photo credit: http://www.talkandroid.com
I need to admit something to you. I secretly read all the web/tech blogs. I love it. I can’t get enough. Ask me the difference between the ‘interest graph’ and the ‘social graph,’ and I’ll have an answer. Propose to me all your reasons why the laptop is an evolutionary dead-end, and I’ll add three more reasons.
I think I’m so into this stuff because more pure innovation happens here than anywhere else. The lessons begging to be learned and applied in other fields are endless. Such is the case with the raging war between Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android.
To be up front with you, I operate on Android–phone and tablet–but I choose not to get into the petty word battles. I think Apple products are amazing. Steve Jobs will be remembered less as a computer genius and more as an artist. But the benefits of Android in my opinion are worth the draw-backs.
Nevertheless, Android and the ‘Fandroids’ love slinging mud at Apple and her followers, and the latter have no problem throwing it right back. The fundamental argument is over what Apple calls Android’s problem of ‘fragmentation.’ Here’s the simple version:
Because only two hardware platforms use iOS–iPhone and iPad–the people who develop our precious Apps have very little work to do in order to make sure the Apps function perfectly, regardless of your device. Android on the other hand runs on 216 unique devices at last count, manufactured by more than 20 companies. 216! That means when an App developer wants to make your life easier when it comes to, say, choosing a restaurant, he has to consider how it might scale differently on each of the 216 devices, not to mention all the different screen sizes or versions of the OS. (Too much geek talk? Let me get to the point.)
Apple and Google say they see this issue differently. While Google say their ecosystem is ‘inclusive’ (‘look at all the devices you can choose!’), Apple calls it fragmented (‘Don’t expect an App to work on your Xoom just because it works on your Razr.) And herein lies the problem–which is better? An operating system that works perfectly but only on two devices? Or one that gives you tons of device and brand options but may not offer the same experience across them all?
The answer isn’t easy. It’s a philosophical debate. And we face the same dilemma in the church at so many levels. Shouldn’t we ‘be all things to all people?’ But if we attempt to make the gospel work across all ‘platforms,’ isn’t that diluting the message? What about weekend services–hymns, drums, liturgies–do you try to be ‘inclusive’ in your styles? Or does that just lead to ‘fragmentation?’ If we say no to inclusion, well, isn’t that… exclusive? Are we OK with that?
What’s your answer? Should our ecclesiology–the way we do church–be functional across our own platforms at the risk of exclusivity, or should it work in countless ways, at the risk of fragmentation?
Tags: Android, Apple, church, discipleship, evangelism, fragmentation, Google, iOS, iPad, iPhone, Razr, Steve Jobs, traditional vs. contemporary, Xoom
Worship should be an individual expression of our love for God. If a church is comfortable with ye olden hymns, etc. GREAT!! Just not my “thing”. The “Apple” experience is wonderful. The problem sets in when other people from outside the group come to do things differently. It becomes a “raging war”. Do we, or don’t we change? “We’ve always done it that way!” is never an excuse. It’s being lazy.
Does it fragment the church experience? Of course not. But it should be an ongoing growth process.
Is it OK to limit your focus? Sure it is. But again, keep in mind that the Body of Christ is a growing, moving body. It does not stay stagnant.
There are plenty of bodies who have other ministries. What we need to do is “pull our resources together.” What would be wrong with forming a resource hotline, so that churches can send people to bodies that they would feel more welcome.
I see the individual church an Apple body, whereas the local churches (as a group) are an Android.
We need to distinguish the difference between the individual church (the cell), the local Christian community (the molecule), all the way up to God…. (my beloved.)
BTW: I just LOVE my laptop.
Thanks for posting Bob. Great insights. My one apprehension is related to the ‘individualism’ concept. If we provide a resource hotline that lists different churches with different styles so that one can choose what style he most prefers, aren’t we just playing into the idea that the individual is most important? It sounds like a ‘menu’ or buffet–it sounds consumer-centric. Should the church be using a model like that? Or is there a different way?
maybe we should be like best buy… where you can get what you need for both…
my personal mission is to tell the eternal story of Christ in as many ways possible.
if that is true, i can’t limit myself to the awesomeness afforded my by all of my iProducts… but utilize the most effective means available.
so with church… we need to focus on the most effective ways to share and spread the life-giving message of eternal hope… strategically.
our devices dont work unless we set them up in a specific framework or operating system.
our ministry strategies have less chance of success unless we set them up in a a specific framework or operating system.
if there is a shared operating system (the gospel, the Bible) then it should work cohesively when operating in God’s will. right? and have malfunctions, freezes and error messages when diverging from his will.
Thx for posting Robyn. I think you’re hitting on some important stuff here. I think the big question that we’re all trying to sort out is, “What, then, are the most effective ways to share and spread…?” And thanks for humoring my analogy–awesome… So grateful for your involvement in this conversation Robyn!!!
Google has been recently conducting hour long focus groups at their EMEA headquarters offices in Dublin. The groups are asked a vaiety of questions regarding the impact of social networking on their lives both on and off the internet, with a pervasive interest in the way people interact with friends and family.