Blogs - Chief of Pray Blog

Facebook Frenzy! I’m all caught up in how to let my Facebook friends know about Prayables. I’ve been keeping it on the down-low for seven months. I wanted to be sure to get the kinks out before spending my social capital. I’m ready.  I haven’t been on Facebook that long. After all, I’m old. My first brush with social networking came in 2007. The founder of Facebook, Chris Hughes, built an online organizing social network for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. I was a volunteer at the time and created my first “profile” on MYBO. It didn’t take long to see the power of connecting online. When my work with the campaign was over, me and millions of other old folks migrated to Facebook. The floodgates were open. We pushed aside the young’uns and came pouring in. I remember being lectured by my young cousin Lindsay, “only friend upstream – we don’t want you in Facebook, it’s gross.” So as a baby boomer, I friended my own kind, unless I received a request from gen X’ers and below.

There are 400 million people on Facebook and they spend over 500 billion minutes per month socializing with friends, businesses and organizations. The largest growing demographic is women over the age of fifty. What a bonanza to be able to boast so easily to friends and acquaintances about adorable grandkids, brilliant children and successful spouses. A brag book on steroids. Even my Mom, who HATES the computer, can’t stay away when I tell her about newly posted pictures from someone she knows.

You can see the importance of Facebook when it comes to letting my hundreds of friends know about Prayables. What should I have them do first–take our survey, sign up for the Daily ePrayable, Like our FB Fan page? I’d like the women in my Facebook world to get a good first impression and I want them to be engaged from the start.  It’s always been a challenge to convey the essence of a multi-faith prayer site without sounding preachy.  I think I may need a little help.

Sacred Friend

I feel the nudge from You on high,
a faintest tickle reminding me
of what is the right thing to do.
I hear Your voice, whispering kind words
for me to say to those who need to hear.
I see Your radiance in the determination
of those who rise from adversity.
I smell Your sweetness,
a protective haven in my partner's arms.
Sacred friend.

-Karen Laven