For those of you who feel that what we all need is more social media in our lives (and less privacy), the article in the url below is for you:
"Months before the megachurch Hillsong opened its new outpost in Atlanta, its pastor sought advice on how to build a church in a pandemic. From Facebook. The social media giant had a proposition, Sam Collier, the pastor, recalled in an interview: to use the church as a case study to explore how churches can 'go further farther on Facebook.'"
This appears to be a concerted effort by Facebook:
"For months Facebook developers met weekly with Hillsong and explored what the church would look like on Facebook and what apps they might create for financial giving, video capability or livestreaming. When it came time for Hillsong's grand opening in June, the church issued a news release saying it was 'partnering with Facebook' and began streaming its services exclusively on the platform. Beyond that, Mr. Collier could not share many specifics — he had signed a nondisclosure agreement."
The goal, of course, is world domination:
"Now, after the coronavirus pandemic pushed religious groups to explore new ways to operate, Facebook sees even greater strategic opportunity to draw highly engaged users onto its platform. The company aims to become the virtual home for religious community, and wants churches, mosques, synagogues and others to embed their religious life into its platform, from hosting worship services and socializing more casually to soliciting money. It is developing new products, including audio and prayer sharing, aimed at faith groups. … Facebook is shaping the future of religious experience itself, as it has done for political and social life."
And, as Sheryl Sandberg noted, the combination is a "natural":
"'Faith organizations and social media are a natural fit because fundamentally both are about connection,' Ms. Sandberg said. 'Our hope is that one day people will host religious services in virtual reality spaces as well, or use augmented reality as an educational tool to teach their children the story of their faith,' she said."
Of course, there are naysayers with some trifling concerns:
"The collaborations raise not only practical questions, but also philosophical and moral ones. Religion has long been a fundamental way humans have formed community, and now social media companies are stepping into that role. Facebook has nearly three billion active monthly users, making it larger than Christianity worldwide, which has about 2.3 billion adherents, or Islam, which has 1.8 billion. There are privacy worries too, as people share some of their most intimate life details with their spiritual communities."
And, if you haven't already begun to imagine how this could really go wrong, you can consider the compromises (sorry, 'opportunities') the social media platform is posing to the churches it is partnering with:
"Leaders of the Church of God in Christ, a largely African American Pentecostal denomination of roughly six million members worldwide, recently received early access to several of Facebook's monetization features, offering them new revenue streams, said the denomination's social media manager, Angela Clinton-Joseph. They decided to try two Facebook tools: subscriptions where users pay, for example, $9.99 per month and receive exclusive content, like messages from the bishop; and another tool for worshipers watching services online to send donations in real time. Leaders decided against a third feature: advertisements during video streams."
Heaven help us.
Take care
David
David Chandler
© Sage Publications, 2020
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Facebook Wants to Host Your Virtual Pew
By Elizabeth Dias
July 26, 2021
The New York Times
Late Edition – Final
A12
