Social Mediain the Church of Upper Austria

European Christian Internet Conference, Rome11th - 14th June 2012

Andrea Mayer-Edoloeyi

● Social Media Manager in the Communications Office of the Catholic Church of Upper Austria and for „Katholische Aktion“ (official lay people organisation)

● „Digital Native“● http://kirche20.at

Social Media is personal communication!

The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the wo/men of this age …

Gaudium et Spes, 2nd Vatican Council

What can you do as Social Media Manager with 15 hours a week in a area with 1 Million Catholic Christians?

Some Components ...Reduce to the

max

Our Strength as a church● A very, very good message.● A lot of volonteers. ● Lay people are credible witnesses

of the Gospel.

Social Media is a Bottum-up-Development

You cannot organize personal

communication in a centralicist

way.

Social Media is a Charisma

Everybody who wants to do, should have the possibility to communicate in the Social Web.

Not everybody has to do it.

Exception: Youth work.

The „Job“ of the Church

● Support ● Networking● Infrastructure (like Wifi in

church locations)● Specific „best practice“

projects ● Guideslines

Catholic Church of Upper Austria

A lot of decentral Social Media Channels● Facebook and Twitter-Profiles and

Blogs of Persons (lay people and priests)

● Facebook pages and groups – parishes– youth groups, youth centers, ...– Catholic Women's Movement, ...– thematic Pages like „Workfree Sunday“,

„Pilgrimages“, ...

Catholic Church of Upper Austria

Support platform and blog on Church and Social Media http://kirche20.at

Individual Counselling for parishes and church organisations

Education: basic know-how for professionals and volunteers (know-how connects and is the basis for decicions)

Barcamp once a year

International networking: trends, ...

Catholic Church of Upper Austria

Support platform and blog on Church and Social Media http://kirche20.at

Catholic Church of Upper Austria

Network for bloggers

Blog aggregationhttp://thematisch.at

Catholic Church of Upper Austria

Specific projects

Wifi offensive for church locations *

Geocaching *

Community for pilgrims

Crowdsourcing „Day of Parish Pic“

App for youth work methodics (Catholic Youth) *

Crowdsourcing quotations on 2nd Vatican Council (Catholic Action) *

* not jet arranged or not ready

Thank you!

Who is sitting on this couch?

We do not use the Internet, we live on the Internet and along it.

Piotr Czerski

Who uses Social Media?Based on empiric studies like „Sinusstudie“

Net people are mostly

● postmodern-minded, have multi-optional lifestyles

● do not persive religion and church in their daily lives

Typically „churchly people“ are often Digital Outsiders or Immigrants.

→ You cannot reach a lot of typically „churchly people“ via social media activities.

→ You can make new contacts with baptized people and others.

Net inculturation*Mutual learning process

* A concept of mission theology

Message of the Gospel

Experience realm of

net people

God love Geeks

Credits Pics:

Buttons: Flickr CC by-nc-sa KEXINOHands: Flickr CC by-nc-sa FotoRita [Allstar maniac]Digital Native: Flickr CC by-sa Gideon BurtonFrau – Mac: Flickr CC by-nc-sa kk+God live Geeks: Flickr CC by rhurtubiaLego: Flickr CC by-nc-sa ZanthiaSofa: Flickr CC by-nc-sa DigitalnativeIpads: Flickr CC by-nc-sa waferbaby