Pastoral New Media Specialist The role of a Pastoral New Media Specialist is to digitally proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources (images, videos, animated features, blogs, websites) which, alongside traditional means, can open up broad new vistas for dialogue, evangelization and catechesis1.
Basically you are a missionary digital disciple for non-traditional media (meaning the digital world). Here you have room to be inventive: Digital media is new and constantly growing, meaning there are no tried-and-true rules as to how to use it most effectively. That’s your job to figure out. You start this job by meeting with your parish leadership (pastor, parish council, and members of the media team) to figure out where the parish is interested in focusing (i.e., if the parish does not have a website, to assist in developing a digital presence of the parish or if the parish has a website, to explore how this website may integrate social media tools into its digital footprint). Then work with them to develop a digital media strategy (i.e. a plan to proclaim the Gospel through non-traditional communication means.) Once you and the parish are in strategic agreement, you are responsible for the implementation. You’ll use websites, blogs, podcasts, twitter, viral videos; any form of digital media you think might best express your parish’s message. This requires you to stay on top of new web trends so you can find the best way for your parish to have a constant voice out on the internet. So you’ll be doing things like updating on blogs, and finding new YouTube viewers. This field dabbles in a lot of areas, including social media, web design and educational technology. You can choose which end of the technological spectrum you want to work in. But either way you need good communication skills and a love for all things online and digital; if you think twitter is still something only birds do, then this job may not be the best fit. However if you are constantly online, finding new communities and ways to connect with them, then consider jumping in on this quickly growing field.
How do I become a Pastoral New Media Specialist? You’ll need sterling writing skills, or a solid technical background, or have background in educational technology to get into this field, and a degree helps prove those credentials to potential employers. You may also enter into this field through the more roundabout way of blogging until you become popular and therefore noticed, but this job path can take years and frankly, you don’t get paid to blog. Attending school not only gives you the basic background 1
"The Priest and Pastoral Ministry in a Digital World: New Media at the Service of the Word" [Sunday, 16 May 2010]
skills, but also can set you up with internships and connections, two things that always help a job search.
Adapted from: New Media Specialist (Inside Jobs) http://www.insidejobs.com/jobs/new-mediaspecialist