It’s a mobile world we live in. With modern phones, you now carry the web with you – you can check your email, read the latest news headlines, and use maps to plan your trips. So, without further ado, here’s a quick roundup of some of the better utilities for your phone, where compatible. Just remember: using this on your mobile does cost (just like making a phone call!), and so, if you’re going to use these, talk to your provider about getting a data plan. By default

Mobile email: The big three free email providers (www.gmail.com, mail.yahoo.com, and www.hotmail.com) all have special mobile email options available that make checking your email easy. If you’re with Xtra, you can even check your Xtra email through mail.yahoo.co.nz – it’s the same system!

Google maps mobile: If you’ve ever used Google Maps on your PC, you’ll know how handy it is for looking up addresses. The mobile version of this (www.google.co.nz/gmm) is equally good – you get all the functionality of the browser based one, while you’re on the road. The only warning is it can use a lot of data, so it can get expensive – get that data plan first if you want to use this mobile!

Avantgo: One of the ways to easily get a whole lot of different sites stored on your phone, Avantgo will group your subscriptions together and give you an easy way to read your favourite websites at your own leisure. If you have a Palm or Windows Mobile device, you can even get this to update when you connect your device to your PC – meaning you don’t have to pay for mobile data! These are particularly good for keeping up with the daily mass readings – Mobile Gabriel gives you all the readings, plus a reflection for you to read as well. Find out more at www.avantgo.com.

What mobile sites and applications do you find useful? Share them with others at www.catholic.geek.nz – it’s good to share the love around…

It’s a mobile world we live in. With modern phones, you now carry the web with you – you can check your email, read the latest news headlines, and use maps to plan your trips. So, without further ado, here’s a quick roundup of some of the better utilities for your phone, where compatible. Just remember: using this on your mobile does cost (just like making a phone call!), and so, if you’re going to use these, talk to your provider about getting a data plan. By default

Mobile email: The big three free email providers (www.gmail.com, mail.yahoo.com, and www.hotmail.com) all have special mobile email options available that make checking your email easy. If you’re with Xtra, you can even check your Xtra email through mail.yahoo.co.nz – it’s the same system!

Google maps mobile: If you’ve ever used Google Maps on your PC, you’ll know how handy it is for looking up addresses. The mobile version of this (www.google.co.nz/gmm) is equally good – you get all the functionality of the browser based one, while you’re on the road. The only warning is it can use a lot of data, so it can get expensive – get that data plan first if you want to use this mobile!

Avantgo: One of the ways to easily get a whole lot of different sites stored on your phone, Avantgo will group your subscriptions together and give you an easy way to read your favourite websites at your own leisure. If you have a Palm or Windows Mobile device, you can even get this to update when you connect your device to your PC – meaning you don’t have to pay for mobile data! These are particularly good for keeping up with the daily mass readings – Mobile Gabriel gives you all the readings, plus a reflection for you to read as well. Find out more at www.avantgo.com.

What mobile sites and applications do you find useful? Share them with others at www.catholic.geek.nz – it’s good to share the love around…

I wish I could have this kind of subject matter to write about every week. There is a new website making the rounds on the internet. It is a site that is very professional in appearance. It is coupled with a fantastic advertising campaign. And it’s a site built around inviting Catholics who have left the Faith to come back home to the Church. Not a topic you would usually associate with a professional marketing campaign, but I digress.

The CatholicsComeHome.org site and campaign was founded by Tom Peterson for the Diocese of Phoenix. Before the site, Peterson used worked in advertising and his skills in this area are very evident – especially in the television ads created for the campaign: “Epic”, “Movie” and “Testimonials”. The videos are available to view on the CatholicsComeHome.org site and they need to be seen to be believed.

This is a great example of how someone has taken his professional skills and used them to create some fantastic tools for evangelisation. Peterson has also used the power of the internet to make sure the effect is as wide as possible. He is quoted as saying that these ads will be shown “on main network programs like during American Idol, the evening news, and even the Super Bowl”, but has also talked to them being available on YouTube for an even wider audience outside the U.S.

What does this have to do with being a Catholic geek? Look at how Peterson has used his marketing experience for the greater glory of God. The lesson for Catholic geeks is that we have an opportunity to do the same with technology. I urge all of you with technology skills to come and join the Catholic.geek community and let’s see what we can do to follow the CatholicsComeHome.org example.