chsocm
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Note Data and transcript from HashTracking.com.
#CHSOCM HashTracking.com Report
498 tweets generated 772,811 impressions, reaching an audience of 48,164 followers
within the past 24 hours Calculated from up to about 1000 tweets | Generated Tue Jul 19
2011 22:11:20 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time)
Top 10 by number of impressions Top 10 by number of tweets
1. drothamel: 314,360 1. chsocm: 44
2. iamepiscopalian: 152,859 2. rev_david: 41
3. meredithgould: 113,026 3. drothamel: 40
4. denise205: 32,940 4. penelopepiscopl: 37
5. raimalarter: 23,640 5. meredithgould: 31
6. rev_david: 23,534 6. denise205: 30
7. revrevwine: 18,561 7. iamepiscopalian: 29
8. penelopepiscopl: 13,949 8. christinaauch: 23
9. rampracer: 8,580 9. revrevwine: 23
10. prkanderson: 6,315 10. raimalarter: 20
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2. Transcript
Transcript has been edited by chat moderator,
Meredith Gould (@meredithgould).
chsocm Welcome, everyone to CHSOCM (church & social media). We will, of course,
begin with prayer. Let us pray:
Almighty & everlasting God, we give thanks for this time together as people
of faith...
committed to using social media wisely & well to serve church.
May your Holy Spirit guide our conversation tonight & as we move forward.
Amen!
Denise205: @chsocm Amen.
penelopepiscopl: Amen!
frdavidken: Amen
chsocm: Next up: brief self-introductions. If you want to include yr denomination,
that would be cool. Yr moderator *is* a sociologist!
rev_david: David. Pastor in Brenham, TX. Lutheran.
chsocm: <-- @meredithgould moderating this chat. Sociologist, author, keen on using
social media to build faith & community.
jereasons: John Reasons - United Methodist pastor in Dickinson, TX.
cephasmedia: Laura Toepfer, director of Marketing and Social Media for @cephasmedia.
Also Episcopal priest.
iamepiscopalian: Barry Merer as @iamepiscopalian, there I'm revealed.
RevWeb: Dan Webster, canon for evangelism and ministry development, Episcopal
Diocese of Maryland.
chsocm: We will assume tweets during the following hr are yours & do not represent
your church or organization unless specifically stated.
christinaauch: @LutherSeminary MDiv/seminarian w/tentmaking gig in nonprofit comms
& fundraising
revrevwine: Christopher Harris, vintner theologian, develop websites, candidate for
ordination ELCA
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3. chsocm: T1 What do you think should be the end goal of using social media for
church & faith?
THErevdak: Revdak is Baptist theologian and web tweaker
frdavidken: T1 Communicating Good News (in Greek euangelion)
RevWeb: T1. Spread the gospel. Create community. Build trust.
drothamel: T1: depends on how SM is being used. There can't be one end goal for
everyone. Goal must match with the user.
chsocm: @cephasmedia Would you list some of the uses you view as primary?
rev_david: T1 SM allows us to reach new people in new ways, building relationships &
community.
chsocm: RT @Denise205: T1: Relationships. Whether that means building new ones
with strangers or building up already established ones.
drothamel: @RevWeb those seem more like missions than goals; even though all of
them are worthwhile and should be done.
revrevwine: T1: social media takes geography out of the equation... allows for
community development across traditional contexts
cephasmedia: T1: The first question is, "What do we want our churches to do?" Then, "How
can we use social media to do that?"
frdavidken: RT @christinaauch: T1 Define church as relationships b/w Gods people, not
bldgs and institutions
rev_david: @iamepiscopalian Yes. Transparency & authenticity are big advantages of
SM - the church doors are opened in new ways.
cephasmedia: T1: So all of the things being suggested make a great deal of sense in the
context of what we want our churches to do.
frdavidken: @drothamel Perhaps "goal" is the wrong word. What about "mission" of SM
RevWeb: T1. Maybe purpose is better Q. SM is the ligaments of the muscles of the
Body of Christ.
chsocm: T1(a) How do the goals change when articulated by clergy or laity or
marcomm pros?
iamepiscopalian: @rev_david It speaks to the kind of life we live as humans and discourse we
want to encourage. Transparent and authentic.
penelopepiscopl:T1: put our voice out there in the "public square." Join the conversations.
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4. drothamel: @RevWeb Oooh, I like that analogy.
drothamel: @Denise205 oh, measurable goals are fine, and can certainly work with SM.
They must be part of a large mission, though.
Denise205: @chsocm They may sound different, but may not really be so.
Denise205: RT @iamepiscopalian: It speaks to the kind of life we live as humans and
discourse we want to encourage. Transparent and authentic.
frdavidken: SM may actually bring alive the Body of Christ as transcending buildings and
institutions
drothamel: @frdavidken either is fine, but I think they are different. Goals are part of the
mission.
klamach: T1 see @CSLewisDaily and @JamesMartinSJ for examples of what I
mentioned
penelopepiscopl: RT @rev_david: SM gives me - as a Xn & as a rep of the church - an
unbelievable opportunity to be a public face for our faith. Yes!
drothamel: @rev_david ahhh yes, the double-edged sword of SM. You wield it well, btw.
;-)
frdavidken: @drothamel So what might be a goal of SM as part of the mission of SM? Or
is SM just a goal as part of mission?
raimalarter: Hey, all. Managed to stumble onto Twitter just as you were starting the
tweet chat. My first time participating!
penelopepiscopl: I see SM as a tool for mission.
drothamel: @frdavidken a little of both. For example: Mission: Evangelism Goal:
Increase our FB page "likes" among non-members by %.
Denise205: @frdavidken Which is what we've been supposed to have been doing all
along, even before soc media.
MeredithGould: RT @mnplatypus: @chsocm T1 goal for me is to help people connect
between Sundays
rev_david: @mnplatypus Yes. #1 comment from members: Pastor on SM helps to keep
my faith in front of me all week long.
pelavarre: RT @christinaauch: RT @revrevwine: social is less intimidating way to share
faith... no door knocking required :-)
chsocm: T2: Who in a church or faith organization should be on SM?
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5. mnplatypus: @chsocm oops joined the party late. I am Angela, office support for comm &
m'ship at Zion Lutheran, ELCA, in Buffalo Mn
RevWeb: Door knocking? SM gets past locked doors...and locked hearts.
revrevwine: t2: everyone, IMHO
drothamel: T2: "Everyone" is an unreasonable answer, but I offer it nonetheless. ;-)
raimalarter: I personally have no vested interest in whether church as an institution
survives. My motives are unrelated to that.
THErevdak: T2 is not only unreasonable, it sounds a bit coercive
Denise205: T2: someone who has practiced with the tools themselves and will do the
follow up and "gets it"
frdavidken: T2 Do you mean as official reps of the church?
THErevdak: Should those who don't do SM be left out of the conversation?
chsocm: T2: e.g.: pastor, lay ministers, volunteers...representing the church
drothamel: @Denise205 the "getting it" part is important. Luckily, it can be taught and
learned.
drothamel: @THErevdak Never. They might, at times, be difficult to include, however.
jereasons: RT @cephasmedia: T2: Hope you all saw the great guidelines from the ELCA
on SM and Cong. Speaks to this issue. http://t.co/cK2bxcQ
penelopepiscopl: @THErevdak No, there are multiple channels for convos. No one way is
favored over others. People can still get newsletters, calls.
pinkpaddler: T2 Our pastor still views it as inauthentic. But we do Facebook and YouTube
anyway.
drothamel: @THErevdak The challenge for communication becomes, how to reach
everyone. Of course, that challenge has always existed.
MeredithGould: @pinkpaddler What does he/she mean by "inauthentic"?
frdavidken: @pinkpaddler "Inauthentic?" Are you acting as representatives of the church
on FB and Youtube?
rev_david: @pinkpaddler I hate to hear that. I have had some of the most personal,
authentic convos on SM with members and non-menbers
iamepiscopalian: @Denise205 Hobbyists might not strike the right messaging or priority of
the vestry, Rector, etc.
5

6. TimWyatt: I think that we as a church should focus on being able to serve and inspire
rather than point finger of blame, shame, or condemning.
penelopepiscopl: @iamepiscopalian @Denise205 That's why you have more than one admin
on each account.
cephasmedia: @revrevwine Still good guidelines though!
iamepiscopalian: @drothamel Yeah, true. The Church leadership should set the tone however.
christinaauch: RT @penelopepiscopl: T2: whoever it is, in organization, needs to coordinate
w/communications people.
Denise205: @iamepiscopalian True. Hopefully it is set up with at least some
permission/consultation. But wouldn't rule out good hobbyists.
drothamel: @revrevwine I think all the mainline denominations could be placed in that
boat.
klamach: RT @iamepiscopalian: @drothamel Yeah, true. The Church leadership
should set the tone however.
iamepiscopalian: @penelopepiscopl @Denise205 Communicator committee is really
important for messaging internal and external.
revrevwine: @prkanderson so true... SM needs to be brought in house
RevWeb: T2. Use of SM should be checked against vision/mission stmnt of
parish/organization. Is it consistent?
iamepiscopalian: Mail less, tweet more.
drothamel: @rev_david @prkanderson This will require a lot of training/teaching. Hey, I
know someone who might be available for that! ;-)
raimalarter: @iamepiscopalian Yes, but is that a bad thing? This is how the
@Virtual_Abbey got its start (we were called @theurbanabbey then.)
MeredithGould: As a p/t pastoral assoc for communications, I was stuck in a Bermuda
Triangle w/the parish sec'y, priest & moi.
drothamel: @iamepiscopalian people often overlook that mailing less can also be
viewed as good stewardship of resources.
prkanderson: T2. Did someone already say bishops and core staff? It's a must - so much
opportunity to tell others' stories
rev_david: In many ways, those "up the ladder" really set the tone. Pastor for the parish,
bishop for the synod, etc
6

7. ecwiscott: RT @revrevwine: social is less intimidating way to share faith... no door
knocking required :-)
pinkpaddler: @iamepiscopalian I haven't figured out the most effective use of Twitter. We
don't have a lot of Twitter users in our smaller town.
rev_david: @prkanderson Ha! Great minds ... Bp Rinehart in Gulf Coast does a good job
(@breadtweet), esp through fb.
prkanderson: We need our people sharing our content and helping to create it.
penelopepiscopl: I get it about "setting tone" but this sounds rather institutional! How about
complementary voices? Does your church have one voice?
iamepiscopalian: @pinkpaddler One size never fits all. You must to what makes sense for your
situation.
raimalarter: I think SM works best person-to-person, and when organizations
(companies, churches, whatever) try to participate, it's sorta lame.
rev_david: @penelopepiscopl Not in terms of voice, but in terms of usage. Our bishop
uses SM - so more leaders in the synod do ...
drothamel: @prkanderson churches need to start thinking about the sharability of their
content.
revrevwine: @pinkpaddler @iamepiscopalian I find twitter to be where most of my
colleagues are... FB is where most of folks I minister to are
iamepiscopalian: @pinkpaddler @drothamel Twitter for TEC is nothing compared to
Facebook. I just like Twitter better.
prkanderson: @raimalarter I agree. The personal connection is way more effective
raimalarter: @penelopepiscopl Exactly! The only reason we have a @Virtual_Abbey is
b/c we were operating outside boundaries of the church.
penelopepiscopl: RT @carinr: Im 1 of those lone parishioners tweeting for my parish, but not
as a hobby. Call it a ministry! YES!!
christinaauch: moving beyond institutions, must remember socm isn't broadcasting (1 to
many); it's many to many so we hear a variety of voices
carinr: Tiny, underresourced parish asked for volunteers to do FB, Tw; I
volunteered. It's a way I feel comfortable evangelizing.
raimalarter: @prkanderson Yep. That's why they call it SOCIAL media! I mean, who
wants to be "friends" with GE or Exxon or even a large church?
@drothamel @prkanderson--->> your video bible studies of the texts are a good
example... basically sharing part of sermon prep
7

8. penelopepiscopl: SM is about conversation, not broadcasting content.
carinr: Admittedly, I'm limited b/c I'm not in a position to speak FOR the parish; I
just try to get word out abt what's on, who we are.
MeredithGould: @penelopepiscopl Or spamming
chsocm: T3 Practical question w/conceptual implications: 1 account or 2 on social
media platforms? Why/why not?
penelopepiscopl: @chsocm Do you mean 1 acct for institution and one for person? Clarify?
Denise205: And that's a way to get started @carinr. Have to work within means.
revrevwine: @rev_david @revrevwine @prkanderson good to know I do not follow on
FB
drothamel: @penelopepiscopl the key is to prepared to engage in the conversation that
the broadcast starts. That is where the breakdown is.
iamepiscopalian: @penelopepiscopl Like one for the Parish and one for the Rector?
frdavidken: On FB I have original public acct, more personal acct. FB open group and FB
group closed to members
RevWeb: T3 Accts for various ministry groups; youth group, s-s, sunday school, etc., to
build community.
rev_david: T3 As in, a FB acct for David Hansen (personal) and a fb acct for Pastor David
(professional) or just 1 acct
raimalarter: @drothamel Of course, but organizations join SM for very different reasons
than individuals do. They are usually selling something.
iamepiscopalian: Sigh, we have probably accounts. Too many really. Mission offices all want
them.
chsocm: @rev_david And how do you decide which content/convo goes with which
account?
rev_david: Or, to put another way, on SM do you separate your personal identity from
your professional identity
drothamel: @raimalarter ahhh, sometimes. But that doesn't have to be the case.
Especially with a church.
MeredithGould: @iamepiscopalian Yipes! How do you manage to unify message with
that...situation?
8

9. Denise205: T3 hard to get to the meat of that in 140, but depends. One message at core,
but sometimes hard to mix audience's messages.
rev_david: @jereasons No. I have 1 - but this seems to be an ongoing debate among
those in ministry
MeredithGould: RT @JoshGriffin: T3 I only have 1 on each platform. There isn't separation
from personal/professional, nor do I think there should.
christinaauch: @chsocm T3 wrestle here - one acct in each is easier for followers & orgs can
allow multiple users to post but mktg says segment
carinr: @jereasons At the mo, I essentially post/tweet the svc sched +
announcements from bulletin, + RT entities w/whom we have a rel'ship
iamepiscopalian: @MeredithGould Different tools for different reasons. I hear voices
sometimes.
msherrard: Hey #chsocm folks, have you ever met a newcomer who came because they
saw a Tweet or Facebook post? If not, then don't call it evangelizing.
penelopepiscopl: @iamepiscopalian LOL! I hear voices too!
Carolina_USMLE: @raimalarter It's great what you're doing. I wish my church had a twitter
account. You have your tweetestry
carinr: @jereasons e.g. I follow and RT the foundation that cares for the trees in our
churchyard, which also cultivates n'hood awareness.
penelopepiscopl: @msherrard Yes. I have.
frdavidken: @penelopepiscopl @iamepiscopalian Hope the voices aren't telling you to
burn things ;-)
penelopepiscopl: @frdavidken @iamepiscopalian besides incense?
rev_david: We have a FB "page" for the church. It is mostly newsletter type stuff.
klamach: A good read http://t.co/OSGzund
chsocm: @carinr There's no "barging in" at this chat. ALL are always welcome!
raimalarter: @carinr @jereasons To me, that is a lot like being a greeter, but with a
longer reach. Great way for individual members to use SM.
prkanderson: @msherrard Evangelism and SM are more than just getting people in the
door. It's sharing good news, grace.
9

10. christinaauch: RT @rev_david: deeply committed to idea that I am who I am; authenticity. If
I don't want parish to hear it, why am I saying it.
jereasons: @rev_david I would think that would be the challenge of 2 - actual
separation
iamepiscopalian: @frdavidken Ha! The only thing burning is the candle at both ends.
prkanderson: Like mission trips RT @rev_david: Also: It will come out. What is posted on
personal profiles or protected accts is easily shared.
revrevwine: @msherrard not individual tweets etc, but through relationships formed on
Social, yes
drothamel: @rev_david My advice is, "don't do/say anything you wouldn't want the
entire world to know about for the rest of eternity."
drewezanki: RT @rev_david: Or, to put another way, on SM do you separate your
personal identity from your professional identity
RevWeb: @rev_david @jereasons Actually find 2 fb accts freeing. Separate audiences.
But do sometimes share same to both.
prkanderson: I'm a huge believer in 1 account per person.
nickoicool: RT @iamepiscopalian: T2: All too often it's some parishioner with a hobby.
"Ooh, look I set up a Facebook page for the church"
chsocm: As we come up on the hour, here's a fun question: Does the + mean Google+
is a priest or a bishop?
carinr: Yes! Also, great ministry for shy people :-) RT @raimalarter: To me, that is a
lot like being a greeter, but with a longer reach.
raimalarter: @penelopepiscopl Aha...that explains my problem. I often slink into a corner
at a party and talk to one person all night. LOL
mnplatypus: @RevWeb @rev_david @jereasons 2 accounts COULD be targeting rather
than censoring :)
penelopepiscopl: @raimalarter Oh, introvert! The transcript will help.
Theologybird: #chsocm I too am a 1 account per person sort, b/c of integrity issues and my
laziness. I wonder how this debate breaks down generationally
kmays: @prkanderson I agree re: 1 account.
chsocm: @Denise205 It means "plus" but honestly, every time I see it, I get a jolt.
Think I should genuflect or something.
rev_david: RT @ianrichetti: .@rev_david all this time, I thought it was "Google Templar"
10

11. frdavidken: Bishop Google I say
drothamel: @chsocm on that note, if anyone here is on G+, hit me up!
http://drothamel.com
prkanderson The pope I’d say.
smith_shs: Hi from New Zealand (Just trying to get in on the conversation)
bmerer: @raimalarter Hey, I do this all the time, and I still can't keep up entirely.
penelopepiscopl: @smith_shs Hi! Welcome!
drewezanki: @ianrichetti: @rev_david If it's Google Templar, what are they protecting???
Denise205: @smith_shs Welcome! We're almost wrapped up, but you can catch a
transcript later. Or talk through the week at #chsocm
jereasons: @rev_david HA! I have multiple circles but don't post anything yet - or check
it very often either.
smith_shs: Wow everyone is so welcoming. Thanks. I will pop on for the next
conversation. Blessings!
prkanderson: @chsocm Great to see so many people in the conversation. A community
feel. I'm 500 miles from home but can still be connected. Cool.
kmays: @rev_david I usually post everything to all circles as well unless it's circle-
relevant, i.e., running posts go to running circle.
rev_david: Heard a couple of important themes tonight ....
bethalewis: Like most of you in this conversation, I blend professional & personal with
one account on Twitter, FB, Linked In & Google+
RevWeb: #PBWY. Fastest hour on twitter. Great stuff. Tnx to all.
rev_david: SM is not about a church, a ministry, or a pastor - but about building
community and sharing the gospel - in short, kingdom building
raimalarter: @chsocm Thanks for hosting!! and #PBWY all....
rev_david: Good night! and thanks once again to our host @MeredithGould
iamepiscopalian: Thanks again to @MeredithGould aka @chsocm for hosting tonight!
Awesome!
penelopepiscopl: Peace out, all! Thanks moderator @MeredithGould!
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