“I think television has betrayed the meaning of democratic speech, adding visual chaos to the confusion of voices. What role does silence play in all this noise?”
– Federico Fellini
I’m still asking that question…”What role does silence play in all this noise?” Read the rest of the original post here.
I love all of my friends. And I am blessed and humbled to know each and every one of them. But there are some people in my life I so greatly respect that the fact I can call them a friend humbles me beyond words.
Michael Buckingham (@holycowcreative) is one of those people. And the story of our friendship truly is from a tweet to a prayer to a friendship. And it’s a God story that deserves to be told so He can get the credit! This past March Michael sent out a tweet with a link to a prayer form on his website. I don’t know what compelled me to fill it out and submit it or to be honest in doing so because I just don’t do that sort of thing, but I did. Michael followed up not long after with an email and from those conversations a friendship began. Really, it’s more of a mentorship because I have more to learn from that guy than there is probably time for in this life!
In a world where online can lack authenticity and people’s offline selves can be the opposite of their online, I’m blessed to know people like Michael who break the norm. I’ve only met a handful of people who are extremely passionate about what they do but also always true to their heart for people. And even fewer who walk that out with humility. Michael is one of those people and it’s an honor to know him.
And you know the really great part? Michael wants to pray for you too! Check out his site here and share as much or as little as you’d like.
I’ll be completely candid and honest, one of my biggest twitter pet peeves is all of the “name dropping” that seems to happen. In fact, as a result I’ve gotten to the point of rarely tagging people in my tweets because I don’t want be lumped in with the name droppers.
But, I’ve been thinking this week about the difference between name dropping and “friend dropping” or “someone you believe in dropping.” I had the opportunity to meet some incredible people this week who are new friends and people I believe in. But, if you looked at my tweets from the last couple of days you wouldn’t have any idea who any of those incredible people were. And honestly, that makes me a bit sad because I want the world to know about those people. They are genuine, influential, encouraging, relationship building, servant hearted, Jesus loving dreamers. They are the kind of people that give me hope for the world and for the Church.
So, I’m actively struggling to find a balance. A balance between too many names and not enough names. A balance of the difference between a name and a friend or someone I believe in. And all of that makes me wonder if what I think is “name dropping” is often just people who are excited to talk about their friends and people they believe in.
On Saturday I had lunch with a friend who I met because of a “mutual friend” on Facebook and a Facebook #fail.
Saturday night I went out with my roommates whom I found on Craigslist.
Sunday morning I went to church…a church that I call a home…a church that I ended up at because of a friendship that developed several states away via Twitter.
We can criticize all we want, and yes, we need to remember that technology and social media are simply tools. But, if we slow down enough to see it, at the heart of it all is people and relationships. That is why I love technology.
Why do you love technology?
