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The Pixel Punk Diaries |
Little Button Bar, Big Changes
By now you've probably noticed that our button bar near the top of the page is now much more simple. Though the change may have been small, it makes way for big changes to the website.
In the beginning of this version of lifeteen.com in 2005, 90% of our content was different presentations of text: articles, Q&A, interviews, etc. We want to keep adding good written content, but our new goal is to offer equal parts of all mediums: articles, photos, audio, and video.
What we've found is that some people have no interest in reading articles online. It's not that these people don't like to read or have no curiosity, it's just that staring pixelated text on a glowing screen is exhausting. Now that more people have faster Internet connections matched with faster computers, website are able to provide non-text content that is bigger in file size.
For every event, conference, or week at summer camp that we host, we'll add a page to the Yearbook. Now you can go online and only watch home videos, news clips, or lectures from class. Or you can listen to music or radio shows that stream through a website, and, sometimes you can download that same content onto your computer through iTunes. And finally, lots of people like the Internet because it's the best way to share photos and memories. So throughout 2007, expect to see a lot of different types of content. I'm sure they'll be something for everyone.
You'll notice a new very large addition to lifeteen.com: Yearbook. For every event, conference, or week at summer camp that we host, we'll add a page to the Yearbook. You'll see that we have a nifty slide-show with 100s photos, a written summary of the event, and an interactive map that helps you see how far people traveled to get to the event. For our Yearbook pages for summer camp, you can download the large group photos to remember your week by. In the future, you'll be able to download a podcast of a talk from the event.
We hope the Yearbook will accomplish three things:
- Let folks know that we're bigger than a website. Many people think that we're just a website, but the reality is that we are a youth ministry that works with parishes, hosts conferences, and runs three summer camps. We write resources, create DVDs, and publish manuals.
- Help people to stay committed. Our experience in youth ministry is that many people can have a powerful experience of God at a retreat or conference, and within a few weeks go back to their old life. It's not that their experience of God wasn't authentic, it's just that the world back home hasn't changed, and it makes it hard to change all by yourself. So our hope is that this online Yearbook will be small way to help people remember those weekends and stay committed to following Jesus.
- Build Community. For many young people, the decision to be a serious Catholic can be very isolating. Friends don't understand. Sometimes parents don't understand. We hope that local LIFE TEEN parishes can help young Catholics feel connected and supported. And we hope that individual parish youth groups can come online and see that what they have at their parish is in 100s of parishes around the country. We host summer camps every summer because we want those parishes to come together and have a memorable week together. That's also why we have the Inspiration Tour throughout the fall of the past few years: we want to build community. The Yearbook on this website is a small way to let others see that they are a part of a large community. There are others out there who love their Faith.
We're very excited to a be a part of your life when you come to our website. Don't ever think that we are strangers isolated from you in some building somewhere. We come in and work hard everyday because we want to—in some way—make your life a little better. Thank you for your prayers and donations that have made these new features possible. We'll continue to pray for you all each day.
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Matt Smith is the Director of Internet Ministries for Life Teen, an international Catholic youth ministry based in Phoenix, Arizona. He is the creative force behind Life Teen's cluster of websites that receive nearly 2 million visits a year. Since staring on MTV's "Real World" and MTV's "Road Rules Challenge", Matt has traveled the country speaking at colleges, universities, schools, and Catholic parishes.
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