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Category Archives: Technology
Successful Tweeting
So tweeting updates @ Kids Camp 2011 was a huge success! The parents loved it! I didn’t tweet a ton like I had wanted to (I ended up only doing about 4-5 tweets a day), but the parents thought that was an incredible way for them to stay connected and “see” them involved and know they were having fun!
Also, I normally use animoto.com to do our ministry videos @ Hayward Wesleyan, and I used it @ camp and it worked great! The great thing about Animoto is that the videos are created online and are obviously viewable online and are able to be exported to YouTube and downloaded as well. So not only were the Twitter updates awesome, so were the videos that we produced each day!
Tweeting @ Kids Camp 2011
Okay, so I’m gonna try and experiment. The Twitter.
I don’t use Twitter very much because the people in our area (and the teenagers) do not tend to use it. I do have a Twitter account (@jdmavis), but it is mostly filled with my blog posts that some people find helpful to receive through the Twitter feed.
This summer, however, I plan to use the Twitter for Kids Camp 2011. In an effort to connect with parents back home who might want to read and hear (and possibly) see what their kids are up to, I plan to post and update thoughts and happenings @ Kids Camp.
So if you want to “follow” me on the Twitter and get updates throughout the week from Kids Camp 2011, click on @jdmavis (I’ve already started!).
441 Drops of Water (video)
This is “mechanical artwork”! Great for countdown video background?!
via Make: technology on your time
source Vimeo
Something New and Revolutionary from Google!
I use Google services, pervasively. Gmail is my email client of choice, along with its built-in contacts database. Google Calendar is what I use for my personal as well as professional calendar. YouTube and Google Maps, most all of us have interacted with. Others include: Google Docs and Google Reader. These “cloud-based” services that Google offers syncs perfectly with my smartphone. All of these services Google provides for free. They are like a perpetual Santa Claus.
So it’s no surprise to most of us if Google comes out with something new:
What an iPad Was Made For!
Alternate Reality
45% of kids say they feel more comfortable online than offline. The reason? “It’s easier to be who you want to be, because nobody knows you and if you don’t like the situation, you can just exit and it’s over.”
Children's Ministry Magazine May/June 2011 pg. 20 Group Publishing
It’s a Book! (video)
Funny. I don’t think we are quite in danger of losing books, yet. However, the more our children interact with “screens” rather than “paper”, I wonder if this will be more applicable in the coming future?
In Hayward, WI, each middle and high school student is getting either an iPad or a MacBook laptop computer this next school year. Emerging technology is cool (the students are really excited), but I see the students using these devices more for personal use (i.e. Facebook and YouTube video watching) than for educational reasons. I could be wrong. In fact, I would be pleased if I were wrong. I’ll let you know!
How Much is a Website Domain Name Worth?
Back in December 2010, I got an education in the value of website domains.
Up to this point I had purchased 2 domain names: hwcyouth.org and jeremymavis.com. Both of these domains cost $15 a year to own. I had came across an article that encouraged people to purchase their last name as a domain name (i.e. mavis) to use as an extremely relevant and future-proof email address (i.e. jeremy@mavis.com). I thought, “Cool! I can use this as my email address, my wife could get her own as well, and my girls could get one when they get old enough… all personalized.”
So I looked up mavis.com and contacted the owner of the domain to see what it would cost to purchase. Here is my educational lesson (the emails in italics are mine, the emails in bold are from support@mavis.com):
Hi. I’m interested in the “mavis.com” domain name… Would you be interested in selling?
how much you want to offer?
not sure… how’s $40?
Hahaha
Sorry, it sounds like you know something I don’t, and the jokes on me. Could you start w/ a $$ amount and give me an idea so I can laugh at myself with you?
Go to http://www.valuate.com/ and type in mavis.com for free domain name valuation and you will get an idea. Mavis.com is a five character .com domain name and it is single word.
$97,000 … okay, now I see why you’re laughing! Is the value because it’s a single word and only five letters? I don’t think I’ll be interested in that… someone else with that kind of money can purchase it!
Yes, single word .com domain names are high in value. A company offered us $50k years ago and we didn’t even consider selling it.
Cell Phone Usage (infographic)
I just recently acquired an updated smartphone which has a whole lot more features than my old one: meaning, I can now use “apps”. Additionally it has the ability to check and do many things on the go: facebook, email, text messages, and lots of multimedia stuff.
In light of my recent acquisition, I thought this infographic would be appropriate for my new reality (and maybe others):
Jeremy Mavis 
Commenting on the Internet
May 24
Posted by Jeremy
via thedoghousediaries.com
Posted in Technology
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Tags: blog, comment, comments, interaction, internet