This is a guest post by Steve Kenow is part of the blog series Google’s 10 Things We Know to be True.
It is no surprise that Google makes money – lots of money. So do Microsoft and Apple. Are any of them considered evil? By some, perhaps. On the other hand, churches and ministries are rarely in that situation. How does this axiom from Google apply to churches and ministries, especially in their online activities? What would a church have to do to be considered evil?
“The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” 1 Timothy 6:10
You may have thought of the verse from 1 Timothy when you read the title. Or, maybe you thought of time Jesus cleansed the temple of all the merchants. In any event, this point was titled to get our attention – and it does. “Money” and “evil” are very alluring, and when you mention them in the same sentence, you get a powerful reaction. Reading through Google’s explanation of the point, making money gets very little mention, and being evil isn’t mentioned at all. What you do read covers some very significant principles – integrity and honesty.
In their explanation of “make money without doing evil”, Google answers several big questions – questions we all need to ask and answer
- Who are we?
- What do we do?
- Whom do we serve?
- Why do we need this reminder?
- What are our motives?
- How do things look when they are done according to plan?
- What do our actions look like?
- How do we benchmark our success?
Know whom you serve
Google made it clear they existed to equally serve advertisers, publishers, and readers, along with their own business objectives. Striking a balance between your stakeholders is essential to the success of Google and any organization.
You, too, serve different groups of people – inside and outside your organization. And in all things, be mindful of serving God. Invest some time thinking and viewing your online materials from multiple vantage points.
With every post ask “Whom does this serve?”
Honor the relationships
Being a part of The Church is being in relationship – with God, with each other, with our community, and the world. As you build these relationships and draw people into new, closer relationships, be aware of actions that can hurt those relationships. Your efforts should center on lowering barriers, not raising them. Don’t let promoting your content get in the way of your content. Pop-up subscription forms and surveys (especially on mobile devices) come between you and your readers.
Whose perspective is favored – yours or the reader’s?
Have honesty and integrity
Honesty is making your words match reality. Integrity is making reality match your words. Google takes a very dim view of websites that cloak content or don’t label advertisement as such. Those methods are viewed as attempts to manipulate search results or readers. Are there veiled messages on your website (thinly or not)?
What do honesty and integrity have in common? Words and reality. Choose carefully and wisely – consider your motives.
Be relevant
This has a few facets – the content you post must be relevant for the time and audience, the environmental context must be cohesive, and you need to respond to the viewer’s context. Cull your dated material (seasonal service times and special events). Organize and structure your current material. Don’t try to serve many masters – each ministry and every topic deserves its own space.
You are in this place and time – the present. Be present.
Identify the purpose of each piece
Filler or thriller? Does it answer a question, or is it intended to raise questions and discussion? After reading the piece, what action am I to take? Was it informational? entertaining? educational? inspiring? Every ad from Google and every search result has a purpose. They serve to bring you closer to your desired outcome.
The key concept here is intent. Be intentional.
Have written style guides
Style guides are like an orchestral score – every section, every instrument is given a part to play, that when combined with all the others, produces something they cannot do alone. Each of those instruments and voices sounds beautiful on their own, but they cannot compare to what is produced together with the others.
What is amazing about the Bible is it’s coherence, despite being penned by dozens of authors, spanning thousands of years. Were that our websites were just as coherent.
Buck the trends
Substance is in the content, not so much the presentation. (Though presentation can bring an entirely different interpretation to your message). What once were signs of being current are now relics. Spinning images, clipart, and background music have been replaced by image slideshows and pop-up messages. When you follow the above principles, this one won’t be an issue.
Stay current, and don’t get dated.
Closing Thoughts
To quote from Google’s company philosophy
To ensure that we’re ultimately serving all our users (whether they are advertisers or not), we have a set of guiding principles for our advertising programs and practices
And, to quote from Paul’s letter to the Philippians
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. Philippians 2: 3 – 4
How do you ensure this is happening in your organization?
7 Comments
Great post, Steve! The point that resonates most with me is "Who do we serve?" and "Who does this serve?" I think there is a temptation for those of us who lead churches, ministries, nonprofits and businesses to become so passionate about our mission that the people we communicate with can feel like a means to an end. There's a temptation to constantly ask people to give, give, give (or buy, buy, buy), not because we're greedy, but because we believe in the mission so much that we think everyone should want to give as much as we do.
Wonderful post, Steve. I, too, resonate with the question, "Who do we serve?" I believe social media provides tools to help us keep this question very much alive in between formal worship services. Easter blessings.
Great post Steve, I liked the part about honesty and integrity!! Especially Integrity!!
This was a challenging topic to write about – I'm glad it struck a chord with you as it did with me. Luckily, I stumbled into the #ChSocM community a while ago and have been able to draw a lot of good things from all of you.
p.s. Thanks for finding an image to add, Paul – I wasn't having much luck finding one I liked.
Hi Steve,
Great post, the part about honesty and integrity is just wonderful.
Thanks for sharing such valuable thoughts…
One way is to start your own business on the Web. There are kids on the Web who are making money for themselves, with the help of the parents (parents have to open the accounts the kids need — hosting, advertising, etc) [link removed by moderator]
Google is called a corporation of good. But there are no ideal companies. The way this company aims to position itself to the community is very successful. You can check it just by looking of the constant growth of Alphabet’s shares on the stock market. I suppose this trend will continue in future and it worth investment.