Here are some thoughts I've had on forums, blogs and how they can be used to assist mission, missionaries and NWMC in Christ's service.
A forum is an online discussion group where people can exchange thoughts and ideas about common interests. Messages are posted to a forum on a topic and become a part of the website. They present good opportunities for friends and small groups to stay in touch,
sharing prayer requests and encouragement. People with specific mission interests would be able to network and encourage each other. They are the best opportunity for people to interact with each other through the year in a familiar and inexpensive way.
A blog is short for a web log, basically a journal intended for public viewing with updates posted regularly (at least weekly). Blogging (the act of keeping a blog) has taken the web community by storm over the past few years and can be used for anything from selling a product to keeping track of links to staying in touch with family, friends and supporters while in the mission field (see http://www.thefrazierclan.org/blogs/michael_ls_blog/default.aspx). Asking missionaries, especially summer service, to blog on the conference web site would increase the visibility of conference while increasing the missionaries' outreach. More
candidates to blog are staff, speakers and other conference leaders.
Forums and blogs can be used interchangeably, but here are some general comments about their tendencies.
- Forums tend to be more conversational than blogs.
- Blogs tend to have one or a few primary experts speaking to a larger audience.
- Blogs tend are usually open for the world to see.
- Both can have people respond to the author of a post.
Am I missing anything? Do you have anything to add?