SYZYGY MISSIONS SUPPORT NETWORK

Many mission workers (particularly ones of a certain age!) are completely unable to understand the fascination with things like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube (other social media tools are also available) yet these applications are considered almost indispensible to a younger generation.  Together they are referred to as social media, and they have become a key feature of how people relate to one another, keep in touch, form community and express themselves to the world.

For a lot of mission workers there is not the perceived need to be involved in this seemingly self-obsessed activity in which many people can spend a significant amount of their time.  Why would you want to, when there’s already so much work to do?  Here’s why: one of a mission worker’s greatest needs is to be able to communicate effectively.  We all need to ensure that our supporters buy into the work God has called us to, know what to pray for, and how they can support us, particularly in an emergency.  Many of us spend up to 10% of our time communicating with our supporters, which may feel like a distraction from the work we’re here to do, but if we communicate effectively, we maintain the support that keeps us doing that work.  Using social media enables us to communicate quickly and effectively to a large number of people, and the added bonus is that it’s free!

Facebook now connects over 400 million people.  You have a ‘status’  which tells people what you’re doing, or more frequently how you’re feeling.  If you’re having a difficult time, just type ‘FRUSTRATED!!!’ into your status and see the rapid and empathetic response you get!  Facebook also gives you an opportunity to post photos of what you’re doing, and if you have family on different continents, grandparents can see how their grandchildren are growing up.

Skype is an internet application which allows you to use your computer or mobile to make free phone calls to another.  The quality is highly dependent on your connection but it’s a great way to talk to people on the other side of the planet!  You can also use a webcam to see the people you’re talking to, although this can damage the audio quality.  If you have a good enough connection, you can also try conference calls, which cuts down the need for international travel.

WordPress is a simple way of building a website using templates already created for you.  You can keep it simple, and just have a blog page, or build something more complicated if you feel adventurous.  You’re reading a WordPress screen right now.  You can use it to tell people what you’re thinking, doing or feeling.  It’s important to many people as a way to express themselves and it’s a great way of communicating with supporters.

YouTube is an easy way of posting videos onto the internet where anyone can watch them.  You can use it to show people where you live, where you work, and what you do.  Using it helps maintain the link with your supporters.  Record a simple greeting to your church once in a while, upload it to YouTube, and the church can show it during a meeting.  If a picture’s worth a thousand words, a video’s worth a million.

Twitter only allows you 140 characters to communicate with ‘followers’, but its brevity is its strength.  It forces you to distill your thoughts when you might be tempted to ramble on.  In urgent need of prayer?  Send a text to Twitter and hundreds of followers can be praying within minutes.  Use it to post links to your blog, other websites, or just tell people what you’re thinking.  Be careful not to overdo it as your followers may get bored with constant tweeting.

Of course, your ability to use all these tools will be highly dependent on the quality of your connection, but even if you’re using 56k dialup it’s still worth having a go.  See Adam’s post from last March for help on making the most of this, or try using your mobile either to surf or to connect your computer to the internet.

Please remember that if you’re in a creative access nation some of these tools can be risky to use, but BlackBerrys are pretty secure devices and so is the IronKey which we reviewed last year.  You can also use a false name known only to your friends, and password protect your video postings so that only your closest confidantes can watch.  But still be careful what you put out on public media.

Next month: Adam will explain how to get started on Facebook

One of the principal challenges for mission workers in Creative Access Nations is the security of communications.  All of us have heard stories of people whose visas have been rescinded because the word ‘Christian’ in an email has been traced back to them.  The risk of their communications being intercepted and something incriminating being found is a major concern to mission workers in large parts of the world, as it is not only their own ministries which are vulnerable, but the work of the mission and the safety of local believers.

Syzygy is therefore happy to bring to your attention something which may solve this problem once and for all – the IronKey.  This is a flash drive which inserts into the USB port on any computer.  The difference is that we believe it to be significantly more secure than anything we have found to date.  While nothing is ever completely secure, the physical structure of the IronKey prevents it from being taken apart for analysis, and it is utterly durable.  The data on it is 256-bit encrypted, which is a military standard.  If it detects any unauthorised attempt to decode it, the data on it will be destroyed.  We believe that it is so hard to get into, that it will just not be worth anyone’s while to invest the resources necessary.

The IronKey is of particular value to missions workers in CANs because it contains its own browsing software and virtual keypad, so that it can be used in any internet cafe in the world without passwords being hijacked or an IP address being traced.  Emails are completely secure as the recipient can only open them when armed with a predetermined code.  This of course means that you can’t instantly email everyone in the world securely, but with a bit of planning you can have a new level of confidence in the security of your communications with your family, church and mission headquarters.

For those of you who are interested in the full details, our Technical Adviser Adam Brown has written a product review – just click here.  Or read more of the official stuff at https://www.ironkey.com/

While the cost of this amazing piece of technology is not cheap – currently $71, Syzygy is hoping to negotiate a discount on bulk supplies, so if you are interested in getting one, email tim@syzygy.org.uk.  We are also exploring a cheaper alternative which will look more like an ordinary flash drive but will have enhanced security at a fraction of the cost.  If you’d like us to contact you when this is available, please let us know.