Set up as a network to encourage and grow younger Christian leaders, the podcasts were part of a communication strategy trying to link experienced leaders with those just starting out on the road to Christian leadership.

The quality of the podcasts were always good and the interviews provided some really useful information, so why are they stopping after almost two years.

David Couchman who presented the podcasts wrote the following on his blog…

In the future, the main way the Slipstream resources will be delivered will be through the e-letter. Users identified email as their preferred way to receive information. This will be more frequent, shorter, and will not have a regular schedule, but will be sent out when there is something specific to say – a new resource, an upcoming event etc.

Read the full post here

A few thoughts

1. We can often get caught up in schedules and loose the plot of what we are trying to do. If you plan to release something once a month you have to produce something once a month, regardless of whether you have good quality content or not. I don’t think this was a problem for Slipstream, they had lots of good stories – including interviews that I recorded with Andrew Hamilton and Eric Bryant that never made the cut.
2. You have to use appropriate media for what you are trying to share. It’s far quicker for me to read an e-mail than it is for me to listen to a podcast. Much of what was shared through Slipstream could have been conveyed faster in writing than by listening to the audio.
3. Finally, does the technology limit the audience? I reckon more people can be reached by e-mail than by podcast. I listen to podcasts because I have an iPod and use iTunes on my home computer. If it wasn’t for my attachment to the Mac I probably wouldn’t bother. In other words, a podcast may be convenient for me but not necessarily for everyone. I reckon the e-mail route will give access to a wider audience.

What do you think?

It’ll take a few moments for the audio to download, but the whole presentation is below.

So this is going to take a bit of thought. I’ll have to put a couple of days aside next week to analyse the results and put a presentation together. To help me do this I’m going to close the survey at midnight – in the UK – in other words, in 12 hours of posting this.

Thanks everyone who has taken part.

The title of my seminar will be Learning, growing and sharing: The use of media in mission

- The media of the twenty first century has its part to play in mission, giving new opportunities for sharing the gospel as well as keeping folk at home up-to-date with the latest news and building support. Find out how mission is changing with technology and where you could play your part.

I’m currently conducting some research which I hope will form the basis for the seminar. You can contribute to this by filling in the online survey.

The results of the research will first be released at GO2010. If you can’t make it along to the seminar I’ll make sure that a summary of the findings appear here soon after the event.

Already it does a great job of attracting crowds of visitors over the winter to skate on its ice rink, but now they’ve launched a pop-up bar sponsored by Bombay Sapphire (a brand of Gin).

Pop-up bars are simply that, bars that pop-up for a moment and then shut down, maybe never to reopen. This one, the Bombay Sapphire Dusk Bar, I heard about through Twitter, which is no surprise looking at Somerset House’s website, which makes the most of all the social media it can. Being randomly contacted in this way, but a bar with a locked profile made the thing slightly mysterious, just right for rousing my curiosity. Fortunately there’s lots of supporting materials, pictures on the website, a Facebook group, to add some substance to the initial contact.

So, there’s a new bar in London, the Bombay Sapphire Dusk Bar, complete with fantastic views of the Thames and right in the heart of the city. It’ll work wonderfully as word spreads and as long as we get a few warmer evenings. The only challenge to this venue is going to be the lack of a roof and my dislike of Gin. I do hope they serve a decent pint.