Status Update. How well is the Church reaching out to People in the digital Age?

Abstract

The industry term for the appeal of a Web site is “sticky”. Visitors (or “eyeballs”) stick to a site if it is interesting, lively, useful, provocative, and generally appealing. Conversely, the “bounce rate” refers to how frequently initial visitors navigate away from a page to a different site. Sticky is good; bouncy is bad.

How bouncy or sticky are Catholic Web sites? More broadly, how well is the church using social and digital media in its mission to spread the Gospel? Since “the church” can mean many things, let’s narrow the topic down: How well are those who work in church organizations in this country using social and digital media? (...)