“In the year 3000, YouTube, Twitter & Facebook will merge into 1 super time-wasting site called YouTwitFace.” – Conan O’Brien (h/t Hayesy via tweetski). It’s easy to waste time online! True dat. There’s even been a bit of a trend in some tech-embracing churches to encourage twittering during the sermon. Last week, Josh Harris wrote a good counter piece on why he’d be discouraging his congregation from tweeting during the sermon and John Piper, likewise, had some good gear on the “difference between communion with God and commenting on communion with God.” Wise words of caution.

Here’s some more gold from Piper on why and how he will be tweeting:

I see two kinds of response to social Internet media like blogging, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and others.

One says: These media tend to shorten attention spans, weaken discursive reasoning, lure people away from Scripture and prayer, disembody relationships, feed the fires of narcissism, cater to the craving for attention, fill the world with drivel, shrink the soul’s capacity for greatness, and make us second-handers who comment on life when we ought to be living it. So boycott them and write books (not blogs) about the problem.

The other response says: Yes, there is truth in all of that, but instead of boycotting, try to fill these media with as much provocative, reasonable, Bible-saturated, prayerful, relational, Christ-exalting, truth-driven, serious, creative pointers to true greatness as you can.

Read the rest

His response to social media reminds me of my #2 reason for blogging.

Don’t be a twitface.