Confused by Faithlife ... still
I visited faithlife today ... first time in a while ... and it seems to be the same as it was many months and years ago ... but worse!
'My Faithlife' seems to have many biblical quotes from people I have never heard of ... no disrespect is intended to them ... I simply do not want to 'follow them', to use the Twitter phrase. I cannot see why they are on my page ... unless they are in the same group as me (possibly the theology/denominations group, or the collections group). I cannot see a way of deciding which groups are generic (and to be hidden) and which groups are personal (where I actually converse with the individuals, to be seen). Does anybody know how to filter the content in that main panel of 'my faithlife'?
Not that I use the groups beyond those with useful shared documents ... simply because I still cannot find any groups! The search does not seem to be any different from the past years ... either nobody uses faithlife, or the search terms I am using are wrong ... or something! Is there a browsing facility that I have missed? One that might show by region?
Apart from the frustration of having to log in the Faithlife so that these forums will work ... I am concerned with the recent move of Logos to the Faithlife brand ... complete with forum logos and at least one MVP referring to the 'folks at Faithlife', or similar, (again, not a slur against our wonderful MVPs) ... my concern is simply that if the Faithlife brand ever becomes established outside of this community ... and people search for Faithlife instead of Logos ... they will find the Faithlife forums (unfinished) and not the bible software (world beating). I see that this forum is marked Faithlife - Beta ... is there going to a new version soon?
Thanks.
2017 15" MBP, iPad Pro
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Lots of good questions and concerns here. I'd also like to see some development on this. I know Bob recently noted that Faithlife.com is a priority. It just hasn't materialized yet.
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I have been on Faithlife.com since they first opened it a couple of years ago. I have tried to get several groups involved and our church group was a test group for feedback.
In answer to your questions, most of the functions are the same there has been very little changed on the front end with the exception of feature additions such as discussions, prayer requests, photos, etc...
The use of faithlife.com is sporadic. There are some active groups but generally they tend to be very specialized. And example would be groups about Greek, etc.
Faithlife has great potential, but I think in the world of facebook and twitter, it is going to take a lot for it to be adopted as another major social network.
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Martin,
If you see activity in "My Faithlife" that is not interesting, just hover over those users to see which groups you have in common. In those groups, just reduce your participation to Follower and you'll no longer see their interactions on "My Faithlife" unless they specifically post to the group you follow. The reasoning is that you are closely tied to the other members of groups where you're a member and their interactions are likely to be interesting to you.
Thanks,
John
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I simply do not see it happening. Too many people are already overloaded with social networks. Even google+ users are only spending 3.5 minutes a month on google+ according to wikipedia.David Taylor Jr said:it is going to take a lot for it to be adopted as another major social network.
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tom said:
I simply do not see it happening. Too many people are already overloaded with social networks. Even google+ users are only spending 3.5 minutes a month on google+ according to wikipedia.David Taylor Jr said:it is going to take a lot for it to be adopted as another major social network.
That was my point you were just more blunt [;)]
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Thanks for the reply John.
The problem with your suggestion, as I understand it, is that 'Followers' do not seem to have access to the documents. So far, it is the documents that have been with only redeeming feature of Faithlife, the theology/denomination tags group in particular.
There is a tension here ... a group's documents can become more useful the larger it gets (or the more useful the documents leads to more users in the group, like myself). BUT the larger a group gets, the greater the need to filter out the chatter. It seems that whilst Faithlife is inert, there is little need to filter out chatter from groups to which you belong ... but should Faithlife ever succeed then I would expect a greater demand for users to take control of their home page.
2017 15" MBP, iPad Pro
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Martin Folley said:
'Followers' do not seem to have access to the documents.
You can ask the group administrator or moderators to change the groups settings so that Followers can Connect and Share documents.
Martin Folley said:There is a tension here ...
You are absolutely correct. With limited resources comes a tension between building features that will attract more people and building the features required *when there are more people*. Right now, we're prioritizing the features and design adjustments with an eye toward making Faithlife.com *the killer app* for connecting with others around the Bible so that more people feel compelled to get involved.
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John Nobile (Faithlife) said:
making Faithlife.com *the killer app* for connecting with others around the Bible so that more people feel compelled to get involved.
John,
Just a suggestion..
Maybe you guys need to throw is some free books or some type of giveaways for people to participate more in Faithlife community.
They way Faithlife is progressing now, I doubt it'll ever be a "killer app". Not enough advertising and honey..
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I have looked at Faithlife on a few occasions, and each time I do I feel like I'm looking at a blank page. I haven't got a foggy clue what it does...it seems to me like a design ghost town. I just don't see any "there" there.
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However, if your parish were offering a Bible Study online or a Bible Study supplemented with an online presence, you would see in Faithlife:
- the means for sharing documents within your group
- the ability to share notes within the book you are studying
- the ability to have discussions, ask questions and not wait a week for an answer ...
If you look at Faithlife and see a blank page, consider it a lack of imagination of the potential for reaching those unable to physically attend parish-sponsored studies.
And yes, the pastor definitely saw the possibilities at the demo put on by the Verbum staff. My only worry? he might be more excited by the possibilities at seminary than in the parish ... but I do expect to get the go ahead from the staff as a whole.
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
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David Paul said:
I have looked at Faithlife on a few occasions, and each time I do I feel like I'm looking at a blank page. I haven't got a foggy clue what it does...it seems to me like a design ghost town. I just don't see any "there" there.
I think the issue is that Faithlife doesn't have any indicator of things that are going on in groups you are not member of. This may be intentional (for privacy reasons, for the design reason that Faithlife should support groups of people that know each other from "elsewhere".....) or they just didn't get around.
If one is member of a more active group, one gets e.g. several mesages a day of people joining a reading list (which for me is annoying and can't be opted out of with all the granular messaging configuration), several messages a day of people who wrote a review on a Logos product (unfortunately differentiating reviews from ratings is not yet implemented, so those often are only ratings), people joining and leaving groups etc.
This is not a ghost town. However, some rules from the digital world do apply, such as that keeping up a discussion requires a certain number of active participants, that there's a reader/writer ratio near 10:1. And all of us have something of a life besides Faithlife, so very promising and interesting groups that are more than just document sharing (such as learning Greek based on Mounce's BBG) stall when core members need to shift their priorities. Other groups lose interest since their topic may not have been that interesting to keep it running (wading through what atheists believe are irenic and relevant questions towards the Christian faith may be instructive for six weeks, but gets very tedious afterwards). And of course the forums on the one side, Christiandiscourse.com on the other side will siphon away parts of potential interest.
Have joy in the Lord!
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One hint we were given for making it work at a parish level was requiring a certain amount of participation up front and reminding people when they failed to meet their obligation ... and yes there are a couple of people for whom waivers would be appropriate - and understood by the whole group.
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
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MJ. Smith said:
One hint we were given for making it work at a parish level was requiring a certain amount of participation up front and reminding people when they failed to meet their obligation ... and yes there are a couple of people for whom waivers would be appropriate - and understood by the whole group.
We tried this with our approach but found the only people who ever participated was the core group. No matter how hard we tried to recruit, convince, or sway people into using it, it just didn't catch.
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tom said:
I simply do not see it happening.David Taylor Jr said:it is going to take a lot for it to be adopted as another major social network.
I agree with these analyses. I watched "The City" flop with a dull thud, and while Faithlife is more creative than was The City in some ways, it is harder to use in other ways.
I'll buy somebody's lunch if it explodes into popularity, but I don't see it either.
Eating a steady diet of government cheese, and living in a van down by the river.
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NB: Perhaps the author of Hebrews was on to something when he said we should actually meet together. (Flame-proof suit on.)
Eating a steady diet of government cheese, and living in a van down by the river.
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Doc B said:
Perhaps the author of Hebrews was on to something when he said we should actually meet together.
Something like that was the arguement of Gerhard Lohfink's book Jesus and Community. Of course, it is dated in that it was written before the internet explosion...
The Gospel is not ... a "new law," on the contrary, ... a "new life." - William Julius Mann
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I understand the divergence that Faithlife makes from these other social applications but the competition for learning through online/social media is pretty significant. I'm mean, just look at Moodle and Angel. Facebook, Google+, Tumblr and soon Ello. (I know, Apples and Oranges)
Doc B said:Perhaps the author of Hebrews was on to something when he said we should actually meet together.
Well isn't that the rub of social media.... it's the illusion of relationship. I'm not speaking of Faithlife per se.
But social media doesn't model real life relationships. It gives the illusion of closeness when for the most part it’s actually superficial. I think it actually makes people feel more isolated but they don't immediately recognize it because of the emotional illusion. The tangibility of closeness is missing. This may have more to do with making a distinction of personality types and usage. Many people say things on social media irresponsibly that they would never say in a real face to face social setting. Not to mention, how does one filter down to the stuff that really matters with all the inane and combative chatter? [^o)]Faithlife, what's the reality? What's the effectiveness as opposed to a live sit down? To divvy out a reading list before a sit down is so far the best adoption I have seen, but for the average church member that is still pretty much hit and miss. Otherwise it's all heavy Logos users and specialist groups that utilize the "inside the app/web" functions of Faithlife. The person on the pew can easily use another method to discuss and share without signing up for Faithlife, in fact they do in my neck of the woods. [:(]
I know Faithlife's purpose is to be something better than all this. But to date I still have to export out of Logos/Faithlife to have a Bible study, to teach or preach. I may access the apps briefly while doing these tasks but it's very limited. There seems to be a certain amount of distraction (I'm purposely being ambiguous here) that is associated with using the app that make people hesitant and it also seems I'm dealing with people who are still very tactile.Is this the experience everyone else is having?
John Nobile (Faithlife) said:
Right now, we're prioritizing the features and design adjustments with an eye toward making Faithlife.com *the killer app* for connecting with others around the Bible so that more people feel compelled to get involved.
Perhaps the the purpose and goals of Faithlife are languishing... in the "eye toward the killer app". I'm spit-balling here so don't jump down my back.Features and design adjustments are great but if adoptions rates are so low why not divvy off some of the development budget for a short time and get some fairly significant Faithlife evangelism going. Roll out some free videos showing a pastor interacting through the app with the congregation while teaching. Or better yet, make some videos with collaborative bible study in action and others on facilitation that reaches out to the person on the pew. You won’t have a hard time selling to the pastors if the congregations are already on board.
I feel better, how 'bout you. [:D]
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Anthony H said:
John Nobile (Faithlife) said:
Right now, we're prioritizing the features and design adjustments with an eye toward making Faithlife.com *the killer app* for connecting with others around the Bible so that more people feel compelled to get involved.
Perhaps the the purpose and goals of Faithlife are languishing... in the "eye toward the killer app". I'm spit-balling here so don't jump down my back.Features and design adjustments are great but if adoptions rates are so low why not divvy off some of the development budget for a short time and get some fairly significant Faithlife evangelism going. Roll out some free videos showing a pastor interacting through the app with the congregation while teaching. Or better yet, make some videos with collaborative bible study in action and others on facilitation that reaches out to the person on the pew. You won’t have a hard time selling to the pastors if the congregations are already on board.
I feel better, how 'bout you.
I think the enhanced marketing/training of faithlife.com is a great idea and necessary if it is ever going to be a success. Of course, I still don't know if I am sure of what Faithlife's idea of success is with regards to faithlife.com
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I find it confusing to h and have forums on logos, but then have groups on faithlife site. It seems to ask around for a group one has to come to the forums to post or know someone who started one. I think it would work better if the forums and groups were on the same site.
I think if the two sites were somehow combined/integrated it would make it easier to promote groups. Plus all of my content would be under my faithlife, instead I have to keep going back and forth between the sites. Sometimes I have one open on my tablet and the other on my laptop, but not everyone can do the same.
I had really high hopes for the groups feature.
God Bless
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Terri Young said:
I find it confusing to h and have forums on logos, but then have groups on faithlife site. It seems to ask around for a group one has to come to the forums to post or know someone who started one. I think it would work better if the forums and groups were on the same site.
I think if the two sites were somehow combined/integrated it would make it easier to promote groups. Plus all of my content would be under my faithlife, instead I have to keep going back and forth between the sites. Sometimes I have one open on my tablet and the other on my laptop, but not everyone can do the same.
I had really high hopes for the groups feature.
God Bless
I think the confusion is that people a lot of times use the Logos community incorrectly. The primary purpose for this site is bug reports, training questions, etc. Faithlife is for community and collaboration.
Faithlife has been up front that the purpose behind faithlife.com was really for small literal physical groups to enhance their study. Granted, it has grown to something much more than that where I am in groups with people I have never met. But that wasn't the original purpose. The advertising of groups on this site is just because a lot of us have been well established here for quite some time and it is easy for us to contact each other this way.
The two sites definitely need to remain separate so they can continue in their distinct functions. Does that help clear things up?
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Hi David.
You are the first person I have heard who has found faithlife to be useful, or populated. How did you find people? How did you start? I can find no end of groups with no members ...
2017 15" MBP, iPad Pro
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Martin Folley said:
Hi David.
You are the first person I have heard who has found faithlife to be useful, or populated. How did you find people? How did you start? I can find no end of groups with no members ...
Hey Martin,
I was on Faithlife very VERY early on. They used a group for my church as one of their test groups. The idea behind faithlife is for actual group enhancement. For example, I lead a Men's Bible Study at my church and we have our own group so we can continue to interact through the week.
I am also a member of a small group and we have our own faithlife group that we interact with regularly. I am also a member of Liberty University's group because I am a student.
That is the idea behind faithlife, actual groups connecting even while apart.
Now, that being said.
There are some groups that are very active and give you a good feel for how Faithlife can be used. There have been some blog posts about various ones but I'm just going to list a few of the very active groups for you here:
https://faithlife.com/logos-bible-software/activity
https://faithlife.com/christology/activity
https://faithlife.com/communitystudybible/activity
These are just a few active groups. Now, none of those really show how a specific group can use the site. If you would like Martin, I will be more than happy to create a "Demo" group and you and anyone else can join so I can help you understand a little more the idea behind faithlife.com and how it works.
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Part of the reason for the failure of "The City" was the costs associated with it.Doc B said:tom said:
I simply do not see it happening.David Taylor Jr said:it is going to take a lot for it to be adopted as another major social network.
I agree with these analyses. I watched "The City" flop with a dull thud, and while Faithlife is more creative than was The City in some ways, it is harder to use in other ways.
I'll buy somebody's lunch if it explodes into popularity, but I don't see it either.
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Thank you David for your response. I totally understand the separation of forums here and groups on Faithlife now and the need for them to remain separate. Now with a little time, it seems a bit more clear.
Before I say more, after rereading my own post, I must apologize for sounding like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum. I was having a frustrating pain week. I shouldn't have been fussing, because, in all truth, I feel so blessed to have the Logos software and these sites to learn from and share with others on. I thank God continuously for it and for all the people involved in Logos/Faithlife.
Forums, the way they are set up here, I understand the mechanics of them and now I have a better understanding of their intended purpose. I've used and set up forums on several sites over the years. However, Groups on Faithlife - I still have some learning to do. I have joined two or three now for the Documents downloads. I have been going through some tutorials to gain a deeper understanding of the Logos software. This is what originally lead me to realize we had groups on Faithlife. So I sort of understand how Groups work to share our own Documents with others. As I poked around I saw there are different types of Groups, some even church affiliated.
I am looking for a group who are studying the Bible together and sharing their thoughts, sharing what resources they prefer and how they use them in their studies- either following set lesson outlines or just learning together with a group leader setting the pace. Right now I am taking on the task of reading my Bible from Genesis to Revelations in a year. I'm pretty sure over the years I've covered the majority of the Bible, but I've never read it all in order. I've attempted many times, but this time I feel confident I will achieve my goal - maybe even a little ahead of time. Until I find a study group I can fit into, I picked up DIY Study Bible and I'm reading through it. I've also picked up a few resources I used to have in paperback to more easily use with the software. Right now I have the Baptist Silver package, which has given me quite a lot of resources to start with and books to read.
Thank you again for your help.
God Bless
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I plan to take a look at those groups after I get a little sleep. Thank you
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First, I'm jealous, I would love to have Baptist Silver [;)]Terri Young said:Thank you David for your response. I totally understand the separation of forums here and groups on Faithlife now and the need for them to remain separate. Now with a little time, it seems a bit more clear.
Before I say more, after rereading my own post, I must apologize for sounding like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum. I was having a frustrating pain week. I shouldn't have been fussing, because, in all truth, I feel so blessed to have the Logos software and these sites to learn from and share with others on. I thank God continuously for it and for all the people involved in Logos/Faithlife.
Forums, the way they are set up here, I understand the mechanics of them and now I have a better understanding of their intended purpose. I've used and set up forums on several sites over the years. However, Groups on Faithlife - I still have some learning to do. I have joined two or three now for the Documents downloads. I have been going through some tutorials to gain a deeper understanding of the Logos software. This is what originally lead me to realize we had groups on Faithlife. So I sort of understand how Groups work to share our own Documents with others. As I poked around I saw there are different types of Groups, some even church affiliated.
I am looking for a group who are studying the Bible together and sharing their thoughts, sharing what resources they prefer and how they use them in their studies- either following set lesson outlines or just learning together with a group leader setting the pace. Right now I am taking on the task of reading my Bible from Genesis to Revelations in a year. I'm pretty sure over the years I've covered the majority of the Bible, but I've never read it all in order. I've attempted many times, but this time I feel confident I will achieve my goal - maybe even a little ahead of time. Until I find a study group I can fit into, I picked up DIY Study Bible and I'm reading through it. I've also picked up a few resources I used to have in paperback to more easily use with the software. Right now I have the Baptist Silver package, which has given me quite a lot of resources to start with and books to read.
Thank you again for your help.
God Bless
Second, if you and some others would like me to setup a group for that very purpose I have no problem doing so, that way you can see the potential of Faithlife and get some good Bible Study/Fellowship as well.
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David Taylor Jr said:
First, I'm jealous, I would love to have Baptist Silver
Second, if you and some others would like me to setup a group for that very purpose I have no problem doing so, that way you can see the potential of Faithlife and get some good Bible Study/Fellowship as well.
That would be great! Please send me a link if you set one up
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First, I'm jealous, I would love to have Baptist SilverTerri Young said:David Taylor Jr said:
Second, if you and some others would like me to setup a group for that very purpose I have no problem doing so, that way you can see the potential of Faithlife and get some good Bible Study/Fellowship as well.
That would be great! Please send me a link if you set one up
Alright, I'll get one going either today or tomorrow and post the link and/or send you guys invites.
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Another question: Are posts in groups on Faithlife confined to a set character count? Or am I doing something wrong? Let me explain.
I joined the Theology/Denomination Tags group to be able to download the collection documents. I was trying to respond to a comment posted. The comment was 4 paragraphs long, but anytime I type more than two short paragraphs the reply button fades out. If I delete the 3rd paragraph the reply button turns green again. So I'm wondering if posts are restricted to a set amount of characters. I don't do well on Twitter - I'm more of a blogger hahaha.
*I just went to the group you started and began a post, but I'm not having any problems with length of posts in your group - I haven't actually made a post yet, but was just testing to see if same issue occurred. It didn't. No matter how much I type the reply button stays green. Is post length defined in the set up of the group?*
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