The RAnts of RA

Everybody knows social media works for businesses – but Matt McKee wants to put it to work for a better cause, not just during the holidays but all year long. Founder and owner of the digital development group ROAR, McKee is giving away free apps for one thousand churches and non-profits now through December 31.

iPhone App

Each one will be developed individually, offering users the chance to download sermons from their favorite church, donate money, make prayer requests and more. Using social media for churches is the topic of McKee’s new e-book, Be Social: Social Media Handbook for Churches.

McKee points out that some church administrators may feel intimidated by the prospect of working with a mobile app to help keep members connected. But, he says, “You don’t need any development experience to run it. ROAR takes care of all the heavy lifting for you. All you have to do is input the content into our content management system and sit back. We take care of the rest.” The apps can be designed for use on IPads, IPhones or Android devices.

The actual application design usually costs up to $2000, so this is a significant savings for churches and non-profits who are probably feeling the pinch of tight budgets right now, says McKee. Even small churches can benefit from a mobile app.

A mobile app can be used to help a church or other non-profit connect with its followers in a number of different ways. ROAR develops programs that allow access to audio and/or video podcasts of services, workshops or classes. Live video feeds are also available, allowing members to be a part of church life even when they’re out of town. Photos from events or mission trips can be a part of a mobile app as well.

Churches or other organizations can also provide relationship-building tools like an events calendar, links to related content, a locations listing or mailing lists. A prayer wall feature lets church members connect with each other, not just the church office, and a giving function supports the all-important mission of funding the organization. Even advanced options like push notifications, an RSS reader and a QR scanner can be part of the package.

“I love making a difference,” McKee says. “I am an entrepreneur and I believe creativity is a gift God means us to share with others.” McKee has served as a pastor for students and children in Cincinnati, Ohio, and currently lives in Atlanta with his family.

Please visit the ROAR website at: http://roarapp.com/freeapp

Despite new articles with headlines proclaiming “Jobless rate falls slightly in Mother Lode in Oct.“, the unemployment rate, in fact,  continues to climb.

Jobless rate falls slightly in Mother Lode in Oct.
November 25, 2011 03:24 am

Unemployment Continues to Climb

The unemployment rate fell in Tuolumne and Calaveras counties in October compared to last year, according to a recent study completed by the Employment Development Department which tracks local labor statistics.

Tuolumne County saw modest job creation and its unemployment rate fall to 12.5 percent in October, compared to 13.1 percent during the same period last year. However, it was a slight increase from September, when unemployment hit a two-year low of 12.4 percent.

The number of people filing for unemployment benefits fell from 3,320 last year to 3,160 in October, with the number of employed people climbing slightly from 21,980 last year to 22,020 in October.

Most job sectors saw falling or flat employment figures last month, with modest gains in government jobs and hospitality.

I guess if you don’t mind serving the Chinese and Japanese tourists, instead of going on vacation yourself, the increase in hospitality employment is a good thing. However, adding even more government jobs continues to take our nation down the wrong path to increased government spending. It’s a bleak outlook, no matter how the media tries to paint a rosy picture.

Related articles

• Weekly jobless claims above 400K (hotair.com)
• NC prepares to announce October unemployment rate (charlotte.news14.com)
• MNI Survey: Japan Oct Jobless Rate Seen Unchanged at 4.1% (forexlive.com)

Here I sit sipping an ice cold Coca-Cola and I’m fuming mad. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I practically live on Pepsi, and not that diet stuff, for those brave souls into chemical abuse. No, I exist on a diet high in high-fructose corn syrup…but at least I was loyal.

It's a Child Stupid.

Every time I have to open a Coca-Cola, an RC Cola or some other non-Pepsi cola product, I get angry all over again.

The way I see it, the only people who are for abortion are alive. I wouldn’t be here now if abortion had been legal in 1960. My grandfather wanted my mother to abort me. The unborn deserve a voice and I’ve stood strong against abortion for most of my life — even going so far as to chain myself by the neck to a building and spend a week in jail. I don’t regret one moment of it.

Your business practices make me physically sick to my stomach. This is worse than cannibalism — you should be prosecuted for crimes against humanity — if we had any real legal system in this country. Even your shareholders agree…

Pepsi Getting Heat for Use of Aborted Fetal Cells in Flavor Research

Shareholders of PepsiCo have filed a resolution with the Securities and Exchange Commission in an effort to force the company to stop contracting with a research firm that uses cells from aborted babies in its process of producing artificial flavor enhancers. According to LifeNews.com, Pepsi has “ignored concerns and criticism from dozens of pro-life groups and tens of thousands of pro-life people who voiced their opposition to PepsiCo contracting with biotech company Senomyx even after it was found to be testing their food additives using fetal cells from abortions.”

On its website Senomyx explains that its flavor research programs “focus on the discovery and development of savory, sweet and salt flavor ingredients that are intended to allow for the reduction of MSG, sugar and salt in food and beverage products. Using isolated human taste receptors, we created proprietary taste receptor-based assay systems that provide a biochemical or electronic readout when a flavor ingredient interacts with the receptor.”

But Debi Vinnedge of Children of God for Life, a pro-life group that has focused its attention on Pepsi’s relationship with Senomyx, pointed out that what the company does not reveal is that it is “using HEK293 – human embryonic kidney cells taken from an electively aborted baby to produce those receptors. They could have easily chosen animal, insect, or other morally obtained human cells expressing the G protein for taste receptors.”

Stop this horrendous practice immediately.

As a little added incentive you should know that I personally spend over $200 a month, just on Pepsi soda for my own consumption…that figure does not include all the other PepsiCo products, which I will no longer be buying. Think about it. Pepsi had a very solid, loyal customer base. Can Pepsi afford to ignore us all? Not and stay in business.

Think About IT.

Related articles

• Senomyx & PepsiCo: You Can Run but You Can’t Hide (deaconjohnspace.wordpress.com)
• PepsiCo Shareholder Resolution Filed Over Use of Aborted Fetal Cell Lines (deaconjohnspace.wordpress.com)
• Pro-life Ron Paul !!! (2012patriot.wordpress.com)