12 Witnesses

It is important to remember that all of the programs I am using are integrated with one another. They all work together and they make the other programs better. Therefore, it is not possible to talk about one by itself, but I will have to refer back to various programs from time to time and expound upon certain things later.

Right now, I need to expound upon Wordpress’ RSS feed generator, already integrated in the software. RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication.” If you are writing a blog, evidently you are posting your thoughts in hopes that someone, somewhere will read them. One of the best ways to do this is to syndicate your blog.

Syndicating your blog means that you will produce a feed that feed readers can pick up. Think of it like a news story “coming in over the wire.” Feed readers, or feed aggregators, will monitor the feeds you like and present new posts from the various sources in one place - your feed reader’s home site. Did you think that I clicked on all the links down the side of my page to check if something new had come? Please. Who has time for that!?

There are now two types of feeds that you can grab. The first is the one that reads your posts. Recently, feeds that read every comment written to a particular post have become available. If you are trying to track a very interesting conversation on a blog, you can subscribe to the comments of that post and your feed reader will collect all the comments for you.

The standard feed creator, if you need to make one, is Feedburner. This is also a feed reader, but, as a reader, doesn’t compare to Bloglines, which I will discuss in just a moment.

When RSS first came out, you had to syndicate your blog yourself. Now, most blogging software has a feed generator integrated. My feed URL is, www.twelvewitnesses.com/feed. Pretty simple. What is even more simple is that most folks don’t even need to know that anymore. Now, unless you are using sticks and stones to browse the internet, you can look for this chicklet:

When you click , it will automatically start the process of subscribing you to that feed. If you use Microsoft Internet Explorer 7, that program will force you to subscribe to the feed through its bookmark folders - there’s one for feeds. If you use Firefox, however, you can designate what feed reader you want it to use.

Bloglines is my designated feed reader. When I click on the chicklet in the Firefox address bar, the window goes to the Bloglines subscription page and asks me how I want to read it, where I want to put it, etc. Bloglines allows me to create folders and structure how I want to read all of my feeds. I like it because it is customizable. I am hearing a lot about the omea feed reader lately. If you are not already committed to a reader, you might check this out.

Technorati is more than just a reader. As a reader, it’s not great. It is, however, THE STANDARD of tracking the interconnectedness of the entire blogosphere. It knows who is linking to whom, when and how often, etc. It tracks EVERYTHING. You can claim your blog there and get all kinds of interesting info. Again, Technorati is integrated in the Wordpress software.

I am going to save the rundown on Firefox for Monday. It is a lot of stuff and way too much to add to the end of this post.

If you have questions, feel free to ask. If you have suggestions for other feed generators or readers, etc., then you should let ‘em rip. Have a great weekend.

Practically speaking, I have a combination of programs that have been integrated for me that save me tremendous amounts of time. Before I tell you what they are, let me say that saving me time is paramount in the blogging experience. Many blogging pastors are ridiculed for spending so much time blogging that they couldn’t be capable of successfully pastoring their church. I have had people accuse me of this on this blog. they question how I could read all of the blogs on my blogroll and do anything else. I saw someone question another pastor about how long it took for him to write such long posts. I will answer the blogroll question in my next installment, but it doesn’t take as much time as you might think to write articles.

Frankly, I average an hour to an hour and a half a day blogging. Sometimes it is more because I can and I am inclined to do so. Other times, I will go for days without spending more than fifteen minutes on the internet. The previous four days have been like that for me. I wasn’t inclined to do it and my schedule wasn’t conducive, so I didn’t.

So why spend the time in the first place? Because it is important. I think that I am saying some things that need to be said. If you haven’t read “The World is Flat” yet, you might need to check it out. Information technology, of which blogging is a part, has created a level ground for the free marketplace of ideas. This is true on a global level. Ideas are tested, embraced or rejected based on their merits. If you have something significant to say, then your ideas are embraced. If you are screaming into the wind, then you are, typically, ignored.

Also, it is cathartic. I have an itch to write and I enjoy crafting words. It fills a personal need for me. As I mentioned before, I have had various experiences with this well before the blogosphere or the SBC issues melded together to create an amazing confluence of events over the last year.

So then, it is important, but time is of the essence. How do I make the most of it?

Here are the three programs that I use to my benefit: Firefox, Wordpress and Bloglines.

The benefits of Wordpress are many. You should get the exhaustive run down on Cory Miller’s blog, Church Communications Pro. That link will take you to a search results page for “Wordpress” at CCP. It is an extensive list.

Four things I use the most with Wordpress are the plugins that allow you to customize your software, the ability to write at home or in off times and have it release later, the post slugs that let you put key words in your title and the “press it” link that I can click when on any website that allows me to blog something quickly and easily.

The plugins that I use help me accomplish my goals quickly, so that I don’t have to spend a lot of time maintaining my blog. For those who already use Wordpress, here are the plugins I have installed:

Akismet (anti-spam filter)

Anti Spam Image (this is the number thing by the comments, and the plugin’s home page disappeared, but the program is still working even after an update of Wordpress software. Here is a link to a similar plugin, though there are so many, no one would have a problem finding one: AuthImage)

Break Out of Frames (If your blog is being read in a third party reader, this helps you to break out of the frames and allow you blog to fill the whole page, as it was meant to be read.)

Easy Ban (restrict IP addresses - never had to use it, but have threatened once)

Google Sitmaps (This plugin generates a sitemap of your blog which you can then submit to Google. Google will then have a better understanding of your site and search it for content more accurately. The end result is that your site content, if related specifically to a given search, will rise to the top of Google’s results. Submit your sitemap at Google’s Webmaster Tools.)

Maintenance Mode (For tweaking code without having readers log in to your blog while your code is not set.)

Move Comments (Allows you to take a comment that would be better on a different thread and move it there intact without having to delete it, etc.)

ToDo List (Gives you a “to do” list in your Wordpress dashboard that you can use to keep notes about posts you would like to do or changes in your blog)

Database Backup (Allows you to easily backup everything, as opposed to trying to zip files with an ftp program)

Wordpress allows for you to define a post time when you write a post. If you choose a time later than when you are writing, it will hold the post and release it when the time arrives. This post is being written that way. I am timing it to release Wednesday morning, but writing it during my free time on Tuesday. The stats my hosting service provide tell me that I pick up my readership about 6 am and it tapers out about 10 pm, with some peaks and valleys in between. I know that an article that posts just before 6 am will get the most readership and discussion it could possibly garner than if I release it later in the day. This way, I write when I am free - not taking time from either my ministry or my family, and still publish it when it is most advantageous.

The “Post Slug” box in Wordpress allows you to insert key words into the title of your post. Ideally, these are things that relate specifically to the article and are words that are most likely to be entered into search engines. You may note the address of this post, for instance. It is not the title of the article, nor is it the archive position. When you watch which keywords bring people to your site, you begin to understand what people enter into search engines in hopes of finding what you are talking about. Certain things attract a lot of attention, and certain things don’t. Having certain keywords in your title will increase the likelihood of your article being found by someone who doesn’t read your blog regularly. This has the potential, obviously, of increasing your readership and conversation. Right now, about 50% of my readership is first time, and most of that is coming from search engines. Some of that, obviously, is from referral, but there was a definite spike in search engine traffic when I submitted a sitemap to Google and then started using post slugs.

At the bottom of the page when writing a post on Wordpress, there is a link called, “Press It .” If you copy the link to your bookmarks, you will be able to create a post on whatever you happen to be surfing. For instance, I have run across a few news stories in the last month that I wanted to write about. Rather than open another window and copy title, address, etc., I just click the “Press It” link and it automatically creates the beginnings of a post with the title and link to the webpage on which the article was originally found. It saves a ton of time. When you are done, it takes you back to the page you were surfing.

Finally, Wordpress automatically integrates with Technorati and generates RSS feeds for those who wish to use them. More on Technorati, RSS feeds, Bloglines and Firefox on the next post.

12 Witnesses is not my first blog. Louie Giglio used to publish an online journal of his spiritual thoughts and I read it constantly. This was ten years ago or so. Louie had a profound impact on my spiritual life through “Choice,” a Bible Study that was the precursor to the Passion Conferences that are now national and powerful.

I followed suit. I published an online journal on our church’s website, which I designed and ran. I was hopeful that it might inspire our students as Louie inspired me.

Years later, I got involved with some of the forums at the Youth Specialties website. Many of those folks spent time blogging, but I didn’t quite know what that was. I researched a little, started one, and then ditched it. It was a personal, family blog, but I worried about putting too much about my kids on the internet, for obvious reasons in this time when lurking predators are many.

Finally, I started Theoblogian Today in September of 2005. I was just intending to talk about general ministry and theology. I thought the name was witty. In January, 2006, I read my state Baptist Paper and found out about the stir brewing at the IMB. The Archives of that time will reveal the growth process, including why I changed the name. If you don’t want to sift the through the Archives, it was because the name sounded pithy and shallow in light of the serious things I was discussing.

12 Witnesses then moved from the original site url, theoblogiantoday.blogspot.com, to the new one, twelvewitnesses.blogspot.com. Recently, it has come to rest in a permanent place: twelvewitnesses.com. I purchased the rights to the name, url and some server space to make sure I never had to do that again.

Here are a few thoughts about all of that.

1. No one much read what I was writing early on because I never interacted on other blogs. Commenting insightfully is the quickest way to get people to follow the link back to your blog and begin reading what you are writing.
2. I commented anonymously at first, because I was afraid that I might hurt my chances in future ministry. I started commenting and posting under my own name because I noticed that people tended to ignore folks who didn’t own their words, and I felt that if I was afraid to own my words, they must not be worth much.
3. Blogspot blogs were the easiest and most well known originally, but blogger became a nightmare. I can’t tell you how many times it crashed my blog, ate my template and froze up at just the wrong moment. I finally quit blogger, well after many of my fellow bloggers moved on, when it allowed a slew of sexually explicit spam in my comment section, despite the security measures.
4. I now use Wordpress. At first, I wasn’t all that impressed with the software and wondered why everyone raved about it so much. In the end, I found many benefits to Wordpress software that have made me very happy with my current situation.
5. Throughout the year of 2006, I have occasionally posted on other subjects beyond the SBC, but I know that my readership, while interested in those things for the most part, have the SBC in common.
6. The blogosphere is a free marketplace of ideas. If you have something to say, particularly if you are adept at writing, people will read what your thoughts.
7. Not everyone who reads your thoughts agrees with you. I have had over 200,000 individuals and over 500,000 pageloads on the various forms of this blog in the last year. Certainly I have had my fair share of folks who disagreed with me. That’s fine. It’s about conversation. Well, it is supposed to be, anyway.

Believe it or not, I have a lot more. Future posts will include my thoughts on time management and the tricks I’ve learned to streamline my blogging experience, as well as the programs I use and why. Also, I will write on why I think it matters to do what I have done - invest the time, energy and money in this blog, 12 Witnesses.

With all the talk over the last year about blogging pastors - from praises to condemnations - I have thought of posting a series about what I have learned and why I blog. I plan to start posting this series tomorrow.

It will include some background, personal thoughts, explanations of purpose and hopes for what it may accomplish. I will also talk about how I make the best use of time through prioritizing and tricks of the trade that have made things easier and easier.

With that, please take note that 12 Witnesses will shut down between the hour of 7 pm and 8 pm Eastern. This is so that the Wordpress software can be upgraded by guru David Phillips.

Thanks.