tonysteward

Over the past year the number of blogs I subscribe to in Google Reader has continued to decrease. With Twitter, Facebook, Facebook Pages, Google Buzz, Foursquare, and all the media and news outlets there are certainly plenty of sources of information in our world. Even in the topics of social media, web technology, and ministry there are plenty of fantastic authorities reporting and creating valuable conversations.

So why would I start a blog now?

Honestly, a main reason is that I’ve recognized I didn’t have a consistent place I was giving back to the community online at large that I have learned and grown so much through. It is also because I am in a season where I am being stretched, growing, and failing enough that sharing that journey could find a connection and value for some of you.

What is this blog going to talk about? You can find out more about me in the page above but I am passionate about how technology, the social web, new media, faith and the “flattening” of our world is creating incredible new possibilities. How do we start movements to effect change online? How does the social web help or hurt my faith? How can we partner with people from across the world for a cause? What does it look like to lead when control is dead? How do I organize myself in this digital world? What are the new opportunities to care for people? How is media changing in these new environments? How is what is happening online changing expectations for community offline?

These are just some of the questions I consistently face and I get so excited about connecting with those of you that face them too. That we can learn, share and work together as we motivated to make a difference. That is why I’ve started this new blog. To jump in on the conversations already going and to add my voice and journey to them. To write and publish in a way that focuses on VALUE and not “interestingness” or attention grabbing. To create a “NO HYPE ZONE” where we can learn, disagree, and move forward.

(Big thanks to John Saddington and his work on the Standard Theme that is running this new blog. He has just launched the new theme and in my experience with Wordpress Themes it is one of the best I’ve ever used. Click here to view more details)