FredMcKinnon.Com

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.

—————————–

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

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.

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.