Report on the State of Social Media 2015

My daughter is a marketing intern at U of L and works in the digital side of things. She retweeted a link about the current state of the major social media networks. I have posted some articles on the supposed decline of Facebook and the growth of Instagram in the past, so I found the article interesting. Simply Measured did a report to be a resource for people working with social media. I kind of glanced through the 47 page report, but thought this graphic was very compelling.

It’s kind of mind-blowing to think that Facebook has 1.4 billion monthly active users and 936 million daily active users. Instagram has 70 million photos per day, there are over 500 million tweets per day and 1 billion views each day on YouTube. That’s a lot of activity in our digital world.

Kind of makes the number of followers I have seem pretty small.

Found this information interesting and wanted to pass it along.

90 Day Challenge – Week One Done

We are one week into our 90 Day Challenge. If you began on January 7, today marks the beginning of week 2 and we are moving quickly through the book of Matthew. By the middle of this week we will be in the book of Mark.

I’ve heard some good feedback already from those who have taken the challenge. One person said the questions in the book have been helpful in thinking through the scriptures. Another commented that she has read some things she didn’t remember reading before. It’s amazing how God’s Word speaks to us in different ways in different times. Keep up the good work!

A couple of things to consider as we begin week 2:

1) The Goal is to Develop a Habit. The whole point of the 90 Day Challenge is to give us a tool to that helps us spend time with God on a regular basis. It’s not meant to be a checklist or simply a task. Some people like to answer the questions. Others don’t. The purpose is for each of us to develop the habit of spending time with God in His Word. If you miss a day, just pick it up the next day. Focus on the habit and let God speak to you through your time with Him.

2). It’s Not Too Late to Start. If you don’t have a book yet, you can still be a part of it. One of our small groups is talking about modifying the plan a little bit and won’t do all of it in 90 Days. That’s OK. Again, our goal is to spend time with God. The 90 Day Challenge is a tool, but it’s not the only one.

Please feel free to share any insights your gain from your time in God’s Word. We have a Facebook page that let’s you do just that. We want to hear from you what you are learning from His Word.

Defining Decisions…Daily Decisions

While listening to a podcast on the way into the office, I was reminded of a great principle.  At times in our lives we make defining decisions, decisions that change the direction of our lives.  But it is in the daily decisions we make after that defining decision that make the difference.  Or put another way, we make a few major decisions throughout our lives.  It is how we manage those major decisions that make the difference.

I have seen many students and adults (myself included) make defining decisions: I’m committing to this. I’m changing this, I’m starting this, I’m stopping that.  While there is power in the major decisions, if I don’t manage those decisions in the days that follow, the decision doesn’t lead to change.

How many times have I decided to read my Bible more, pray more, spend less, give more, share more?  Maybe I hear a great speaker or am motivated by a cool experience, but if I don’t change my daily decisions, my defining decision becomes a memory of what I wish I would have done.

I know I need God’s help to manage those daily decisions that will then help guide me into that defining decision.