Judaism and Technology Podcast: Interview with guest Rabbi Aaron Spiegel by ShofarSites.com

July 29, 2008 - PRLog -- When Rabbi Spiegel began working with both churches and synagogues, through his work at the Center for Congregations, he found that synagogues were still ‘behind the times’ when it comes to the effective use of technology.  In a recent interview with ShofarSites.com, Rabbi Spiegel  suggests that synagogues go beyond the graphic elements – 'does the site look nice?' – and focus on site functions. “We need to learn about what technology offers synagogues… We don’t have a choice anymore.  These are the tools that folks from mid-30s and younger expect to work. Otherwise, they may not be part of our conversation anymore. We better not wait much longer.  It’s time to get onboard and get serious about this, in a big way.”

Learn about your membership
One of the most powerful uses of technology is to learn more about your membership. Technology is built to manage relationships. Through external and internal site tools, congregations can create a knowledge base – of the interests and background of members. The knowledge base, in turn, makes it easy to find the right people for the right projects. A general call for volunteers is rarely as effective as contacting an individual and speaking with them directly, when you know you have a project that meets their interests – whether that be teaching in the Hebrew School, fundraising, or leading a book club. When you make that connection, people become more engaged with the congregation and with the community.

Goals
When you begin a technology project in a congregation, it is essential to lay out your goals. Building community? Attracting more young people? General outreach? Education? When the goals are clear, you have a way to evaluate and measure the results. It may be a quantitative measure – X number of new members heard about the congregation through the website and submitted a form asking for more information. Or, the measure may be qualitative – some congregations survey their membership or conduct focus groups and ask about their experience. Has the site helped them feel more connected to the synagogue community?  

Taking action
Synagogue sites can get caught in bureaucracy -  between committees, webmasters, and other interested parties. The resulting tangle can prevent progress. If you want to take action, assemble the stakeholders. The senior rabbi has to be on board or it’s not going to work. You also need the executive director and people representing the different areas of the synagogue – adult education, religious school, social action committee, etc. to start the conversation.  They all have to agree that this is a tool for managing relationships and that they understand what the technology can do. When the stakeholders get it, things happen,  because they see it as important to the survival of the congregation.

Listen to the entire interview in the ShofarSites.com podcast at http://www.shofarsites.com/index.php/Latest/June08.html or on iTunes.

Rabbi Spiegel is the director for the Indianapolis Center for Congregations, which provides technology consulting to synagogues, churches, mosques and other religious institutions in Indiana.  He is also the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Synagogue 3000 project. Their mission is to ‘make synagogues compelling moral and spiritual centers for the 21st century’. Rabbi Spiegel is also the co-author of the book 40 Days and 40 Bytes: Making Computers Work for Your Congregation.  http://mahamatzav.blogspot.com/

ShofarSites.com, a division of TnR Global, creates interactive websites for Jewish organizations. Synagogue packages include events calendar, forums, photo galleries, blogs, registration forms, and more. ShofarSites.com provides complete site creation, site hosting, and technical support. Visit http://www.ShofarSites.com for information about synagogue web packages and free tips for a great synagogue website,

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