Anderson University is located in Anderson, SC. They recently asked us to develop a custom website for their College of Christian Studies. The look of this site met the design requirements set by the college while adding the “edgier” feel that was requested by the site owners. Some of the features on this site include an eNewsletter, Rotating News, Rotating Image Slide Show, Faculty/Staff Directory, Twitter Updates Widget, Social Media Links, and the Dean’s Blog entitled “Prepare to Change the World.”
We are 14 days and 44 matches into the biggest sporting event in the world, the quadrennial World Cup football/soccer tournament. I've found it interesting to observe the impact the Internet has had on the World Cup and vice versa.
At the time of the last World Cup Facebook had less than 10 million users, Twitter was a prototype, and the iPhone was still a twinkle in Steve Jobs eye.
This time around, soccer fans can watch matches live on their iPhones. Twitter's traffic has more than doubled during the World Cup (and so has its downtime). Many countries have gone so far as to ban their players and coaches from using social media during the World Cup.
Of course, OurChurch.Com has been here to help people like you create and manage World-Cup-caliber websites through this World Cup and the previous 3. This month's webmaster newsletter includes news about a special on hosting, 2 great new templates, a funny video, a coupon, and more. All of it to help you reach your... wait for it... GOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!!!! ;)
In His Service,
Paul Steinbrueck, CEO
OurChurch.Com
1) BRONZE/AD-FREE UPGRADE SPECIAL
If you're still making due with a free site or Starter package, this month we're providing a great way for you to take the next step with your website. Upgrade and get a year of the Bronze Hosting Package and Ad-Free Option together for only $129. That's a savings of $40. This special offer expires at the end of June, so order now!
2) WIN $50 THE BUG OF THE MONTH CONTEST
To make everyone's experience on the OurChurch.Com website even better, we've giving away $50 every month to someone who reports a misspelling, grammatical error, dead link, or other problem in our monthly Bug of the Month contest. Each bug you report will give you an entry into a monthly drawing we'll do for $50 towards OCC services. The more bugs you report, the better your chances to win. Congrats to Brenda Conley of From My Heart, who won this month's $50.
As we were preparing to start the 31 Days to Building a Better Blog project. I introduced the project by writing:
"I believe blogging is one of the best avenues to achieve success. Whether your dream is to lead a great church, build a great company, bring lots of people to faith in Christ, fight an injustice, or anything else, blogging can help you accomplish that."
That intro begs the question (which I didn’t have the real estate to explore it in that post)
4) WE'RE LOOKING FOR A WEB APPS DEVELOPING LINCHPIN
OurChurch.Com is hiring a software developer, but not just any programmer... We’re looking for someone who as Seth Godin describes takes initiative, solves problems, creates value, makes connections, and can see the future. We want someone who will say, “This is where OurChurch.Com should be going!” and not “Just tell me what to do.” If this sounds like you or someone you know, check out the full job description.
5) FUNNY VIDEO: DRIVE THROUGH CHURCH
Know any Christians who are looking for a church that will give them exactly what they want. Maybe this is the church for them.
Add this code to your site:
6) SUPPORT FOR FREE BEACON SITES ENDING
Beginning August 1, 2010 we will no longer be providing technical support to members with free Beacon sites.
Beacon was the original web builder we launched OurChurch.Com with back in 1996. But in January of 2008, we introduced its successor - the NE1 Web Builder.
Since then we've been gently encouraging Beacon uses to migrate to NE1. We created an automated migration tool that copies all the content in your Beacon site into an NE1 version of your. And we created a simple 3-step process that allows you to view and edit the new NE1 version of your site before making it live.
For more information about migrating from Beacon to NE1 or upgrading your free Beacon site, read the full announcement.
7) NEW WORSHIP BAND AND AMAZING TEMPLATES
We've got two brand new NE1 templates this month. The first, Worship Band, features a modern looking dark blue background with a guitar. The second called, Amazing, features a sunset in the header. If you import it to your site and look closely, it subtly changes colors.
8) SAVE $10 ON ANY OCC SERVICES
Click on the coupon below to "claim" it. After claiming the coupon, it will appear in the order form for all of your OCC websites until it expires. It can be used once per site. If you have any problems clicking on the coupon, you can also claim it by going to your order form and entering coupon code blog.
That'll do it for this issue. Thanks for hosting your website at OurChurch.Com. Please post comments and questions concerning this newsletter in our forums.
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In His Service,
