I’m a bit here and there with work and holidays over the next month or so so please be patient with me if I don’t blog much or lots all at once.  I was tempted just to say that I’ll be taking a holiday from blogging but some of the things I’m doing are way too exciting for that so I’ll try to keep you all up to date with some of the things I’m up to.

More than likely lots of that will be after the fact as I have absolutely no idea if some of the places I’ll be have Internet access… but if they have I’ll post here, on flickr or more probably some updates on Twitter.

So, pop by every now and then, but don’t get too frustrated with me if there are long gaps between posts.

Have a great summer.

Stewart

today the team are starting blogs. Oh dear!!!

One of the reasons I like WordPress is the amazing range of free plugins.  These plugins let you do some very cool stuff on your site.  We’ve been playing with some for podcasting, image galleries and text formatting…

I’ve added some of my favourites on the URConnected page.

I’m at the URC’s Windermere Centre in, well, Windermere for the next couple of days to help people play around with their WordPress sites.

So, got any great tips for making the most of a WordPress site?  Share with the group… please.

I’ll blog a bit about what we’re up to and any hints and tips I come across on the URConnected page so keep checking there if you’re interested.

My colleague and mate Leo has been blogging for a few weeks.

I didn’t want to heap pressure on him so I’ve given him some time to get his head round blogging.  That said, the time has come for a bit of a plug.  He’s been writing some great stuff so check out his blog and say hi.  You can follow him on Twitter too.

I’ve asked before and I’ll ask again…

Why do you come here?  What brings you to my blog and when you get here what do you like about it?  What kinds of things do you find helpful?  Is anything missing?

You may notice if you venture beyond the front page of this site that the resources page has altered a little to include an Amazon Store.

I link most of the books and resources I talk about to Amazon so it seemed to make sense to collect them in one place so you can click through to them and see what else I’ve been reading, watching, playing with and listening to.

The sidebar now also contains an Amazon widget with my top 6 recommendations.

[disclosure: If you click through and buy anything I get 5% in Amazon vouchers. Not that that's why I've added the feature. Honest.]

I’ve also worked out how to change the header picture so look out for some new ones over the coming months.

DK at Media Snackers has been on a bit of a campaign to get Youth Workers in the statutory sector to blog.  It would seem that there are very few who do (he’s found one!), which perhaps is a consequence of Local Authorities attitudes to their staff having any kind of online profile (it’s BAD).

The same is true of the church.  Rumour has it that the powers that be added Facebook to the list of blocked websites in the Church of Scotland’s offices the day before Gordon Brown (yes the Prime Minister) gave social networking a big thumbs up at the General Assembly.  Facebook was unblocked shortly after.

This seems broadly representative of local churches and even denomination’s approach to the Internet.  ‘I don’t understand it so it must be bad.’  I’ve had youth workers tell me they are not allowed to have BEBO or Facebook sites, they can’t have forums on their websites and all kinds of stuff about not being online.  The reason most given is ‘Child Protection’.  What a load of nonsense.

The online world is just as safe (or unsafe) as real life.  What we should be doing is having sensible conversations about APPROPRATE online interaction with young people.  There are lost of ways to have open and transparent contact online with young people.

It’s probably a good idea for you not to IM your youth group.  But there’s no reason you can’t have a Twitter account telling them what’s coming up this week, or reminding them what to bring.

Having a group blog also let’s young people be creative in collecting content, writing and presenting what they have been up to.  A blog would give your group a higher profile in the community.  It would allow parents and supporters to see the value of your group.  You might even get new members or more funding.

So, here’s a plea.  Just because you don’t ‘get it’ don’t think it’s bad.  There are loads of tools and opportunities around to make your youth work better.  Don’t miss out because you don’t know where to start.

If you blog about your youth work, let me know.

If you would like to know more about getting online then in the next session I’ll be doing some training to get you started.  Keep an eye out on the blog and the dates pages or get in touch from the contact page.

In the meantime check YoMo‘s guide to youth work blogging HERE.