The Pope on Twitter!

Written on 28th October 2008                                                                                                              7 COMMENTS
Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten, Serial Internet Entrepreneur

An assembly of Catholic bishops on Monday called for the use of mass communications – including television, cinema, DVDs and even iPods – to be used to spread the Bible in as many languages as possible. No word on Twitter, Flickr or blogging yet! The old way of word of mouth marketing doesn’t seem efficient enough in the digital age.

“The voice of the Divine Word must resonate over the radio, on Internet channels with virtual distribution (and by) CDs, DVDs and iPods, and on television and cinema screens”

Sounds like product placement to me!

Although the Vatican had one of Europe’s first Web sites they are generally not listed among the most innovative organizations in the world. They seem to realize that now and are arguing that the written word alone is insufficient for the modern world.

I wonder if someone at the Vatican is seriously considering starting a Social Network to compete with Facebook and LinkedIn. it would be an instant hit and a serious upgrade to the dusty old churches I have visited.

Oh, and regarding the title? The Pope IS on Twitter but not very active. Fortunately you can skip the messenger and go straight to the source: God

[poll id="2"]

Catholic, church, god, The Pope

7 Comments »

The Pope Goes Digital. Hallelujah!

Written on 7th May 2008                                                                                                              5 COMMENTS
Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten, Serial Internet Entrepreneur

It might take a while before we can welcome Pope Benedict to Facebook and Twitter but in July he will text message thousands of young Catholics on their mobile phones during World Youth Day in Sydney. The catholic church hopes that going digital will help them connect better with younger people.

The Pope will personally send daily short messages to the estimated 225,000 youngsters attending the event. Next to texting they will also erect digital prayer walls at event sites.

The church will set up a Catholic social networking Web site that will compete with Facebook. So much for adopting existing technologies.

The technology will be provided by Australian telecoms firm Telstra. They plan to connect 8,000 volunteers, 2,000 clergy, 3,000 media and an anticipated 225,000 pilgrims to more than 700 locations around Sydney.

The Catholic church is the biggest in Australia with about 5 million members. Lets hope they all sign-up for GodBook, Godtube and Praytter.

Amen.

amen, Catholic, godtube, Telstra, The Pope

5 Comments »