are you a blogger? do you twitter?
>> October 26, 2009
Happy Monday, everyone.
As I read other PWs blogs and tweets and see how they share their personal lives with the world, I often wonder what it looks like from the other side of the screen — from the member's perspective. And I wonder how blogging and twittering is helping to change the way member's views of pastor's wives in general and their pastor's wife in particular.
I bet it makes us look like real people and maybe makes us more approachable. I bet sometimes it may have created problems from things that were said...
What experience have you bloggers and twitterers had with members reading your blogs? How has it impacted your relationships with the members?
Posts
7 comments:
Fortunately, it's been a positive thing for me. Some women my age found my blog when my husband and I began working at our church, and they've been so encouraging about it. I am ALWAYS thinking of the member perspective when I write, however, which can easily squelch authentic writing (for me anyway).
It's been positive for me too. I did add a FB fan page for my blog to keep it separate from my own FB stuff ... just so people didn't feel like I was forcing it on them. But many of our church members have become fans of the page. Last week a church member told me how much one of my posts had encouraged her.
I'm pretty much the same online as I am in real life ... wide open ... so I don't feel like I have to hide anything or be any more cautious online than I am anywhere else. I'm incredibly comfortable with people knowing how deeply flawed I am and how great my need for God's grace and mercy is - DAILY!!
I blog and twitter:
I'd say I'm the same online as in life...fortunately or unfortunately reserved. Reserved in the aspect that I know it's published and out there. I do keep my blog linked to my Facebook with attempts to write encouraging messages that will maybe help others.
I go back and forth on allowing church members I'm friends with online from being able to view status/links (in turn my blog, twitter). On one hand knowing it's available to them makes me more cautious about what I write, on the other hand it's been handy to text to twitter a prayer request and know it's updating Facebook.
So it hasn't impacted my relationship with church members...but definitely does make my writing sincere but cautious.
Sometimes I forget everything I put out there. I spoke at a ladies retreat a few weeks ago and the host church pastor's wife had read my sites and knew enough about me to tell the ladies new details each time I got up to speak, like how my husband and I met. I didn't mind at all, I'm just surprised when someone I'm meeting for the first time already seems to know me well!
I'm on Twitter and Facebook and generally the Twitter friends are people I don't know in real life and FB friends are real life friends. So it's strange when someone in real life pops up on Twitter. It's only caused a problem when I found out my mother-in-law read my Twitter page, even though she isn't on Twitter!
I'm always surprised when someone comes up to me at Church & tells me they read my Blog! So far, I've only had good feedback, but, I do try to edit myself & would never say any thing really negative about my Church on my Blog. I mainly just Blog about my life, raising my kids & my own personal opinions. My husband has a disclaimer on his Blog that these are his thoughts only not those of the Church! :)
I blog and twitter. People are curious about their leadership, and I think it scratches the curiosity itch. 'Course I'm practically an open book anyways, and leaves less to the imagination.
I do both. Most people unless they are long time friends do not know about the blog, but a few of our "younger" members are on facebook and I have not had any problems so far. I try to be as "real" at church as I am in my daily life so I think they already know what my personality is like. What you see is what you get!
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