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Sarah Gibb Millspaugh: We
are starting our workshop

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officially.

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Welcome You To Uus Get Social:
Reaching nones, activists,

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and spiritual seekers.

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This is the third in a series of
four workshops on social media.

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We'll say more about
what's upcoming

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and what we're
going to do today.

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I'm going to provide some
introduction and some context

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about the nones.

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I'll also say who
I am very soon.

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And Amy Rowland will
be talking about do

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the work of Create Meaning in
Denver and the Western region

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to reach out to
the non-religious.

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And also, Jennifer
Toth will be talking

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about how we can use some
hands-on, practical tips

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for using Twitter and Facebook
to help our love reach out.

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We'll also have time for
questions and discussion

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at the end.

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One of the things we
recognize with this workshop

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is, in a room like
this, we have people

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who have all different
kinds of experience,

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all different levels of
experience with social media.

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I'd like you to raise your
hand if you've got a Twitter

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account, if that's
something that you use.

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All right, we've got maybe
about a third to half.

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How about Instagram?

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Oh, yeah?

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Smaller amount, maybe a quarter.

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Tumblr?

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Pinterest?

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OK.

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How could I forget Facebook?

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A lot of Facebook accounts.

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So we have a lot of different
levels of social media

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experience here.

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Someone just came up right
before we started and said,

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I don't even know the
basics about Twitter.

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In this workshop we're not
going to do the basics,

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but if you are looking
for the basics,

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if you go to uuplanet.org--
this is organization

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of Peter Bowden and Amy Friedman
who are both active UUs here

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at GA-- Peter put together
an introduction to Twitter

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for people going to GA.

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So that it guides you through
opening up a Twitter account,

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how Twitter works, how
you can use it at GA,

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and how you can use it to
connect with your fellow UUs.

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So that's a great
resource to go to.

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uuplanet.org.

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You're welcome.

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So how many here run a social
media account, one or more,

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for an organization, for your
congregation, or for your work

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or somewhere else?

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OK, we got a bunch here too.

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Excellent.

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The tips that we offer
today and the context

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that we offer today we hope
will be helpful for you

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if you're using it
just as yourself

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or if you're using
it as a congregation

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or if you're using it as a
nonprofit or some kind of group

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that wants to change the world.

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We have a workshop
that's happening tomorrow

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at this time, in
this place, 10:15,

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that will help us to dig into
Facebook, Twitter, and video.

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It's Called Uus Get
Social: Digging In.

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And it will feature speakers
talking more deeply about how

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they've used these in
really wonderful ways.

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So I have a question.

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How many of us here know that
someone became a Unitarian

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Universalist because of
their relationship with you?

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Wow.

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That's good.

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That is a good sizable group.

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One of the things that
has always been true

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is that we share our faith
through relationship,

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through relationships
with other people.

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And then we have
these connections

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and that's what draws people in.

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In a word of mouth is
what they used to say

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would always be the
best advertiser.

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And now we have word
of mouth multiplied.

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Does anybody know
someone became introduce

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Unitarian Universalism
because of social media,

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of things that happened
on social media?

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Great.

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That's a good sizable group.

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I want to share with you
a note that I received

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from a friend of
mine, a few years ago.

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Her name was Eve
and She and I had

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gone to junior high and
high school together.

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And we had seen each
other maybe twice

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since high school graduation,
but we were Facebook friends,

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and she was living up in Alaska.

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And she just sent me this
note out of the blue.

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Sarah, I wanted to
thank you for two things

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that you probably don't
know that you have done.

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One, opening my eyes to
a wonderful community

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of spiritual people
who are not concerned

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with what I am not, but only
what I am and what I can be.

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This community is supportive
loving, caring, respectful,

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spiritual, exactly what I have
needed at this time in my life

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and desired for
a very long time.

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And I want to thank
you for never trying

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to tell me that I should
go to this community

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to be transformed,
saved, helped,

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or anything else that other
people from other faiths

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have tried so hard to do.

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Three weeks ago
I became a member

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of the UU Fellowship
of Fairbanks.

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I feel a part of
something here and I'm

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comforted to know that there
are still people out there that

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believe in something
bigger than themselves

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and their own gain, which
is a difficult community

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to find up here at times.

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Many of the things
that you post and read

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are probably never
publicly acknowledged,

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but because of some of the
things that you posted,

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I checked out the UUs.

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Thank you, Eve.

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I just couldn't believe
it, my jaw hit the floor.

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It was amazing.

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I had no idea that
my faith, my love,

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was reaching out in that way to
someone who really needed it.

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Our love reaches out.

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Just this morning Peter Morales
said, millions of people

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want to connect for a just and
compassionate and sustainable

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world.

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There are so many
people out there

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who want to be able to engage
in this kind of community

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in a meaningful way.

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Invite you to think
of some people that

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might want this connection.

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You may not have had
to think for very long.

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More and more there
are so many people

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who don't identify with
any religion in particular,

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who are not even
familiar with what

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a religious community
could offer them.

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But who, if they were to learn
about what we do and who we are

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and why it matters, could find
a place within our movement.

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Peter Morales
talked this morning,

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and at previous years GAs,
about the rise of this group

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called the Nones.

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Now this is not intended
to label this group

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or call them monolithic,
because they are not.

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This is simply a group that
the Pew Research Center

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dubbed Nones, because when
the Pew Research Center did

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their survey of
American religious life,

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the people who said
that their religion was

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nothing in particular has grown.

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It's grown and grown.

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In the past several years
it has doubled and tripled

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and quadrupled and now,
one out of five Americans

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identify as having no religion,
nothing in particular.

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And one and three
is under age 30.

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And if you look at
the demographics,

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that's just going to keep
going up as the people age.

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And the none population
is increasing also

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in every demographic group.

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So it's not just
the young people.

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Among elders the number of nones
is increasing, among people

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of color, among Latinos,
among African Americans,

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the number of nones
is increasing.

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Among white people the number
of nones is increasing.

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It's increasing in
every demographic group.

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Now, sometimes we
can get confused.

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Sometimes we could think that
none means atheist or agnostic.

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That by reaching
out to the nones

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will be more effective
if we play up

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the atheists aspect of our faith
or that atheists are welcome.

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And that's true for a
significant minority of nones.

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Because of the people who are
unaffiliated in Pew's Survey,

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only 12 percent
identified as atheists.

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16 percent identified as
agnostic, and 71 no religion

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in particular, but they did
believe in a higher power.

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Many nones have active
spiritual lives.

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Many recognize that religious
truth comes in many forms.

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Many are deeply admiring
of religious figures,

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religious stories,
and modern day Saints.

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I saw a Christian
researcher talking

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to a group of Christians
about all the research

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she'd done on nones-- and
I'll mention her book later,

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it's about to come
out-- but she found

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that biblical stories were
huge in the mind of many

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of the people who
identify as none.

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Particularly, the Good Samaritan
and that the life of Jesus

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was very inspirational to
them, not necessarily his death

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on the cross, et cetera.

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So there's some real
synergies here with UUism.

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Also, many nones
say that actions

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are far more important
than beliefs.

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And many nones have a negative
view of organized religion.

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Now that, that's an
interesting spot.

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I got a comment to the other day
from a man in the coffee shop

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here in Providence.

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I told them what I was here for
because he saw all these people

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with name tags coming in.

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And he said, oh,
yeah, you know, I

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guess among the
organized religions

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you guys are the best.

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Yeah.

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So, I think I'd count
him in that camp.

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So we're in the midst
a movement of looking

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at congregational life
and beyond as ways

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of being actively
UU and engaged.

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And Peter Morales came out with
a report a few years ago called

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congregations and beyond.

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I encourage you to read it
online, it's on uua.org.

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And it's about how do we respond
to the these changing religious

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demographics?

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How do we respond to
the rise of people

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believing in nothing
in particular?

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And Morales calls us to look
at how we engage people,

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both in congregations and beyond
them, how we reach out in love.

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And when I think
of nones, I don't

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think this huge mass of people.

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I think of people
like my friend Diana.

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She was born
Jewish, never really

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went to synagogue very much at
all, grew up practicing yoga,

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and now she's an acupuncturist.

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And she's raising a child
without any particular faith.

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Her husband is a
philosophical atheist.

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They're progressive, they
are compassionate, kind, good

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people.

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Very spiritual, deeply admiring
of some aspects of religion,

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deeply suspicious
of some others.

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And they're very much
the kind of people

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who may, at some
point in their lives,

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decide because of the
relationship to me

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or other Unitarian Universalists
that they want to check us out.

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Elizabeth Drescher, who's the
scholar I mentioned earlier

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who was speaking
to the Christians,

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talks about nones in general.

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And of course, all of this is
like generational research.

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You know, when you talk about
Generation X is like this

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and baby boomers are like that.

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There's trends but it's
not everyone to a person.

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But the trend among the
nones that she has researched

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very deeply are that
nones would be categorized

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as relational rather
than individualistic or

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institutionalist.

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So individualism
is kind of a view

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of every person for themselves.

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Institutionalists
would be people

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who want to become part of
a membership organization

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and build an institution.

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And the nones
that-- and this also

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fits with the rising
millennial generation--

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that they're a let's
institutionalist.

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They want to get together
and get organized,

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but for specific time
limited purposes.

251
00:12:50,450 --> 00:12:53,310
Not necessarily for
membership or for long term

252
00:12:53,310 --> 00:12:56,230
institutional support.

253
00:12:56,230 --> 00:13:01,310
And this has implications
for our congregations,

254
00:13:01,310 --> 00:13:05,740
but thinking now about how we
might involve someone or spread

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00:13:05,740 --> 00:13:08,100
the word to them,
we can recognize

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00:13:08,100 --> 00:13:11,700
that they may be seeking
relationship with a community.

257
00:13:11,700 --> 00:13:16,170
Not necessarily for joining,
but for the purpose of growth

258
00:13:16,170 --> 00:13:19,290
or getting through a hard time
or educating their children

259
00:13:19,290 --> 00:13:22,960
or making meaning about
something that's been troubling

260
00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:24,670
them.

261
00:13:24,670 --> 00:13:29,740
And we must be relational
too in meeting the nones.

262
00:13:29,740 --> 00:13:32,960
That in our social media,
and in our conversations,

263
00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:34,470
we don't just broadcast.

264
00:13:34,470 --> 00:13:35,950
We don't just say,
we UUs believe

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00:13:35,950 --> 00:13:38,770
in inherent worth and
dignity of every person.

266
00:13:38,770 --> 00:13:41,610
We can engage, we
can be curious,

267
00:13:41,610 --> 00:13:44,420
we can seek to understand
how people are making

268
00:13:44,420 --> 00:13:49,030
meaning themselves
and really listen.

269
00:13:49,030 --> 00:13:51,880
And that goes far.

270
00:13:51,880 --> 00:13:55,930
Also, we need to listen to ways
that people are making meaning

271
00:13:55,930 --> 00:13:59,010
of their affiliation with us.

272
00:13:59,010 --> 00:14:01,690
We are often uncomfortable
in our congregations.

273
00:14:01,690 --> 00:14:05,460
And I'll say, I was too when
I was a parish minister.

274
00:14:05,460 --> 00:14:08,190
I was uncomfortable when
someone didn't neatly

275
00:14:08,190 --> 00:14:12,085
fit into the category
of member or visitor.

276
00:14:12,085 --> 00:14:14,510
You know, say they'd
been coming for 10 years

277
00:14:14,510 --> 00:14:17,080
and they'd never signed
the book and they

278
00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:19,545
were in on Sunday
services sporadically.

279
00:14:19,545 --> 00:14:21,450
I would say, what's
that person doing?

280
00:14:21,450 --> 00:14:22,740
What are they thinking?

281
00:14:22,740 --> 00:14:24,930
But very much they
might have been

282
00:14:24,930 --> 00:14:26,950
someone who would
identify as a none.

283
00:14:26,950 --> 00:14:30,910
Someone with no particular
religious affiliation,

284
00:14:30,910 --> 00:14:33,480
but they really like the
UUs, they like the messages,

285
00:14:33,480 --> 00:14:37,830
they like to participate
in our social justice work,

286
00:14:37,830 --> 00:14:40,960
or they like to come to
our services at times.

287
00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:43,240
So we need to let our
love be big enough

288
00:14:43,240 --> 00:14:47,070
and reach out in enough
to listen to people

289
00:14:47,070 --> 00:14:51,080
and accept how they
are making meaning

290
00:14:51,080 --> 00:14:53,410
of their participation
in our group.

291
00:14:53,410 --> 00:14:56,380
And to respect and accept
how they self affiliate

292
00:14:56,380 --> 00:15:03,370
and how they self identify.

293
00:15:03,370 --> 00:15:06,080
So social connections
create new UUs.

294
00:15:06,080 --> 00:15:09,420
That has always been the case
and now we have more power.

295
00:15:09,420 --> 00:15:10,760
We have social media.

296
00:15:10,760 --> 00:15:13,700
Relationship is the
key to social media.

297
00:15:13,700 --> 00:15:16,560
We have each of us who are
involved in social media

298
00:15:16,560 --> 00:15:20,420
have a web of relationships, a
web of people who see whatever

299
00:15:20,420 --> 00:15:25,040
we post, whatever comes to mind,
whenever we're talking about.

300
00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:30,100
And also, we need to work
on our communication.

301
00:15:30,100 --> 00:15:34,060
Movement wide we are working
on developing clearer signals.

302
00:15:34,060 --> 00:15:36,154
Over the years, you've
heard, in the past 10

303
00:15:36,154 --> 00:15:38,570
years we started talking about
the concept of the elevator

304
00:15:38,570 --> 00:15:39,070
speech.

305
00:15:39,070 --> 00:15:41,040
How do you explain
UUism in the time

306
00:15:41,040 --> 00:15:42,880
that it takes to
ride in an elevator

307
00:15:42,880 --> 00:15:45,200
with someone who's
asking you a question?

308
00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:48,790
Now we can say, how do
you explain UUism in you

309
00:15:48,790 --> 00:15:51,830
140 characters on Twitter?

310
00:15:51,830 --> 00:15:54,430
Or there was a meme
going around recently

311
00:15:54,430 --> 00:15:57,170
called my six word
story of faith.

312
00:15:57,170 --> 00:15:58,850
Where a lot of UUs
were participating,

313
00:15:58,850 --> 00:16:03,190
sending in their six words
that talked about their faith

314
00:16:03,190 --> 00:16:07,360
and what grounded them.

315
00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:10,620
Movement wide we're also working
one on the branding process.

316
00:16:10,620 --> 00:16:12,260
And you see some
of that in evidence

317
00:16:12,260 --> 00:16:15,680
here with the logos and
some of the new ways

318
00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:17,230
of presenting
ourselves visually.

319
00:16:17,230 --> 00:16:19,850
But the branding process
is about so much more.

320
00:16:19,850 --> 00:16:22,950
It's about really
developing clear ways

321
00:16:22,950 --> 00:16:26,590
to talk about and show
who we are, what we do,

322
00:16:26,590 --> 00:16:28,100
and why it matters.

323
00:16:28,100 --> 00:16:30,760
And I realized now I
forgot to introduce myself.

324
00:16:30,760 --> 00:16:33,640
I'm Sarah Gibb
Millspaugh and I'm

325
00:16:33,640 --> 00:16:36,940
working for the UUA on the part
of the branding process that

326
00:16:36,940 --> 00:16:41,040
has to do with our website
and how we make what's

327
00:16:41,040 --> 00:16:44,640
there be accessible,
warm, and very clear

328
00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:46,970
in showing who we are.

329
00:16:46,970 --> 00:16:50,350
Because we get so many
visitors who check out

330
00:16:50,350 --> 00:16:53,370
UUA org as their first
stop in learning about what

331
00:16:53,370 --> 00:16:55,850
Unitarian Universalism
is online.

332
00:16:55,850 --> 00:16:58,730
And if we reach them with a
lot of words, what hit them

333
00:16:58,730 --> 00:17:01,420
right here, we're not going
to be showing who we are.

334
00:17:01,420 --> 00:17:04,470
But if we reach them
with spiritual depth,

335
00:17:04,470 --> 00:17:10,349
with real love, and with
visual presentation of pictures

336
00:17:10,349 --> 00:17:15,560
and videos, that is going to
more clearly signal who we are.

337
00:17:15,560 --> 00:17:18,839
And also, we have an opportunity
for personal communication.

338
00:17:18,839 --> 00:17:21,970
Each of us has that chance
to communicate and share

339
00:17:21,970 --> 00:17:25,440
from our own lives and values,
our own deep experiences,

340
00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:28,440
our own experiences
of connection.

341
00:17:28,440 --> 00:17:32,350
Whether it be in a worship
service or at a rally,

342
00:17:32,350 --> 00:17:35,030
we can share that
with others in a way

343
00:17:35,030 --> 00:17:39,140
that we have not
been able to before.

344
00:17:39,140 --> 00:17:40,200
So why do we do this?

345
00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:43,620
It's really-- it's
not about numbers.

346
00:17:43,620 --> 00:17:46,840
It's not about
getting more members

347
00:17:46,840 --> 00:17:51,440
to fill our pews or more money
to get in our pocketbooks

348
00:17:51,440 --> 00:17:53,890
for the congregations.

349
00:17:53,890 --> 00:17:55,820
Although those are
nice things and I

350
00:17:55,820 --> 00:17:58,450
hope that those will
be outcomes of this.

351
00:17:58,450 --> 00:18:05,230
But what really underlies
it in reaching out and being

352
00:18:05,230 --> 00:18:10,570
and engaging with people who
have no religious affiliation?

353
00:18:10,570 --> 00:18:16,280
It's about entering into a
transformative healing, life

354
00:18:16,280 --> 00:18:19,140
giving, and world
changing relationship.

355
00:18:19,140 --> 00:18:22,820
We have something
that people long for.

356
00:18:22,820 --> 00:18:24,980
We have something
that people long for.

357
00:18:24,980 --> 00:18:30,190
How do we clearly
signal and communicate

358
00:18:30,190 --> 00:18:38,040
and connect so that people
can find it with us?

359
00:18:38,040 --> 00:18:45,110
And people who don't identify as
UU, nones, people can join us.

360
00:18:45,110 --> 00:18:47,460
Or people who identify as
some other faith, even,

361
00:18:47,460 --> 00:18:48,970
can join us for many things.

362
00:18:48,970 --> 00:18:52,170
For activism, for community,
for spiritual growth,

363
00:18:52,170 --> 00:18:53,420
and for lifelong learning.

364
00:18:53,420 --> 00:18:56,310
And Amy Roland is doing
some of that important work

365
00:18:56,310 --> 00:18:58,180
and she will talk about that.

366
00:18:58,180 --> 00:19:00,940
But next time, after
somebody has joined us

367
00:19:00,940 --> 00:19:04,020
for these things, next time
they're surveyed by The Pew

368
00:19:04,020 --> 00:19:10,038
Research Center, maybe they will
answer Unitarian Universalists.

369
00:19:10,038 --> 00:19:24,519
[APPLAUSE]

370
00:19:24,519 --> 00:19:26,185
Amy Rowland: Hi, I'm
Amy Rowland and I'm

371
00:19:26,185 --> 00:19:28,580
the new director of
Create Meaning, which

372
00:19:28,580 --> 00:19:35,440
is a ministry that serves
online and in person providing

373
00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:38,180
spiritual tools and resources.

374
00:19:38,180 --> 00:19:39,950
Particularly directed
to people who

375
00:19:39,950 --> 00:19:47,340
identify as not being affiliated
with any particular tradition.

376
00:19:47,340 --> 00:19:50,680
So we work very closely
with congregations

377
00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:55,730
to enable congregations to
reach out into the community,

378
00:19:55,730 --> 00:19:59,330
to build relationship with
people who are not affiliated

379
00:19:59,330 --> 00:20:02,250
with a faith tradition at all.

380
00:20:02,250 --> 00:20:07,330
And so, it's very important that
we have a strong social media

381
00:20:07,330 --> 00:20:09,970
presence.

382
00:20:09,970 --> 00:20:11,530
So what I'm here
to talk about today

383
00:20:11,530 --> 00:20:15,660
is some of our ways of
understanding who we are

384
00:20:15,660 --> 00:20:19,490
and how we communicate
that out in the world.

385
00:20:19,490 --> 00:20:24,000
And how important that is to
the way we build relationship.

386
00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:26,510
Because our identity as
Unitarian Universalists,

387
00:20:26,510 --> 00:20:28,930
as I'm sure you've been
hearing over and over,

388
00:20:28,930 --> 00:20:32,700
is changing from
an understanding

389
00:20:32,700 --> 00:20:35,310
of being an association
of congregations

390
00:20:35,310 --> 00:20:38,980
in which our congregations
really act independently

391
00:20:38,980 --> 00:20:41,010
and for ourselves.

392
00:20:41,010 --> 00:20:44,550
When we think of ourselves
more as a movement,

393
00:20:44,550 --> 00:20:46,660
and we move into
thinking of ourselves

394
00:20:46,660 --> 00:20:51,640
in terms of programs like
congregations and beyond,

395
00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:55,030
we recognize that being
out in the community

396
00:20:55,030 --> 00:20:59,990
is part of our faith
tradition to serve

397
00:20:59,990 --> 00:21:03,250
the community in
which we're embedded.

398
00:21:03,250 --> 00:21:07,390
And also, our congregations
and between program,

399
00:21:07,390 --> 00:21:09,000
if you've heard
some of that, it's

400
00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:11,220
encouraging
congregations-- and this

401
00:21:11,220 --> 00:21:14,120
goes back to the Cambridge
platform of 1648--

402
00:21:14,120 --> 00:21:17,860
to be in relationships
with each other,

403
00:21:17,860 --> 00:21:19,990
and so to share resources.

404
00:21:19,990 --> 00:21:21,900
And that means, both
of these programs

405
00:21:21,900 --> 00:21:25,350
mean, a little bit of
a shift in identity

406
00:21:25,350 --> 00:21:30,250
to expand who we recognize we're
in conversation with when we're

407
00:21:30,250 --> 00:21:35,820
making decisions about how
we're using our resources

408
00:21:35,820 --> 00:21:38,170
and how we're reaching out.

409
00:21:38,170 --> 00:21:41,370
So as our identity
shifts, the way

410
00:21:41,370 --> 00:21:56,170
we communicate who we are as a
faith tradition shifts as well.

411
00:21:56,170 --> 00:22:02,740
Sarah Gibb Millspaugh: Excuse
the technical difficulties.

412
00:22:02,740 --> 00:22:04,970
Sorry, there was a reason
the mike was far away,

413
00:22:04,970 --> 00:22:08,120
it was because of the plug.

414
00:22:08,120 --> 00:22:11,497
There we go.

415
00:22:11,497 --> 00:22:13,580
Amy Rowland: All right,
I'll speak up a little bit

416
00:22:13,580 --> 00:22:15,640
if there's an
issue with hearing.

417
00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:21,910
So, today social media
signals hospitality in a way

418
00:22:21,910 --> 00:22:25,270
that it hasn't in the past.

419
00:22:25,270 --> 00:22:27,130
When I think today
about whether or not

420
00:22:27,130 --> 00:22:29,880
a congregation is
using social media,

421
00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:33,640
I think back to my first
visit to a small congregation.

422
00:22:33,640 --> 00:22:36,370
And I read the newsletter and
there was this great event.

423
00:22:36,370 --> 00:22:39,904
It looked perfect for a newcomer
to go to, it was a picnic.

424
00:22:39,904 --> 00:22:42,320
I could bring food, I could
feel as though as contributing

425
00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:43,660
and meet people.

426
00:22:43,660 --> 00:22:49,480
But then all it said was
see Betty for details.

427
00:22:49,480 --> 00:22:52,210
You've probably been there.

428
00:22:52,210 --> 00:22:54,100
It feels very isolating.

429
00:22:54,100 --> 00:22:57,020
Today, when we don't
have a Facebook page,

430
00:22:57,020 --> 00:23:00,750
a web page, if we aren't
out there in social media,

431
00:23:00,750 --> 00:23:04,020
we are signaling
that we're just not

432
00:23:04,020 --> 00:23:07,180
available the way
our current culture

433
00:23:07,180 --> 00:23:10,300
expects us to be available.

434
00:23:10,300 --> 00:23:15,360
So today social media
isn't a nice thing to do,

435
00:23:15,360 --> 00:23:21,140
it's a way of being present
that signals our hospitality.

436
00:23:21,140 --> 00:23:23,740
So the way our culture
has changed really

437
00:23:23,740 --> 00:23:30,480
does compel us to find ways
to be out in the community

438
00:23:30,480 --> 00:23:32,455
through social media.

439
00:23:32,455 --> 00:23:39,310
It's sort of the new
baseline for hospitality.

440
00:23:39,310 --> 00:23:40,810
And so, some of
what Sarah has said,

441
00:23:40,810 --> 00:23:46,000
I want to just highlight here
too, part of what this means is

442
00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:48,900
that our identity--
we're learning

443
00:23:48,900 --> 00:23:53,780
new ways of
expressing who we are.

444
00:23:53,780 --> 00:23:58,380
Since the same Pew Study
shows that a lot of people

445
00:23:58,380 --> 00:24:01,400
identify as Unitarian
Universalists who will never

446
00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:06,180
even attended a Unitarian
Universalist congregation.

447
00:24:06,180 --> 00:24:10,334
So, do we count them as
Unitarian Universalists?

448
00:24:10,334 --> 00:24:11,750
There's been a
question of can you

449
00:24:11,750 --> 00:24:14,850
be Unitarian Universalist alone?

450
00:24:14,850 --> 00:24:16,830
And I think the
historical answer,

451
00:24:16,830 --> 00:24:19,160
there's been a strong
push to say well, no, you

452
00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:21,810
can't because our covenant
is with each other.

453
00:24:21,810 --> 00:24:24,640
And if you are with each other
then you can't be in covenant.

454
00:24:24,640 --> 00:24:26,910
But I think if there's another
answer to that as well.

455
00:24:26,910 --> 00:24:31,610
And we can say, no, you can't
be Unitarian Universalist alone

456
00:24:31,610 --> 00:24:33,860
because you can't be alone.

457
00:24:33,860 --> 00:24:36,180
We are, and we know by
our seventh principle,

458
00:24:36,180 --> 00:24:39,140
we are embedded in an
interdependent web.

459
00:24:39,140 --> 00:24:42,260
And that's becoming more
and more evident the way

460
00:24:42,260 --> 00:24:44,530
our culture is evolving.

461
00:24:44,530 --> 00:24:48,330
So we are really on the
cusp of finding ways

462
00:24:48,330 --> 00:24:52,160
to claim people we haven't
claimed before because we've

463
00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:55,000
had a barrier of our
church doors saying,

464
00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:59,000
well, if you're not coming in
here, you are not one of us.

465
00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:02,240
But I think a way
to understand now

466
00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:06,980
what's happening with us
is that our covenants today

467
00:25:06,980 --> 00:25:09,560
is a covenant with
people who are saying yes

468
00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:12,980
to life in a particular
way, not just yes

469
00:25:12,980 --> 00:25:15,750
to the members of
our congregation.

470
00:25:15,750 --> 00:25:19,040
But our covenant is
with the wider world.

471
00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:22,780
And so we can be Unitarian
Universalists together,

472
00:25:22,780 --> 00:25:25,890
upholding and living into
the values of our faith.

473
00:25:25,890 --> 00:25:28,530
Even if we were the
only one we know

474
00:25:28,530 --> 00:25:31,330
because we are living
that way in the world.

475
00:25:31,330 --> 00:25:33,550
And all of this
becomes important

476
00:25:33,550 --> 00:25:38,180
because if we're going to be
out there tweeting and posting

477
00:25:38,180 --> 00:25:39,900
on Facebook, it's
very, very important

478
00:25:39,900 --> 00:25:43,640
that we know who we
are and we understand

479
00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:46,200
the parameters of our faith.

480
00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:49,540
How inclusive we
are, that we can say,

481
00:25:49,540 --> 00:25:54,280
well a lot goes on
in our congregations,

482
00:25:54,280 --> 00:25:58,290
but actually not everything
goes on in our congregations.

483
00:25:58,290 --> 00:26:02,440
There are values that we
uphold, here they are,

484
00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:06,170
they're very liberal,
they may well include you.

485
00:26:06,170 --> 00:26:09,670
Come find out about us.

486
00:26:09,670 --> 00:26:12,450
And this really goes along
with our understanding

487
00:26:12,450 --> 00:26:17,750
our faith as a movement, which
is a slightly different way

488
00:26:17,750 --> 00:26:21,370
of understanding
our faith than just

489
00:26:21,370 --> 00:26:27,930
an association of congregations.

490
00:26:27,930 --> 00:26:35,050
And so one of the ways that
we would use as our baseline

491
00:26:35,050 --> 00:26:37,750
for understanding how
we're going to message,

492
00:26:37,750 --> 00:26:41,850
is to-- as Sarah said--
start with your heart.

493
00:26:41,850 --> 00:26:44,650
Who are we as a faith community?

494
00:26:44,650 --> 00:26:46,440
So in your
congregation, if you're

495
00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:49,920
going to be updating and
creating a Facebook page

496
00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:55,850
or starting a Tumblr, it's great
to have the parameters that

497
00:26:55,850 --> 00:26:58,350
would be intellectually
understandable to people,

498
00:26:58,350 --> 00:27:03,520
but remember also to share
what it is that moves you

499
00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:06,840
about Being Unitarian
Universalists.

500
00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:10,920
And Lauren Mead has done some
research about mature growth.

501
00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:15,250
And what captures
people is really

502
00:27:15,250 --> 00:27:18,470
what is it that speaks
to your soul, what

503
00:27:18,470 --> 00:27:24,770
is it that makes this way
of living important to you?

504
00:27:24,770 --> 00:27:27,620
So important that you've
invested significant amounts

505
00:27:27,620 --> 00:27:31,400
of time and resources
because it matters in the way

506
00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:32,720
you live your life.

507
00:27:32,720 --> 00:27:35,630
Your life has more
meaning because you

508
00:27:35,630 --> 00:27:37,490
live in to these values.

509
00:27:37,490 --> 00:27:39,700
And to be able to
communicate that and talk

510
00:27:39,700 --> 00:27:43,390
about growth as maturation.

511
00:27:43,390 --> 00:27:46,530
Rather than growth as, well, we
really want to be up on the web

512
00:27:46,530 --> 00:27:49,030
because we want more
people, so that we

513
00:27:49,030 --> 00:27:51,350
can have better programming.

514
00:27:51,350 --> 00:27:56,550
That can be a side
results to sharing

515
00:27:56,550 --> 00:28:00,670
the depth of what's going
on in your community.

516
00:28:00,670 --> 00:28:03,980
And covenant, then, is what
I had talked about earlier.

517
00:28:03,980 --> 00:28:07,100
The covenant in the 21st
century, we can think about

518
00:28:07,100 --> 00:28:09,840
is very, very open covenant.

519
00:28:09,840 --> 00:28:13,830
That we share a
covenant with the world.

520
00:28:13,830 --> 00:28:17,820
We have said yes to life and
that doesn't mean necessarily

521
00:28:17,820 --> 00:28:20,410
that you've signed a book.

522
00:28:20,410 --> 00:28:22,940
There's a different kind
of membership conversation

523
00:28:22,940 --> 00:28:23,970
going on right now.

524
00:28:23,970 --> 00:28:26,470
And I encourage you all have
it and many of you probably

525
00:28:26,470 --> 00:28:29,470
already having it, what
does membership mean?

526
00:28:29,470 --> 00:28:32,690
How do we include people who
are the sometimes attenders?

527
00:28:32,690 --> 00:28:35,120
How do we include
a generation that

528
00:28:35,120 --> 00:28:39,620
thinks going to church once
a month is a lot because they

529
00:28:39,620 --> 00:28:42,340
have so many other commitments?

530
00:28:42,340 --> 00:28:44,910
How do we include
them in the leadership

531
00:28:44,910 --> 00:28:49,210
of our congregations, welcomed
them into our communities

532
00:28:49,210 --> 00:28:51,450
as full members?

533
00:28:51,450 --> 00:28:53,990
Because they are
invested in living these

534
00:28:53,990 --> 00:28:56,130
values in the same way.

535
00:28:56,130 --> 00:28:58,030
So again, it's an
identity issue that's

536
00:28:58,030 --> 00:29:01,190
shifting from how we've
thought about being

537
00:29:01,190 --> 00:29:04,220
a religious movement
and being in covenant.

538
00:29:04,220 --> 00:29:07,860
So that the way we talk
when we post online

539
00:29:07,860 --> 00:29:13,780
and in social media, than
it is important for us

540
00:29:13,780 --> 00:29:16,850
to be mindful that we're
communicating in ways that

541
00:29:16,850 --> 00:29:21,870
do signal our openness to
different ways of being

542
00:29:21,870 --> 00:29:26,850
in relationship.

543
00:29:26,850 --> 00:29:32,560
So at Create Meaning, we have
a website, a Facebook account,

544
00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:34,740
Tumblr, Twitter,
Pinterest, Meetup.

545
00:29:34,740 --> 00:29:36,390
We do all of these things.

546
00:29:36,390 --> 00:29:38,950
I'm working on getting
an Instagram flow

547
00:29:38,950 --> 00:29:42,750
going and snapshot, which
I've just learned about,

548
00:29:42,750 --> 00:29:45,390
which is a fade out.

549
00:29:45,390 --> 00:29:49,310
It's about 10 or
15 seconds of post.

550
00:29:49,310 --> 00:29:52,090
So things are
shifting, constantly

551
00:29:52,090 --> 00:29:55,330
shifting in the
social media world.

552
00:29:55,330 --> 00:29:59,300
And we do all these
primarily because, well we

553
00:29:59,300 --> 00:30:00,440
have two missions.

554
00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:06,140
One is to be online and to be a
spiritual resource for seekers

555
00:30:06,140 --> 00:30:06,810
anywhere.

556
00:30:06,810 --> 00:30:09,400
So we want to be online.

557
00:30:09,400 --> 00:30:12,260
But there's also,
as I said earlier,

558
00:30:12,260 --> 00:30:15,790
if people are going to come
to a Create Meaning event

559
00:30:15,790 --> 00:30:19,580
that your congregation is
hosting out in the community,

560
00:30:19,580 --> 00:30:22,880
the first thing I'm going
to do is go online and see

561
00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:24,990
who we are.

562
00:30:24,990 --> 00:30:30,000
And so, we need to have
this presence up there.

563
00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:33,400
We need to have it
relevant, timely.

564
00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:36,870
It needs to be easy
to find because that

565
00:30:36,870 --> 00:30:42,320
signals that we are here.

566
00:30:42,320 --> 00:30:46,360
So we've invested in
having a web presence

567
00:30:46,360 --> 00:30:48,780
in Facebook, Tumblr,
all these accounts.

568
00:30:48,780 --> 00:30:50,540
And we post to them
and invite people

569
00:30:50,540 --> 00:30:55,140
to post to them to keep
them fresh and renewing.

570
00:30:55,140 --> 00:30:57,670
We have a lot of
spiritual resources

571
00:30:57,670 --> 00:31:00,410
in different categories
on our website.

572
00:31:00,410 --> 00:31:03,280
One for personal growth,
one for creating community,

573
00:31:03,280 --> 00:31:05,730
and one for doing
social justice work.

574
00:31:05,730 --> 00:31:11,310
So all of these are just
there both to serve people

575
00:31:11,310 --> 00:31:15,380
who are not in
community and also

576
00:31:15,380 --> 00:31:19,400
to let people know that when
they come to be with us,

577
00:31:19,400 --> 00:31:26,450
this is who we are, and they
know something about us.

578
00:31:26,450 --> 00:31:28,060
So one of the things
that we've done

579
00:31:28,060 --> 00:31:30,540
incurred in determining
what in the world

580
00:31:30,540 --> 00:31:36,100
we're going to post online is
we've used the agile methods

581
00:31:36,100 --> 00:31:38,280
and how to create classes.

582
00:31:38,280 --> 00:31:41,800
Because what we do is, we
work with congregations

583
00:31:41,800 --> 00:31:44,870
to reach out into the community.

584
00:31:44,870 --> 00:31:47,054
And what we did at
first, this project

585
00:31:47,054 --> 00:31:48,970
is a year old-- Create
Meaning is a year old--

586
00:31:48,970 --> 00:31:52,520
and what we did first was
we developed a catalog

587
00:31:52,520 --> 00:31:55,040
and published a catalog.

588
00:31:55,040 --> 00:31:58,060
But what that meant was that
six months ahead of time

589
00:31:58,060 --> 00:32:02,510
had to know what you were
going to be doing in April.

590
00:32:02,510 --> 00:32:06,730
And what we found is
that it made more sense

591
00:32:06,730 --> 00:32:11,220
to go with the energy that
was more in the moment.

592
00:32:11,220 --> 00:32:15,850
And so as interest rose
up for a particular class,

593
00:32:15,850 --> 00:32:19,480
for a particular kind of
gathering, we'd post it.

594
00:32:19,480 --> 00:32:26,790
So we no longer publish a hard
copy manual or program guide,

595
00:32:26,790 --> 00:32:30,320
but we update.

596
00:32:30,320 --> 00:32:33,020
A class becomes available,
we post it on the web.

597
00:32:33,020 --> 00:32:35,870
So it's a rotating offering.

598
00:32:35,870 --> 00:32:38,180
And you can go online
to createmeaning.or

599
00:32:38,180 --> 00:32:40,530
and you can see that we have
three centers right now.

600
00:32:40,530 --> 00:32:44,410
One in the Denver boulder
area, one in northern Nevada

601
00:32:44,410 --> 00:32:46,970
hosted out of a
Reno congregation,

602
00:32:46,970 --> 00:32:49,880
and one in South
Bay, L.A., hosted out

603
00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:53,130
of the Pacific congregation
in Palos Verdes.

604
00:32:53,130 --> 00:32:56,930
So they're all
using agile methods

605
00:32:56,930 --> 00:33:00,370
to reach out into
the wider community

606
00:33:00,370 --> 00:33:11,170
to provide programming,
spiritual resources.

607
00:33:11,170 --> 00:33:13,670
And so one of the
ways they were doing

608
00:33:13,670 --> 00:33:16,870
that too is to
identify what group.

609
00:33:16,870 --> 00:33:19,430
And so the research that Sarah
talked about with the nones

610
00:33:19,430 --> 00:33:20,990
is very, very important.

611
00:33:20,990 --> 00:33:24,740
Because otherwise, if
you don't have a target

612
00:33:24,740 --> 00:33:28,510
to know who you're
going to communicate to,

613
00:33:28,510 --> 00:33:31,150
it can feel like you
have to say everything.

614
00:33:31,150 --> 00:33:34,140
You know, a big fire hose of
this is everything about us

615
00:33:34,140 --> 00:33:35,890
that you might need to know.

616
00:33:35,890 --> 00:33:38,090
But if you know who
you're speaking to,

617
00:33:38,090 --> 00:33:40,670
you can target your message.

618
00:33:40,670 --> 00:33:43,460
If you know that you
want to reach families

619
00:33:43,460 --> 00:33:47,180
with young children, you'll
do one kind of message.

620
00:33:47,180 --> 00:33:50,150
If you know that you want
to reach the elders who

621
00:33:50,150 --> 00:33:52,470
are interested in
aging dis-aging,

622
00:33:52,470 --> 00:33:57,740
and about the different
stressors of being

623
00:33:57,740 --> 00:34:01,080
a middle generation that's
caretaking for their children

624
00:34:01,080 --> 00:34:03,410
and caretaking for their
parents at the same time,

625
00:34:03,410 --> 00:34:06,010
it's a very different
kind of message.

626
00:34:06,010 --> 00:34:07,650
So it's very
important that you do

627
00:34:07,650 --> 00:34:09,909
what we call the persona work.

628
00:34:09,909 --> 00:34:13,460
That you know who you're
reaching out to because then

629
00:34:13,460 --> 00:34:15,770
your message will
really resonate

630
00:34:15,770 --> 00:34:19,350
when the person that you
were targeting reads it.

631
00:34:19,350 --> 00:34:20,475
They'll know it's for them.

632
00:34:20,475 --> 00:34:23,790
They'll know that you have
something to say to them.

633
00:34:23,790 --> 00:34:26,929
So at Create Meaning, when
we Create Meaning started,

634
00:34:26,929 --> 00:34:30,670
the key persona that was
used was a tag named Jordan.

635
00:34:30,670 --> 00:34:35,889
And Jordan was the typical
none that Sarah was describing.

636
00:34:35,889 --> 00:34:39,230
So it became important
to create events

637
00:34:39,230 --> 00:34:43,900
that had a low
level of commitment.

638
00:34:43,900 --> 00:34:46,100
This wasn't going
to be a class that

639
00:34:46,100 --> 00:34:48,219
was going to be 12 weeks long.

640
00:34:48,219 --> 00:34:51,139
It was going to idea
maybe a weekend class,

641
00:34:51,139 --> 00:34:54,840
maybe something that
met once a month.

642
00:34:54,840 --> 00:35:00,520
A high level of interactivity
and a high level of connection.

643
00:35:00,520 --> 00:35:03,170
That these were all very,
very important things

644
00:35:03,170 --> 00:35:04,940
for this particular persona.

645
00:35:04,940 --> 00:35:07,540
Now what we've learned is that
there are other personas who

646
00:35:07,540 --> 00:35:11,390
want programming and are
starting to do offerings

647
00:35:11,390 --> 00:35:13,400
through Create Meaning.

648
00:35:13,400 --> 00:35:15,760
And those classes are
looking a little different.

649
00:35:15,760 --> 00:35:20,960
But it's persona by persona, so
that when the message is read,

650
00:35:20,960 --> 00:35:22,480
it either resonates or doesn't.

651
00:35:22,480 --> 00:35:24,630
But you don't have to
read everything in order

652
00:35:24,630 --> 00:35:26,970
to find the one thing
that might relate to you.

653
00:35:26,970 --> 00:35:30,120
So paying attention to
that makes a difference

654
00:35:30,120 --> 00:35:36,020
for how you would
message on the web.

655
00:35:36,020 --> 00:35:41,460
And with more details about
how to do some of that posting,

656
00:35:41,460 --> 00:35:45,732
Jennifer Toth will
talk about that.

657
00:35:45,732 --> 00:35:54,609
[APPLAUSE]

658
00:35:54,609 --> 00:35:55,650
Jennifer Toth: All right.

659
00:35:55,650 --> 00:35:57,930
Hi everyone.

660
00:35:57,930 --> 00:35:58,620
Howdy.

661
00:35:58,620 --> 00:36:01,270
So raise your hand
if you've been

662
00:36:01,270 --> 00:36:03,940
tweeting throughout
this workshop.

663
00:36:03,940 --> 00:36:04,720
OK, cool.

664
00:36:04,720 --> 00:36:06,340
All right, several of you.

665
00:36:06,340 --> 00:36:08,540
So if you do have a
device in your hands,

666
00:36:08,540 --> 00:36:13,400
I'm going to ask you,
actually, to set it down.

667
00:36:13,400 --> 00:36:14,750
Just for a little bit.

668
00:36:14,750 --> 00:36:17,210
We're like midway or closer
to the end of this workshop,

669
00:36:17,210 --> 00:36:19,490
so I'm also going
to ask that we all

670
00:36:19,490 --> 00:36:23,050
close our eyes for
just a moment with me.

671
00:36:23,050 --> 00:36:26,020
And let's just sort of
re-center ourselves again.

672
00:36:26,020 --> 00:36:31,010
So if we could all take
a deep breath in together

673
00:36:31,010 --> 00:36:35,250
and a deep breath out.

674
00:36:35,250 --> 00:36:39,180
So, thanks for
indulging me with that.

675
00:36:39,180 --> 00:36:41,300
So, I am Jennifer
Toth and I work

676
00:36:41,300 --> 00:36:43,940
with Standing on
The Side of Love.

677
00:36:43,940 --> 00:36:46,445
Have you all heard of Standing
On the Side of Love before?

678
00:36:46,445 --> 00:36:49,800
Yeah?

679
00:36:49,800 --> 00:36:53,140
So we're celebrating
five years at this GA.

680
00:36:53,140 --> 00:36:56,427
And we have a lot of fun
stuff like a party later today

681
00:36:56,427 --> 00:36:58,510
at five, I'm just going
to plug that really quick.

682
00:36:58,510 --> 00:37:00,110
We're going to have
cake and talk more

683
00:37:00,110 --> 00:37:01,443
about Standing The side of Love.

684
00:37:01,443 --> 00:37:04,040
Y'all should come to that,
it's in the program book.

685
00:37:04,040 --> 00:37:07,940
And a lot of this campaign
has been done online.

686
00:37:07,940 --> 00:37:11,670
And creating relationships
online through social media

687
00:37:11,670 --> 00:37:15,770
so that we can do really
powerful things on the ground.

688
00:37:15,770 --> 00:37:17,920
And I'm here to talk
a little bit more

689
00:37:17,920 --> 00:37:20,690
about digging into some
tips for social media

690
00:37:20,690 --> 00:37:23,140
and reaching nones
and spiritual seekers.

691
00:37:23,140 --> 00:37:26,380
So, Nora, I know we didn't talk
about this before but would you

692
00:37:26,380 --> 00:37:28,500
mind handing some of
these out to folks?

693
00:37:28,500 --> 00:37:30,480
It's up on the table there.

694
00:37:30,480 --> 00:37:33,060
So we're trying to be green
and not have too much paper

695
00:37:33,060 --> 00:37:35,750
with this GA, but also
accommodate different learning

696
00:37:35,750 --> 00:37:36,310
styles.

697
00:37:36,310 --> 00:37:38,290
So as I go through
some of these tips,

698
00:37:38,290 --> 00:37:39,800
if you want to sort
of follow along.

699
00:37:39,800 --> 00:37:41,370
And if we don't
have enough here,

700
00:37:41,370 --> 00:37:45,470
we have more outside as well.

701
00:37:45,470 --> 00:37:47,000
Yes, it's online as well.

702
00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:51,980
Yeah, you can access all
sorts of different ways.

703
00:37:51,980 --> 00:37:56,600
So, for a long time I
identified as a none

704
00:37:56,600 --> 00:37:59,950
or a seeker or an activist.

705
00:37:59,950 --> 00:38:02,570
For several years even,
as Sarah mentioned,

706
00:38:02,570 --> 00:38:05,220
go to UU congregations.

707
00:38:05,220 --> 00:38:10,100
And now I proudly identify as a
UU and I get to work with UUA.

708
00:38:10,100 --> 00:38:13,460
But for me actually,
Standing On the Side of Love

709
00:38:13,460 --> 00:38:18,560
was a campaign that, when I saw
the congregation in the town

710
00:38:18,560 --> 00:38:20,430
is living in
Bellingham, Washington,

711
00:38:20,430 --> 00:38:23,950
it really drew me to
come back on Sundays.

712
00:38:23,950 --> 00:38:26,237
To keep walking
through that door

713
00:38:26,237 --> 00:38:28,820
because I was so impressed with
the work that they were doing.

714
00:38:28,820 --> 00:38:31,800
So I think that we
talk about this a lot,

715
00:38:31,800 --> 00:38:34,310
that social justice is a
door that folks walk through

716
00:38:34,310 --> 00:38:36,340
to get to congregations.

717
00:38:36,340 --> 00:38:38,980
And some of how I learned
that that was going on

718
00:38:38,980 --> 00:38:42,880
in that congregation was
through social media too.

719
00:38:42,880 --> 00:38:46,030
OK, let's dig into
some tips here.

720
00:38:46,030 --> 00:38:47,920
Some of this we also
shared yesterday.

721
00:38:47,920 --> 00:38:50,631
So if you were there yesterday,
I'll go through this little bit

722
00:38:50,631 --> 00:38:51,130
quickly.

723
00:38:51,130 --> 00:38:57,600
But in general, we try to
frame things positively

724
00:38:57,600 --> 00:38:59,930
so that people can like them.

725
00:38:59,930 --> 00:39:03,180
We talk about some difficult
things with this campaign.

726
00:39:03,180 --> 00:39:06,590
When families are torn apart
because our broken immigration

727
00:39:06,590 --> 00:39:10,090
system is doing that to them,
it's hard to a positive spin,

728
00:39:10,090 --> 00:39:12,640
but where we can, we
try to so that people

729
00:39:12,640 --> 00:39:13,790
feel good about liking it.

730
00:39:13,790 --> 00:39:15,206
Because it feels
awkward sometimes

731
00:39:15,206 --> 00:39:17,400
to like a negative post.

732
00:39:17,400 --> 00:39:21,110
So when possible, we try
to put a positive spin.

733
00:39:21,110 --> 00:39:22,190
Or timely.

734
00:39:22,190 --> 00:39:24,610
And this has been really
interesting and important

735
00:39:24,610 --> 00:39:25,600
with this campaign.

736
00:39:25,600 --> 00:39:29,510
It's not our primary goal to
be a breaking news source,

737
00:39:29,510 --> 00:39:32,480
but often we are online
pretty frequently.

738
00:39:32,480 --> 00:39:35,850
And every time a state
passes marriage equality,

739
00:39:35,850 --> 00:39:38,810
we try to share that news
as quickly as possible.

740
00:39:38,810 --> 00:39:41,370
And we know that for a lot
of people, the first time

741
00:39:41,370 --> 00:39:45,000
that they see that news might
be on their Facebook feed

742
00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:46,460
through our campaign.

743
00:39:46,460 --> 00:39:48,930
And that's really powerful.

744
00:39:48,930 --> 00:39:51,160
Especially if that's
your home state.

745
00:39:51,160 --> 00:39:54,850
Maybe we try to include
pictures of UUs or folks

746
00:39:54,850 --> 00:39:57,670
in their yellow shirts,
folks getting married.

747
00:39:57,670 --> 00:40:00,300
So we try to do that
as quickly as possible

748
00:40:00,300 --> 00:40:02,990
because I can be really a
powerful place for people

749
00:40:02,990 --> 00:40:05,900
to come together and
comment and like and share.

750
00:40:05,900 --> 00:40:09,492
And we get to create that
space together to celebrate.

751
00:40:09,492 --> 00:40:11,200
And there's been so
many times that we've

752
00:40:11,200 --> 00:40:13,158
gotten celebrate that
over the past five years.

753
00:40:13,158 --> 00:40:15,700
So we try to be
timely when possible.

754
00:40:15,700 --> 00:40:21,400
We also try to feature powerful
photos, graphics, and quotes.

755
00:40:21,400 --> 00:40:24,420
We know that folks love to
get together and witness

756
00:40:24,420 --> 00:40:26,390
in their yellow shirts.

757
00:40:26,390 --> 00:40:29,300
And it creates like these
beautiful sea of the love

758
00:40:29,300 --> 00:40:31,740
people together and
so, that feels good.

759
00:40:31,740 --> 00:40:34,550
So whenever possible, we
ask people to take pictures

760
00:40:34,550 --> 00:40:36,170
when they're out together.

761
00:40:36,170 --> 00:40:38,100
If marriage equality
has just been passed

762
00:40:38,100 --> 00:40:40,270
and you all are partying
at your state capitol,

763
00:40:40,270 --> 00:40:41,460
we want to see that.

764
00:40:41,460 --> 00:40:43,050
And other people
want to see that too.

765
00:40:43,050 --> 00:40:44,870
So send that to us as well.

766
00:40:44,870 --> 00:40:47,930
So those are three of
our top tips there.

767
00:40:47,930 --> 00:40:51,780
So, follow your friends
on social media.

768
00:40:51,780 --> 00:40:54,550
We try to work with a lot
of partner organizations,

769
00:40:54,550 --> 00:40:58,570
we retweet their work, we
share their stuff on Facebook,

770
00:40:58,570 --> 00:41:00,790
we ask them to do the same.

771
00:41:00,790 --> 00:41:05,200
So I'll share a really
recent example with you.

772
00:41:05,200 --> 00:41:07,480
We do a lot of things that
we love on social media

773
00:41:07,480 --> 00:41:10,390
and sometimes we do things that
we like really, really love.

774
00:41:10,390 --> 00:41:14,550
So just a few weeks ago
with my home congregation

775
00:41:14,550 --> 00:41:18,500
in Washington, DC, All
Souls, we did a flash mob

776
00:41:18,500 --> 00:41:21,250
for voting rights on the
steps of the Supreme Court.

777
00:41:21,250 --> 00:41:24,110
And it was awesome.

778
00:41:24,110 --> 00:41:25,261
Yeah, really fun.

779
00:41:25,261 --> 00:41:27,760
So if you want to see that you
guys should come to the party

780
00:41:27,760 --> 00:41:30,000
tonight where I'm going
to play the video that.

781
00:41:30,000 --> 00:41:32,570
We're going to talk a little
bit about doing a flash mob,

782
00:41:32,570 --> 00:41:35,079
it's a super fun thing to do.

783
00:41:35,079 --> 00:41:36,620
So we love all the
things that we do,

784
00:41:36,620 --> 00:41:39,720
but sometimes we really want
to promote work, and really

785
00:41:39,720 --> 00:41:40,790
get it out there.

786
00:41:40,790 --> 00:41:43,710
So we engaged people early on.

787
00:41:43,710 --> 00:41:46,880
We had social media plans
before we launched it.

788
00:41:46,880 --> 00:41:49,360
We had close to 300
people there and we

789
00:41:49,360 --> 00:41:52,460
asked all of those people to
be part of this outreach plan,

790
00:41:52,460 --> 00:41:55,280
and getting it out there, and
sharing it with their networks.

791
00:41:55,280 --> 00:41:58,260
And being as excited
about it as we were.

792
00:41:58,260 --> 00:41:59,960
And it worked.

793
00:41:59,960 --> 00:42:03,200
So as of yesterday, we were
getting close to 4,000 views.

794
00:42:03,200 --> 00:42:04,390
Maybe-- we're over?

795
00:42:04,390 --> 00:42:05,260
All right!

796
00:42:05,260 --> 00:42:07,590
And it's only been
online for 48 hours.

797
00:42:07,590 --> 00:42:09,340
So that's pretty powerful.

798
00:42:09,340 --> 00:42:11,780
We also asked some
partner organizations

799
00:42:11,780 --> 00:42:13,710
that are also doing
work on voting rights.

800
00:42:13,710 --> 00:42:16,150
When I was tweeting I was
directly asking people.

801
00:42:16,150 --> 00:42:17,750
So, a way that you
can do that is you

802
00:42:17,750 --> 00:42:21,860
put a period and then their
Twitter, the @ sign, and then

803
00:42:21,860 --> 00:42:23,020
their Twitter handle.

804
00:42:23,020 --> 00:42:25,000
And so I asked groups
that I knew also

805
00:42:25,000 --> 00:42:26,420
did voting rights work.

806
00:42:26,420 --> 00:42:28,640
Like the North Carolina NAACP.

807
00:42:28,640 --> 00:42:31,230
I said hey, would you guys
retweet this and they did.

808
00:42:31,230 --> 00:42:33,220
Bend the arc, which is
a reform Jewish group.

809
00:42:33,220 --> 00:42:35,390
I said hey guys, you just
did something awesome

810
00:42:35,390 --> 00:42:37,520
on voting rights, will
you share what we did too?

811
00:42:37,520 --> 00:42:38,140
And they did.

812
00:42:38,140 --> 00:42:40,900
So asking people directly
and then doing the same.

813
00:42:40,900 --> 00:42:42,580
So I was asking folks
to share our work

814
00:42:42,580 --> 00:42:44,080
and then I was going
and making sure

815
00:42:44,080 --> 00:42:45,880
that I was sharing
their work as well.

816
00:42:45,880 --> 00:42:48,180
So we're creating those
relationships there.

817
00:42:48,180 --> 00:42:50,852
So getting people on
board is really important.

818
00:42:50,852 --> 00:42:52,810
And just knowing that
there are a lot of people

819
00:42:52,810 --> 00:42:55,060
that want to see and
hear about your work.

820
00:42:55,060 --> 00:42:58,939
So get those folks involved.

821
00:42:58,939 --> 00:43:00,730
And so, this kind of
says a little bit more

822
00:43:00,730 --> 00:43:04,880
of the same thing,
but sharing is caring.

823
00:43:04,880 --> 00:43:06,490
Be that good
partner and retweet,

824
00:43:06,490 --> 00:43:12,150
re-share other groups work.

825
00:43:12,150 --> 00:43:14,320
So sometimes it's not
all feel good, right?

826
00:43:14,320 --> 00:43:16,340
And we have to deal with
some difficult things

827
00:43:16,340 --> 00:43:17,600
on social media.

828
00:43:17,600 --> 00:43:19,520
You probably have
encountered that yourselves.

829
00:43:19,520 --> 00:43:24,000
So we try to, as much as
possible, respond to questions,

830
00:43:24,000 --> 00:43:26,610
respond to any criticisms
that come our way,

831
00:43:26,610 --> 00:43:27,840
and appreciation too.

832
00:43:27,840 --> 00:43:31,590
So there are times that we'll
share the work of a partner

833
00:43:31,590 --> 00:43:33,350
organization that's
maybe framed in a way

834
00:43:33,350 --> 00:43:35,910
that not everyone agrees with.

835
00:43:35,910 --> 00:43:38,250
For the most part, people
that follow our work

836
00:43:38,250 --> 00:43:40,550
are about our same
values and principles,

837
00:43:40,550 --> 00:43:42,110
but occasionally
we do have people

838
00:43:42,110 --> 00:43:44,742
who aren't down with
marriage equality

839
00:43:44,742 --> 00:43:46,200
and they want to
let that be known.

840
00:43:46,200 --> 00:43:47,500
And that can be really hard.

841
00:43:47,500 --> 00:43:49,600
And we have a lot
of folks who try

842
00:43:49,600 --> 00:43:53,390
to be loving in their responses
back, so we try to be balanced.

843
00:43:53,390 --> 00:43:55,550
We try not to get defensive,
although sometimes it

844
00:43:55,550 --> 00:43:57,160
can be really easy to.

845
00:43:57,160 --> 00:43:59,630
You probably have
experience that yourselves.

846
00:43:59,630 --> 00:44:02,400
We try to resist
disrespectful debate.

847
00:44:02,400 --> 00:44:05,120
We don't really try
to censor comments,

848
00:44:05,120 --> 00:44:09,270
unless it really sort of moves
into territory that is hateful

849
00:44:09,270 --> 00:44:11,740
or just totally doesn't
jive with our campaign.

850
00:44:11,740 --> 00:44:14,430
Then we might
remove some things.

851
00:44:14,430 --> 00:44:16,400
But if it's a
respectful debate, we'll

852
00:44:16,400 --> 00:44:18,900
keeps some stuff up there.

853
00:44:18,900 --> 00:44:21,122
We share information, we
call people to action,

854
00:44:21,122 --> 00:44:23,330
and then you've got to keep
it moving too, sometimes.

855
00:44:23,330 --> 00:44:26,150
So try not to get locked in
if anything does get ugly

856
00:44:26,150 --> 00:44:27,080
on social media.

857
00:44:27,080 --> 00:44:28,538
And thankfully,
that doesn't really

858
00:44:28,538 --> 00:44:31,630
happen with us too often.

859
00:44:31,630 --> 00:44:34,430
OK, so a couple of rules
for different platforms.

860
00:44:34,430 --> 00:44:38,160
And Facebook is still the
largest platform that we use.

861
00:44:38,160 --> 00:44:42,320
Probably that's the same
for most of you all.

862
00:44:42,320 --> 00:44:45,390
I will say that I think we
got pretty lucky when we first

863
00:44:45,390 --> 00:44:50,350
launched in that Facebook
was still relatively new.

864
00:44:50,350 --> 00:44:53,260
And we were able to grow
the campaign pretty quickly.

865
00:44:53,260 --> 00:44:55,920
We have over 40,000 people
who like us and follow us

866
00:44:55,920 --> 00:44:57,590
pretty regularly on Facebook.

867
00:44:57,590 --> 00:45:00,090
And even just
several months ago,

868
00:45:00,090 --> 00:45:04,110
average post for us we're
sort of between 300 to 500

869
00:45:04,110 --> 00:45:06,240
likes per post.

870
00:45:06,240 --> 00:45:08,560
In that time, and this
was right before we

871
00:45:08,560 --> 00:45:10,935
had launched 30 days
of love for this year,

872
00:45:10,935 --> 00:45:12,590
so we put all this work into it.

873
00:45:12,590 --> 00:45:15,780
All this love, all this blood,
sweat, and tears, and then

874
00:45:15,780 --> 00:45:17,370
Facebook changed
their algorithms.

875
00:45:17,370 --> 00:45:20,450
And all of this great
content that we really

876
00:45:20,450 --> 00:45:22,850
wanted to get out into the
world was being suppressed.

877
00:45:22,850 --> 00:45:26,740
Because Facebook is now really
favoring more paid advertising,

878
00:45:26,740 --> 00:45:29,725
paid posts, and so that
was a little bit crushing,

879
00:45:29,725 --> 00:45:30,950
I'm not going to lie.

880
00:45:30,950 --> 00:45:34,109
But you have to find ways
to work with the platforms

881
00:45:34,109 --> 00:45:35,900
as they shift and change
because they will.

882
00:45:35,900 --> 00:45:38,330
The platforms themselves
shift and change.

883
00:45:38,330 --> 00:45:39,985
And then what
platforms are out there

884
00:45:39,985 --> 00:45:43,070
and what are popular with folks,
that will shift and change too.

885
00:45:43,070 --> 00:45:46,980
So you just kind of have
to be nimble with that.

886
00:45:46,980 --> 00:45:49,822
So, if you've felt discouraged,
if you've put really great

887
00:45:49,822 --> 00:45:51,280
work out there and
you're like, why

888
00:45:51,280 --> 00:45:52,910
aren't people liking
in sharing this?

889
00:45:52,910 --> 00:45:54,810
I think we've all
experienced that.

890
00:45:54,810 --> 00:45:57,110
So try to learn,
too, from what has

891
00:45:57,110 --> 00:46:00,230
worked for you
better in the past.

892
00:46:00,230 --> 00:46:02,820
If you want to follow what
other folks are doing,

893
00:46:02,820 --> 00:46:04,920
clicking notifications
on Facebook, that helps

894
00:46:04,920 --> 00:46:08,500
and you can more easily
see other folks content.

895
00:46:08,500 --> 00:46:10,290
We try to do
something between one

896
00:46:10,290 --> 00:46:12,750
to three posts
maximum on Facebook.

897
00:46:12,750 --> 00:46:16,600
You don't necessarily
want to do more than that.

898
00:46:16,600 --> 00:46:20,030
And then again, photographs
are very popular, followed

899
00:46:20,030 --> 00:46:23,330
by things with links in them,
and then just solo text update.

900
00:46:23,330 --> 00:46:27,140
So we try to have a photograph
or graphic as much as possible,

901
00:46:27,140 --> 00:46:29,830
pretty much every
post on Facebook.

902
00:46:29,830 --> 00:46:33,080
So Twitter is
similar to Facebook.

903
00:46:33,080 --> 00:46:36,790
I know that not as many
people are on Twitter.

904
00:46:36,790 --> 00:46:40,690
So you might feel like it's
one more thing to learn.

905
00:46:40,690 --> 00:46:42,670
Twitter and Facebook
have definitely

906
00:46:42,670 --> 00:46:45,219
some significant differences,
but they're not too different.

907
00:46:45,219 --> 00:46:47,010
So if you're on Facebook,
but Twitter still

908
00:46:47,010 --> 00:46:49,900
feels like this whole
other world, it's not.

909
00:46:49,900 --> 00:46:51,880
Signing up for it
it's fairly easy

910
00:46:51,880 --> 00:46:58,750
and Sarah gave a great resource
to walk you through that.

911
00:46:58,750 --> 00:47:02,170
It's on uuplanet.org
so check it out

912
00:47:02,170 --> 00:47:04,910
if you feel totally new to it.

913
00:47:04,910 --> 00:47:08,950
So we do a lot of live
tweeting of things,

914
00:47:08,950 --> 00:47:11,410
so it's great to some of y'all
have been doing that too.

915
00:47:11,410 --> 00:47:13,090
So with Twitter,
it is different,

916
00:47:13,090 --> 00:47:15,440
you can tweet a lot more
than you might post something

917
00:47:15,440 --> 00:47:16,060
on Facebook.

918
00:47:16,060 --> 00:47:18,230
You can get locked out if
you're tweeting too much,

919
00:47:18,230 --> 00:47:20,480
but we treat pretty frequently
and that doesn't really

920
00:47:20,480 --> 00:47:22,810
happen to us.

921
00:47:22,810 --> 00:47:25,060
All though, it is going
to wait 10 to 15 minutes

922
00:47:25,060 --> 00:47:28,730
between tweets.

923
00:47:28,730 --> 00:47:30,580
And so, this is
something I will admit

924
00:47:30,580 --> 00:47:32,380
I have a lot of
trouble sticking to.

925
00:47:32,380 --> 00:47:34,480
So Twitter is 140 characters.

926
00:47:34,480 --> 00:47:36,850
I'm almost always like
bumping up against that.

927
00:47:36,850 --> 00:47:39,880
It's better if you try not to,
to leave room for other people

928
00:47:39,880 --> 00:47:45,220
to retweet or modify your
tweet, but that is hard for me.

929
00:47:45,220 --> 00:47:47,470
Images also matter
on Twitter, as well.

930
00:47:47,470 --> 00:47:50,700
And if you do you upload
a photo, that'll take away

931
00:47:50,700 --> 00:47:53,770
some of the characters,
you're allowed,

932
00:47:53,770 --> 00:47:58,460
but it makes it a little
bit more compelling.

933
00:47:58,460 --> 00:48:01,554
So with hashtags, too, I admit
that even though these are good

934
00:48:01,554 --> 00:48:02,220
rules to follow.

935
00:48:02,220 --> 00:48:03,400
Sometimes it's hard for me.

936
00:48:03,400 --> 00:48:04,920
One to two is good.

937
00:48:04,920 --> 00:48:08,360
So we've given
several for this #UUAG

938
00:48:08,360 --> 00:48:10,550
is sort of like the broad GA.

939
00:48:10,550 --> 00:48:17,190
#LoveReachesOut for our
GA theme, #UUsGetSocial.

940
00:48:17,190 --> 00:48:19,602
I think you can use
more than one to two,

941
00:48:19,602 --> 00:48:21,060
but there are some
tweets that it's

942
00:48:21,060 --> 00:48:22,752
like almost every
word is a hashtag.

943
00:48:22,752 --> 00:48:24,210
You probably don't
want to do that,

944
00:48:24,210 --> 00:48:27,460
that makes it a little
bit harder to read.

945
00:48:27,460 --> 00:48:29,140
And again, retweeting
other folks

946
00:48:29,140 --> 00:48:31,520
work to try to start those
relationships is really

947
00:48:31,520 --> 00:48:34,620
important to start and
build those relationships.

948
00:48:34,620 --> 00:48:36,200
Including something
funny or cheeky.

949
00:48:36,200 --> 00:48:39,060
That can be fun, change
up your tone a little bit.

950
00:48:39,060 --> 00:48:41,480
Where appropriate,
where possible.

951
00:48:41,480 --> 00:48:45,290
Crediting people's work is nice.

952
00:48:45,290 --> 00:48:46,460
Repeat your best tweets.

953
00:48:46,460 --> 00:48:48,234
Yeah, so something
was really popular

954
00:48:48,234 --> 00:48:50,400
and you want people to see
it again, tweet it again.

955
00:48:50,400 --> 00:48:52,885
We've tweeted that video
that I mentioned earlier,

956
00:48:52,885 --> 00:48:54,510
we've tried to retweet
it several times

957
00:48:54,510 --> 00:48:58,180
and encourage people
to do that too.

958
00:48:58,180 --> 00:49:00,800
So using action
phrases is important.

959
00:49:00,800 --> 00:49:04,370
There's throwback Thursday's,
there's follow Fridays.

960
00:49:04,370 --> 00:49:06,620
You don't have to be involved
in these kind of things,

961
00:49:06,620 --> 00:49:09,390
but it's something that a lot
of other folks in organizations

962
00:49:09,390 --> 00:49:10,040
use.

963
00:49:10,040 --> 00:49:14,030
So you might want to consider
being part of these days

964
00:49:14,030 --> 00:49:17,180
and movements on Twitter
too, that can help.

965
00:49:17,180 --> 00:49:20,050
Creating a story arc
when live tweeting.

966
00:49:20,050 --> 00:49:22,530
For this workshop you
might want to start

967
00:49:22,530 --> 00:49:24,780
with some of your
favorite tips, and then

968
00:49:24,780 --> 00:49:26,960
at the end, what
have you learned?

969
00:49:26,960 --> 00:49:28,460
How might you
apply some of this?

970
00:49:28,460 --> 00:49:31,400
You can create a little
arc as we go through it.

971
00:49:31,400 --> 00:49:34,210
If not today, another time.

972
00:49:34,210 --> 00:49:36,530
So this can be
helpful, compiling

973
00:49:36,530 --> 00:49:40,250
relevant Twitter handles
and hashtags in advance.

974
00:49:40,250 --> 00:49:44,320
So I'll give you another
example from this past February

975
00:49:44,320 --> 00:49:47,470
in Raleigh when we
had close to 1,500 UUs

976
00:49:47,470 --> 00:49:50,009
join together for the
mass moral march there.

977
00:49:50,009 --> 00:49:51,800
So again, we tried to
be really intentional

978
00:49:51,800 --> 00:49:54,370
with our social media
work beforehand.

979
00:49:54,370 --> 00:49:56,620
And we had some
internal hash tags

980
00:49:56,620 --> 00:50:00,150
that we used, I'm totally going
to blank, anyone remember?

981
00:50:00,150 --> 00:50:02,300
Nora, I'm looking at you.

982
00:50:02,300 --> 00:50:03,680
Gosh, what did we use?

983
00:50:03,680 --> 00:50:07,000
UUs-- it hasn't
even been that long.

984
00:50:07,000 --> 00:50:10,800
UUsLivingTheDream was one
of them and MassMoralMarch.

985
00:50:10,800 --> 00:50:13,660
So we encourage people to
have both internal hashtags

986
00:50:13,660 --> 00:50:16,450
so that we could follow
what other UUs in Raleigh

987
00:50:16,450 --> 00:50:17,330
were doing.

988
00:50:17,330 --> 00:50:19,220
And then external
hashtags so we could

989
00:50:19,220 --> 00:50:21,954
be part of the conversation
with the thousands and thousands

990
00:50:21,954 --> 00:50:24,120
of other folks in organizations
that were there too.

991
00:50:24,120 --> 00:50:28,450
So I think that's really key.

992
00:50:28,450 --> 00:50:31,770
OK, so this is actually
really important for me.

993
00:50:31,770 --> 00:50:33,780
This is why I started
with a little deep breath.

994
00:50:33,780 --> 00:50:37,030
How many of you all have felt
overwhelmed by social media?

995
00:50:37,030 --> 00:50:38,620
Anyone?

996
00:50:38,620 --> 00:50:39,681
I do a lot.

997
00:50:39,681 --> 00:50:40,180
Yeah.

998
00:50:40,180 --> 00:50:42,820
I love social media, I love
the power of social media,

999
00:50:42,820 --> 00:50:44,500
I love what we can do with it.

1000
00:50:44,500 --> 00:50:47,060
And sometimes, it
feels like too much

1001
00:50:47,060 --> 00:50:48,560
and it can feel
really overwhelming.

1002
00:50:48,560 --> 00:50:50,350
And you've probably
had people tell you

1003
00:50:50,350 --> 00:50:52,539
if you're not on Facebook,
if you're not on Twitter,

1004
00:50:52,539 --> 00:50:53,580
you need to get on there.

1005
00:50:53,580 --> 00:50:56,260
You need to do this if
you want your work seen.

1006
00:50:56,260 --> 00:50:59,910
And it can feel like a lot to
ask of people, and especially

1007
00:50:59,910 --> 00:51:02,285
with platforms like Twitter,
it can go by so fast

1008
00:51:02,285 --> 00:51:04,040
and it's really hard to keep up.

1009
00:51:04,040 --> 00:51:09,102
So, I try, as much as possible
to take digital sabbath.

1010
00:51:09,102 --> 00:51:10,810
You can find the time
that works for you.

1011
00:51:10,810 --> 00:51:13,730
If it's over the weekend, what
we try to do with the campaign

1012
00:51:13,730 --> 00:51:19,286
is use a platform like HootSuite
or TweetDeck to schedule posts

1013
00:51:19,286 --> 00:51:20,410
to go out over the weekend.

1014
00:51:20,410 --> 00:51:22,750
So that if folks are
looking for work from us,

1015
00:51:22,750 --> 00:51:25,340
we have some there, but
we might personally not

1016
00:51:25,340 --> 00:51:27,020
be online for a little bit.

1017
00:51:27,020 --> 00:51:29,030
That can be harder if
there's like breaking news

1018
00:51:29,030 --> 00:51:31,460
over the weekend, we will
try to get back online

1019
00:51:31,460 --> 00:51:34,480
to respond to that, but.

1020
00:51:34,480 --> 00:51:36,220
Yeah, finding the
healthy boundaries.

1021
00:51:36,220 --> 00:51:38,614
I was noticing just
over the past few days,

1022
00:51:38,614 --> 00:51:40,530
I've been tweeting a lot
while here and trying

1023
00:51:40,530 --> 00:51:43,170
to keep up with all the great
things people are saying.

1024
00:51:43,170 --> 00:51:45,770
And for all of our folks
who can't be here at GA,

1025
00:51:45,770 --> 00:51:48,380
wanting to keep that information
getting out to people.

1026
00:51:48,380 --> 00:51:50,440
And sometimes I
realized that I'm not

1027
00:51:50,440 --> 00:51:52,140
making eye contact
with people anymore.

1028
00:51:52,140 --> 00:51:55,024
I'm on my phone and I'm
writing so much and so,

1029
00:51:55,024 --> 00:51:56,690
I think that can be
important sometimes.

1030
00:51:56,690 --> 00:51:59,010
And then putting the
phone or the iPad

1031
00:51:59,010 --> 00:52:00,530
or whatever down
for a little bit.

1032
00:52:00,530 --> 00:52:03,040
So finding those boundaries
for yourself I think

1033
00:52:03,040 --> 00:52:04,020
is really important.

1034
00:52:04,020 --> 00:52:07,567
What works for you,
experimenting too.

1035
00:52:07,567 --> 00:52:08,400
It's hard sometimes.

1036
00:52:08,400 --> 00:52:09,970
The first thing that
we do when we wake up

1037
00:52:09,970 --> 00:52:11,845
is we look at our phone
and what's happening.

1038
00:52:11,845 --> 00:52:13,870
And right before we go
to bed we do that too.

1039
00:52:13,870 --> 00:52:18,500
So I'm trying to, when I'm
on social media be more on,

1040
00:52:18,500 --> 00:52:19,340
be more present.

1041
00:52:19,340 --> 00:52:21,760
And then when I'm off,
be off for a little bit

1042
00:52:21,760 --> 00:52:24,795
and walk away from it too, so.

1043
00:52:24,795 --> 00:52:26,932
All right, shall I
hand it back to you?

1044
00:52:26,932 --> 00:52:36,710
[APPLAUSE]

1045
00:52:36,710 --> 00:52:40,140
Sarah Gibb Millspaugh: Thank
you Jennifer and thank you Amy.

1046
00:52:40,140 --> 00:52:42,150
It's been so exciting
to see how people

1047
00:52:42,150 --> 00:52:44,460
are using social media at GA.

1048
00:52:44,460 --> 00:52:48,110
And I just want to hold up
the incredible positivity

1049
00:52:48,110 --> 00:52:49,470
that I've seen.

1050
00:52:49,470 --> 00:52:54,380
And with the GA hashtag on
Twitter and on the GA app,

1051
00:52:54,380 --> 00:52:56,960
because that has a
social dimension to it.

1052
00:52:56,960 --> 00:53:01,300
People are being so positive,
so supportive, so loving.

1053
00:53:01,300 --> 00:53:03,510
Even in sometimes
in disagreement

1054
00:53:03,510 --> 00:53:05,630
being loving and supportive.

1055
00:53:05,630 --> 00:53:07,400
And I think that's
also a principle

1056
00:53:07,400 --> 00:53:09,160
that we can bring
into the world.

1057
00:53:09,160 --> 00:53:12,245
Because our friends do
see us on social media.

1058
00:53:12,245 --> 00:53:18,050
When we're having a fight with
other UUs about divestment

1059
00:53:18,050 --> 00:53:21,020
and we're getting
nasty, or we are

1060
00:53:21,020 --> 00:53:24,070
having a disagreement
in our congregation

1061
00:53:24,070 --> 00:53:29,480
and being tweeting in ways that
are putting other UUs down,

1062
00:53:29,480 --> 00:53:31,350
people see that too.

1063
00:53:31,350 --> 00:53:34,990
So I think everything that
we put out into the world,

1064
00:53:34,990 --> 00:53:37,510
even if we might naturally
think of it as just going

1065
00:53:37,510 --> 00:53:39,640
to our friends or
our followers, it's

1066
00:53:39,640 --> 00:53:41,650
being seen by a lot
of people and they're

1067
00:53:41,650 --> 00:53:43,360
forming an impression
of our faith.

1068
00:53:43,360 --> 00:53:47,450
And the more we can do our
tweeting and our facebooking

1069
00:53:47,450 --> 00:53:51,400
and our Pinteresting, and our
all of those things in love,

1070
00:53:51,400 --> 00:53:53,820
that is going to help
our love reach out.

1071
00:53:53,820 --> 00:53:57,470
And we're doing such a
wonderful job of it here.

1072
00:53:57,470 --> 00:54:00,340
I'm going to mention a couple
of workshops going forward.

1073
00:54:00,340 --> 00:54:04,550
We have later
today, at 5 o'clock,

1074
00:54:04,550 --> 00:54:06,710
there's a workshop
called Love Reaches Out,

1075
00:54:06,710 --> 00:54:10,610
There's An App For That,
which is about using apps

1076
00:54:10,610 --> 00:54:14,910
to bring your congregational
life to people who might not

1077
00:54:14,910 --> 00:54:16,520
be in attendance every Sunday.

1078
00:54:16,520 --> 00:54:20,246
So, both Jennifer and Amy
talked about the reality

1079
00:54:20,246 --> 00:54:21,620
of many people's
lives where they

1080
00:54:21,620 --> 00:54:24,130
might come to the congregation
just once a month.

1081
00:54:24,130 --> 00:54:28,580
There are ways to engage them
in the theme of the worship,

1082
00:54:28,580 --> 00:54:30,290
engage them in the
theme of the Religious

1083
00:54:30,290 --> 00:54:32,930
Education on social
media through apps.

1084
00:54:32,930 --> 00:54:35,810
And Karen Bellavance-Grace
has done awesome work with it.

1085
00:54:35,810 --> 00:54:38,810
So I encourage you to check out
her workshop this afternoon.

1086
00:54:38,810 --> 00:54:42,670
And also the final UUs
get social series workshop

1087
00:54:42,670 --> 00:54:45,880
that's going to have
wonderful people who've really

1088
00:54:45,880 --> 00:54:48,660
gone deep and done great
things with Twitter, Facebook,

1089
00:54:48,660 --> 00:54:50,270
and video making and sharing.

1090
00:54:50,270 --> 00:54:52,950
It'll be a TedTalk
style event and that'll

1091
00:54:52,950 --> 00:54:55,660
be here tomorrow
morning at 10:15.

1092
00:54:55,660 --> 00:54:59,120
You can also keep using
the hashtag UUsGetSocial

1093
00:54:59,120 --> 00:55:01,340
and we'll have stickers
at the end of the workshop

1094
00:55:01,340 --> 00:55:04,650
that you can put on your name
tag or on your mobile device.

1095
00:55:04,650 --> 00:55:09,010
And we can do that as we keep
learning about social media

1096
00:55:09,010 --> 00:55:14,740
and keep developing our
understanding together.

1097
00:55:14,740 --> 00:55:18,270
Also, you can check out the
UUs Get Social web page.

1098
00:55:18,270 --> 00:55:27,800
That is up at this link,
 uua.org/communications/ga/social/index.shtml.

1099
00:55:27,800 --> 00:55:33,140
That's a long, long
link, but-- Margi?

1100
00:55:33,140 --> 00:55:35,840
Oh, you don't need the
index.html Margi, says.

1101
00:55:35,840 --> 00:55:38,790
She's our web director.

1102
00:55:38,790 --> 00:55:41,430
So communications/ga/social.

1103
00:55:41,430 --> 00:55:46,340
And there you'll find of
the notes, the handouts,

1104
00:55:46,340 --> 00:55:50,170
and the PowerPoint slides from
each of the four workshops.

1105
00:55:50,170 --> 00:55:52,640
You'll also, after we get
them edited and put up,

1106
00:55:52,640 --> 00:55:55,680
you'll find videos
of these workshops.

1107
00:55:55,680 --> 00:55:58,600
Also there's a link there for
a Congregations and Beyond,

1108
00:55:58,600 --> 00:56:00,890
Peter Morales' paper.

1109
00:56:00,890 --> 00:56:04,040
How many of you have read the
article in the Summers UU World

1110
00:56:04,040 --> 00:56:06,250
by Terase Cooley
called, Into The Beyond

1111
00:56:06,250 --> 00:56:08,190
about reaching out to nones?

1112
00:56:08,190 --> 00:56:09,526
It's a wonderful article.

1113
00:56:09,526 --> 00:56:10,900
I really encourage
you to read it

1114
00:56:10,900 --> 00:56:13,730
because it brings the
cultural changes together

1115
00:56:13,730 --> 00:56:18,050
with the kinds of ways we
need to position ourselves

1116
00:56:18,050 --> 00:56:20,850
in the world as UUs.

1117
00:56:20,850 --> 00:56:23,470
And also, mentioned
Elizabeth Drescher earlier.

1118
00:56:23,470 --> 00:56:26,510
She has a book coming out
from Oxford University Press

1119
00:56:26,510 --> 00:56:28,990
later this year called,
Choosing Our Religion:

1120
00:56:28,990 --> 00:56:31,880
The Spiritual Lives
Of America's Nones.

1121
00:56:31,880 --> 00:56:36,520
And she really does
a lot of deeper look

1122
00:56:36,520 --> 00:56:39,010
into the data and
conversations with people

1123
00:56:39,010 --> 00:56:40,520
who are not
religiously affiliated,

1124
00:56:40,520 --> 00:56:43,680
to see what people
who are in religions

1125
00:56:43,680 --> 00:56:45,460
can learn about those folks.

1126
00:56:45,460 --> 00:56:47,020
And can learn from
those folks to be

1127
00:56:47,020 --> 00:56:49,940
able to enter into relationship.

1128
00:56:49,940 --> 00:56:52,886