South African Catholic is a nominee for an innovation award: how other services can also be submitted to awards, and reviews

((MEDIA STUDY SOUTH AFRICA)Promotion of New Media)

Informative article by Marc Aupiais

This is not the sort of article, any service gets into the habit of writing. It is something basic, and its only purpose is to help other services get a hand up. By such an article, one promotes other services, and gives advice to help others with their own services. It does not seem professional, but is something we only justify because such things can help promote the tide of Catholic new media!

As part of "See What We See", and for personal interest, we monitor what other people are saying about us. South African Catholic was submitted to an innovation award, we will link to this nomination, and also: in aid of promoting Catholic New Media: this article will show viewers how to submit their own services to this specific award, but also how to get their services rated.

The Nomination of our service is visible here:

http://evangelization2.typepad.com/evangelization2_0/2008/12/update-catholic-new-media-and-innovation-awards.html

To get your own site nominated, in this specific award, or a site you find beneficial, email:

awards@lovetobecatholic.com

Now, this is only one of many awards, and ratings services. Obviously, if one uses a blog with some services, such as blogger or st.blogs, one is automatically submitted to search engines: and we have enough sites linking to our own service to certainly keep afloat on the world wide web: but a good way for new sites to be noticed, is via awards, and by high ratings. Yes, word of mouth helps, but having strategic links is a way to get traffic to an engine. Also, when services allow one to add a website address, it can help: especially in chat services and other such things. If a diocese has the opportunity to place a link on their site, so often, this is where allot of traffic comes from. We have even been directed to heretical sites, having been linked from user generated parts of the Johannesburg Archdiocese web service. Not that such is a good thing, but it shows that placing links aids a service.

Another service, one we have found use in: both when we discover Catholic sites which break the ranks, and in the submission of our own content: is www.catholicculture.org/ .

Visit the link http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/reviews/ to ask for a review or see other sites. The adress of the URL where you ask for a review there is:

http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/reviews/requestform.cfm

Be careful to keep your site faithful to the magisterium research everything. We often use the site of ours they reviewed: http://scripturelink.googlepages.com/search for fact checking: until you build your own engine for this: it could keep you from getting bad press from good sites: in fact, it would do allot for that. And good sites could well link to you. We ourselves may be interested in reviewing good upcoming sites.

It is here, where we were rated by the Catholic Culture for excellence in fidelity in one of our services:
http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/reviews/view.cfm?recnum=4042&repos=2&subrepos=0&searchid=375253



One need only click onto their culture section, and their reviews, to not only browse brilliant and bad sites, but also, one may request a review of their own content. We, as in : our founding service: Scripturelink Search Engine: were given a high fidelity rating from this service.

Unfortunately, while some sites we have submitted to such things, have been acclaimed, or seen in a good light, often, one gets no reply: that does not mean that one should stop attempting to do good things, or stop submitting contents.

If you have a blog, or internet or other service, our news service is always interested to hear about it. We only are able, due to being informed, by readers of our services: to report on the issues covered in Tridentine South (And Southern) Africa, because subscribers to some of our services, or their information services: inform us of these, we can verify your facts easily, or see if they are wrong. Don't send us wrong information though. Larger, or better known services: often rely on others to gain good content, and more than that: are sometimes prepared to link to your content. We have never gone out requesting links to our services: but at the same time, we have asked for reviews.

A review, whether good or not, will help your own service grow. Many improvements to the Scripturelink Search engine, come after comments on flaws, our own service at South African Catholic, often is pleased by emails: showing us any errors, or discussing where we are not clear, or may leave work open to error.

Due to our expertise, one may subscribe to emails in google groups: also, facebook, and other new media services can help. Either way, every Catholic site, which has fidelity to truth, and the papacy: is a useful addition, if no other service is fulfilled, one's links to good sites are picked up, and make them more visible. More than this, when doing apologetics, an online address is something useful to give out.

We can also help set up such services, as part of our service. If you have a group of people you desire to email, we can link an address with your blog.

If you have a google sites, or other such site, to add our search engine is easy, simply search to south african catholic, and add the "http://scripturelink.googlepages.com/" selection which is listed as a search engine.