This medium can be effective at creating conversation. THAT is clear by the thousands of views and comments we see on Fr. Barron’s video pages. The real question is how can that conversation actually be used to build the church.
I would like to present 5 ways to turn a YouTube video into a effective tool for ministry.
1. Make sure there is a way to continue the conversation. As I watched the videos of Fr. Barron with my wife she commented, “none of this would convince an Atheist.” I think she is right if we want to make any real impact on people there needs to be a way for people to voice their concerns. Now this can be difficult. In many cases the comments section can get overwhelmed with petty disagreements and people who have no interest in listening or talking, but simply being obnoxious. Any truly effective communication on YouTube must have an avenue for people to voice their concerns in an environment where their concerns will be addressed. Fr. Barron has created a domain name, http://www.wordonfire.org/. This is a great first move it tells your viewers, “if you want more here is where to start.” It also allows the communicator to choose a venue to speak in best suited to the needs of both themselves and the listener.
2. Provide a deeper discussion. Much more can be said on any issue then can fit into a youtube video. It is important to provide avenues within the conversation for people to go deeper. Recommending books, or even writing them, as Fr. Barron has done, is one way to take the conversation deeper. Another way might be incorporating other forms of media that are better suited to more in depth discussion, like a podcast or a blog. These things are also available on Fr. Barron’s web page.
3. Create real communities around the issue. The internet is a huge place often times someone might try to enter the conversation but have no real way to engage anyone on it. Creating a community online is a good place to get people connected in a context where there in continued interaction around the issues someone might be having. For me this mostly has taken place around the facebook page for my theology blog. Fr. Barron also has a facebook community with over 3,000 members. This allows ongoing conversation with people who are committed to what you’re talking about.
4. Try to connect viewers with real people. I have done quite a bit of online discussion and have found it often works out best to bring in local communities to the conversation rather then simply individuals. By grounding the conversation among real people with real relationships people are able to keep the conversation more civil and it makes it easier for the change in a viewer to have a real impact in their life. Fr. Baron has connected a great deal of what he is saying to the greater institutional life of the Catholic church. by doing this he has made it easy for those who are affected by what he says to find a real community that believes it.
5. Be Present Online. A presenter has to be seen as real and invested to the listener. By keeping posts frequent, responding to comments, and sharing a bit of yourself visitors will connect better with you and feel that you are a real person who really believes what you are talking about. Fr. Barron does this in a few ways there is a section on his web page about himself, he has a twitter account which keeps folks updated on his life, and he offers a ton of stuff which helps people connect with him as a real person.
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