Christians Use Online Social Networking to Strengthen Community During Christianity.com Webcast
Discussion surrounding Christianity.com’s live webcast of The Gospel Coalition 2009 National Conference on April 21 – 23, took the social network site Twitter.com by storm as hundreds of viewers and attendees dialogued about conference speakers and shared notes online.
Richmond, VA (Vocus) April 30, 2009
Discussion surrounding Christianity.com’s live webcast of The Gospel Coalition 2009 National Conference on April 21 – 23, took the social network site Twitter.com by storm as hundreds of viewers and attendees dialogued about conference speakers and shared notes online.
“While churches and Christian ministries often struggle to determine the best ways to utilize the internet to reach a broader audience, Christianity.com’s webcast of The Gospel Coalition’s Conference proved that the Christian church and community can embrace new technologies and advance the Gospel in ways never before imagined,” said Stephen McGarvey, the executive editor of Christianity.com. “We are thrilled by the enormous positive response we’ve received about this event, especially from our friends on popular social networking websites like Twitter.com and Facebook.com”
On the first day of the live webcast, Twitter.com comments for the Christianity.com/The Gospel Coalition webcast by online viewers and attendees soared to over 1,100 posts, sending it to the homepage of Twitter and into the daily top 20 most talked about items. Conference participants posted over 2,400 times on Twitter.com during the three day event.
More than 26,000 people visited the free video webcast on Christianity.com. Additional participation on the social network site Facebook.com and in the personal blogs of influential church leaders also contributed to the immense success of the webcast.
“This conference webcast brought challenging theological teaching to thousands who were unable to attend the conference due to financial and other constraints. Social networking websites allowed these online viewers to interact with those in actual attendance,” added McGarvey. “From new Christians to long-time church attendees to church leaders and established pastors, everyone benefited from The Gospel Coalition speakers and the ability to interface with one another about event.