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You Can't Do That on Facebook: Content Controls

People often point to Facebook and wonder why the church would even need the Table. Facebook is ideal for outreach, but it falls short at building community. That's what the Table is all about. We encourage churches to use Facebook and the Table together. But the fact is there are things you can't do on Facebook that the Table is designed to do.

Like content control.

Social networks are built on content. People sharing stuff, posting comments, photos and more. But sometimes that content isn't appropriate. People can be troublesome that way. And it means churches need to be especially careful with social networks.

Content Control on the Table
The Table gives churches two major tools to control content:

Flagging: Any user can flag content as inappropriate and it's immediately removed, pending approval by a church admin. This means offensive content comes down instantly, protecting your church community. But there's also a human layer to check and make sure that content actually needed to be removed.

Approval: Alternately, churches can require that all content be approved prior to posting. We don't recommend this option as it discourages active community, but it is available for churches that are especially concerned about policing content.

Read more about how content flagging and approval works on the Table.

Content Control on Facebook
Facebook doesn't give you as much control when it comes to content. If your church has a page on Facebook, you can turn posting on or off and you can also moderate posts. There's also a profanity and blacklist filter to moderate posts as well. That all sounds pretty good.

But Facebook pages are kind of tricky. As an admin, you can mark a post or a comment as spam and remove it, but it's still visible to the person who posted it and their friends! It seems that Facebook doesn't even give you total control of your own page.

Here's another example of your loss of control, straight from Facebook: "Page admins won't see posts about their Page that people haven't shared publicly even though people visiting the Page might see them if they're part of the audience the post was shared with." So if someone makes a negative comment about your church, your might never see it, but that person's friends will see it when they visit your page? Whoa. Not cool.

Your users can also mark content as spam and hide it, but it doesn't do much good. It gets hidden for that individual user on that specific visit. Everybody else can still see it. And that user will see it the next time they visit. Page admins aren't even notified that someone thinks content on their page is offensive.

In general, it seems that Facebook wants to leave content policing up to the user. If you don't like something, you can remove it or block it—but that won't have any effect on what everybody else sees.

That's all kind of disappointing considering that Facebook is worldwide. You expect global content would need a little more policing and a little more control. But Facebook seems to take a hands-off approach. That's not very reassuring for churches who want to protect their members from spam and abuse.

A little less confusion would also help. Sorting all these rules and scenarios out to even understand them enough to write this post took a while. Hope your pastor has time for that.

You Can Do That on the Table
The bottomline is you can't really control content on your Facebook page while still allowing interaction. But the Table puts you in control in a simple, straightforward manner.

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You Can't Do That on Facebook: Serve

People often point to Facebook and wonder why the church would even need the Table. Facebook is ideal for outreach, but it falls short at building community. That's what the Table is all about. We encourage churches to use Facebook and the Table together. But the fact is there are things you can't do on Facebook that the Table is designed to do.

Like serving one another.

Serving & Sharing on the Table
The Table's Serve App allows you to post volunteer needs and items to give away or share. It's a way to help and encourage the church to serve one another. When you're posting needs, you can add specific tasks, invite people to get involved and more. When you're giving away or sharing stuff, you can post a picture, categorize what you have available and easily re-post something to loan out again. You can even see a record of how many people have been served or items shared.

It's designed for the church to serve each other. It encourages an attitude and culture of serving and sharing. That's pretty cool.

Serving & Sharing on Facebook
Not so much on Facebook. You can certainly post needs and give away or share things on Facebook, but not very well. You'd have to post those things as a status update, which means the system doesn't encourage you to serve or share, people aren't expecting it and there's no place to go to find a bunch of needs to serve.

You could certainly give away a random item or ask for help with something like moving, and you'll get a response. But there's no culture of serving. It's a one-time thing and it's not likely to happen again.

There are some marketplace apps on Facebook that allow for classified listings like Craigslist, and a few that offer Freecycle-like sharing, but they're pretty buried, not widely used and don't allow for posting volunteer needs.

Squash Apathy
The Table is designed to squash apathy. We're built that way. Facebook? Maybe it'll step on apathy once or twice by accident, but that's about it.

Of course that shouldn't be too surprising. Facebook is a worldwide social network that's designed for loose connections. It doesn't foster intimate community and that means it's not a good place for serving and sharing to take place. But the Table is designed for that intimate community. It makes serving and sharing natural, the way it should be in church.

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You Can't Do That on Facebook: Targeted Messages

People often point to Facebook and wonder why the church would even need the Table. Facebook is ideal for outreach, but it falls short at building community. That's what the Table is all about. We encourage churches to use Facebook and the Table together. But the fact is there are things you can't do on Facebook that the Table is designed to do.

Like targeted messages.

One of the secret joys of social networks is the demographic data. Advertisers love it. They can narrowly target specific people and not waste time and money reaching people who don't fit.

That can be pretty handy for a church. Announcements that only appeal to a small minority don't need to go to the entire church.

Targeted Messages on the Table
The Table makes targeted messaging simple and easy with the tip bar. It's the yellow bar that appears below the menu and above the content. It's a place where SuperAdmins can put targeted messages. You can target people based on age, gender, location and interest, as well as targeting your staff.

It's a great way to put up reminders and announcements for specific groups. Learn more about how to use the tip bar.

Targeted Messages on Facebook
Even though you have a whole list of people who like your page and want your messages, the only way to do targeted messages on Facebook is to pay for an ad.

Ouch. You can't do that on Facebook.

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You Can't Do That on Facebook: Privacy

People often point to Facebook and wonder why the church would even need the Table. Facebook is ideal for outreach, but it falls short at building community. That's what the Table is all about. We encourage churches to use Facebook and the Table together. But the fact is there are things you can't do on Facebook that the Table is designed to do.

Like privacy.

Privacy on the Table
The Table is a private network. It's not open to the entire world like Facebook is. It's just the people who attend your church. You can find a certain level of intimacy in smaller social networks. Bigger isn't always better. Nothing you post online is 100% private, but the Table is inherently more local, more trusting, more connected.

You can post a prayer request to the Table and know that the whole world won't see it. If it's especially sensitive you can share it within a group instead of your whole church or even post an anonymous prayer request.

Plus, you get that level of privacy without thinking about it. You don't have to check your settings or set up a special group that's exclusive to the people in your church. The network is ready to go.

Privacy on Facebook
You won't find that level of privacy on Facebook. Your church's page is available to the whole world. Anybody can see anything you post there. And that's how it should be—Facebook is more about outreach. But that doesn't leave room for community-building, discipleship or intimate sharing—those activities don't work on a stage.

You can set up more private groups on Facebook or share things to more limited circles of people, but you have to set all that up and it's not automatically connected to your church. It's a lot of work, and when you're sharing something important and private, you shouldn't have to jump through those technological hurdles.

There's also no anonymous on Facebook. You either share it openly or you keep it to yourself.

Privacy Examples
We've seen firsthand how the private community of the Table creates a safe place for sharing and even openness. Here are a few examples:

• One couple shared their struggle with infertility on the Prayer Wall. There were more than 35 comments posted and multiple people came up to them on Sunday morning sharing that they'd gone through the same thing.
• One person was struggling with depression and thinking about suicide. They posted an anonymous prayer request and had more than 30 comments supporting them and lifting them up in prayer. A couple people even offered to meet in person, making it easy for the anonymous person by saying they'd be at a coffee shop at a specific time.
• A private community makes sharing and connecting safer, as we've seen people share airplane rides, connected with roommates and found babysitters.
• Sometimes struggling with your faith is not something you want to do in a public Facebook status update, but you still need help and support. That's what Patrick found in the Table as his family was baptized.

Privacy gives you the safety to be more open and honest. You can't do that on Facebook.

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You Can't Do That on Facebook: Groups Directory

People often point to Facebook and wonder why the church would even need the Table. Facebook is ideal for outreach, but it falls short at building community. That's what the Table is all about. We encourage churches to use Facebook and the Table together. But the fact is there are things you can't do on Facebook that the Table is designed to do.

Like having a groups directory.

You can set up as many groups as you want on the Table. They can be official ministry groups like women's ministry, youth group or your small group, or they can be fun groups based on interests, like football fans, music heads or knitters. You can designate official groups and even make groups private.

You can create the same kinds of groups on Facebook. But good luck finding them. There's no connection between those groups and your church. If someone visits your church's Facebook Page, there's no automatic way to find all your groups. That makes connecting and plugging in kind of hard. There might be some manual work arounds, but that's staff time to set up, requires constant maintenance and discourages people from setting up their own groups.

But it's different on the Table. There's an entire directory of groups:

• You can browse through them all to find the group for you.
• You can search for a group that might appeal to your interests.
• You can launch your own group and invite others to join you.

You can do groups on Facebook, but you can't do interconnected groups. Which is really what happens in church, right? You've got your entire church, but then you have all kinds of groups within your church. The Table's groups directory was designed with that in mind: Simple groups that are easy to find and encourage connection.

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You Can't Do That on Facebook: Map Your Church Members

People often point to Facebook and wonder why the church would even need the Table. Facebook is ideal for outreach, but it falls short at building community. That's what the Table is all about. We encourage churches to use Facebook and the Table together. But the fact is there are things you can't do on Facebook that the Table is designed to do.

Like mapping your congregation.

The Table offers a map view of all the people in your church. There they are, little people icons spread across the map. Each one gives you a general idea where people in your church live (icons are shown within a half-mile of the actual address to protect privacy).

• You can see who in your church lives in your neighborhood.
• You can plan a small group or an evening hang out based on location.
• You can find a central location to have a meeting.

It makes planning and connecting that much easier. You can't do that on Facebook. And with a worldwide social network, you probably wouldn't want to. Sometimes smaller is better.

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You Can't Do That on Facebook: Church Directory

People often point to Facebook and wonder why the church would even need the Table. Facebook is ideal for outreach, but it falls short at building community. That's what the Table is all about. We encourage churches to use Facebook and the Table together. But the fact is there are things you can't do on Facebook that the Table is designed to do.

Like having a church directory.

The Table gives you a picture directory of your church. It's an easy way to connect with your congregation, whether you're meeting an old friend or getting to know a new one. You can learn names, search for interests and skills and even find contact information.

Not so much on Facebook. If your church has a Facebook Page, the best you can see is your fellow friends who also like the church page or maybe you can click on people who comment. But there's no easy way to meet people you don't know. There's no way to see all the people in your church. There's no way to connect and interact, unless you're already friends.

But with the Table's directory, you can do so much more:

• You can find and connect with new people.
• You can search for interests and invite people to join a new group.
• You can use the random feature to learn names.
• You can use the map to find out who lives in your neighborhood.
• You can use your mobile device to look someone up when you forget their name.

There are all these ways to connect as a body. You can't do any of that on Facebook.

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You Can't Do That on Facebook: Prayer

People often point to Facebook and wonder why the church would even need the Table. Facebook is ideal for outreach, but it falls short at building community. That's what the Table is all about. We encourage churches to use Facebook and the Table together. But the fact is there are things you can't do on Facebook that the Table is designed to do.

Like prayer.

Prayer on the Table
The Table is designed to encourage people to pray for one another. You can't say that about Facebook. When you post a prayer request to the Table two things happen. First, an email alert goes out to everyone in your church who asks to receive those prayer updates (there are several settings). These are people waiting to pray for you. Second, every time someone clicks the ‘pray now' button and prays for you, you can get an email letting you know. It's instant encouragement in your time of need. (Here's a quick look at how prayer works on the Table).

Prayer on Facebook
Now it's true that prayer can and does happen on Facebook. And praise God that it does. People can post a status update asking for prayer, and people can pray for them. But it's not designed to encourage prayer like the Table. Facebook may send out notifications depending on people's settings, but no matter their settings they weren't signing up to receive prayer requests. In fact, posting a prayer request as a status update may mean it gets lost in the thread of political rants, weird links and kid photos. Prayer requests on Facebook would also only go to your circle of friends, where on the Table you can get church-wide prayer. We've heard stories of people praying for people they've never met and then introducing themselves at church. That's cool.

Designed for Prayer
Prayer might happen on Facebook, but it's designed to happen on the Table. We've heard that people are praying more because of the Table. That's because the Table inherently encourages prayer.

Need an example? Granger Community Church has had almost 1,000 prayer requests on the Table in four months. On Facebook they've had three.

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You Wouldn't Do That on Facebook

People often ask why the Table is necessary if we already have Facebook and other social media networks. It's a good question with a simple answer: The Table is a smaller, safer, more intimate community. It encourages a different kind of connection that you rarely find on a worldwide network.

Would you post the following on Facebook?

• Your failures with [fill in the blank sin].
• Your struggles with [fill in the blank hardship].
• Your frustrations with [fill in the blank person].

Facebook lacks a certain sensitivity. Throwing out status updates and sharing pictures doesn't always accommodate confession, forgiveness or grace. Unfortunately, there's a lot of judgment out there. It can be scary to open up, and more often than not people won't. We worry about what friends, family and even employers might think.

But the smaller community of the Table offers an intimate space that's not scary, but safe. There's a sensitivity that you won't find on Facebook because the Table is rooted in real-life community.

It's also true with the more mundane. Would you be willing to share the following with the world on Facebook?

• Your address.
• Your stuff.
• Your needs.

Once again, sometimes Facebook is a little too big. Maybe you're having a board game night and you want to invite lots of people, but posting your address on Facebook seems like a little much. Sharing it with a smaller group on the Table might feel more comfortable. Likewise, you might be willing to share your chainsaw, favorite DVD or a pie pan, but you're not going to post it to Facebook where half your friends live hundreds of miles away. And your needs? It's hard to ask for help, and on Facebook that can feel a little awkward. What happens when someone questions your need?

Not so on the Table. It's designed for sharing and helping. It's not awkward, it's welcome. The smaller, more intimate community also makes it comfortable. It's like gathering with your friends around, well, the kitchen table. Facebook, on the other hand, is more like standing around on the street corner. You can have great conversations and meet amazing people while walking down the street, but it's probably not the place you'd pick for a sensitive conversation.

Facebook simply isn't designed for these kinds of connections. But the Table is. Not only that, but most of these scenarios have actually happened on the Table (just read some of our stories). People have been more open than we expected, sharing intimate and private concerns with their church family and being lifted up in support, prayer and love.

As John Piper said when describing a woman who shared a difficult struggle on the Table, "This is not Facebook, this is our church." This isn't about embracing technology, it's about being the body of Christ.

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If you have a story about making these kinds of connections on the Table, share it in our Birthday Video Contest. You could win an iPad!

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Finding Jobs & Answering Prayers

Thomas needed a job and prayer for his daugther, and through the Table, God delivered. For Thomas, the Table is having a bigger impact than some of the big boys:

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