Social networking is the quickly becoming the premiere means of developing strong and communicative groups that would otherwise be unable to function on a large scale. Unfortunately, not everyone is jumping on the web 2.0 bandwagon as quickly as they should (Catholic Church… I’m looking in your direction…). While it may be forgivable for a parish to not have an up-to-date website, it is simply a sin not to take advantage web 2.0 phenomenon. Fortunately, there are some fantastic Catholics out there that realize the importance of modern communication as a means of evangelization and fellowship. Here are 5 blossoming Catholic social networking sites that you should check out right now!
Photo by JohnRodgers
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FlockNote – “As a leader in the Catholic community, you can send notes to your entire flock – or just a specific group – without the frustrating job of managing multiple mailing lists by email. As a member, you can get the latest news and information from the groups you care about – through the website, email, txt message, and more.”
Catholic Community – “If you run a group, organization or parish you can use this community to promote your aims, charisms and your news and events. When people link to your group you can not only keep them up to date, but they can meet other people who share a passion for your work.”
4 Marks – Definitely one of the preeminent Catholic social networking sites out there. The 4 Marks site sates that, “Whether you are an established writer or an aspiring apologist; a lay person or a consecrated religious – 4 Marks encourages you to share your talent and your identity as part of the 4marks community.”
Xt3 – According to the site: “Launched at WYD08, Xt3 is the fastest growing social network of its kind, with members throughout the world from over 200 countries. Xt3 connects you with people who want to make a difference and helps you build a better world. Everyone is welcome.”
MyCatholicVillage - My Catholic Village is the MySpace of Catholic social networking sites. It’s not as active as some of the other sites, but it is still a neat place to check out.
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Catholic social networking sites are great, but don’t forget that mainstream social networking sites are also a worthwhile place to share your faith with Catholics and Non-Catholics alike. I use Twitter and Facebook like there is no tomorrow, and I have met a great bunch of faithful Catholics through both of them.
If you know of other good Catholic social networking sites, let me know in the comments and I will add them to this post!
Career, catholic church, catholic community, catholics, communication, Community, evangelization, faith, network, Social, social networking, social networking sites
Diane
October 24, 2009 at 1:16 amThank you for sifting through and culling out these websites. I will assess each of them to determine their relevance to my situation. You've saved me a lot of time and, probably, anxiety. I need to add, however, that the picture on the site is a bit scary. It doesn't strike me as a welcoming image. I understand the concept, just was a bit put off when I first saw it.
Dean Soto
October 24, 2009 at 3:48 amHi Diane! You are welcome! Thank you for being honest about the picture. I was a little hesitant with it, but there wasn't any out there that were free to use that made the "small world" point. I will try and avoid odd pictures like this in the future! Thanks for the feedback!
libardo
April 17, 2010 at 3:54 amHi Dean Soto! You are great! It is essential to provide people the righ tools to build a belief! I will share something with you.
a total unexplored terrain to deliver informational tools:
http://world.secondlife.com/group/35000740-eb2b-69ba-a190-988a11c73c02
Have a great day!! Please remeber me!
Dean Soto
April 17, 2010 at 8:53 amWow! That is really neat. Great way to bring the faith into a very niche arena like Second Life. That is awesome!
Deacon Bob Davis
March 8, 2011 at 1:50 pmSadly, 4Marks has closed down for lack of activity. Not so much for the site, as for the advertisers, who weren’t getting much action. And advertisers, after all, paid the bills!
Dean Soto
March 9, 2011 at 6:15 amReally? That's too bad… *sigh* That's why, even with Catholic sites, you have to figure out how you are going to make a profit from the very beginning.
Hopefully more Catholic social networks spring up. Or at least one that becomes a predominant network…
Thanks for the comment, Deacon Bob!
Joseph Dietrick
March 15, 2011 at 1:17 pmSome of the sites listed are gone or are no longer a social site. Hope you can either find more to replace the ones that are gone or no longer a social site.
Brian Pedone
March 18, 2011 at 5:43 amA new Catholic site that is sweeping the world: Are You Catholic? (www.AreYouCatholic.com)
AreYouCatholic.com – An easy way for Catholics to publicly and anonymously share what it means to be Catholic. An active Catholic Church offers its parishioners the ability to share with the public the random acts of charity they perform in the community. All acts are traced back to the church and offer excellent and positive visibility to the Catholic Church and also helps spread the message of Catholicism.
We currently have 15 churches using the site (13 across the U.S., 1 in Canada, and 1 in Kenya).
John Rae-Kelly
October 6, 2011 at 8:55 amGreat Catholic networking site: iCatholic which is part of the Catholic TV web portal here in Boston Archdiocese. Link: http://icatholic.catholictv.com/
Joseph Dietrick
April 21, 2012 at 8:52 amMy wife and I created a social networking site http://www.socialjesusloveisglobalinc.com. We are Catholics and we want all Pro-Life and Traditional Marriage minded people to join us.