Ever since Facebook was launched in 2004, I’ve been a member. I remember the buzz around the Texas Tech (Wreck ‘em!) campus when everyone was signing up. Terms like, “Facebook me” and “tag me” weren’t quite a part of our everyday language, yet.
But…one thing I learned right from the start was that you could wear whatever “face” you wanted on Facebook. You could create who you wanted to be…call it your “virtual self,” if you will.
Over the last few years the idea of building a personal brand and even a commercial brand has been a huge discussion. We ask ourselves, “How do we want others to perceive us?” Once we answer that question, we make adjustments to our “virtual selves” hoping that people will perceive us the way we want….whether or not that’s really who we are.
I recently watched the movie, Inception, with Leonardo DiCaprio, and I won’t spoil the movie for you because I think it was fantastic and it kept my attention the entire 2 hours and 45 minutes….which is really maybe a record for me. I have a very short attention span when it comes to movies. Not the point…The whole movie is based on perceptions and trying to get people to think/dream what you want them to.
This started my thinking process on reality vs. virtual…who we really are vs. how we want people to perceive us. Hopefully you’re still following me.
As a church, it’s easy to put on our “face” of who we should be so that visitors perceive us how we want to be perceived…but often it’s not really who we are. In regards to a church’s online presence, be vulnerable and let people see the real “you.” Vulnerability builds trust. If the church is the body of Christ (you/me) then the church’s online presence is represented by each one of us.
Let your church’s Facebook page/ Twitter feed/ website represent the real church. Don’t put on a mask…be real.
Photo By: Ethan Bloch
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