Does your job require you to move often? Military members, government workers, journalists… the list goes on and on. Unlike the majority, these people do not have the opportunity to become fully rooted in a community. They must change communities every time they move. It becomes difficult to feel close to a community and grow on a deeper level when you are constantly starting over. This leads to “shallower” relationships than what most people have because of the continuous break in relationship development. Now social media has enabled us to continue those relationships we start even after we physically move away.
To stay connected with the church itself, the main sites suggested are Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and a blog all tied to the church’s website.
For maintaining one-on-one relationships with other members, two social media tools take the cake:
1) Skype is a video chatting medium where users can talk to each other and see each other at the same time! The video feature makes this social media application feel like face to face communication. Best of all it is free to call any Skype user and you can talk with them for as long as you want!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1mflr-kQlk[/youtube]
2) Facebook is excellent for maintaining relationships. The main features to do this include photo sharing, custom public comments and private messages for individuals to send to their friends, and personalized status updates to share with your entire network.
