I announced a while back that I’d finally taken the plunge to purchase an iPad2.  I confessed that it was much more of a luxury item than a necessity.  Now that I’ve used it for a couple of months, I’ve realized just how much I’ve missed by not having it sooner.

Here are 6 ways that I’ve used the iPad2 in the context of corporate worship and my job as a worship pastor.

1.  Planning Meetings:  this is a bit of a luxury, but I no longer have to haul my big MacBook Pro up the stairs and take up a lot of table space at our weekly planning meetings.  I show up with my iPad2 in hand, with quick easy access to my tunes and PlanningCenterOnline.

2.  Digital Music Stand:  there are numerous apps out there that let you store a library of .pdf files.  I haven’t even gotten that far yet, but I export our setlist from PlanningCenter as a .pdf into my DropBox account, and then open it on the iPad for a quick, easy digital music stand.  No more stacks of paper to shuffle through.  (DropBox is FREE, and if you haven’t created a free account there, you’re missing out.  Use my affiliate link so I can get more free space, please!)

3.  Remote Control:  with the “Remote” app, I can easily control my iTunes playlist from my iPad.  This has come in extremely handy when I’m at the piano or keyboard rehearsing a tune or charting out a song.  Where before I’d have to reach way over to my desk and press play w/ the mouse, scoot back to my keyboard, scoot back to stop and rewind, etc., I can do all of this with the iPad sitting on my keyboard.  From one seat at the piano or keyboard, I can load, play, rewind, repeat, scrub – making charting arrangements and learning new songs a lot easier.

4.  Yamaha M7CL StageMix App:  with this incredible, FREE app from Yamaha, I can actually connect via WiFi to our Yahama M7CL sound board and easily adjust the sound.  Granted, we’ve got an incredible tech team on hand mixing the sound, but being able to tweak my personal in-ear monitor mix from the iPad is genius.

5.  ProRemote:  ProRemote is a high-end, paid app (it’s got a hefty price tag of $99) that is a full-featured remote mixing/editing surface for all of the popular recording and looping packages, including Logic Studio, ProTools, Ableton Live, Reason, Garageband, and more.  This app is far more powerful than a simple on/off remote.  It gives you full access to almost every feature in the software itself.   Imagine being able to leave the studio console, walk into a vocal booth, record-enable a track, hit play, punch in and out recording, scrub back and listen, set location markers, and more …. by yourself, wirelessly, without an engineer sitting at the console.  All of this is possible through ProRemote.

In our studio, I’ve toggled back and forth between the iTunes Remote and ProRemote to create loops,click tracks, and full arrangements of songs.  On stage, I used ProRemote to not only control the Start/Stop of our click tracks in Ableton Live, but I also setup loop points and markers where I could easily loop or go back to a rehearsal marker with a push of a “pad” on the screen of my iPad.

6.  My Music – everywhere:  With the landing of Spotify here in the US, I can have my music, playlists, and even the playlists and music of friends available to me on my iPad instantly.  I’m not worried about syncing libraries, managing iTunes accounts, or even better – taking up precious storage space on my device.

Free Spotify accounts are by invitation only through Klout … but I have good news.  I’ve got a special link to get you in.  (Get a Klout and Spotify Account Here!)

This is a short-list of the way I’ve benefited from using the iPad2. If you’ve considered making a purchase, I hope this can help justify it.  If you already have an iPad, how do you use it in the context of your job?

Let the fun begin!

Anyone who follows my thoughts in this big cyberspace is quite familiar with my affection for Apple.  I love Apple products and have been a faithful Apple user since college.  (for those who are counting, that would be nearly 20 years)!  Despite my passion for Apple, I blogged a while back about “Why I’m Not Getting a Verizon iPhone” and “How This Apple Addict Fell in Love with the DroidX“.  Google stepped in and started changing the way my life was surrounded by Apple products.

With the recent announcement of the “Amazon Cloud Drive” and the “Amazon Cloud Player” I can’t help but wonder if Amazon is about to join Google in assaulting the massive market share of Apple’s dominance in the digital media world.

One of the most frustrating issues in dealing with my iTunes libraries across multiple computers is the lack of sync.  Sure, there are products out there that supposedly help you sync your iTunes libraries together across multiple computers.  I’ve tried some of this software and didn’t have a lot of success.

I have 2 primary iTunes accounts.  One account is for personal purchases and the other is for purchases I make through my Church account.  These get all mixed up and in my eagerness to get a new song over the weekend on my home computer I later find that it’s not on my church laptop.  Now, with the addition of a new studio computer at SSCC I have a 3rd location where I want to hear my music.  Having iTunes libraries from two separate accounts on 3-4 different computers is a real hassle … not to mention the issues of iPod syncing.

With thew new Amazon Cloud Drive I can begin uploading all of my music to the “cloud”.  (Travis, those quotes were JUST for you).  This gives me access to my music via web and the Android-based Amazon Player on my DroidX.

Granted, you only get 5 GB of free online storage but that’s quite a bit of storage and the price to increase storage is minimal.  To make things even better, if you purchase your music from Amazon.Com instead of via iTunes (the pricing is typically the same with less sync/copy restrictions) the music can be stored in your Amazon Cloud without using your storage space.

Want that new album?

Buy it on iTunes and it’s restricted to a few places.  Even to get the music on a different computer at all requires physically copying the files.
Buy it on Amazon and it’s available on your computer, on your phone, and in the cloud – accessible from any computer, any time, with web access.

I could be wrong but I think this will pose a serious challenge to the way Apple manages our media purchases and storage.  In the end, it’s all about access and convenience.  By the looks of this new Amazon Cloud, they have a promising product.

For me, I’m uploading music RIGHT NOW to the cloud.

What about you?

So … this online friend, Diane Goodwin (blog | twitter) has been making “paper me’s” … paper cutout versions of her online (and real) friends.  More and more folks have been changing their online avatars to their “paper me”.

Jokingly, I asked Diane where my “me” was and despite having a huge demand for them, she was gracious enough to make one.  Granted, we’ve never met.  She’s never seen me.  (well, unless you count online photos, right!?).  She’s in Belfast, Ireland.  (how cool is that).

The inside story here is that having these creates discussions … awareness, to a cause.  These avatars and pictures really “stand out”.  So when people ask about this, I can say that Diane did this, at no charge, for a cause – and that cause is “StandOut International“.

“StandOut International” exists to tackle the problem of child sexual exploitation head-on.  Read more about “StandOut” and consider making a donation.  I’ve just made mine!

So … here’s the “paper me”.  I never looked so good, right?

Hi.  My name is Fred McKinnon, and I’m an Apple-holic.

Since I was first introduced to Apple computers at Georgia Southern University in 1989 … it’s all I’ve used.  We’ve got multiple Macs and iPods … but the one Apple product that we’ve stayed away from was the iPhone.

I’ve wanted an iPhone for a couple of years.  The reality is, AT&T’s service in our area is less-than-reliable.  In our home, it’s essentially nonexistent.  That won’t work for us.  So I didn’t just want an iPhone.  I wanted a Verizon iPhone.

So earlier this month, I finally accepted the fact that maybe another phone could be as powerful as the coveted iPhone … at least, until an iPhone was available on Verizon’s network.  (the latest rumor is that this will happen in January 2011 … emphasis on the word, “rumor”).  So Joy and I both got ourselves the brand new “DroidX” from Motorola, sporting Google’s “Android” operating system.

In my business, Google is a constant companion.

Google Checkout
Google Base/Shopping
Google Analytics
Google Adsense
Google Adwords

Earlier this year, at the prompting of Travis Paulding, our Tech Director at SSCC, I migrated all of my email accounts to Google Apps.  After utilizing the powerful Gmail engine in Google Apps to power my multiple domains and email accounts, I asked myself why I didn’t do that a long time ago when Tony Morgan was talking about it.

So the courtship begins.  I have a Google-based phone, a business that networks with Google, and an “all-Apple” computer system, utilizing all the Apple apps like Mail, Address Book, and iCal.

And somehow, all of these have to not just get along … but be in love.

Well, a few weeks into my Google/Droid/Apple courtship, I am proud to say that “love is in the air”.
Stay tuned for Part 2 for details on the courtship, including my Apps, and how I brought my Google Phone into a beautiful union with my Mac Address Book, iCal, To-Dos, Email, Music, Photos, and Videos.

Part 2 … coming soon.

Nerd that I am, I thought It’d check to see if there was an app for wordpress on the android marketplace.  See i got this new DroidX from Verizon and its an android phone.

Well, I am typing this post from within the app.  Full blog on the DroidX and how we’re getting along is forthcoming.

Social Media.  It’s changed our lives, forever.  From teenagers to senior-citizens, indie bands to mainstream news channels, social media is a permanent fabric in our society now.

How has it impacted you?  Are you a “Social Media Junkie”?  Take this test to find out!

Social Media Junkie Test:

1.  Give yourself 5 points for each of the following profiles you own:
Twitter
Facebook
MySpace
YouTube
Vimeo

2.  Now, if you have MULTIPLE accounts at any of the above (ie. multiple twitter IDs) that you control, add an extra point for each EXTRA account.

(example:  if I have @fmckinnon on Twitter, that’s 5 points, but I also have @mckinnonoutdoors, so that’s an extra point, etc.)
(facebook:  I have my personal profile, but also a fan page – that’s a total of 6 points for Facebook)

3.  If you have an account with PeopleString, SUBTRACT 20 points.  (sorry, I just had to!)

4.  Give yourself (10) additional points for every 1,000 Twitter Followers you have.  Round UP.
(so if you have 2026 Twitter, followers that would be 30 points)

5.  If you have updated your Facebook Profile today (prior to reading this), give yourself another 10 points.

6.  If you have “tweeted” today (prior to reading this), give yourself another 10 points.

7.  If your last Facebook OR Twitter update was within the last 1-Hour of reading this, give yourself another 10 points.

8.  If you have not updated your Facebook Status or Twitter Status in the last 24 hours, subtract 20 points.

9.  If you have ever checked your email, twitter feed, or social media status while sitting on the toilet, give yourself a pat on the back, and add 25 points to your score.

10.  If you are on a date with your spouse or partner and pull out your phone to check your social media streams (twitter, facebook, etc) while your date has gone to the restroom … look in the mirror, shake your head in amazement, and add another 25 points to your score.

11.  If you go to bed with your laptop within reaching distance, add another 25 points.

12.  If you have ever “tweeted” back and forth with your spouse or best friend, while sitting in the same house, at the same time … add another 25 points to your score.

13.  If your blog is hosted on blogger.com or blogspot.com, take 25 points away from your score.  (sorry, I’m a WordPress fanatic, and this is my test, so I can create the curve).

14.  If you have NEVER been accused of “being online too much”, subtract 25 points.

15.  If you’ve never used a RSS reader (bloglines, GoogleReader, etc)., subtract 10 points.

How did you do?

If you scored over 100 points:  Social Media Junkie … get a life!
If you scored between 75-99 points:  Your a Saavy Social Media guru, dangerously teetering on being an addicted Junkie!  Be careful!
If you scored between 25-74 points:  Your not as old-fashioned as you look.  Keep it up, young grasshopper.
If you scored less than 25 points:  Time to fish or cut bait.
If you have a negative score:  There’s really no hope for you.  Sorry.

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(Copy/Paste this Scorecard into the comments section below and share your score!)

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Total Score:

Giveaway, Giveaway, Giveaway.

That’s what’s been happening here all week long.

Still to giveaway:  3 more copies of Vicky Beeching’s new “Eternity Invades” CD.  Enter here.
Still to giveaway:  1 FREE registration to the “AllAboutWorship” retreat in May (Kansas City).  Enter here.
Still to giveaway:  a free copy (instant download) of my 1st ever instrumental, “QuietTimes” Keyboard Instrumental.  Get it here.

And today?

“QuietTimes” Volume 2 Instrumental

Building on the success of the first instrumental (granted, these are 16 years old!), I went into a real studio and recorded this with my buddy Dutch Heidler on saxophone.  This album was spontaneous, meaning … we didn’t rehearse and write themes … we just went into the studio and started worshiping … with the “record” button on.  This is great music for prayer, meditation, and reflection.

Please giveback by doing the following:

1.  Click the green “Tweet/Retweet” button in the top RH corner of this blog post and spread the word about this giveaway to your Twitter followers.
2.  Go to my Facebook Profile and click the “Share” link underneath this entry on my profile page (it will appear as a “Networked Blog” post on my Profile.
3.  Leave a comment below letting me know you are participating.
4.  Don’t forget to register in all the other giveaways (each day had a different giveaway and a different page, links above!
5.  Enjoy your new music – Download “QuietTimes” Volume 2 Keyboard/Saxophone Instrumental now.  (if you burn a CD, be sure and set your software to allow no seconds of space or “gaps” between tracks so the music flows continually)

2009 was a fantastic year.  I thought it would be fun to dig into Google Analytics and see if anything significant stood out for the blog during 2009.

Top Search Keywords:

fred mckinnon (duh)
palm vs blackberry (I should really write more tech posts, huh?)
nick saban arrested (haha, I love it!)
kate mcrae (keep praying for this little girl)
palm treo vs blackberry (did I mention I should write more tech compare entries?)

As for the Top 50 keywords, I’m disappointed to report that there was nothing super hilarious in there.  I always see these funny keywords and phrases people see in their stats.  My Top 50 are riddled with palm, blackberry, “bad O holy night singer”, and “how he loves us, sloppy wet kiss” references.

Visitor Loyalty:

Well, there are about 40,000 of you who visited my site once, and never returned.  Ouch.

Top Referring Sites:

Twitter, Facebook, and Google make up the Top 3.  No surprises there.

Other blog/site specific top referrers are:
1.  theworshipcommunity.com
2.  sojournmusic.com
3.  sscommunitychurch.com
4.  billychia.com
5.  mikeymo1741.blogspot.com
6.  mandythompson.com
7.  jimdrake.blogspot.com
8.  church.alltop.com
9.  withoutwax.tv
10.  richkirkpatrick.com

Top Posts:

1.  Palm Treo Versus Blackberry
2.  Sunday Setlists
3.  O Holy Night
4.  About Me
5.  How He Loves Us
6.  My Blog – Live Video Feed
7.  Who Are We Kidding?
8.  Loops:  Hosanna by Paul Baloche
9.  Hillsongs:  Faith+Hope+Love Blog Tour
10.  Healer:  Mike Guglielmucci Exposed

So there you have it!  Let’s see what happens in 2010!

It’s no surprise, but the folks at LifeChurch keep raising the bar, making YouVersion.Com one of the coolest resources on the planet.  If you’ve been hiding in a cave for the last couple of years, YouVersion.Com is a free website where you can read the bible, share contributions and commentary, network, and do private journaling.  It’s my “place of choice” to read the Bible online or via a mobile device.  I will add my own commentary or thoughts on various passages as I study. The majority of those are never published here on my blog, so feel free to “follow me” on YouVersion if you’d like to see my contributions.

The folks behind this resource are always cranking out new updates and features and have recently announced 20 different Bible Reading Plans.  I’m excited about this, as I couldn’t really connect with the default plan offered by YouVersion this year.  The 20 plans are online and ready to go.  You can start a plan and track your progress throughout the year.

For years, my favorite Bible reading plan has been “The Victory Bible Reading Plan” by Dr. James McKeever.  Unfortunately, I lost my print copy of it and have neglected to purchase a new one over the past couple of years so I’ve been using a Daily Reader plan by Laridian.  I googled the “Victory” plan and found several links, mostly store links where you can buy it.  This link is a review at about.com and the writer does  a great job of summarizing why I always loved that plan.

Unfortunately, the “Victory” plan is not one of the 20 listed in YouVersion (I’ve submitted a request for it to be added, though!).  However, I’m am intrigued by a couple of the plans by M’Cheyne, specifically, his “M’Cheyne One Year Reading Plan”:

This plan is based on the M’Cheyne reading system, featuring four different readings for use in both family and personal devotions. Each day has two passages from the Old Testament, one from the New Testament, and one from either the Psalms or the Gospels. In one year, you read the Old Testament once and the New Testament and Psalms twice.

What do I look for in a Bible Reading plan?

* breaking it up so I’m in both the OT and the NT simultaneously
* chronologically reading in OT when possible
* covering the NT twice
* a daily dose of either Psalms or Proverbs, regardless

This plan does all of the above except I don’t think the OT readings are in chronological order.  I can deal with that.  I’m looking forward to a fresh plan that moves around.  I love the fact that I can read online or with my “real” Bible (some days, I just need to hold that heavy book in my hand!) and that I can journal and collaborate online as the passages speak to me.

Have you ever used a Bible reading plan, and if so, what did you use?  Click below to comment!

TRUE STORY

Ok, so my headline is a bit dramatic, I admit.  But seriously, yesterday was one of those days when you are so glad you discovered technology like twitter, facebook, and the internet.

SETUP:

Thanks to Randy Elrod’s  giveaway on the re:create conference website,  I got my pre-release of Matt Maher’s new “Alive Again” CD.  I was super-excited to once again here “Christ Is Risen” … a song Matt had performed LIVE at the National Worship Leader Conference back in July.  After hearing this song again I decided that I’d surprise our church by introducing it as a “grand finale” at the end of this Sunday evening’s “Night of Worship”.

PROBLEM:

I had trouble discerning a couple of lyrics.  Especially the first line of the first verse.  Now that I know the actual lyrics, I’ve no idea WHY I had trouble hearing it … it’s perfectly clear.  But regardless, I thought I was hearing something else.  It’s brand new and the lyrics are nowhere to be found on the internet – not even at CCLI.

ENTER … GOOGLE, TWITTER, FACEBOOK

Google the lyrics – found a Facebook page from a Catholic Church somewhere.  Clicked on their address in Facebook which brought up a Google Map, proudly displaying their location and phone number.  Quick phone call to the church (yeah, the old-fashioned way, a telephone) gets me on the line with “Brittany” who loves the song and is going to try and figure out the lyric.

Meanwhile:

I use both my @fmckinnon personal twitter account and the @theworshipcomm twitter account (for TheWorshipCommunity.Com) and ask if anyone knows the lyrics.

Who replies?  None other than Matt Maher, the co-author and artist himself:

Meanwhile, I’m remembering the guy who works for Media Shout, Nate … Nate and I worked together at the National Worship Leader conference and met while we were figuring out the best way to display the “live blog/twitter” feed on the screens.

I send Nate a “DM” (direct message) via Twitter.  The conversation goes something like this:
@fmckinnon:  “Nate, hey Fred from the NWLC … do u still have Matt Maher’s setlist in your MediaShout library”

@MediaShoutNate:  yeah, I think so, what do you need?
@fmckinnon:  1st verse of “Christ Is Risen” from Matt Maher’s set.  Let no un-cod …??? sin remain???
@MediaShoutNate:  “Let no one caught in sin remain inside the lie of inward shame …”

CELEBRATION:

In less than 30 minutes, I had everything I needed to finish preparing that song for our band.  Oh yeah, Brittany CALLED ME BACK, too – a couple of perfect strangers on the phone … she figured out the verse, and we walked through the lyrics to the rest of the song to make sure we had it right.

Some days the internet can be a total distraction … but some days … I LOVE THE INTERNET.

Kent and the gang over at ChurchRevelance.Com have posted their “Top 100 Church Blogs“ this weekend.  Many of them were no surprise, including some of my favorites such as  Michael Hyatt, Tony Morgan, Ragamuffin Soul, Anne Jackson, Pete Wilson, and ChurchCrunch.Com.

Lots of other names on there who have a home in my dusty old Google Reader … a jungle of leadership, tech, worship, and church jargon that I seldom find the time or energy to tame.

My biggest surprise?  The addition of my own site, “FredMcKinnon.Com” to the list. I certainly wasn’t expecting that!  (please, please, control your raves and applause, please)

Seriously, can I just take a moment and make my quick speech?  No?  Well, I’m gonna do it anyway.

THANKS.

Thanks to all of you folks who still read here, even though “blogging is dead”.
Thanks to all you folks who follow my random (and often duplicate) tweets and visit here.
Thanks to all you folks who take the liberty to comment and help make the conversation happen.
Thanks to all you folks who linger … you never leave a comment, you never show your face online … and that’s OK. (for now)
Thanks to all you folks who participate each week in “Sunday Setlists”
Thanks to all you folks who join me for live worship and “RT” my tweets.

When I started this blog, I did so because I wanted to journal.  I wanted to express some of my thoughts and if nobody else read a word I was typing, it was good for me to “get it out”.

Here’s to an ongoing “FredMcKinnon.Com” with more leadership, more laughs, more faith, more discussion, more live worship, more teaching, and more fun!

Can I get an “Amen”?

Hey Everybody,

As you may have seen, I’ve added the “Tweetboard” application to my blog and to the ezine and forums over at TheWorshipCommunity.Com, and a newer community that I launched a while ago, “E-BusinessOnline.Com“ (which is for those involved in ebiz, e-commerce, or desiring information on those topics).

UPDATE:  As cool as this idea is, I had to step away from being an early adopter on this one.  The site was very unstable, and on at least 3-4 instances the code from tweetboard wasn’t responding, causing my sites to not load.  That, coupled with the fact that it could be a spam mine made me decide against usage for now.

To access the “Tweetboard” simply click the little “Tweets” tab on the far left side of the sites.  The Tweetboard will open up showing my most recent string of “tweets” … but more importantly … your tweets sent from that page or your replies.

You see – it’s not meant to be nothing more than a view of my twitter feed … it’s meant to continue conversation.  So when you converse via @reply to me on Twitter (or to anyone who tweets from the tweetboard), the conversation is nested, threaded, and flows just like our blog comments.

Go ahead – give it a try.  Click the Tweetboard and add your “say so” to the board as a reply, or start your own comment.

Here’s a quick tutorial/review video from YouTube:

How would you like to be trained by some of the most gifted, innovative leaders on the planet?  I’m talking … people like:

• Anne Jackson
• Carl Cartee
• Carlos Whitakker
• Dino Rizzo
• Geoff Surratt
• Glen Packiam
• Jeff Deyo
• Jonathan Lee
• Mark Batterson
• Ross Parsley
• Sherri Gould
• Skye Jethani
• Steven Furtick
• Tony Morgan

(are you getting the idea yet?)

So, that’s exactly what you get when you become a subscriber to a new, web-based training ministry called “Innovative Ministry Leader” at www.innovativeministryleader.com.  I’m so excited about this resource I can hardly stand it.  The price is amazing – especially because the membership fee includes training for EVERYONE on your staff.  Training in worship, leadership, marketing, culture, and technology.  WHO DOESN’T NEED THAT?

This isn’t some cheesy PowerPoint narration either.  This is HIGH QUALITY VIDEO that you can watch LIVE, or access the archives to watch later.  This is COMMUNITY where you can chat and ask questions.

Today is the launch of the first webcast – a live interview/leadership lesson with Anne Jackson.  I can’t wait.

To sweeten the deal, the guys at IML are offering 8 books on Leadership from Zondervan to the first 150 registrants who signup.

Friends, worshipers, followers – this is a NO-BRAINER if you ask me.

NO:  this is NOT a paid sponsor ad.
NO:  I do not get any payment, affiliate credit, props, or credits for blogging this.
YES:  I’m excited about it, and that’s why I’m sharing this resource with you.

Check it out – www.innovativeministryleader.com.  Also, if you are a registered member of TheWorshipCommunity.Com, be sure and checkout a special 10% discount promo code, exclusively for our members.

For the Kingdom,
Fred

Typing speed that is … how fast can you type?
(ht) John Saddington, Human3rror.Com

103 words

Typing Test

FreePlay Friday Logo for FredMcKinnon.Com by RussHutto.Com

Hey Gang – it’s FRIDAY!  Let me hear it now, let me hear it now, it’s FRIDAY!
This is “Freeplay Friday” – I typically use this day to bypass the normal conversations on worship, church, leadership, etc., and just talk about family, life, or whatever comes to mind.

We’re taking some time together as a family for Spring Break.  I’m taking the two older boys (Jon Michael and Will) to see the Atlanta Braves play the Detroit Tigers tonight … I can’t wait.  We’ve got some incredible seats over the Braves’ dugout on the 1st baseline.  (Thank you God, for American Express Membership Rewards points).

For today’s FreePlay Friday I thought I’d share a video that was forwarded to me from my pastor (who now joined twitter @dysscc!) … so enjoy!

Playing For Change | Song Around The World “Stand By Me” from Concord Music Group on Vimeo.

So what’s your WEEKEND look like?  How many of you are starting Spring Break?

OK – so maybe not “a joint”; rather, “The Joint”.

Here’s the deal, I’ve been pretty busy this week and haven’t posted on the blog much – my bad.  What I’ve been doing this week is pointing you to some other destinations online that I think you should know about.  Earlier I posted a link to the ReVue on TheWorshipCommunity.Com of Kari Jobe’s new album – which is getting a lot of feedback.

Today I’d like to announce a collaborative effort of several of my worship-blogging friends:
Joel Klampert
Conner Byrd
Alastair Vance

I had the privilege of spending a week with Joel and Alastair in February in Nashville.  Conner, you are next on the list, bro!

“The Joint” is a multi-person review (much like the ReVue that we have on TheWorshipCommunity.Com) on music.  As Joel puts it, “3 guys…3 worship leaders….3 wicked cool people…and tons and tons of music to review with our thoughts that you can use.”

Their first “Joint” is a review of a Christian Hip Hop Artist, “The Czar”.  I don’t usually buy hip-hop, but reading the 3 different reviews on each of their blogs really makes me want to check it out and support this artist.

So here’s the deal.  COMMENTS are turned OFF on today’s post.  Take the time you’d normally use to comment here and use that type to visit the 3 blogs above and create community there.

Tweet this, FaceBook this, spread the word, and shout it from the mountaintops.  “The Joint” is going to catch on.

Kudos, guys.  You rock.

Hello Everyone – welcome to “FreePlay Friday”.

Today, I want to talk about technology, specifically, Twitter, and more specifically, a third part service called TweetLater.Com. I have three primary twitter accounts at the moment that I manage:

@fmckinnon:  personal tweets about me, life, family, church, music, leadership, worship, and a lot of @reply to friends and dialog

@theworshipcomm:  co-managed by Russ Hutto, this is the twitter account for TheWorshipCommunity.Com.  It’s mostly automated with announcements on new threads, replies, discussions, and articles at TheWorshipCommunity.Com, but we also post quick news, updates, etc.  Russ has made it more fun by engaging directly with our followers with daily Q&A, polls, etc.

@ebusinessonline:  a brand new account that will be the hub for a new forums-based/articles site I’m creating on e-business and e-commerce.  I’m looking for a bunch of people who are interested in e-business and e-commerce to help launch these forums with relevant discussion.  (I also need someone who can make a great design of the vbulletin skin, and who is gratis or VERY CHEAP).  See http://www.e-businessonline.com

As I said, I’ve been using a service called TweetLater.Com.  It’s been very effective for me in how it allows me to:
1.  manage multiple accounts in one screen (with their premium service)
2.  schedule tweets to post while I’m away (during the night, etc)
3.  automate followeres (auto-follow, auto-unfollow, etc)
4.  manage scheduled or automated DM’s (direct messages – I don’t recommend that one!)
5.  Keyword Tracking

Keyboard Tracking is perhaps the biggest deal for me.  I have TweetLater.Com setup to send me an email digest several times of day with any tweets using words like “worship pastor, worship leader, worship team, worship confessional”, etc.  It’s helped me to find and network with followers who share my passion.

TweetLater.Com has both a free service and a professional service.  For a limited time, the professional service is $19.97/month (no contract).  I hope you’ll check out this service.

In the interest of integrity and transparency, I want to let you know that these links are affiliate links, and should you signup, I get paid.  Yeah!  Hey, that’s the entrepreneur in me.  However, it’s just as important for me to say that I’m not just posting a spam affiliate post .. I believe in the product, and use it!

So go check it out – try the freebie version first, and if the professional version is right for you, then go for it!

Hey Gang,

I’m veering off-course here, and departing for a moment on the normal “worship, leadership” content.  Yeah, I typically save this stuff for “FreePlay Friday” posts, but when I believe in something, I like to shout it loud and clear.  When I don’t believe in something, I am known to share that, too.  (biting my tongue regarding comment plugins)

A while back I was turned onto this nifty Mac program called “Text Expander” from the great folks at SmileOnMyMac.Com.  You can download and use it for FREE … and it reminds you every now and then that you should consider buying the license.

Text Expander allows you to save text “snippets” and recall them with a simple keystroke or a combination of keys to activate the expander.  It saves you time in typing … lots of time.  I’ve been using it a couple of months now, and tonight when I reminded me that I’d saved over 10 solid hours of typing (nearly 300,000 characters), I decided to be a good guy and pay the $29.95 license fee.  I actually bought the double-license pack – one for my Mac Pro, and one for my Lappie.

So, this is how I cheat.  Now my blog comment signatures probably don’t seem so sincere (haha).

Example:
When I type “url” (without the quotes) and hit the spacebar I get:  http://www.fredmckinnon.com

When I type “fred@” (without the quotes) and  hit the spacebar, I get:  (my email address, I don’t want to type it here for spam mining)

When I type “sig” (without the quotes) and hit spacebar, I get:
For the Kingdom,
Fred McKinnon
www.fredmckinnon.com
www.theworshipcommunity.com

(recognize that sig, haha?)

I use it in my e-biz, too – when I need to forward an order, the distributors typically want certain information, so for example when I send to this distributor, I type:  “es*” and it becomes:

Customer #9012xxxxxx
PO#
PO Date:

Ship Complete:  Yes
Signature Required:  No

Shipping Method:  F02 (Ground)

Ship to:

SKU:
Qty:
Description:

Thanks, Team!
HPP Enterprises, Customer #9012xxxxx

How ’bout this one – sometimes when a product sells out on Amazon before I have a chance to remove it, and it goes on backorder.  I create a new message to customer, and simply type “oos” and it expands to:

Thanks for your purchase from HPP Enterprises.  Unfortunately this item sold out just prior to your purchase.  We have a network of several distributors and have searched to see if this is available elsewhere with no success.  We’ve entered your order on backorder with our distributor so that as soon as these arrive your order will be dropshipped directly to you.  Because of this, your order may not ship before the expected ship date given by Amazon.  Most backorders ship between a few days to 1-2 weeks.We do not charge until we confirm shipment, so you are welcome to keep this on backorder while you attempt to find the item in stock elsewhere.  Should you desire to cancel, simply reply and let us know.We do want to explain that we update our inventory throughout the day, but even with hourly updates, the inventory QTY  can quickly during this buying season.  Once we remove an item, it can still take several hours for that update to be processed by Amazon.We appreciate your gracious understanding.  Feel free to followup with us at any time for ETA, cancelation, or other questions.  Just reply to this email, or contact support and be sure to include your Amazon Order ID.Sincerely,HPP Enterprises

Pretty cool, huh!?
Every Mac user should try it!

FreePlay Friday Logo by Russ Hutto - www.russhutto.com

(today’s FreePlay Friday logo submitted by Russ Hutto – check out his blog today! Want to make a FreePlay Friday or Sunday Setlists banner? Just email it to me and I’ll feature it w/ links to your blog!)

Hey Everyone, it’s “FreePlay Friday” (view all “FreePlay Friday” Posts) … the day where I post whatever I want, on whatever topic(s) I want, with no regard to whether or not it does (or doesn’t) apply to the main theme of this blog, which is worship, worship leadership, church life, and music. What makes “FreePlay Friday” so much fun is that I want YOU to participate by either commenting on my topics or by entering your own, totally random “FreePlay Friday” thoughts in the comments section of the blog. So all you hundreds of RSS Readers need to just click on over now and finish the post on the site so you can participate. (please?)

CARDBOARD TESTIMONIES:
Just in case you missed it … you do NOT want to miss it.  (ignore the music, please).  Watch this video,  You’ve probably already heard of this thing, but this is our church, our people, our testimonies.  Get some Kleenex.

VACATION!

Mayan Palace Resort, Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico

In just 48 hours, I’ll be boarding our flight to the Pacific Coast of Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico.

OUR = Me and my gorgeous wife, Joy.

KIDS = Staying home with Nana and Grandad (wow, thanks)

LENGTH OF STAY = Sunday, 21st – Sunday, 28th

MISSION – Major Fun, Rest, and Relaxation
(and fun includes _____________)

Joy and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary in August and this is our 10-year Honeymoon Trip. We’ve not been away for more than 4-5 days together WITHOUT KIDS since our first one was born 8 years ago. From what I can tell, the units don’t have wifi or internet, but there is a “Cyber Cafe”. I’m sure it’s $ pricey. That being said, I’ll be taking next week OFF from blogging and twittering. (don’t call or text please, Verizon has us covered for cell phones and text, but at $1.99/minute, $.50/outgoing text, and $.05/incoming text)

IN MY ABSENSE:

Though I’ll be taking a break, “Sunday Setlists” will still be in action. I’ll find a way to post them and to get the “Mr. Linky” widget enabled for all you peeps out there! If I can get on the internet relatively inexpensively, I may do a Vacation-Edition of “FreePlay Friday” as well.

FREEBIE RESOURCES SHOUT-OUT:

Lastly – two cool freebie resources I’d like to share with you:

1. Free Wallpaper Graphics for your Laptop:
Chris Moncus (Associate Tech Director at SSCC, Long-time Friend, Co-Worker, and the dude I call on for all my graphic, photography, and web design needs) has a category on his blog where he offers free downloads of wallpaper graphics (for your desktop on your computer). Check them out and spruce up your desktop!

2. Pure Praise – A Heart-Focused Bible Study on Worship
Dwayne Moore (we met at the National Worship Leader Conference in Austin, TX this Summer) is offering a free copy of his devotional book, “Pure Praise”. This is a limited time offer. The book has some hefty endorsements including Darlene Zschech (Hillsong), Mark Hall (Casting Crowns), Rick Muchow (Saddleback), Julie Reid (Worship Leader Magazine), and many more! What are you waiting for? Go get it! (wait … AFTER you leave your FreePlay Friday comment, that is!)

COMMENTS:
Ok, it’s bon voyage for me … so let me get your comment love below – comment on anything you like, express your own “FreePlay Friday” randomness below … let’s have some community.

(today’s FreePlay Friday graphic was generated by ME … haha, thanks to “cooltext.com” … no FreePlay Friday graphics were submitted this week – if you’d like to make a graphic and have your blog pitched right here, just email me a “FreePlay Friday” graphic! )

Hey Everyone, it’s “FreePlay Friday” (view all “FreePlay Friday” Posts) … the day where I post whatever I want, on whatever topic(s) I want, with no regard to whether or not it does (or doesn’t) apply to the main theme of this blog, which is worship, worship leadership, church life, and music. What makes “FreePlay Friday” so much fun is that I want YOU to participate by either commenting on my topics or by entering your own, totally random “FreePlay Friday” thoughts in the comments section of the blog. So all you hundreds of RSS Readers need to just click on over now and finish the post on the site so you can participate. (please?)

Fred and Joy McKinnon, married 8/15/1998

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY:

I thought this event deserved a “FreePlay Friday” post of it’s own.  I promised a few “announcements” to some folks … I’ll make good, but not this week.  This day is reserved.

I became one of the most blessed men on the planet exactly 10 years ago today when Joy was brave enough to say “I do”.

We were married right here on St. Simons Island, GA.  At the time, we were at Christian Renewal Church on SSI and the sanctuary wasn’t large enough for our wedding so we had the ceremony at St. Simons United Methodist.  Our reception was like something from “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” at some dear friends’ home.  We were incredibly blessed by our friends, family, and church.

We spent the first night of our honeymoon at the Jekyll Island Club in one of their wonderful suites.  We spent the rest of the week at The Breakers Resort in West Palm Beach.

I hope that I can do my part to make the next 10 years even sweeter and better than the first ten.  The next ten years will take us through 10 years of ongoing, daily parenting.  We’d see our oldest son get his driver’s license.  How’s that for perspective.  Would you pray for us today?  Pray for our marriage, our family, and speak a blessing over it?

In closing – I’d like to give you an opportunity to say something wonderful about “that someone” …

1.  If you are married – how many years?
2.  Take a moment and use the comments to say something wonderful about your spouse.  If you aren’t married yet, but are in a relationship, feel free to type a blessing to them.  If you are single and wish to be in a relationship, maybe you could type a prayer.

Let’s hear from you!

Fred
(note:  if you scroll waaaay down, there is a “subscribe to comments via email” checkbox – I dunno why it’s stuck way down there)

Your ears filled with foam?

That’s what I did last week during the Willow Creek Arts Conference.  Travis called me as I was leaving my last session on Thursday to inform me that they had an audiologist on hand doing free in-ear impressions at the Sensaphonics booth.

So, since I’ve been saying I was going to get custom in-ear molds made for my Shure E5′s for 3+ years, I finally thought it was too easy to say “no”.  The impressions were free, and the actual cost of the silicone custom-fit in-ear molds were cheaper than usual, so I should have fully custom fit molds for my IEM in 4-5 weeks.

Chris is always around with a camera, so he happened to take some video.

Part 1:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIqUnrmtVbw[/youtube]

Part 2:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqgFzVi1hqI[/youtube]
Is this gross or what?  Seriously, I couldn’t hear ANYTHING when she did that.

Anyone else out there using custom molds?

Hey Everyone,
Usually when something seems “too good to be true”, it is. In this case, that doesn’t seem to be the way things shake down … and this is verified by USAToday news.

A rather new Payment Processor (like PayPal, Alertpay, etc) has launched by the vice chairman emeritus and current founder of AOL (American Online) to create “Revolution Money Exchange” … a competitor to PayPal.

Through tomorrow, you will get a free, $25 credit if you open a banking account with them. I just did it, and the $25 was in my account right away, and of course, I’ll be xferring it to my bank account right away, too!

Just click the button above or this link to signup and get a free $25!  But if expires May 15!

Here’s the proof-in-the-pudding .. got this email a few minutes after signing up:
 

Dear Fred McKinnon: 

Revolution MoneyExchange has sent you the following funds:

 

Hey Everyone -

Just a quick announcement – the video of “Fix My Eyes” has been selected to be featured on CCLI’s new interactive site, “CCLI-TV“. “Fix My Eyes” is a song I wrote years ago and recorded live at “Worship Under the Stars” back in 2005. It’s still one of my favorite songs that I’ve ever written, as it expresses my desire to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that I can actually “do the stuff” we read about in the Bible.

So, please surf over to CCLI-TV and check out “Fix My Eyes” … would be honored if you’d consider logging in and giving it a rating. If you don’t have an account, you can signup for free – there are lots of good videos there.

While you’re watching the video, see if you can spot some fellow bloggers, including:
Mandy Thompson
Shannon Lewis
Jay Sellers (no longer blogging)
Ken Mullis

Did you spot’em?
Fred

Hey Everybody -

I’m about to reveal a not-so-pretty obsession … and I have to confess … I have been tracking my “technorati” rank here on the blog. Sure, we all say “I love blogging, even if nobody reads”, but the reality is, you sure appreciate knowing that somebody out there actually cares, or better yet … links back to ya!

So, without any pattern or trend … only when the whim flashes through my mind, I check my Technorati Rank. I have journaled it by adding a note in my Google Notebook. Granted, compared to BlogFathers like Carlos (congrats, man, to 5,000 on the planet!) who have helped inspire me in blogging, I’m a real “nobody”. At the same time, the stats below do show how consistent blogging and networking can help raise your rank.

For what? I’m not sure …. I mean, I don’t know if there is any real benefit other than bragging rights. Duh.

Date: Authority | Rank

9/22/07: 49a/121,13
10/29/07: 82/85,297
11/16/2007: 88/78,235
11/19/2007: 92/73,982
11/24/2007: 95/89,417
12/27/2007: 113/57,124
1/24/2008: 106/61,585
3/26/08: 94/71,974

So, my current “authority” is a 94, ranking in the top 72,000 blogs out there. That’s a LOT of blogs.

One interesting thought, though which baffles me. Technorati has a “blog directory” … checkout the various categories and sub-categories. Where is Faith? Christianity? Religion? Am I totally missing something?

Fred

Hey Everyone!

TheWorshipCommunity.Com just passed it’s 1,000th member today! With the exception of a little “members-only” referral contest and a mailing, it’s the only outside advertising I’ve done for TheWorshipCommunity.Com … of course, except for blogging about it.

TheWorshipCommunity.Com is a forums-based community targeted to those involved in worship ministry – worship leaders, pastors, technicians, musicians, singers, etc. It’s also a great place for people to hang out and just discuss worship.

There is an active section in “Technologies for Worship” where technology is being discussed. Lots of song, CD, and equipment reviews … and of course, the infamous “Worship Confessional” area where we share our setlists.

So, if you’ve not joined – check it out today. If’ you joined but haven’t made an appearance anytime soon – come join the party!

Bloggers – will you consider blogging this milestone to help further promote TWC?

For the Kingdom,
Fred