Facebook Is Down

Rachel frantically yelled, “Dad, something is wrong with Facebook.”

I attempted to log on and sure enough Facebook appeared to be down. So, I thought, “I’ll check Twitter.”

One of the top trending hashtags on Twitter was #FacebookDown.

Rachel called out from the other room, “What am I supposed to do without Facebook?”

I thought to myself, “That’s an excellent question. Without Facebook it might just be that life as we know it will devolve into a meaningless attempt to carry on without posting our thoughts or pictures. It will be a sad and joyless existence something like the pitiful lives of people in ancient times like the 80s and 90s.

A tear rolled down my cheek. Who could have ever guessed it would come to this?

Then I heard a shout, basically a shout for joy, come from the other room.

“Is Facebook back up?” I asked.

“Yes,” came Rachel’s reply.

A terrible crisis has been averted. We carry on with a whole new appreciation for life.

Five Simple Things I've Learned About Social Media

1)  Online relationships are not a suitable replacement for in person relationships. I know this is somewhat obvious but it seems that it may not be totally obvious to everyone.

2) Social media is neutral.

I have a friend who believes that social media is inherently bad. I disagree with his assessment. In my opinion social media is, basically, neutral. It is a communication tool. In that sense it is like a telephone, or a letter sent through the mail, or even a radio broadcast.

Is it possible for social media to be used in bad ways? Yes, of course it is.

But it is possible for social media to be used in good ways, too.

Is it possible for people to waste time on social media? Yes, of course it is. But people have been extraordinarily accomplished at wasting time loooooong before social media ever came along. Social media is not responsible for the fine art of time wasting.

(In high school, way before social media existed, I was an expert at wasting time.)

And it is possible for people to use social media in ways that optimize the use of their time, particularly when it comes to communicating a message.

3) If you are really angry and feel compelled to post something to express your angry feelings it would be wise to wait a few minutes. In some cases, it might even be wise to wait a day or two. Remember anything that is posted online can be retrieved again, even if it is deleted. Think about it like this: Don’t post anything you wouldn’t want every person you know (including those who are not online) to see, including your mother, your boss, your grandmother, your pastor/priest/clergy, your children, your grandchildren, the Nobel Prize Selection Committee… you get the point.

4) For some reason, many people seem to be willing to be more caustic, abrasive and mean-spirited online than they would typically be in a firsthand, personal encounter. It is best not to sink to this level.

5) It is easy to get fooled by content which is posted online. We have probably all seen examples of people re-posting—with righteous indignation—an article which verifies a point of view they espouse. They post with an attitude like this, “See? I told you people this was happening. This article substantiates what I’ve been saying all along!”

And then someone in the comments section points out that the piece is fictional. It is satire from a site like The Onion. Earlier today I heard a very smart man (a philosopher with two PhDs) talk about being fooled by content he had read online. Be cautious when it comes to online content. Whenever possible, check the source.

You’ve probably seen this line, it is a good reminder: “Everything you read on social media isn’t true.” – Abraham Lincoln

Dan Marler

The White House

Washington, DC

(Remember, it’s helpful to be cautious and verify what you’re reading.)

God Doesn't Take Surveys

We are so accustomed to being led based upon votes, surveys, “what’s popular?” and “how will that play on Twitter?” that we actually try to subtly smuggle these concepts into our understanding of who God is. It’s almost amusing, if you think about it. Imagine God being very worried as He looks into the minds of every human being on earth and then basing His actions on what He discovers to be the consensus.

God does not take polls and He is not concerned with whether something is popular or whether it plays well with certain groups. He is God. God does not adjust to votes or surveys because it is completely unnecessary for Him to do so. It’s not that God is bad, mean, or indifferent, in fact, God is good. He is loving. He is perfect. The very concept of what is good and right is based upon who God is.

It is because God knows what is right in every circumstance that He is not taking a vote in order to get on board with public opinion. In fact, the wise course of action is for us, regardless of public opinion, to get on board with God.

Kourtney And Kim Take Miami... And I'm Baffled

Earlier tonight, I forced myself to watch 15 full minutes of “Kourtney and Kim Take Miami.”  My reasoning went like this:  If I sit and concentrate and make an intentional effort to give the show a chance I will then have some insight into what makes our culture tick.  My attentive and careful analysis will allow me to report to all of you—who are genuinely puzzled by such things—why reality TV of this kind resonates deeply with so many people.

Unfortunately, what I discovered, during my experiment, is that I am baffled, confused, lost, genuinely clueless, and just a tiny bit frightened.  Is it possible for your teeth to start hurting just from watching a TV show?  Mine started killing me 8 minutes into the program.

Anyhow, I’m sorry that I cannot explain what I saw, so it looks like it’s back to using my time in other important ways.  That means I’ll be sitting and carefully watching my Twitter feed.  After all, it should be pretty obvious, by now, that I’m seriously committed to using my time in constructive ways.

Twitter Account Was Hacked

My Twitter account was hacked yesterday.  Please accept my apology for the inconvenience it may have caused any of you.  I have changed my password and fired the internet security team that handles my account (that would be Jasper and Goldie).  I was going to advise everyone to simply ignore any strange postings which might come from my account but then it occurred to me that might include some of my actual messages.

In an effort to set the record straight, I wish to publicly state that: 1) I have never made the claim to have been abducted by an alien race of Elvis look-alikes; 2) I do not hate all puppies; 3) I am not requesting that $250,000 be wired to a bank account to pay for my release from a Turkish prison;  and 4) I have never made any threatening or unkind remarks about UFC fighters calling them all a bunch of “pansy wimps.”

Thank you for your gracious attention to this matter.

I'm Impressed With Walgreens

Wow, I’m impressed with Walgreens.

This is probably going to sound like a commercial and that’s not my intention.  I just find it to be an interesting experience.

Earlier today I was picking up some things at Walgreens and among those items was heartburn medicine.  I’m aware that certain medications—even though they are “over the counter”—are kept in a place where assistance is required from a store employee in order to access them.  I suspect that typically is the case with medications that contain ingredients that are more susceptible to abuse of some kind.

Frankly, I don’t know what ingredients are found in heartburn medications but my uneducated guess is that it’s not something that would be any more dangerous than the hundreds of other medications that are not locked up in the store’s aisles.

I requested assistance for the item in question and a store employee quickly arrived with a key and was able to provide the medication to me.

As I walked out to my car when I left the store, I pondered the heartburn medicines being locked up and I thought it was sort of amusing.  I thought, “Do they really have to lock up that kind of medication?”

So, in my wise-guy fashion, I sent out a Tweet that read:  “Does heartburn medication really have to be kept under lock and key at Walgreens? Is it dangerous for it to fall into the wrong hands?”

I wasn’t actually angry.  Seriously.  The Tweet was more of a joke, in my mind.  I thought I was being fairly clever.

I must admit, I was very surprised when, less than 20 minutes later, I saw a Tweet from something called “Wallgreens Social Care” ( @WAGSocialCare ).  The Tweet was addressed to my Twitter name ( @danmarler ) and it read:  “Sry to hear this. Pls provide store location and your contact info. We can have mgmt address this. Thanks, Pam.”

Walgreens immediately attempted to address the issue raised in my Tweet in order to turn a “complainer” into a satisfied customer.  But my Tweet was—at the most—a mild complaint.  It actually had more to do with me being a wise guy and joking around.

With that in mind, I’m going send a Tweet with a link to this blog post to Pam at Walgreens Social Care.

So Pam, thank you for seeking to help me and for responding so quickly to my Tweet.  I’m surprised.  I’m impressed.  I had no idea that anyone would be tracking such a thing or that anyone would care.  In fact, I always assume that about 99% of my Tweets are never seen by anyone… except God (He sees everything, after all).  Now I feel bad because I was just being a wise guy and trying to amuse myself.  Pam, please don’t feel like you have to call the management of my local Walgreens, they’re doing a fine job.  And you’re doing a fine job, too.  Tell your supervisor I’m recommending that you get a raise.  (In fact, I’ll send him/her a Tweet if that will help…although, come to think of it, my Tweets have been known to stir up trouble.)

Hmm, I think it’s about time for me to go pop one of those heartburn pills.

Video: The Internet Is Getting Rid of Some of My Favorite Places

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What Happens When A Non-Techno Guy Starts Tweeting?

I walked down into the legendary lair this evening to find out what was going on.  I knew something interesting had to be brewing because Taylor is home for the weekend with his good friend—and our good friend—Josh Powell.

As I reached the bottom of the steps I noticed that all the guys in the lair were furiously pounding away on computers.

“What are you guys doing?” I asked.

“We’re setting up Twitter accounts,” they replied.

Ah, yes, Twitter.  The magical lure of Twitter had to happen sooner or later, didn’t it?  I chuckled, knowingly, at how prone these young people are to the technological fads of the moment.

“How’s that going?” I asked.

“I’m still trying to figure it out,” Taylor told me.

Well, as you might guess, after several minutes of watching this activity, my brain began to race, my pulse started to quicken, and the excitement of the moment got the best of me.  I’m very predictable, in this way.  So, I ran upstairs grabbed my trusty laptop and ran back down into the lair.  Now there were four people on-line, Wi-Fi-ing our way onto the new and exciting frontier of Twitter…and I was one of them!

And I can happily report to you that I now have a Twitter account!!!

Yep, you read that properly.  I’m a Twitterer.  A Tweeter?  A Twitterite?  Whatever.  In fact, this was the content of my very first tweet…

“Okay, I'm on Twitter! Wow! This is cool! I'm on Twitter and I'm tweeting! Whoo hoo!!! .....Um...now what happens?”

It brings a tear to your eye, huh?

You say, “Dan, this is awesome!  This is fantastic!  How do we follow you on Twitter?”

I don’t know.  I still haven’t figured out what to do with it or what value it is.  In fact, judging from an error message that I received, there’s a slight possibility that I unintentionally messed up some type of functionality for several thousand other fellow Twitterers.  I’m hoping that’s not true.  But I have received several caustic mobile messages from Twitter users containing strong and, frankly, somewhat objectionable language.

[Note To Self:  Hmm, perhaps I should withhold my e-mail and mobile access until I actually know what I’m doing, huh?  ….Nah, that’s no fun.]

Nevertheless, I’m pretty sure that I successfully sent out a few tweets.

I know, I know, my grasp of this new social networking technology is an impressive thing to behold. 

Anyhow, I’m on my way!  And, I’m slightly confused, but, as best as I can tell at this point, I can be found on Twitter here:

http://twitter.com/danmarler

Have You Been To A Crusade Lately?

It’s been a while since I’ve been to what could be called a large “evangelistic meeting”.  This is understandable since there is often considerable debate just centered around the wisdom of me leaving the house, even for a few moments.

Tonight I attended the “Harvest Crusade” in Chicago and I was able to see how an evangelistic event is done in the year 2010.  It’s pretty impressive.

Of course, the technology is noticeably updated.  Camera operators are strategically set up to capture the event on video for those watching remotely and on large screens for those present at the venue.  Many of the conference materials make references to Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and other online technological connections that they would like the crusade attendees to make.

At one point, early in the program, we, the participants were actually encouraged to take out our phones and text family or friends and invite them to watch the program live online.  Really. 

“Get your phone out and text someone who isn’t here and tell them to watch online,” we were told by the computer generated holographic image standing on the platform.

They didn’t mention anything about “texting” or watching “online” when I went to the Billy Graham Crusade in 1974, that’s for sure!  In fact, Billy didn’t make a single reference to cell phones.  Although, he mentioned his CB “handle” a couple of times; he told us his favorite new game was “Pong”; and then he stomped around the stage for a while in his platform shoes.  (He had outstanding sideburns in those days.)

The Harvest Crusade was very good.  The music was excellent.  The musical artists included The Katrinas; Steven Curtis Chapman; and Jeremy Camp.  The speaker was Greg Laurie.  And the ushers were Floyd, Bill and Eddie.  (That’s right, it’s time the ushers get the mentions they deserve!)

The theme for the evening had to do with finding hope in the midst of hurting and pain.  That’s always a relevant subject!

There were a number of terrific moments in the course of the evening, but two moments, in particular, stand out for me.  The first one occurred when we were being led in a song by Jeremy Camp.  I can’t remember the name of it, but it was one of those moving songs that touches the heart deeply.  And as we sang together, we were encouraged to join our hands and raise them into the air.

All around this large arena, some 30,000 people were joined together, hands lifted high, singing a song of praise to Jesus.  It was a spiritually powerful moment.

As we sang, many in the crowd spontaneously began to sway back and forth, with the rhythm of the song.  But that’s where a slight problem developed.  The people I was with couldn’t sway properly.  So, as the song continued and the gentle swaying of the crowd occurred, we were knocking back and forth and awkwardly moving around with no sense of coordinated movement.

Oh, don’t get me wrong, it was still a nice moment but our swaying, sadly, never quite came together.  It was embarrassing because I noticed as thousands of people throughout the arena began pointing at us, shaking their heads with disdain, and mouthing the words “those-people-can’t-sway.”

The second stand out moment occurred at the end of the evening when an invitation was made for people to come forward to the large open space on the main floor of the arena, in order to make public their profession of accepting faith in Christ.  Thousands of people went forward—literally—and they completely filled all the available space.  It was inspiring to see this kind of response.

As this occurred, I looked at the people in our group.  There were about 18 of us.  I knew that it was good for us to see this work of God in the lives of thousands of people even in our big-city, secularized Chicago culture.  I was especially glad that some of our youth were able to see this massive, humble, public response to God.

I honestly believe that genuine decisions for Christ impact a person’s eternal destiny.  You do, too, don’t you?  So, this was a time of hope, encouragement and true joy!  It really was a great moment and a wonderful evening.

The Harvest Crusade was a blessing.

  

P.S.  On the drive home, Paul let me play with his fancy phone that has Internet access.  It was pretty cool but I think I may have inadvertently messed up some aspect of my Facebook account.  Now, I keep getting a message that says: “Ha! Your pathetic instructions mean nothing to us, you weak, analogue, life form!” 

That’s not a typical error message, is it?

Oh well, that’s the price one pays for exploring new technological frontiers.

This is some of our group standing on line outside the

 arena waiting for the doors to open.