The Peril and Promise of the Internet Within Mormonism

Slide 1:The Peril and Promise of the Internet Within Mormonism

John Dehlin

Slide 2:Explosion of Digital, Online LDS content

Slide 3:LDS stuff you can get online for FREE�

Slide 4:Church Sponsored Content

Hymns and primary songs both in MP3 format, and printable (sheet music) Complete PDF and HTML versions of all the scriptures, manuals, and church magazines from 1972 forward All of the above in mp3 format for listening Much of the above in Spanish and French Tons of stuff for Palm or PocketPC devices Past and current General Conferences in video and audio format (lds.org and BYU Broadcasting) A redesign of lds.org, which includes a �special topics� section

Slide 5:Unofficial LDS-related content

Past issues of Dialogue and Sunstone online Past Sunstone symposium presentations in MP3 format MHA and BYU Studies journals online, MHA in MP3 Past Utah newspapers online (dating back to the19th century) Updated Mormon Studies and Mormon History databases from BYU The entire Journal of Discourses The entire LDS temple ceremony (past and present) in both text and audio formats

Slide 6:And most importantly�..

Tom Trails!!!!!!

Slide 7:Identity Matters

Slide 8:Why does identity matter?

Allows reputation to be a potential asset for increasing quality of contribution Lets readers quickly decide who to pay attention to, and who to ignore Personalizes the conversation Provides the building blocks of relationships and community

Slide 9:Identity Matters

Some use real names: Dan Peterson, Lou Midgley, Nate Oman, Kaimi Wenger, Tal Bachman, Bob McCue, Mike Norton Some use �aliases�: RoastedTomatoes, SerenityValley, WattMahoun, Polygamy Porter, Hyrum, Mental Gymnast Increasingly, many seem to be �coming out� and revealing their real name In my mind, this is only goodness

Slide 10:�Bannergate�: A case study in the down side of aliases

�Under the Banner of Heaven� blog formed, led by a set of �real people� as permabloggers A healthy readership developed In-depth conversations and strong relationships blossomed Very personal stories were shared that included things like sexual struggles and miscarriages. It turned out that all of the main participants and the shared stories were fake (in at least one case a male assuming a female identity)

Slide 11:Privacy is Dead�Get Over It

Slide 12:Who knows me in Sioux City Iowa?

City, State, Country, IP Address Country Pages visited Date, Time Duration of visit Referring Link, Search String Domain Name/Company Entry and Exit Pages

Slide 14:Google Search Terms Referring Folks to Mormon Stories

(or �Privacy is Dead�Get Over It�)

Slide 15:The Personal

�John Dehlin� �John Dehlin Mission President� �single dallas robbins�

Slide 16:The Strange

�Jim jones survived� �How to mold football mouthpiece� �Jones jello cult� �Joseph smith vs. l. ron hubbard�

Slide 17:The Curious

�do lds believe in creation�

Slide 18:The Sexual

�LDS Whores� �gay mormon studs� �extreme mormon girl videos� �mormon boys sleeping naked on mission experience� �mormon elder homosexuality� �open marriage stories� �was joseph smith gay� �slept with a married woman Mormon� �mormon missionaries gang raped names�

Slide 19:The Struggling

�Conflicted with Mormon faith and now in love with non-mormon� �Mormon used to agree� �Mormon leaving church telling TBM parents� �Suicide in the lds community�

Slide 20:Google Trends

Slide 21:Google Trends(Top 10 world cities Googling �Pornography)

Slide 22:Moderation wins over open dialogue

Slide 23:The Idealistic Values I Started With�

Free expression Open and respectful dialogue Diverse points of view Honest, objective analysis of the facts Everyone�s comments are of equal value Tolerance Acceptance Marketplace of ideas Correlation = Bad

Slide 24:My bursting onto the scene

I wrote �John Dehlin�s Thoughtful Faith Modern Mormon Manifesto� (a la Ted Kazinski) Created my own blog and Podcast (Mormon Stories) Started commenting on LDS Blogs Came in more with an agenda than to engage on topic, and become part of the community Wanted to promote my manifesto Wanted to promote my blog and podcast Wanted to exhibit �leadership� on the Mormon internet

Slide 25:The Result?

�Who the heck is John Dehlin, and who does he think he is?� A few isolated supporters among the �establishment� A somewhat tentative, if not cool reception from some LDS blogging notables Some of my comments held in the moderation que (IP blocking?) Overall�..a resounding thud

Slide 26:So I go on an �Openness Jihad�

Add a tagline to my blog that reads, �Open, Honest and Respectful� Criticize some of the big LDS blogs for �censorship� Puff with pride that true believers and the disaffected can engage respectfully on my blog--without a need to moderate Experience some success

Slide 27:Fast forward 6 months after steady growth�.

Apologists and anti-Mormons begin frequenting my site Raging battles ensue I don�t have time to follow and moderate all the threads People from both sides start telling me that they are losing interest in my blog because of the tone I have to start moderating folks, and putting some into the �penalty box�

Slide 28:2 final observations on moderation�.

Even exmormon.org HEAVILY moderates(virtually any/all positive stuff about the church is removed) Ironically enough, one of the few places for relatively unmoderated discussion is�..FAIR! (And they�re really struggling with it)

Slide 29:The Desperate Need for Ratings

Slide 30:The life of a blog post

Thoughtful blog post is made Responses ensue, comments grow Conversation begin to flow off topic (thread jacking) Polar debates begin to rage Conversation grows to 100+ comments, often times w/ 3 or 4 conversations going on simultaneously Thread is often relegated to name calling Rinse and repeat

Slide 31:Blog Aggregators: A step in the right direction

Slide 32:Blog Aggregators: A few challenges

Who gets the prime real estate? Who gets relegated below? Who gets left off completely?

Slide 33:2 models for a solution

http://www.slashdot.org http://www.digg.com A combination: http://www.diggdot.us

Ratings Filter based on ratings Log in Cool stories and posts submitted

Slide 35:How do these sites work?

Readers (not permabloggers) submit or nominate interesting articles and posts Other readers rate the submissions The higher the rating, the higher the visibility of the submission Comments are made per submission Comments are rated just like submissions Over time, you develop �karma�, where good submissions and good comments provide you more influence within the community Readers can set a filter to ignore the lame posts/comments based on karma and ratings

Slide 36:The LDS Internet DESPERATELY needs a community-driven aggregator that has equivalent functionality to Slashdot and Digg (ratings and filters)

Slide 37:Audio is Great(Podcasts)

Slide 38:Sunstone Podcasts

Slide 39:GA Speeches Podcasts

Slide 40:Anti- or Ex-Mormon Podcasts

Slide 41:Personal Podcasts

Slide 42:Potential Podcast Reach

Mormons and Masons w/ Greg Kearney 3,512 New Order Mormons Pt. 1 (Ann) 2,983 Polygamy with Todd Compton Pt. 1 2,729 Kiddie Baps � My Mission Story in Guat. 2,683 Grant Palmer Pt. 4 2,486 Stages of Faith Pt. 3 2,435 Interview with FAIR 2,247 ~2,500 downloads per episode on average

Slide 43:Video is Greater

Slide 44:Google Video �Mormon�Anti-Stuff

Slide 45:Google Video �Mormon�Pro-Stuff

Slide 46:Youtube Video: Mormon Mash Ups

Almost 100,000 views!!!! Up to 7800 views!!!!

Slide 47:Youtube Video: Mormon Porn

Over 28,000 views

Slide 48:Youtube Video: Mormons & Popular Culture

Over 28,000 views

Slide 49:Digg meets Youtube

Over 35,000 views almost overnight!!!! Labeled as inaccurate By the faithful Google laughing all the way to the bank 653 Diggs 354 comments

Slide 50:Youtube Video: Church Content

2,656 Views

Slide 51:More Good or More Bad?

Slide 52:Top 25 Web Sites Within Mormonism*

Church Sponsored (1) lds.org (2) byu.edu (3) familysearch.org (4) deseretbook (5) mormon.org (25) josephsmith.net Anti-Mormon (6) exmormon.org (9) lds-mormon.com (13) irr.org (14) 2think.org (21) i4m.com (22) utlm.org (23) saintsalive.com (24) richard packham Apologetic (10) jefflindsay.com (18) fairlds.org Blogs (7) timesandseasons.org (11) bycommonconsent.com (15) millennialstar.org (17)feministmormonhousewives.org (19) mormonstories.org Other (16) ldstoday.com (20) affirmation.org (8) Meridianmagazine.com (12) ldschurchtemples.com *Not counting dating sites

Slide 53:Top Podcasts Within Mormonism

True Believing LDS This Mormon Life Mormon Mom-Cast MormonCast Mormon Archipelago Anti-Mormon Mormon Truth! Thechurchisnottrue Catholicmormon Living Truth Mormon Musings Sons of perdition Apologetic? Borderlands Mormon Stories Sunstone Sunstone Classic An Atheists� Prayer Reproductions of GA Talks LDS Voices BYU Classic Speeches April 05 General Conference

Slide 54:http://www.moregoodfoundation.org/

Slide 55:Social software

Myspace and facebook Warnings against it ELGG

Slide 58:When Bryce Peterson, a freshman from Portland, Ore., used to log onto Facebook, he didn't think he was doing anything his bishop would disapprove of. But recently, several BYU bishoprics have cautioned their wards against the dangers of online social networks like Myspace and Facebook, citing inappropriate pictures and Internet relationships as their top concerns. "I'm cautious of what people feel compelled to put on their (pages)," said Richard Lytle, a bishop who has asked members of his BYU student ward to reconsider their involvement with social networking sites.

Slide 59: Lytle said there have been incidents in which students have posted "very inappropriate" pictures on their Myspace and Facebook accounts. He also worries about dangerous relationships developing through such Web sites. "Predators can use social networking websites to network people for less than honorable reasons," Lytle said.

Slide 61:Student reaction to the counsel has been mixed. After his bishop issued the warning, Peterson went straight home and deleted his accounts on both Myspace and Facebook. But despite his willingness to obey, he didn't completely understand his bishopric's counsel. "Obviously I didn't see all the reasons behind it," said Peterson. "Basically I just got rid of it because (my bishop) said so." Many students see this counsel as a sort of trial of their faith. "My personal opinion is that it's fine to have (an account) if you're smart with it," said Hunter Schwarz, a freshman from Gilbert, Ariz. "But you should always follow your bishop. At least that's what my bishop tells me.�

Slide 62:Still, some diehard Facebookers and Myspacers are fighting to hold on to their digital social circles, despite what their bishops have said. Arielle Waters, a freshman from Petoskey, Mich. said that her bishop compared the online temptation of Myspace and Facebook to the temptation Eve endured from the serpent in the Garden of Eden. "I feel like I should be repenting for using Myspace," said Waters. "Which I don't think is a sin.�

Slide 63: "Myspace is trashier because on Facebook it's mostly kept within the school," said Schwarz. "BYU students aren't going to be putting half naked bathroom mirror pictures up.� Since Peterson deleted his accounts, he said that he hasn't seen any clear results in his spiritual life, but that there have been some definite social benefits. "I have tons of extra time now," said Peterson. "It's kind of nice not to have to worry about the whole social thing online, too."

Slide 65:The struggling, the isolated, the lonely

(The �Battleground�)

Slide 66:I am a lifelong member of the church, always very active. Years ago I subscribed to Sunstone and enjoyed the articles. My wife did not approve of some of them, so I started having them delivered to my office. When the great intellectual purge took place a few years ago, I let my subscription to Sunstone lapse. I guess I didn�t want to get caught in the next purge. Yet, I have missed the articles and ongoing discussions that Sunstone provided. These podcasts provide a safe way for me to participate again.

Slide 67:I don�t go to church anymore. It just makes me either bored or depressed. I wish I had a better reason like some of the historical issues that are brought up on your show, but I haven�t delved into them as deep as your guests have. I find their analysis fasinating(sp?).You�re show �gives me some new and interesting things to hear. And it brings back that element of church that I did miss in my life, leaving out the parts of it that I hated. So keep up the good work.

Slide 68:You stated that you wanted to create a forum that helps people the same way that you needed help. I thought I�d tell you that this is exactly what you�ve done for me. I�m a newly married medical student and have loved the church my whole life. But, like Enos, people have to grow up. I�ve had to recently ask new and sometimes faith-threatening questions about what I believe (a necessary but precarious step in spiritual growth). Those can be heavy and scary days, as you seem to know. And I had no one to talk to. I didn�t want to burden my wife, my family, or most of my friends with something that exists only between me and God. I felt close to drowning a few times until I found these podcasts. They were not only honest, open, and informative, they were freeing.

Slide 69:Final reflections

Schisms vs. bridgebuilding Wasting time vs. socializing vs. making a difference Seminal works within Mormonism Audio will continue to grow, video will become huge