I got an email from Chris last week, and he wants to use his holidays to get better acquainted with the internet. He says:
“Obviously I can surf the web and email pretty confidently, but I think as a future pastor (God-willing) I should know what I’m expecting of other people when I ask them to prepare a church website, etc.”
Great forward-thinking Chris. Not only is it worthwhile knowing what’s involved for people in your congregtion, it’s worth knowing what’s happening for your own benefit too. The internet has moved from the domain of the tech-savvy gurus to be a friendly market for the eager but inexperienced.
So where do you start? Here’s a list of 5 sites that I regularly check out to keep my finger on the pulse.
- Mashable. In their own words, Mashable is “All that’s new on the web”. It’s a great resource, but I always feel overwhelmed when I visit this site by the massive amount of new resources that are constantly being birthed.
- Sydney Morning Herald Technology section. This website covers more than just the internet, but covers a range of interesting tech-related pieces.
- Google. A list of all Google Products. Even if you’ve been kicking around the internet for some time, I can (almost) guarantee there’s some products on this list that you won’t have heard of.
- Google Labs. If you haven’t heard of the above list of Google products then you definitely won’t have heard of the products in Google Labs. This is the experimental playground for new Google ideas, and was the birthing room for many of Google’s now prolific products.
- Web Worker Daily. This site is aimed at people who use the internet to get their work done (particularly freelancers) but I find it useful for staying in the loop. The articles on this site can be at the deeper end of required technical experience (but what better way to learn how to swim than to jump in the deep end!)
I hope you find this list helpful. If you’re a seasoned internet user, what sites do you find useful for keeping on top of online developments?
