by Larry Richman, Posted Wednesday, January 30th, 2008
I was touched by Michael Otterson’s tribute to President Gordon B. Hinckley in the Washington Post – Newsweek “On Faith” column:
“On Monday morning this week, 12 hours after the passing of the 97-year-old leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Gordon B. Hinckley, an extraordinary and spontaneous thing happened.
“Young teenagers in Salt Lake City began showing up for school that day, dressed not in their usual jeans and winter clothing, but in their “Sunday best.” Young men sat in classes in white shirts and ties, suits and coats.
“Thousands of them did this, with no prompting from parents or other adults and to the surprise of teachers. The idea, it seems, started with a few and then spread at unbelievable speed through text messaging, child to child. This was their way of showing respect to a man seven times their age and several generations their senior. Such was the power of this one extraordinary leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to touch the lives of ordinary people.
“I think President Hinckley would have liked the spontaneity and simplicity of that gesture….”
A comment posted by a reader of Michael’s tribute says “This was not just in Utah but I witnessed high school students dressed up for school in Arizona also. I would expect this happened in some way all over the world.”
by Larry Richman, Posted Tuesday, January 29th, 2008
Yesterday, “Gordon B. Hinckley” was the third most mentioned individual in the blogosphere according to Blogpulse, a service that tracks blogs. He was just behind Hillary Clinton and President Bush, and ahead of Bill Clinton, John McCain, Ted Kennedy, Harry Potter, Mitt Romney, and everyone else. “Pres. Hinckley” also ranked 7th.
Pres. Hinckley was also ranked #1 in the “biggest movers” category, meaning he moved up the list the fastest. In fact, the first 5 in that list were “Gordon B. Hinckley,” “Pres Hinckley,” “President Hinckley,” “Ada Bitney Hinckley,” and “Thomas S. Monson.” “Sister Hinckley” was #7 and “President Monson” was #15.
Ten of the top 25 in that category were Latter-day Saints.
by Larry Richman, Posted Tuesday, January 29th, 2008
Funeral services for President Gordon B. Hinckley, who passed away on the evening of January 27, will be held Saturday, February 2. For the latest official information, visit the Newsroom.
For a listing of worldwide broadcast times and options (including Church satellite, television, and Internet), see the broadcast schedule.
by Larry Richman, Posted Sunday, January 27th, 2008
Beloved Church President Gordon B. Hinckley, who led The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through 12 years of global expansion, has died at the age of 97. President Hinckley was the 15th president in the 177-year history of the Church and had served as its president since March 12, 1995. For more information, see the Church’s Newsroom.
Elder M. Russell Ballard urges graduating students at Brigham Young University-Hawaii to use the Internet, blogs, and other forms of new media to contribute to a national conversation about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Elder Ballard suggested that we “join the conversation by participating on the Internet, particularly the New Media, to share the gospel and to explain in simple and clear terms the message of the Restoration.”
He explained that conversations about the Church would take place whether or not Church members decided to participate in them. “We cannot stand on the sidelines while others, including our critics, attempt to define what the Church teaches,” he said. Church leaders “can’t answer every question, satisfy every inquiry and respond to every inaccuracy that exists.”
For more ideas on using modern technology to share the gospel, see the category Sharing the Gospel on this blog.
by Larry Richman, Posted Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008
To help members with disabilities and their families participate more fully in Church meetings and activities, a new Disability Resources section has recently been launched at Disabilities.lds.org.
The Web pages on disabilities provide
A resource for priesthood and auxiliary leaders, teachers, families, and caregivers of those with mental and physical disabilities.
An understanding of the challenges and difficulties faced by those with disabilities.
Sections on specific disabilities and answers to frequently asked questions.
Comfort to members with disabilities and their families through scriptures, quotes, and support links.
Inclusion of members with disabilities and their families, through listings of available materials, as they strive to live the gospel of Jesus Christ and serve in the Church.
by Larry Richman, Posted Monday, January 21st, 2008
According Horowitz Associates, 6 out of 10 high speed Internet users watch or download online video at least once a week and 86% do so on a monthly basis. News and user-generated, non-professional content are the most often viewed genres, followed by movie previews and trailers, music videos, and previews or segments of TV shows.
While television is still the preferred platform for traditional TV content, weekly viewing of full episodes doubled from last year, with 16% of high speed Internet users watching TV online on a weekly basis. 70% say they do so because they missed the episode on TV. 18% watch them again after having watched them on TV. 13% of Internet users who watch TV shows online say they watch them directly online, and not on regular TV.
by Larry Richman, Posted Thursday, January 17th, 2008
Today, about 80% of all Web traffic begins at a search engine. Increasing a Web site’s natural search engine rankings through search engine optimization (SEO) can help people access your site. Studies have shown that ranking on the second or third page of a search result can increase Web site traffic by up to 9 times. Top 10 rankings, or first-page listings, can mean an additional six-fold increase in traffic
Although SEO is not a panacea, it should be employed as an integral part of an overall promotion and marketing strategy. The best way to determine how much SEO to implement is to determine how your target audience currently searches for your content categories. Get reports that provide historical perspective of the popularity of key phrases that relate to your content. If you find that thousands of Web surfers are searching for your particular category per day, then you should move SEO to the top of your marketing priorities.
Remember that SEO is an ongoing, long-term investment. You need to continuously optimize content, fine-tune metadata, and optimize the page’s code to maintain excellent search engine results.
This is important both internally and externally. Internally, as you update your site’s content frequently, you need to optimize it so it continues to rank appropriately on search engines. Externally, since the ranking algorithms used by public search engines change constantly, you need to stay abreast of how your site is being ranked.
Ignoring SEO can be detrimental. Give search visibility the attention it needs to protect your brand and help people find your content.
by Larry Richman, Posted Friday, January 11th, 2008
Many Web sites are missing the boat with search engine optimization by focusing primarily on the home page. Key pages of content also need to be optimized, especially when site visitors may jump directly to those pages without going through the home page.
Many people–and in some cases most people–will find your content with a search engine, which will take them directly to the content they seek, instead of being escorted through the home page front door and relying on a site’s internal navigation or internal search engine. While this is a valued benefit of a well-planned search engine optimization strategy, it also raises issues about successfully introducing and cross-referencing content.
It is critical for a site to have a solid information architecture to accommodate a variety of different user scenarios. That model can’t rely on a single home page to introduce visitors to your content and brand. Instead, you need to treat every page like it’s your home page. Brand awareness, site navigation, and marketing need to be reinforced at all levels. Even the deepest parts of your site should help visitors understand what the site is about as if they were seeing your brand for the first time.
Site navigation is not only a user’s guide, it is a communication tool and opportunity to market your content. Carefully consider the navigation labels you use because they will inform site visitors of new offerings that may interest them.
Once on a page in your site, visitors will be most responsive to content related to what they searched for. If done right, contextual promotions will prompt them to read the message and interact with it. Introducing modules that integrate with the content such as “If you’re interested in X, you may also be interested in Y” is a great example of this.
Understanding how visitors arrive on your site and how they get around will help you craft a holistic user experience.
by Larry Richman, Posted Wednesday, January 9th, 2008
In 2008 and 2009, the book Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith will be used on second and third Sundays for Melchizedek Priesthood and Relief Society class instruction. This book is available online in multiple languages and in multiple media formats, such as text, PDF (original layout), audio, American Sign Language video, Braille, and multiple reader formats for handheld devices.
by Larry Richman, Posted Monday, January 7th, 2008
A 10-minute video originally produced for the large number of journalists visiting Salt Lake City for the 2002 Winter Olympics has been updated and was posted on the Church’s Newsroom site on Friday to help counter persistent myths about the Church.
The Myths & Reality video was developed as a primer on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The topics in the video reflected the kinds of questions journalists were then asking —questions about polygamy, the Church’s openness, and whether Church members are Christian.
Former NFL quarterback Steve Young and former Miss America Sharlene Hawkes, both Mormons, talk the viewer through three major misperceptions the public has about the Church.
On the Newsroom site, click on the Video tab for links to download the video to share with your family and friends, create a link to it, or embed it in your blog or site.
