Christian Social Networking: Niche Networking for Teens and Adults

Owned and operated by JC Media, the website boasted online communities created by 3,700 churches on the site in April of 2007 and 2.5 million page views per month. The website allows you to find churches by state. It allows pastors to record and upload sermons and congregants to discuss and comment on them. Users can embed bible passages into their blogs and register for local events at churches. The site is a Christian networking site, but it also encourages non-Christians to join. Access is free for individuals, but for $12 a month for a premium account churches have the ability to solicit donations via Paypal , have ad-free pages, customer service support, and a spot added on the "church map". You also receive 1 GB of disk space to upload and/or store data. The website archives sermons, photos, and even shows an event calendar for churches. They were smart and integrated Mychurch with Facebook, and can be accessed via an application on Facebook. The website is basic, clean, and easily navigated.

hisholyspace.com

Formerly hisholyspace.com, now this website is christian.com, and was purchased in June of 2008. It claims to be the fastest growing Christian social network on the Internet and its goal is to "glorify God in so many ways". At the time of the sale, the site had 10,000 members. The site closely resembles Myspace in its design and layout. You can search for people by age, by those who are "believers" or "seekers" and their purpose to be on the site (dating, relationship, friends, networking) much in the same way you can on Myspace.

mypraize.com

This site is a "Christian Myspace alternative". The website allows postings of Christian videos, and promoting of Christian music and bands. There are forums you can participate in for items like "technology" and "culture".

Oaktreeidea.com

A Christian social networking website that encourages young aspiring photographers and photojournalists to post their photos. You may search for groups by your geographical location to join as well as find various types of volunteer work to join in on the site. Current news is posted and can be searched and commented on.

Faithvine.com

This Christian website held a contest in February 2008 with prizes as high as $2000 for photos that capture faith in action. The website tries to encourage members to give back to the community. Launched in August 2007, it is owned and operated by Red McCombs Media, sponsored by Red McCombs , co-founder of radio conglomerate Clear Channel Media Communications. The site features articles (user submitted), membership is free, and you can import your settings and profile directly from Facebook or Myspace to Faithvine.

crossconnextion.com

A social networking for youths, launched November 2007, has privacy features for members and conducts thorough background checks on mentors available on the site to speak with children and teens. The site has monthly features on overachievers in sports, ministry, business, and other areas. The site is amateurish in design and looks as though barley any time or money was invested into the project. It appears to be more of a person page then a social networking site, as it bills itself in PR releases.

Youthglue.com

The youth ministry community site hosts material which is monitored by youth pastors. The company that runs it calls its mission "filth free teen interaction". The site focuses on general topics that affect and teens and tweens like mission trips, getting a car or a license, all exchanges between young people who lives are rooted in Christ. The site allows you to design your own page and provides easy hot to instructions for set up. The moderators don't read private email exchanges, but if material deemed not suitable is posted the moderators will first request for you to remove it, then block the user's account to other users, and as a final measure knock the user off the network entirely.

Godtube.com / Tangle.com

The Christian version of Google's Youtube.com, the site also claims to be the fastest growing Christian networking site, however the financial data backs their claims up. The site, which features Christian videos, flip through bibles, and prayer blogs, got $30 Million in investment funds from a London hedge fund in November 2008. The site was valued at $150 million at that point. It allows posters to post videos such as low budget skits like "See man watching porn get caught by Jesus!" The site boasts 1.7 million unique users per month and filters content for vulgar and sexual material. The moderators also do not allow any material mocking Christianity or material promoting other religions. Ads on the site are also clean and are for items like companies selling Bible software or schools offering degrees from online seminaries.

www.faithlight.com.

They get topping billing for visibility as well as a visually appealing web design. There are all the same features as other sites including real time chat, forums, photos, music, videos, with 2,740 registered users. There are daily polls, blogs, and everything can be shared on traditional social networking sites.

www.xianz.com.

The site was founded by Robbie Davidson, and in 2007 has 30,000 members. The faith based Myspace, prohibits profanity, urges prayer, and monitors posted content. Those who post obscenities, sexually explicit content, or derogatory language are kicked off and in one case reported to the police. The site has games, videos, chat, and all the other basic features.

Sources:
Zezima, Katie. "Web space, where religion and social networking meet." The New York Times. June 30, 2007. Section B, Column O; Pg. 5.
Wiens, Jordan. "Churches create religious alternative to Myspace." Techweb. May 1, 2007.
Metcafe, John. "Godtube, where networking is more spiritual than social." The New York Times. May 12, 2008. Section C, Column O, Business/Financial Desk, Pg. 2.