For the past month or so I have been working in, and leading a distributed development environment. One of the digerati projects that is going…known as YouVersion, is being developed from Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, and India. This has forced me to learn all about distributed development, and manage it.

So here are the tools that we are using, and really loving.

1) Basecamp by 37Signals. Project Managment and collaboration made simple.

2) Concept Share. An amazing online design collaboration tool.

3) iChat AV with Gmail Talk. Instant messaging is key for communication.

4) Subversion. A version control system. We will be implementing this tool very soon!

These tools have been key for our success so far. I will admit, I am such a relater, that everything in me just wants to walk out my office and talk with the team and point on the screen and show exactly what I want….so that has been a difficult adjustment. But, because of these tools, the process is getting better and better.

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There is a discussion thread going on over at The Blogging Church Facebook group.

Question: How has Blogging Positively Impacted Your Church?

Answer: Eric Stillman (Hartford, CT) replied

I began last October as the pastor of a small, pretty invisible evangelical church in connecticut (http://www.newlife-glastonbury.org). I began blogging right away by simply posting once a week: sometimes reflecting theologically on a cultural phenomenon, sometimes expanding an idea from the Sunday sermon, and sometimes raising difficult issues for discussion.

I’ve found that the blog has so far been our most successful outreach tool (not sure what to think about that…), drawing people who have really appreciated finding a church willing to ask tough questions & listen respectfully to different opinions. One post was even picked up by the religion writer of The Hartford Courant, the state paper, adding a whole new audience.

I also import my blog to my Facebook account, allowing a lot of people I know from many different venues to hopefully be challenged to think through what they believe and what Jesus is all about.

The main benefit of blogging seems to be giving a window into our church & pastor’s values & beliefs for anyone who visits our site. In a state where most people don’t trust evangelicals, the blog has been a great bridge-builder.

Join the conversation here!

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This weekend I started a group on Facebook called The Blogging Church. It is a group dedicated to readers of The Blogging Church.

As I am typing this post, there are currently 67 members of the group, and many are quite active.

Here are a few things that you can do in the group:

1) Start a new topic in the discussion board if you are looking for help with blogging.

2) Post your blog on the wall, and attract new readers.

3) Connect with some amazing church bloggers.

4) Upload a photo of you with The Blogging Church book.

Here is a sample of what you will find on the wall!

David Rudd (Grand Rapids, MI) wrote at 10:47pm

i blog at http://dumbjock.blogspot.com

I’m curious to hear from some of ya’ll about balancing “church stuff” and “life stuff” on your blog… or do you have separate blogs? what drives your decision? i’m wrastling with this issue right now.

Jump over to the group here, and give David your feedback.

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On Saturday I proposed ending sucky blog titles. [post] The post was a proposition, and a call to action, but there was no “how to”. (on purpose of course)

When you do a Google Search on this topic, here is what you get. Just under 1 billion results….holy cow!


So, a billion ways to write great blog titles…no, that is to complicated. Here are my thoughts on the topic.

How To Write A Great Blog Post Title:

-> Learn from the best. Newspapers. Follow the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, etc. They understand how to write a great headline.

-> Make it clear, and present your post in a concise manner.

-> Do not over hype it! You will loose credibility.

-> If you are presenting stats or numbers, get them in your title.

-> Choose your words carefully….focus on action if possible.

-> 8-12 words as a rule of thumb is a good idea.

-> Write your title first….then your post! Remember your title is VERY important.

Great additional resources if you so wish to dive deeper into this topic.
How to Write Magnetic Headlines
Great post titles give great reader figures
The Best Headlines Are Not Just Written For Google or Digg
Writing Effective, Attention-Getting Headlines and Titles on Your Blog
TRAFFIC DRIVING blog titles

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Yes, that is correct. I talked about it in a book, talked about it with others, and have blogged about it…and still…my blog titles suck.

I have know this for a while, and have not really done anything about it. The kicker for me was this…Google Reader on my Blackberry. I fly through tons of posts on my Bberry and 90% of my filter is the title.

It is time to put sucky titles behind me….and I ask you join me is eliminating sucky titles from the blog world! Bloggers unite! Post right now about ending sucky titles….make the blog world a better place.

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