Do you have an interesting story to tell?

[McDanielCA]

For those of you who don't know me yet, I am an ICS HR intern working at headquarters. I'm looking for interesting content that keeps you folks coming to the site, aside from this forum. I know so many of you participate in and know of others working on interesting technical work. I am especially interested in international stories. If you have any technical information or stories that you think others would be interested in reading more about, please let me know. Just send me a personal message and I will be in contact with you!

[McDanielCA]

I know you guys have stories you want to share!

[russellhltn]

Define "story". My stake has a major Christmas production every year. (We take out a couple of rows to pews to fit the orchestra).

I've also worked the broadcast end of a fireside. That was fun to watch from my vantage point.

While I have a few photos, I'm not sure as I have enough to properly tell the story.

[McDanielCA]

I don't want to define "story" too much because the spectrum on which I wish to write is very broad! There really are no limits to it; other than the fact that it has to be something that involves the Church and technology!

[blackrg]

The Church tends to have some fairly tight reins on the use of technology in areas that typically generate the most interest here so I'm kind of doubting you're going to find much outside the normal use and deployment of technology that flows down from Church HQ. We have a few different examples of this in our stake:

1. Deployment of an early stake website before that became taboo.
2. Moving all of our family history CD's to hard drive and then sharing across multiple computers. Obsoleted by family history website in time.

3. Creation of a secure private web DB and map to allow our church leaders to have dynamically updated geographic maps of our membership that could be filtered by a number of different attributes - taboo with plans in the works for the church to add this to the official websites.

Now don't misunderstand here - the Church probably should be exercising the control they are over all these things and I certainly have no issues with that. Just keep in mind that the necessary environment here for order tends to stifle creative urges coming from outside that order. If those of us from "outside" the order (not part of the Church HQ IT arm) are to find much success in contributing I think it's more likely to come in the form of participation in projects opened up by the church or in the form of feedback provided back to them. Any other input from us probably falls into either:

1. Niche needs which should be few.
2. Needs missed by Church IT for the moment where our efforts should be replaced once those missed needs are noticed.
3. Some category that falls under #2 while also running afoul of Church guidelines that we may have been ignorant of and we shouldn't be doing.

After all, Church IT exists to meet the needs of the church. Any contribution by us outside of their structure can only represent something they've missed either intentionally (shouldn't be done), because they haven't got to it yet (give them time), or because it's a niche item (in which case we fit well, but these should be the exception, not the rule).

[WelchTC]

I agree with your assessment but with some changes. When it comes to official representation or membership data, we hold close control. However I've seen some very innovative solutions. Someone wrote a program that helps juggle High Council speaking assignments. Someone wrote a script monkey script that puts a skype icon next to names in the local unit web sites for easy digital calling.

Tom

[McDanielCA]

Thank you Tom. The definition here is very loose!