Mister Nifty

Ok, you’ve been making excuses for too long. I don’t understand the software. I don’t have time to manage a website. I am not a programmer. I don’t know how to set up a blog….blah blah blah. Excuses are over for getting your personal expression out on the web with Posterous. This is one nifty blogging tool. You don’t have to have any experience with web software. You don’t even have to sign up for an account. All you have to do to set up your blog is email post@posterous.com
with your first post and they will set it up for you. Then you can login, edit your profile, your site title and then log off. The way you post is by sending an email. Anyone can do that. You can attach photos to your email, copy and paste photo or video links from the web and they automatically do the rest for you. If you have more than one photo, they even create a nifty little gallery for your post. So, no more excuses, get to posting.

Uses for ministry: Pastor’s blog/updates, leadership journals, youth ministry website, church updates/announcements, and the list goes on and on… Check out the posterous I set up at: http://brianfegter.posterous.com

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Have you ever wanted to post a Powerpoint presentation on the web?  Now you can for free with iSpring!  It’s a great little application that allows you to convert what was once a proprietary file to be used only in presentation software into a web friendly Flash file that can be embedded on a website.  This nifty tool can get some of your polished slideshows on your church websites for the world to see.  I love free stuff.

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Many times budget issues keep smaller churches from hiring a graphic designer who knows about commercial printing.  Deyey takes the guesswork out of designing business cards.  Use their WYSIWYG (What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get) editor to position all of your information and then download a high resolution file that you can send straight to your commercial printer.  The best part is it’s free!

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This is a neat tool I just discovered through a social network I was invited to.  Using Ning, you can create your own cool social network for FREE.  You can style however you wish and manage who is able to join.  I see the value of this for youth groups and other ministry groups who want to connect with groups of people.  This is also a great way to create a clean social environment for your youth as an alternative to other networks out there.  Check it out for yourself!

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If your church is anything like ours, there is always something going on, whether it’s a youth outing, church picnic or leadership retreat. We got tired of trying to keep up with all of the sign-up sheets so we went online and stumbled on Crush3r.com. Unlike all of the other event planning sites out there, this one had all of the features we were looking for and then some! You can completely customize the look and feel of each event to your specifications. Easily link to an online video or Google map or use the PayPal plugin to accept online registration fees. You can even allow your guests to upload and share their own photos. The features available in this easy-to-use software really are amazing and the best part is that it’s completely free!

Click here to see an example of an invitation we created for an upcoming Women’s Conference this fall. Need an easy way to manage all of your events? Give the guys over at Crush3r a try!    Posted by our latest contributor - Nathan Duvall!

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This is the best survey application I have found as of yet on the web for surveys.  I have used this many times when polling or surveying groups of people.  Creating the forms is very simple.  You can even have multiple pages on a survey.  All results are stored and you can even view them visually on a graph report.  The best part for me is the ability to export your data into a spreadsheet.   Survey Gizmo makes it easy to migrate your survey directly into your website.  They give you the embed codes, or you can even use a custom direct link to the form on their server.  There are some pro features that you will have to pay for if you choose to, but a free account will get you everything you need.  Here are a few ways you can use Survey Gizmo for your church. 1. Feedback form for your website. 2. Survey your leaders and find out how things are going in their ministries.  3. Create a form for event registrations.  4. Create a form to help get a consensus on a decision.  I’m sure you can think of more ways to use this great tool!

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Mister Nifty was started one year and 300 posts ago!

It’s been a good year of helping churches out.  We started out with no loyal readers to an audience of 500 regular visitors per month.  It’s not much by internet standards, but mostly each visit represents a church with many members.  So, statistics can never reveal how many people Mister Nifty has reached through our technology reviews.  Happy Birthday/Anniversay Mister Nifty!  If you have any comments or suggestions, please leave a comment on this post!

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I just found this nifty little social network for children’s ministries.  It’s a great place to stay in touch with people of like passion for your ministry.   You can upload photos and videos, keep a blog, create a group to stay in touch with your ministry volunteers, create forum discussions, and post events for your ministry!  This is a great way to interact with other ministry leaders from around the country.  There are children’s ministers from small churches to churches with 3,500 children in attendance on Sunday. 

Kidology is one of my favorite places to go when looking for creative ideas.  There are hundreds of people posting ideas.  A good portion of them are free, but it’s well worth the small subscription fee to get access to a bigger chunk of content.  It’s mind boggling how much material they have there.  You have to see for yourself.  Check it out!

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I have been anxiously awaiting this great web app to come out of beta testing.  It’s finally here and it’s totally free!  DimDim offers free web meetings to anyone who wishes to share any information simultaneously over the web.  They boast of webcam/audio, whiteboard, powerpoint/pdf presentation, live chat, and desktop sharing.  The maximum amount of people that can attend your meeting is twenty, however if you are a tech head, you can download the community edition and host it yourself with unlimited attendees.  Say goodbye to Webex (Charges up to $375/month for five users) or GoToMeeting ($49/month).

Here are some ministry scenarios where this software can be useful.  You could host a remote staff meeting.  A teacher could share a powerpoint presentation over the internet if no projector is present.  An IT person could share desktops to help resolve tech issues.  The list goes on and on.  You should try it!  It’s free for all.

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I just found this awesome tool! It’s a web app that allows you to create custom badges for any purpose. This can be useful if you are taking a missions trip and need id’s for your travelers. If you have an event, this can help identify staff. Another application might be for private schools to create student ids for all of their attendees. Use it for whatever you need because it’s free!

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I just love it when my phone rings at 7am every Tuesday morning me and the computer voice tells me, “Get out of bed Brian.  Pastor is waiting for you at staff meeting.”  If you think I’m crazy I’m not.   I typed those words in and set a weekly reminder at Wakerupper.com.  You can set all kinds of reminders and it gives you a jingle at the right time.  It’s annoyingly wonderful at times.   Go check it out.  They have opened their service up to beta testers.   If you are a hopeless romantic geek, you can set a reminder to go to your significant other’s phone and read them a sweet message.  I sent one to my wife and she told me it was weird, but sweet…hmm don’t know if Wakerupper will score you points with the wife, but it sure helps you keep track of stuff.  Plus, it’s free!

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There are plenty of times I’ve been away from my design software and I need to do some retouching, but I don’t have access to good tools. Splashup is an awesome way to edit your images online. It has layering, effects, blending modes, and a multitude of other features. You can import your images from a variety of social networks including Facebook, Flickr, and Picasa.

Another one I’m watching is Aviary. I can’t wait until all their intense tools are finished. It’s still in alpha mode (they just opened up to the first testers) and you need an invitation. If you want to check it out I have five invitations left. The first five people to ask get one. The only thing I ask is that you leave a comment and give your invitations out to other Mister Nifty guests as well. Fair?

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