Mobile Ministry Magazine

Bible Study Notes Application (In Detail)

2008-05-13T10:00:00.002-04:00

This is what happens when I sit down and begin to think a bit more about how a Bible Study Notes application can/should work. Feel free to offer your opinions, and if you are a developer, think of this as a project analysis of what I've been thinking about.

Bible Notes App/Web App

Short Description Note taking application for mobile devices, internet tablets, etc. that uses a plug-in based architecture to connect to local and online resources.

Why and Who: The reason for this program is so that casual Bible readers, students, and sermon attendees can take notes in a format that follows alongside their natural ability to take notes in a notebook whether they use a digital or print bible.

Goals

Create notes that extend beyond the context of one particular reading to the various points of information that exist online and/or on the user's device
Create a point of intersecting the APIs of several Bible programs, formats, and sources so that the user has choice in how to use the resources available
To encourage the development of plugins for commercial and non-commercial resources so as to not to slight the publishing industry's licensing rights for resource materials
To address the semantics behind studying, by putting to work the semantics of the web

What Does This Program Look Like:

Start with the Notes Application on Nokia Internet Tablets
- Addition of a button that adds functionality
- Finger typing friendly
- PDF, HTML, and XML export
- Upload to Google Docs (download then reupload possible?)
Title/Initial Actions Screen
- Create, (3-5) Recent Notes, Delete, Manage Plugins, About
Notes
- single screen
- bottom bar with Bold, Italic, Underline, Color Selector, Bullets, Link (Plugin), Save, Save/Upload

Limitations

Simple formatting options
Initially no ability to draw on screen or insert images
If a web application, needs a server; would be better as a web application that can be launched from a bookmark in an offline mode then save when connected

Workflow

Two screens: title/actions and notes
Dialog boxes to confirm actions such as 'link to resource' and 'saved to local/web'

Document Structure

XHTML
In page CSS (initially no custom styles for users)
BibleRef Tagger
Semantic Bible

Program Structure

Language: unknown, depends on native or web app
MySQL on local machine for indexing tags and references
UI based on writing first, tagging second
Will NOT tie into any Bible reader program directly, plugins only

Plugins

Must use API defined by source resource to access content
search plugins will only pass information via a search string and open in local client's browser
Plugins that point to local apps should be done with the GPL for user/developer customization
Plugins that point to licensed material need to be checked for possible licensing issues
Can plugin point to native app
Plugin to add ability to highlight, draw on page instead of build into app (possibility)

Plugin Limitations

Cannot create content
Cannot pull in content from websites applications to paste into document (later functionality possibility)

This is somewhat detailed, but gives a clear idea of what I was speaking about in Sunday's post. What are your thoughts? Place them here, and let's get a push to make an application that will have some far reaching effects.

Another Carnival In the Mist

2008-05-12T11:30:00.001-04:00

I traditionally like to submit MMM to the Carnival of the Mobilists because of the unique perspective on mobile technology that is not always explored in the realm of mobile professionals. In following a link from Digital Sanctuary, I came to the website The Kingdom 2.0 which made note of another carnival, the Christian Technology and Media Carnival, to which MMM should be making semi-frequent, future appearances as well.

However, it will be a bit before MMM is included into the next Christian Technology and Media Carnival, so do take a read of The Kingdom 2.0 posting of the First Edition of this carnival. Several articles on the use of media and the Internet in the Body, and some great thoughts on the worldwide perspective of such endeavors.

To those accustomed to reading the Carnival of the Mobilists, #122 at Xellular Identity is the latest published.

Update/Correction: Apologies, the latest Carnival of the Mobilists is #123 at GoMo News.

If you are reading the Christian Technology and Media Carnival and would like to submit an article you have written on your blog, visit the Blog Carnival Submission Form in order to fill out the requisite information.

Bible Study/Sermon Prep Application Thought

2008-05-11T10:00:00.002-04:00

I am sitting here thinking about my upcoming schedule of things to do and realize that it would be very nice to have a better Bible application (or web application that works offline) that would just facilitate leading and attending Bible studies or listening to sermons.

If you will, I don't need something that would be a Bible reader that then does notes. I am thinking more along the lines of a notepad application that automatically links to a Bible (on the device or not), in addition to other resources.

Something where I could create a document, and it would just be an HTML document. I could add tags to it (so that its easily searchable); and it would upload to places like Google Docs so that it can be shared with others. But then again, it wouldn't have to do that so much.

The idea of automatically linking to resources though is the fun part. For example, if I write a note, I want to be able to highlight either the verse notation written, or a keyword, and then be able to select what resource that it should be pointing to. That resource would basically be the search page for that Bible/commentary/lexicon/Wikipedia/etc. website and instantly give some depth to my notes. Imagine even linking to a city and having Google Maps, or whomever is doing a Google Maps-like ancient Bible maps mash up, link to it automatically.

I think something like this would be ideal as a web application because it is something that I would want for a mobile device (most likely my N800 Internet Tablet, but also my mobile phone). The ideal thing would be for this to work offline without having to be connected first (an issue with many web applications). But I could see something like this coming in just as much, if not more in handy than having a Bible reader, and then asking for the other features to be plugged into it.

Side note: If someone is willing to build this kind of an application, either a web app or something for a dedicated mobile device; I would be glad to help test (sorry, not a app developer) and when it is done promote the application here at MMM.

Related Articles:

Another Use for the Mobile Web Server

2008-05-10T10:00:00.004-04:00

Another use for the Mobile Web Server that occurred to me this morning was to be able to use it to edit and add information on my mobile device without having to fiddle with a number pad or small screen. For the most part, sync conduits and integration into services with applications like GooSync already handle this. But if the mobile device can play the role of being the server already, you can get rid of the middle man and just log into your phone from any larger screened web terminal and then add/edit information much easier.

Thinking about it like this makes the MWS seem a lot more versatile than just a means to have information. There is an empowerment about it that is only limited to the imagination of the user.

For example, a person could be a developer and design an entire website and interface for their projects using the MWS. A teacher could design class modules and then using groups allow for students to log in. Taking that a step further, that teacher could have a test that will only be up while the MWS is online; taking it down means that whomever didn't finish their test on time could be easily noted just from looking at the logs.

I write this to say that I know that its a bit unconventional, and uneconomical in a lot of respects, to think about connectivity in this granular of a fashion. But we have to look at this mobile tech as a means to an end. Taking out some of those in-between points might very well be a means to helping to realize this, and the fruits of the thins past generations constantly dreamed about.

I believe you have to be willing to be misunderstood if you're going to innovate. That's actually a serious point. If you're going to do something that's never been done before - which is basically what innovation is - people are going to misunderstand it just because it's new.

Jeff Bezos, one of the founders of Amazon; quote via Tony Morgan Live

This post was written before the third installment of the MMM Mobile Experiment Report was written. Some of the information in this post is repeated in that report, but not in the detail that it is presented here.

MMM Mobile Experiment Report: Part Three

2008-05-09T10:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the third and final installment of the MMM Mobile Experiment Report. In Part One, we talked about the general setup and the reasons for doing this experiment. In Part Two, we spoke on the day to day use of it; and then started talking about why its not yet an accessible solution, but it is a versatile one. In Part Three, we talk more about what is possible with the Mobile Web Server and come to some conclusions towards its potential use.

You see, for most end and power-users of mobile devices, the Mobile Web Server is not yet a solution. There are a few too many niggles with it before it can become a solution. What it is however is a canvas, a very empty canvas. When one wants to think of what is possible with mobility, this section of the report hits on that. And specifically for the Christian church, what we do with technology will go a long way towards making divisions along digital lines a thing of the past. Innovation requires that we think outside of the box before we jump into a new one. By the end of this report, I hope that you can not just see why doing the MMM Mobile Experiment was a paradigm shift for me; but also where and why Nokia sees this as a profitable endeavor.

This section of the MMM Mobile Experiment Report contains:

Lessons Learned
Current and Future Applications
Why This Is A Model for the [Digital] Church
Appendix/Additions

Lessons Learned

At this point, the MMM Mobile Experiment seemed to be a solid idea that is just a bit further than where people want to go with interacting with websites and at the same time, its not far enough in terms of how organizations and ministry can reach out to one another. What I saw in the first few days was that in order to get people to come to MMM Mobile, I had to be proactive about advertising and up front about limitations such as loading speed and the log-in issue. After getting used to it from a lifestyle perspective, I had to come to grips with the ability of attainable technology not being up to snuff with the demands of a web server being backed up by a social network. The frame work is there, but there is a gap before this can be applicable on a broad scale.

I did learn some things that were quite positive, and gives me hope that maybe the Body is better equipped to use near-solutions in effective ways. For example, in talking to my pastors about the MMM Mobile Experiment while it was going on, they had a genuine interest in how it would pan out and how it could be relevant to them. One of the smaller experiments was to live-blog during one of the sermons and then forward them the link to get their thoughts. Live-blogging the sermon on a mobile phone brought stares from people unaware of what I was doing, despite knowing my technical bent. Getting my pastors to be able to log in without issues became a problem because I did not noticed the case-sensitive issue for logging in under the guest account. And even during the sermon, I was not prepared for the out of memory error that running the browser and mobile web server would cause, preventing users from even accessing the site. it was advantageous to try, but in light of things, could have been better planned out.

Other parts that proved positive were in just the evangelism of mobile devices and the Internet as being tools of connectivity. I found that with the MWS active that I had more time to spend on mobile devices, thereby getting me in places where I could engage people and allow various aspects of using mobile technology open the door for conversations. In one instance, interacting with a child in a coffeeshop was made more fun when I took his picture via the Web Camera feature and then showed it to him and his parents from the screen of my N800 Internet Tablet. This showed to them that technology has a way to touching us even more than we think without having to have a Star Trek moment.

Current and Future Applications

Having done this experiment, it is easy to say that it can be used. However relevance for the mobile web server has its place in only a few areas, mainly because of the hardware and connection requirements that would necessitate more affluence than the market can share at this time.

In terms of a software platform, having a web server on a mobile phone can present the opportunity to remove a few middle layers of device management and information management software that has been slow to catch on in some areas. Normally, we think of this as syncing, backup, and personal information management (PIM) software; the structure of this mobile web server platform offers a few aspects of use that previously were harder to get newer users to adopt:

If the smartphone is online (cellular broadband or Wi-Fi) accessing it though an IP address or domain name assigned to the device (or SIM card) give the opportunity to do things such as add and remove applications, connect contacts to social networks, backup contacts to an offline storage area, or even lock down the device in case of theft;
If the device is not online, these same tasks can be done through a Bluetooth or Wi-Fi ad-hoc network where all that a person needs is a browser with a larger screen in order to extend the functionality of their device;
Adding an email component would essentially make the MWS platform a replacement (on the consumer level) or products like MS Exchange as the device is the server and there is nothing that needs to be additionally added to the device.

This is thinking about the mobile web server as it can have present relevance in the way that people want to get the most of their devices. For this to work best however, unlimited data plans, and seamless connectivity needs to be the norm and not the exception. Also, quality of service in terms of mobile operating systems, cellular lines, and even user experience will play a larger part in letting this connectivity option be the norm rather than the exception for mobile computing.

Taking things a bit further, the mobile web server has the ability to innovate in small business and organizational communications by:

Intranet for a low-funded ministry or non-profit organization
Website for a traveling missionary who travels in well connected areas and has has the funds to connect frequently enough to make this viable
Future: platform for sharing documents and calendars as a family point of contact system
Multi-campus connector for small groups spread over a large area

This is not to say that there are not other applications; only that in using the Mobile Web Server, I spoke with and engaged with organizations where the relevance of a mobile device that can handle these connections made for opportunities to remove buildings, excess tools, and in some cases a learning curve, therefore making more time for the connections that a web server and interpersonal communication allows to happen.

Why This Is A Model for the [Digital] Church

I was asked very bluntly at the conclusion of my experiment why I felt that this was a model for computing that the Body should be receptive to. I was given the reasons about economics, device availability, and even preconceptions that a mobile device should only be used for talking. My reason for thinking and believing that the mobile web server in various forms is a suitable means to enable the digital church is simply that it is something that has not been done before. Its new ground, and puts the Body at the place of pioneering and setting the bar in terms of what is possible with communication technologies.

I do not say this to mean that there are not other organizations that would not benefit from what has been written here, but to say that because the church has a mission to connect and empower people, it should take what is available and not duplicate solutions, but create them.

The book of Acts is an account of a sledging church finding its legs after Jesus left the scene. He deposited within them the Holy Spirit to empower and equip them with the innate ability to go to the ends of the earth and be a representative of Him and carry the Gospel's message of a redeeming and justified love. Since taking the plunge with Nokia's Mobile Web Server, I can see how that would not just be a radical idea, but an attainable one. The question is, are we innovative enough to capitalize on what has already been deposited in us to do since Acts.

Appendix/Additions

There were some additional posts written during and after the creation of this report. These items will be available in a downloadable version of the MMM Mobile Experiment Report (coming soon).

Go Mobile to Sustain the Earth

2008-05-08T10:00:00.001-04:00

So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it [using all its vast resources in the service of God and man]; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living creature that moves upon the earth. (Genesis 1:27-28 AMP)

One of the reasons that I have gone mobile is because I better understand that while the ability to be connected is good for the Body, the ability to use devices and services that better utilize the limited resources of this planet means that other generations will also be able to enjoy such inventiveness.

Something that many do not think about when they use computers, build offices, or even get in their cars to travel to this and that event is that there is a considerable impact on the earth around us that can be minimized when we start looking at the excess and start working to trim things.

It could be as simple as instead of having a church office that the church starts to use a mobile office where the office is actually a data center that is exercising environmentally mindful policies and then the staff members are working from home where they can be a more integral part of their local communities. Trading paper bulletins for SMS alerts might seem like a struggle for some members, but the saving of paper means that the administration staff can spend less time at FedEx and the church can spend those funds on enabling more members to stay connect whether they can make it to a service or the service come to them.

Now, we might not get immediately to the place where we are using phones made from biodegradable materials, but looking at the simple command at the beginning of creation to steward this earth, we can definitely do more than we do.

Has your church or organization started any policies to minimize the environmental impact of doing the work of ministry?

Related Articles:

Review of the Nokia 3110 Eco-Friendly mobile (Smart Planet)
Designing for Sustainability (Nokia Conversations)
What if we all changed our chargers? (Nokia Conversations)
Solio Solar Charging Solutions
Working flexibly is paving the way for a more sustainable future (MOOF.mobi)
Creating a Manifesto for Sustainable Life... (Tim Samoff)

Disclosure: Inner-Linked provides consulting services for those individuals and ministries who are looking to trim their environmental footprint while adding innovation and accessibility to their ministry endeavors.

Essentials Tools for the Mobile Worker

2008-05-07T10:00:00.001-04:00

Web Worker Daily recently posted an article titled 5 Essentials for the Mobile Web Worker where they looked at 5 pieces of hardware and software that would be essential for the mobile web worker. Here are some of mine:

Removable memory card with backup of data
Solio solar portable battery charger
Bluetooth external keyboard

Given that my setup is based on a smartphone and Internet Tablet it might be different than yours. Seeing that many pastors are moving towards a similar type of setup - laptop computer, Wi-Fi- hotspot, and online applications - what are your essential tools?

Bonus: And what things do you have in place when those tools aren't working due to environment/finances/etc.?

The Future of Bible Studies and Technological Tools

2008-05-06T10:00:00.002-04:00

I write this a good bit before writing Part Three of the MMM Mobile Experiment Report but this is a great article posted at the Biblical Studies and Technological Tools blog about thinking about what technology and faith will look like given what we have seen happen in other media and lifestyles in the Western church.

Without going too far into things on my end, here is a snippet of this great thought-piece:

I am also wondering, then, if we might actually become more dependent on private resources/devices rather than network resources. I.e., it will be lots easier to secure a personal device not connected to any network, and I will be more confident in working with guaranteed secure resources not based on the network. This does mean that I believe that someone will still be developing and providing technological resources for biblical studies, but I also suspect that the choices will be greatly reduced. We are already seeing the convergence of best features of the various Bible programs, and as this trend continues, the only differentiating factor will be cost. I just hope we aren't all buying Wal-Mart or Google Bible software after they buy up every other current company in this field

Read the rest of the post The Future of Bible Studies and Technological Tools.

Related Articles:

New King James with Microsoft OneNote (Palmsolo)

Live Blogging with the Mobile Web Server

2008-05-05T17:00:00.001-04:00

One of the things that I most enjoyed about using the Mobile Web Server was the ability to live-blog sermons and Bible studies. For the most part, this was conducted on my N75 using T9 for inputting text. Because of some hardware and performance aspects, I did have to keep mindful though of how fast I would swap between saving the blog posting and updating it. This meant for shorter notes, but gave me a chance to listen and make sure that I got in the most important points.

I'd like to share the last set of live blogged sermon notes with the MMM community. As we often talk about using technology in innovative ways, I want to make sure that I open to you some means of looking inside of how I am working around the mobile tech of today to address what will be questions for later (the next post will talk about this a bit more).

Here's the important information.

Link to the May 4th Sermon on Acts 13:42-52 at MMM Mobile
Login with the username Guest and the password mmmguest (both username and password are case sensitive)
And just in case my device is down for some reason, a link to the discussion thread at the MMM Jaiku Channel.

MMM Mobile Experiment Report: Part Two

2008-05-05T10:00:00.003-04:00

This is the meat of the MMM Mobile Experiment Report, and also where it makes the transition from being just a review of software and online services to one of looking beyond the offering to the ability that it lends. Here's an outline of what is covered in this, Part Two, of the MMM Mobile Experiment Report:

Additional Setup Items
Day to Day Use
Immediate Challenges
Accessibility versus Versatility

Given the length of this, section of the report, it will be an extra day before publishing the third and final section. This report will also be made available as a singular download (debating on the format of that now). Enjoy Part Two, and please do not hesitate to give any comments to this or Part One.

Part Two:

Having set up the Mobile Web Server application on my device, and creating the Mobile Web Server website, I had to set up some initial pages so that in coming to the site, Mobile Ministry Magazine readers would be greeting with more than just a blank page. There are two parts to setting things up for day to day use; one part is on the mobile device and the other is through a browser (that can be on the mobile device or not; but most might choose not to go that route and just use a separate computer).

Setup on the Mobile Device

On the mobile device, one navigates to the Web Server application and is presented with a series of screens. First, you are asked to insert your user name and password that was set up on the MWS website. There are a few easy to figure out section of the application that is always shown when it is opened from here: Users, Status Message, Statistics, Access Log, Folders, and Settings.

The Users section was probably the one that I spent the most time with initially. There is a default Guest account where one can set Guest access to the MWS; and then from contacts in one's address book, you can set specific users to have ability with a user name based on their name in your address book and a password that you have set for them. I quickly abandoned doing this for a lot of people and just settled on making sure that I had a user group for my family to special sections of the MWS site, and everyone else just got the Guest account.

Truth be told, I spent a lot of time looking at the Access Log. I wanted to see how many people were hitting the site, and it was kind of neat the first few days of the experiment. We averaged about 10 unique users per day and for the most part people did not have issues with logging in (user names are case-sensitive; found that out halfway through the project).

Setup through the Web Browser

There is a setup wizard that one has to access from a device that has a suitable web browser while the mobile web server (MWS) is running. On my end, I used my Nokia N800 Internet Tablet connected to a Wi-Fi hotspot at a local coffeehouse while the MWS was running on my N75.

Two parts of this allow you to set up things like the welcome screen, offline page and message, and get a badge that can be displayed on several websites. After this wizard, there is a control panel that keeps the latter items, and allows for presence updates on the status page. One can change the theme to several types; however they are nothing more than color and banner changes. Unless you want to dig in the mobile device and play, there is no way to create custom layouts or fiddle with the CSS for more customization.

From the web browser one is able to set all types of options and create content and points of contact.

By default, guests only see the Home, Blog, Presence, and Contact Me sections. The Gallery has to be setup to either show (share) pictures that are shared from the phone's internal memory, memory card, or both. I found that the Guestbook was a bit of a redundant feature, but it could prove beneficial in some applications. The Web Chat section is interesting as when someone starts a web chat, there is notification on the mobile device of the chat and then an IM-like interface is given. From there chat happens just as it would in any other chat room. The Calendar, Phone Log, and Contacts are pulled right from the mobile device and gives a browser-accessible means to see and edit content. I liked this feature, but wished that there was more granularities so that some users could see "Busy" instead of the specific event. Presence tells the state of the mobile phone such as how long it has been idle, battery life, and a status message. And finally Messaging allows one to send an email or SMS message directly to you as well as see all the SMS and MMS messages that are stored on your mobile device (Inbox and those sent).

One neat feature that is present throughout is the fact that all contacts that appear in various applications such as Calendar and Messaging are linked to their contact card. This contact card shows the last call as well as links to the address book entry. Simple, but really neat.

From registration to setting up the welcome page and basic access rights it took about 30 minutes to get rolling. After that it was just a matter of running the MWS on my device and engaging with people as they visited MMM Mobile.

Day to Day Use

The Mobile Web Server is pretty much a set it and forget it type of application. I let it run most of the day, taking it down in the AM in order to use my mobile device as a modem for my Internet Tablet and desktop. During this time, I updated the status message to point visitors to the MMM Jaiku channel. In pointing people to the MMM Jaiku channel, it was my hope to engage the usual readers of MMM, and the new visitors of the breadth of content related to Mobile Ministry Magazine, as well as engage in some discussions across a social network in a slightly different function than what is normally done in blog-driven websites.

On the downside of the day to day use, the MWS was an inconvenience in terms of the other connectivity that I aspire to have on my mobile device. Usually, I run the Emoze email client and the Jaiku Mobile client. Because of the MWS, I was not able to run these and have a long functioning device. Either the MWS would take over the connections, or the applications would consume too much memory and cause one or all of them to shut down. During the experiment, I only suffered one total device crash, but this was an instance where the hardware specifications of my N75 (which has about 15MB of memory free for running programs at boot) was at the very bottom of what is needed to run the MWS.

Because of this limitation, I was not able to use programs such as widgets to keep me abreast of what was going on at the MWS without opening the application. That being said, it was quite nice to have the server running and not have to think about it unless I needed some kind of functionality that was a bit more than normal.

A small note: the Nokia N75 is a 3G phone, meaning that it has the ability to use a high speed data network called HSDPA. Because of the specifications of this network, the device is able to use applications that connect to the Internet at the same time as using voice functions. While running the MWS, there was no drop off in voice quality or phone functions except for occasional slowness for MMS message processing.

Immediate Challenges

While there were those hardware challenges, the large and more pertinent challenges to using the MWS was trying to keep the same kind of communicative presence that had been done at Mobile Ministry Magazine. Essentially, opportunities to post to the blog, upload pictures, and engage the reading community were all things that seemed a lot easier when connectivity was spread across devices instead of being centered on one device.

For example, whenever I needed to use the web browser on the N75, I had to shut down the MWS because the two applications were too large to run at the same time. This meant that I would have to create a status message saying that the server was down and point people to the MMM Jaiku channel; then initiate a discussion at the MMM Jaiku channel; and then I would be able to continue with using the web browser. Certainly, having a device with later hardware (more memory and processor speed) would have been great here.

Another issue that I found was that in order to publish to the blog, I needed some type of dual connection. Using the MWS made situations of traveling to WI-Fi hotspots a bit of an adventure as now instead of using them just as a rest place, I wanted to be strategic in making sure that I could create a conversation piece around the use of the technology. It was not until later in the experiment that I realized that there would be times that I would be able to use the web browser on the N75 in order to populate the blog. This stretched the mobile device, but creating a blog post where I was able to live blog a sermon and have my notes created on the N75 instantly appear online was quite exciting (mental note: taking a T9 typing class before doing this should be a prerequisite).

Accessibility versus Versatility

This challenge of balancing multiple devices, multiple input methods, and then just the plan fact that a web server can really go with you anytime makes one feel more accessible than ever. The granular level of being able to assign contacts or groups of contacts to various parts of one's mobile device presents a solution that is present already in some enterprise applications such as SharePoint and even commercial ones like Movable Type. But those are PC-focused solutions. Nothing wrong with that, but as mobile devices become more versatile, one should not just assume, but see that a lot more of what we do can be driven from a mobile platform.

The Mobile Web Server is an answer to a question that is not yet asked so loudly yet though. Its not so much an issue of how does one stay accessible, as many connected devices open to you; but it allows you to determine how you want people to connect to you based on the social network that you have built - your phone book. This is more powerful and empowering when combined with a communications strategy and a personality that invites people to want to connect to you. That being said, its not accessibility that is the focus of using the MWS, its versatility. Versatility meaning that you are empowered to take your social network with you, and how they connect to you is determined by you, not by the service that you subscribe to.

This is if you where using the software and service makes a change from being just a piece of software or just another online service. It would be easy to just put the MWS into one of those categories and then judge it based on its benchmarks; but there is nothing to just it against. Nokia's Mobile Web Server is a canvas that if given the network and the hardware (and economies) becomes a canvas that enable the kind of personal computing that was dreamed about in the 1950s when the foundations of the Internet began, and now realized with the fast and (nearly) open wireless networks that most of the world has access to.

Flash Sideshow of MWS Screens, via Share on Ovi

MMM Mobile Experiment Report: Part One

2008-05-03T13:00:00.001-04:00

The MMM Mobile Experiment was one part a technological look at what is possible with mobile devices today, and a look at what is possible/can be done now with mobiles as part of a social strategy for inreach and outreach initiatives.

Just a review of what Part One of this report will contain:

Reasons and Goals of Experiment
Explanation of Nokia's Mobile Web Server and my Device
Social Networking Component

As stated in our previous post, the experiment is looking at the technology as something doable now. But also why software and usage has relevance in this highly connected world. Part One of the MMM Mobile Experiment Report gives an overview of the technology used in this experiment and how it was set up for use.

Part One:

For eight days in April 2008, Mobile Ministry Magazine's Antoine RJ Wright conducted an experiment where the Mobile Ministry Magazine website was hosted completely on a mobile device using Nokia's Mobile Web Server. The goal of this experiment was to test the viability of such a mobile platform as a solution for running a community website, to investigate the capabilities of mid-range mobile phones and smartphones as a communications hub, and to investigate possible uses for such technology in various social and economic environments.

Backing up this software, Mobile Ministry Magazine used the Jaiku social networking service as an offline community component. The reason for this is that limitations in the phone hardware would mean that the mobile web server (MWS) would be offline, yet there needed to be some means for consistent with the MMM reading community. This channel of the Jaiku network contains aggregated RSS feeds of several websites that speak towards life and technology in Christian circles.

With these two aspects set, the MWS server was activated, and MMM Mobile began to live. In this section of the report, we will talk in detail about the technical and physical look of this MWS, and then how these worked in real-life.

Nokia's Mobile Web Server

Nokia released software based on the Python programming language called the Mobile Web Server (MWS). Expanding the methodology of their N-Series mobile devices being the "next stage of computers," the MWS is a project to demonstrate the ability of mobile phones today, and to explore the use of a server, or data and application hosting platform, on a connected and mobile device.

Setting up the MWS requires the registration of a user name at the MWS website (http://mymoobilesite.net). This user name will become the address of the website (username.mmymobilesite.net). After setting up the user name, you then set up information such as a profile, offline page, and then download the software.

The MWS software is compatible only with Symbian S60 mobile devices. While there are a few devices by Samsung and Motorola, only Nokia devices with Symbian S60 have been tested to work with MWS. Unfortunately, not all Nokia S60 devices will work, and many will have limitations based on their hardware. This limitation will show up later as a reason where a solution for its use is limited technologically and economically.

My device is the Nokia N75. This S60 smartphone is one of three 3G devices that Nokia currently has made available in the US. This device was featured on the Cingular/AT&T wireless carrier a little over a year ago and for most purposes is about at the end of its marketing life. This doesn't mean that it is incapable, only that better is here and coming. I purchased this device in December of 2007 in order to better learn about the S60 operating system and have something that would have ample value to my usage as a person who enjoys and lives on the web and mobile devices/applications.

The Social Networking Component

As a nearly-30 adult, much of my online time is spent on email and within social networks. While I do not have a presence on MySpace or Facebook, I do have one with Jaiku. A recent Google acquisition, Jaiku found favor with me because of its mobile client application, the ability to consolidate RSS feeds into one singular area, and a community of people from multiple background, faiths, and locations. In terms of social network services, Jaiku belongs to a subsection called lifestreaming applications. Lifestreaming meaning one can have several streams of their life appear in this service. From microblogging to sharing photos on services such as Flickr, to community channels, Jaiku is one part a community and another part a gate where you can allow people to come in and out of your life.

For Mobile Ministry Magazine, Jaiku is used as an RSS feed aggregator and community window. Through discussion and the RSS feeds, our community focus is seen and shared. Because of this ability to be a window made it a suitable back-chatter component for this experiment.

In Part Two, we cover the day to day use of the Mobile Web Server, some initial and lasting challenges, and the difference between accessibility and versatility as I began to dig into using MMM Mobile.

MMM Mobile Experiment Concludes

2008-05-02T23:14:00.004-04:00

Greetings all; thanks to all of you who have visited and commented on MMM Mobile in the past week. It was certainly a new experience for me to use a mobile device as the web server and I have a greater appreciation for a lot of aspects of server administration that I had not had before.

Seeing what my mobile device could do under the pressure of being a communications platform in every sense of the word was tough as well. From blogging, to the web chat on day one, to just making sure that I would keep the MMM Jaiku channel going with back-chat; it was both a pleasure and a challenge to do something that (to my knowledge) has not been tried before.

What's next is a report of things that I found, as well as why such an experiment has relevance in this highly connected world. With talk of net neutrality, the new digital divide, and Christian digital responsibility, there's a good deal that this experiment opened that I will be bringing to you in a three part report.

To give you a heads up, here is an outline of what you can expect in my next three posts:

Part One:

Reasons and Goals of Experiment
Explanation of Nokia's Mobile Web Server and my Device
Social Networking Component

Part Two:

Day to Day Use
Immediate Challenges
Accessibility versus Versatility

Part Three:

Lessons Learned
Current and Future Applications
Why This Is A Model for the [Digital] Church

I am trying to take my time with this, and I do encourage you to ask questions along the way towards parts that need to be better explained or clarified. Like I stated earlier, making sure that you (this audience) understands why such an mobile experiment has relevance for you today is a big goal of this report. Keeping in mind of the Word to always encourage one another, its my hope that this would encourage you to not just think about how to use technology, but how your innovative use of it will give people a chance to view Christ in ways that they never imagined.

Again, stay tuned, Part One is just about finished being written and edited. Looking forward to your comments.

First time bloggers should try Tumblr

2008-05-01T16:21:00.002-04:00

"Blogging" is such a huge, insurmountable concept for most people. Even if they journal or write regularly, the thought of trying to produce a blog - the technicalities, the how-to's, etc. are overwhelming. After all, for someone who simply wants to type something in and have it show up in an attractive fashion on the net, there's few options.

Even services like Typepad, Multiply, Vox, Wordpress.com, and others offer so many features, that a first-timer can go cross-eyed and in a sudden case of info-overload, give up. Yet, there are probably thousands of folks like that who could make invaluable contributions to friends, family and the globe if they could be encouraged to "take the next step."

That's why I recommend Tumblr for first-timers. It's wonderfully easy, and very intuitive. For instance, this is what I see when I log into my Tumblr dashboard:

Pretty simple, huh. If I want to post a simple paragaph or two, I click "Text." If a photo, then voila, click "Photo." It's that easy.

Now for the really cool part... some of you have been following the Lifestream series with interest, and Tumblr allows you to combine the different services you use and have them all posted in your Tumblog (the name given to a blog on Tumblr). While most first-time bloggers aren't using Twitter or YouTube or Flickr, they might in the future, and Tumblr lets you import your information in the form of an RSS feed from those services. Most of the stuff in my Tumblr are feeds imported from other places. I actually don't input directly into Tumblr that often. It may be one of the best Lifestream compilers out there - since you can customize its look and feel.

So... for those of you would-be bloggers out there, stop by Tumblr today, and create your first Tumblog. Send me the link, and I'll be sure to publish it here so you'll get some initial traffic and feedback! If you do stop by, mention my name, and you'll get a good seat...

For further reference and resources:

Theme customization:
- wisdump.com - 5 Tumblr themes
- tumblrthemes.com - Nice assortment of attractive Tumblr themes
-And, of course, you can always Google "Tumblr themes"

MMM Mobile Update

2008-04-28T14:01:00.002-04:00

I know that some of you have visited here wondering what has been going on; but the MMM Mobile experiemnt is still going on. A recent finding has given me a link where you don't need a username and password to check out things. Here is the link:

https://mobileministrymag.mymobilesite.net/.py

So go ahead all and check things out; feedback welcome.

MMM Gone Mobile For A Week

2008-04-23T13:00:00.001-04:00

Mobile Ministry Magazine has gone mobile. For the next week, MMM will be hosted completely via Nokia's Mobile Web Server on my Nokia N75. This is one part a test of the technology, and another part a means to keep me on top of those things that might lend towards some effectiveness towards those of you who need small intranets within your workplace, but the cost of developing and maintaining on might be out of reach.

View MMM Mobile at: http://mobileministrymag.mymobilesite.net.

Username: Guest
Password: mmmguest

If it says that the server is offline, its probably because my battery is dead or I needed to close the app for a bit, just visit the MMM Jaiku channel as news, notes, and discussion can always be found there.

Now this is really taking things mobile :)

Body (2.0) Actions

2008-04-22T10:09:00.002-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

Monday night, I was talking with a baristia at the coffee shop that my church has Bible study at and she was very happy about her mobile phone. She uses a Palm Centro on Sprint and has enjoyed what it brings to her life. Being a high school senior, I was able to point her towards ways her phone can help her transition towards college, but I also noticed how it was very much a lifestyle device for her. To hear it in her words, it was not an attachment to how she lives, but it was a part of it. An essential thread even.

This look at mobile technology as part of one's lifestyle is a fairly new phenomena. For people roughly in my age group (I'm 29), we grew up literally watching tech be what it is now. I've had both penmanship and keyboarding classes. I've used the Dewey Decimal System, Infosearch (or was it InfoTech), to Google/Yahoo for various searches. I've gone from no planner to Radio Shack planners to Palm PDAs to smartphones. In literal terms, I am a part of a generation that has grown up with the DNA of mobile and web technology under a lot, and this presents a line above and below of how tech is viewed.

As the church, we are in a similar time period. A lot has changed very fast and we now have to adjust to increasing streams of connectivity that are in our ministries, families, schools, and governments. We have to brace for informational security, just as much as we push for or against net neutrality. We are on the verge of a major shift with computing and life as we know it - its a lifestyle now, not a choice.

It would be easy to just make the next steps in this of trying to just wait it out and then use and do what's popular. But my heart is that we as the Body would do more than just anticipate what is coming, but we would already be working in it. Whether that is a community-ran blog on social and educational issues that interfaces with thought-leaders and the classroom, or just advancing the use of VoIP to connect families whose jobs have disconnected them from their countries of origin. We have to address what is given to us, but we also have to push for where God meets us in this.

You see, one of my passions is to see the Church literally get to the point where our use of mobile and web technology is a direct reflection of the love, justice, and mercy that God granted us through Jesus Christ. It was this vision that cast me onto the Internet to begin with. We are at the point where this can be our Body 2.0, or just a old media shunning the inevitable change. Something to think about the next time you stop for coffee and the baristia is taking your order with a mobile instead of pen and paper.

Related Links:

Is Your Church Leadership Interactive (The Digital Sanctuary)
On the Problems of Designing User-Friendly Software for PDAs and Smart Phones (Laridian)
Leatherbound iPhone Bible (ESV Bible Blog)
I Wish Changing Churches Was As Easy As Changing Bible Versions (Palm Addict)

Ultraportable Services?

2008-04-21T10:00:00.004-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

In reading Matt Miller's latest post about a sub-$1000 ultraportables, I was wondering, how many of you use a laptop/ultraportable (not smartphone and keyboard) in Bible studies, meetings, etc.?

Considering devices like the HP Mini Note and Asus Eee PC that are well under $1000 (under $500 in some configurations), it would seem that its very possible to have a capable note-taking solution?

Of those of you that use ultraportables (that is, laptops with less than a 12in screen), do any of you orchestrate special programs or usability features for those in your communities that also use them? If so, what do you share/do?

Knowing When to Make that Mobile Jump

2008-04-20T14:30:00.000-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

A friend of mine has been debating when to get the Nokia N810. He basically wants it to replace his laptop for the lighter ministry tasks that he does. He's been doing his homework, looking at his budget, and basically learning all that he can about it before he makes the jump, but the question that he has is "when?" You see, for him it is not so much that its there, but when should he get it is the more important question.

For those who follow technology of any kind, you know that there is planned obsolescence for all of it. Nothing seems to be meant to last forever, and in some cases, not much longer than the 5 minutes that passed since your purchased it. However, being a good steward over our resources means that we have to take a proactive approach towards attaining mobile technology, and for many of us that leaves us in a constant wait pattern.

So how do you decide to pull the trigger? Here are some things that have helped me in the past on this side of decision making:

Have you prayed about it or just told God that you wish that you had it?
In investigating the device or software, have you noticed complaints for basic functionality or advanced features?
Has the device had a major recall during its product life? Or is there a standing glitch that has not had any communication from the manufacturer that it will be addressed at some point and time?
What devices/services are planned to come after this? How long from this point until that new device/service is released?
Have you checked the Buy/Sell threads at the fan sites for this item (usually used, but the price is a lot lower than purchasing new)?

What about you, what kinds of decisions do you go through before making a purchase?

Is It Possible?

2008-04-19T19:45:00.000-04:00

I was sitting here thinking about the Nokia N-Gage platform and their new Get Out and Play campaign and how it takes the online aspect (think X-Box Live and World of Warcraft) and brings that community to mobile devices. I wonder, much like some ministries have gone into virtual worlds to start ministering to people there, could the same thing be possible within N-Gage?

Mobile Verses Makes Mobile Ministry Accessible to More People

2008-04-18T21:56:00.003-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

A very big thing for churches and ministries to understand about mobile tech is that it is an active agent. Being an active agent means that it not only is a product of an action, but mobile technology fosters several layers of interaction. From listening to a phone call, to reading an SMS, to viewing video, to something even more advanced, taking advantage of the computing that is in one's hands is an advantage for community-building that the church should not miss.

This is why I like the service Mobile Verses. It doesn't require that one have the latest or greatest smartphone, only one that is capable of receiving text messages. Yes, some of the services might stretch budgets a bit, but that is where churches/ministries work with Mobile Verses and other sponsors towards making these services usable for mobile device users.

Now, a common question I get is "why would I want something like Mobile Verses when I have a Bible?" Any pastor, or just a general onlooker can tell you that having a Bible is not always handy. Nor is having a calendar that is always accessible. Mobile Verses not only puts the Bible at your fingertips, but can accent that [sometimes boring and crowd thinning] announcements section of services. Yes, people will have mobile devices out during services, but like I've stated in other posts; the church should be at the front of teaching tech responsiblity. What better way to do so than with using a service like Mobile Verses.

Now before anyone thinks that I am writing this because they "tipped" MMM, please understand that this is not my reasoning. Mobile Verses is a very solid offering and one that should not be looked past, especially when high school students are carrying phones and using them to write things in their calendars ;)

Visit the Mobile Verses website for more information.

Introducing Inner-Linked

2008-04-17T10:35:00.004-04:00

As briefly touched on yesterday, and basically alluded to since MMM came into being, Inner-Linked has been launched. A consulting and training service, Inner-Linked seeks to take lessons gained from Mobile Ministry Magazine, and apply those lessons directly to pastors, missionaries, and your leaders in non-profit arenas.

The best analogy to what Inner-Linked offers is technology enablement over technology support. Inner-Linked doesn't aim to fix usability issues, create applications, or even fix someone's device. Its simple a teaching pot. A place where those interested in mobile technology can gain the knowledge and understanding of how it will be used in their capacity.

The initial service offerings by Inner-Linked are Purchase Assistance and Mobile Device Training. Purchase Assistance walks through purchasing a mobile device, from comparison shopping to addressing the direct user needs. Inner-Linked wants to make sure that you purchase a device or service that fits you, not something you have to fit into. Mobile Device Training is a three course one-on-one (or one-on-many) option where you gain basic, advanced, and specific knowledge about your mobile device or service. From backups and insurance, to using social networks, to strategically implementing a mobile component to one's workplace, Mobile Device Training aims to make sure that whatever mobile technology you are linked to, its something that remains effective past the time when the newness runs off.

Initially, Inner-Linked will be operating as a one-man show. I've got to get a number of things together before adding staff (and trust me, that's really needed already). Inner-Linked is based on making interpersonal relationships, so for now things stay local (Charlotte, NC) and East Coast USA (within reasonable traveling distance).

Chances are that if you are reading this, you might not need something like Inner-Linked. But you do know someone who does. Pass them Inner-Linked's website address (http://inner-linked.com) as well as MMM's and let them see that there's more to mobile ministry than what we can see now; a whole generation of folks around the world use and understand this technology, and using it effectively to them and the generations to come speaks well towards becoming enablers of those who share Christ's passion to the ends of the earth.

Related Links:

Reflecting and Moving

2008-04-16T12:20:00.003-04:00

The theme of things this week seems to be on part with reflecting on the past, and moving towards the next. Contrary to the internal battle that I have towards integrity, finances, and just life as I age, I really am enjoying things as I have had a lot of places where I am able to discover new parts of myself and put away some older parts.

I went back in the MMM archives today as I was looking towards some records of a few things and saw one of the post popular posts that we ever published, The Paperless Pulpit (Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3). It was amazing to not just have such a suitable contribution, but for it also to garner some national attention. That, and a phone call that I received last week, just encouraged me that MMM is in the right place, even if it is a bit different and on another stream than what other tech ministries do.

That being said, I am glad that MMM is continuing to move forward. Besides having MMM as the web magazine resource, we also have Inner-Linked as the offline training resource. Inner-Linked is that part of MMM we have talked about from the beginning. A place of training and instruction for pastors, missionaries, and organizations wishing to better apply mobile technology resources to their abilities to inreach and outreach. Its exciting for me because I have to continue to trust God with everything, including the direction and administration of MMM and Inner-Linked. But also because its that moving forward we talked about earlier and doing so in a way that speaks towards glorifying God as best as our humanity allows.

I won't short you all by not speaking a bit more about Inner-Linked later. I've not had the time to write much of anything up for it. But there will be signage on the site soon, and your prayers (and business) will be definitely appreciated.

MMM Tips Jar Added

2008-04-15T10:00:00.002-04:00

Realizing that it doesn't say MMM Tips Jar, this article refers to the TopSpots banner now appearing on the site.

I am not one to really want to have a website full of ads, but since moving to writing full-time in the beginning of February, I have had to look at ways where MMM and other writing that I do will have a bigger impact in allowing the MMM team and myself the ability to continue to have this resource. Many things have come through donations and various associations that we all have, however I myself have had to hit the ground with a number of approaches to ensure that I keep my bills up to date.

That being said, I still don't like ads. I don't like how they cheapen some websites, and how hard it is to make many of them work in such a fashion that does not destroy the formatting or functionality of the website they are on.

That's why I am a bit more in favor of putting a MMM Tips Jar on the site. Not so much a revenue bringer in terms of ads, it is a means for some of you who have asked how you can support MMM to be able to do so financially. The functionality is provided by a company called Scratchback and they funnel things via PayPal.

As it stands MMM is by no means as popular as SMSTextNews, who is where I first saw Scratchback implemented and thought it a great idea to run with. Though we do get a suitable amount of views from those inside and outside of various arenas in mobile and Christian circles. For $5, you can tip MMM for something that you've read and enjoyed or just for appreciating the resource. These funds are sent to my PayPal account and will contribute towards keeping me in position to continue MMM.

That being said, I do think its kinda neat to finally have something on the site that can generate some kind of income. Even if the cost of doing so means that you (the reader/donator) can get some publicity about your ministry or service. I encourage those of you who are looking for ways to allow your blog resource to have more than just a digital impact to look into this in addition to or an alternative to other ad options to place on your websites.

Related Items:

Beginning of the Week Update

2008-04-14T13:45:00.004-04:00

Greetings all. I'm back from celebrating my birthday (Sat) and just having an enjoyable and very busy weekend connecting with friends and family. To get started with the week, I'd like to share some of the links that had been sitting in my RSS feed list this weekend that I am just getting to.

Laridian has a PocketBible 4 for Pocket PC Preview posted on their blog. It looks like this will be a very good update to those of you already using Pocket Bible. And those of you on the fence about it might really want to take a look as well; looks spiffy at this point. Beta testers are being asked for as well. See the post and a video of PB4 at the Laridian Blog.
TonyDye has posted about the start of a CITRT group on LinkedIn. CITRT stands for the Church IT RoundTable and plenty of believers from around the US are a part of this group encouraging and sharing knowledge of what works in tech in their respective areas. Do connect on LinkedIn and the CITRT website.
Frank J. at Strategic Digital Outreach shot MMM a note about a post on his blog talking about how ministries are using SMS as an enabler to connect people with ministry outreach events. Very cool stuff.
Don't forget to vote in last week's poll about MMM taking itself literally to being run off a mobile device for a week. This poll will close later this week.
There's a relatively big announcement coming in the next day or so about an extension to the MMM family. Stay tuned for that as many of you might want to link in with this fairly quickly ;)

Contentment

2008-04-11T15:03:00.003-04:00

Proverbs 15:16
Better is a little with the fear of the Lord Than great treasure and turmoil with it.

Luke 3:14
Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, "And what about us, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages."

1 Corinthians 7:24
Brethren, each one is to remain with God in that condition in which he was called.

Philippians 2:14
Do all things without grumbling or disputing;

Philippians 4:11
Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.

1 Timothy 6:6-8
⁶But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. ⁷For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. ⁸If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.

Hebrews 13:5
Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,"