What do you think when you see this?

Now you may be wondering what this is above these written words – well if you have a web enabled phone, go to the BeeTag website and get the free BeeTag reader. Once you get it loaded, use it to scan in (yes, you can use the camera on a cell phone or “handy” as a “bar code” scanner) and it will ask you if you want to download some information. That information is my vCard (virtual Business Card) and will automatically add it to your phone contact list. It’s like taking a picture to enter in a web address (no sitting there having to hit the same button multiple times just to get one letter). Sweet huh?

The business world is looking at this type of technology and saying, “How can we use this to get our message out, motivate people to purchase more, etc?” As you can see in this video (–> http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?cl=9281962), Ralph Lauren is going to be putting these types of tags on their merchandise, on their ads, everywhere! They want you to be able to purchase their stuff where ever you might be cuz you’ve always got your cell phone with you (that’s why Germans call them “handys”). We’re starting to see them on soda bottles to connect buyers to online promotions, on business cards to make sure its easy to get your info into your prospective clients phones, as a means of document management and workflow management, etc. The cell phone is becoming a larger part of people’s everyday lives.

Now when I see technology like this, I begin to wonder how it can be used to bring people closer to God. I look at the weird image above and wonder if we created a website made for cell phones about God’s love and grace, made stickers with the above type image and then plastered them all around town – would people respond to them? What if we used it to link to videos about helping people through depression, loneliness, addictions? It’s not about the technology. It’s about connecting people to God – just using technology to make the connection.