PCs For The Poor

News.com has a good wrapup of the various initiatives for providing low-cost computers to the poor and disadvantaged in the world. Besides the obvious ramifications for taking the gospel to the world via digital means, I found this portion of the article intriguing:

Internet cafes in emerging markets have already familiarized locals with PCs too: Visit an Internet cafe almost anywhere, and you’ll see people conducting VoIP video calls.

Also this from a related article on piracy of DVDs and software in Vietnam:

Western corporations have their work cut out for them when it comes to stemming piracy. Combine an industrious, hardworking population fascinated with all things electronic with grinding poverty, and you get an explosive combination. What do you think underemployed undergraduates and high-school students are doing with their ample spare time? Rewriting the “Windows Tricks and Tips” manual, that’s what. Internet cafes dot the street. Many are filled with tourists, but also with Vietnamese teenagers. The 12-year-old granddaughter of the owner of the cafe where I am sitting now reconfigured the networking protocols so I could get online.

Posted by on 02/17 at 01:12 PM

The Collective Voice!

continues the discussion:

Loved it Frank, I ‘d like to see some use of internet cafes overseas for video gaming / evangelism many kids hang out at icafes and play online games, I’m playing with some ideas for this summer in this vain, thanks for the info on cybermissions, i’m passing it on.

contributed on 02/17 at 07:06 PM

continues the discussion:

Interesting Chuckk - I wonder whether the economics in these countries discourage video gaming. I’m going to ask a friend who lives in Mali and uses icafes quite a bit when he’s traveling.

contributed on 02/17 at 07:22 PM

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You may be interested in reading these articles which enumerate core principles of the strategy we advocate:

Effective Church Websites For Emerging Generations
Investigating the various ways in which a church's website can be targeted toward unbelievers in a church's local community.

A Strategy For Local Internet Outreach
How can the internet be used for evangelism and outreach while maintaining an environment of authentic Christian community?

Flawed Follow Up Or A Flawed Philosophy of Evangelism?
The ease with which we can “share the gospel” online can actually short-circuit the God-ordained process by which unbelievers are brought to faith.

Should We Include A Gospel Presentation On Our Websites?
Should conversion be our immediate goal in our internet evangelism efforts?

A Strategic Opportunity For The Church
A proposed strategy in which a church would use short video profiles of members of their congregation to entice unbelievers in their local area to consider the value of a local congregation’s ministry in their own lives.

2 John 12
Is there something incomplete about digital communication?

Fri, September 05, 2008 at 08:48 pm
Frank : happy that I've figured out how to import articles from four blogs into Facebook Notes simultaneously

Thu, September 04, 2008 at 09:14 am
Frank : very happy to reconnect with an old friend on Facebook!

Tue, September 02, 2008 at 10:31 am
Frank : reading a great article from flyte.biz about how microblogging is the future of communications. http://ping.fm/IT0XL

Sat, August 30, 2008 at 06:54 am
Frank : looking forward to a weekend of watching my daughter play soccer.

Thu, August 28, 2008 at 03:32 pm
Frank : reviewing SEO recommendations from our partner.

When the Luis Palau Evangelistic Association wanted to use the internet to promote their city festivals, they turned to Strategic Digital Outreach. Read more ....

Quick Contact Info

T: 831.461.1183
F: 831.461.1184
AIM: strategicdigital
ICQ: strategicdigital
Yahoo: strategicdigital
MSN: strategicdigital@hotmail.com

Web Development
Designwise Studios
DirectSteps
RockBeatsPaper
SparrowStyle
Turtle Interactive

Content Management
Expression Engine

Web Hosting
DreamHost

Email Management
Constant Contact

We work with several different organizations in exploring ways in which digital means can be used to reach an increasingly digital world. Some of these organizations are more traditional clients. Some are friends. All are our partners in the gospel (1 Corinthians 3:9). Invariably, we learn as much from them as they do from us. Here is a sampling:

David & Linda Arzouni
Assemblies of God missionaries to West Africa, based in Mali (the land of Timbuktu).

Assemblies of God
The Northern California and Nevada District, based in Sacramento, California.

India Prayer Drive
A 21-day prayer drive through the nation of India.

IreneDias.com
Although the suffering they face is severe, this is not a story of despair, but of an incredible faith and even more of an incredible God who sustains His followers with lavish grace, extravagant kindness, and unrelenting love.

Luis Palau Evangelistic Association
Proclaiming the Lord's Good News to the millions of people who have yet to respond to the Gospel.

Sacred Ink
Joyfully declaring the gospel to the tattoo subculture.

Santa Cruz Bible Church
Their evangelism department focuses on marketplace ministries.

ShareFest Santa Cruz County
Churches in Santa Cruz County, California join together to become a bridge from the church to the community through work projects designed to bless the community.

TimeOut Conference
Enabling a deeper relationship with God and more effective relationships with people.

Wake Up! Santa Cruz
Presenting the claims of Christ to the business community in Santa Cruz, California.

These are projects which we have initiated (either individually or as members of a team) in our efforts to use digital means to spread the gospel:

MissionEquip
MissionEquip.com was established to provide resources to missionaries and short-term missions teams traveling worldwide.

ChristianCruz
ChristianCruz.com is a localized portal for believers living in Santa Cruz County, California.

Prodigal God
ProdigalGod.com, a work in progress, is designed to provide biblical instruction to the wider body of Christ through the use of video teaching segments and written articles.

Christian Screen Savers
ChristianScreenSavers.com offers a selection of high-quality, inexpensive Christian screen savers which reflect biblical themes. Proceeds from the sale of these screen savers are used to support the work of Strategic Digital Outreach.

Blogs I Read

Adventures Of A Web Evangelist
The Appian Way
BetaChurch.org
BlogMinistry
BlogRodent
Boyink Interactive
Carpe' Digital
Christian Web Trends
Church Beauty
Church Communications Pro
Church Marketing Sucks
ChurchTechToday
Church Website & Blog Ideas
digital.leadnet.org
Digital Ministry
The Digital Sanctuary
e-vangelism.com
Effective Church Web Sites
Effective Web Ministry Notes
Equip Blog
Evotional
GodBit
Goodmanson
Gospelcon
Heal Your Church Website
If Jesus Had A Website
Leave It Behind
MicroExplosion
Outside The Box Ministry
Sacred Digital
So You Want A Church Website?
The Ultimate Issue
Web Evangelism Issues

PCs For The Poor

Blogs I Read

More Blogs & Sites