JamesWong.id.au

What has been happening over the past decade with technology, and in particular, software development has been quite exciting.  Most of it has happened as it usually does, without people realising it.  It’s creeped into people’s lives and now we see it everywhere!  I am talking about web applications.  Honestly, the number of people who use webmail is quite simply staggering.  Have a look at these recent statistics on the number of webmail users:

Microsoft webmail properties: 256.2 million users
Yahoo: 254.6 million users
Google: 91.6 million users
AOL webmail properties: 48.9 million users

Even given that a proportion of these users would be the result of people signing up multiple accounts, this is still quite staggering.  Why is this exciting from the viewpoint of software development?  Here are some reasons:

1. No installation required. Your application runs in a web browser.  Those are the requirements of your software.  You the web applications developer can take care of all the server-side processing and the configuration.  Your users just needs to run their browser and specify the URL.
2. Fixes can be pushed out instantly. When there are errors in the software, regardless of how major or minor, you do not require your users to reinstall the software.  You make the fix and that’s it: all your users have the fix.
3. Availability. Your application is not limited to just a desktop computer or a laptop.  It’s available on any device with a web browser – this includes smart phones like the iPhone, Blackberry, HTC, etc.  The caveat with smart phones is that you’ll have to cater for the smaller screens.

I’m sure there are many more reasons, but those are enough reasons for the moment.  Hopefully you can see how exciting this is.  I’ve always known about these reasons, but it’s not until I recently started making simple AJAX powered websites that I see how much potential there is.  Now here’s the challenge:  I’d like to see more web applications used in ministry.  I reckon you do lots of stuff with a laptop serving as a local webserver, and a wireless router to connect whatever devices you want.  I’ve already got a few ideas of my own and I’ll be looking to implement these sometime soon.  You can gain a high level of productivity just by making simple web applications: the main problem is that it’s not being done at the moment.  If you’ve got any ideas on things you’d like to collaborate, please feel free to contact me on Twitter.

Over the past few years, I’ve always thought about the possibility of using my programming skills for ministry use.  One of the first projects I thought of, was a song lyric projection software; much like OpenSong except using a more common programming language like C++ (with QT framework) or Java so that more people are able to contribute to the software.  It’s quite surprising that there aren’t many good, free projection software.  One of the features I would like to add is a video background and if possible, a live video.  MediaShout offers this functionality and I think is the main software that big churches like Hillsong use.  I am aware of at least one project which aims to do something similar to OpenSong, using the Python programming language, however, I haven’t seen any real activity for at least a few months.  I guess my project is in an even worse state: it hasn’t even started!

Back on topic though… I’ve really been thinking about how technology can assist ministry.  It really requires a balanced view.  It’s possible to fall into the trap of thinking that technology is the solution to everything.  However, the work of the gospel is still the same – to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Despite whatever technology we use, the gospel still needs to be preached.  However, the Internet in particular is proving to be an effective medium for communicating with people whom you would not normally see or be able to see (e.g. people from other countries).  Perhaps this is part of the balance that must be achieved: technology should not replace personal communication, however, if there is no other way of communicating with the person, then that’s where technology comes in.  There are so many other aspects of technology in ministry that I want to explore, but I still need to gather my thoughts first.