On May 21, 2009, Pope2You was released. A Web portal featuring links to Facebook, YouTube and also iPhone applications. It seems Pope Benedict XVI is reaching out to a younger audience with a hat full of tricks they'll appreciate. Today, there are nearly 4 million visits.
On May 24, The Pope made an address that supported the use of social media and introduced the Web Portal.
Adam Isserlis, VP and director of digital media for Rubenstein, made a statement we appreciated: “I think it was a good move for them from a PR perspective...[Social media] ties into their idea of community and responsibility and communication between individuals and members of the church."
Why wouldn't The Pope get on-board with Web 2.0 Efforts? Web 2.o as a whole is a huge movement! There are a lot of people to reach out to and it was only a matter of time for not only businesses to utilize these tools, but also organized groups like Catholicism.
Monsignor Paul Tighe, the Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications who will be running the portal, made a very 'real' statement: “Obviously, we can't change the message, but we do have to recognize the culture in which we live.”
To view the article refrenced above on PRWeekUS, you may have to login. So, just note that you can read a similar article on The Chicago Tribune.
-Jacq (@jacqsmith)
