The Fish Company Newsletter
Ok folks out there. I’ve got a little issue. I have no idea how many people find their way to this blog that would cause any 4th grade english teacher to jump off the nearest cliff but I’m in need of your help. I have decided to take an unconventional route in writing a news letter for Student Life. For some of you who don’t know that’s who I work for. Anyway put that out of your head and forget about that. Anyway our department was asked to take on News letters for lets use a code name “The Fish Company.” So as you will read in the brief description below I’m taking the fish company’s newsletter more towards a sort of online magazine. This could pretty much bomb but hey life is filled with risk right? Well here I am. {Oh dont worry there is a copy editor.} Anyway. I’m looking for people from the blogesphere who should have their musing and insights brought to light. I have already asked for and commissioned some of you for help. Aaron Ivey, Steven Bush, Dustin Beasley, Taylor Robinson. I am at the moment working on my article called “Im thirty and haven’t changed the world…yet” Let me know if you would like to be part of this endeavor. Lets help each other as we navigate not being quite dead yet. “Figure that out” I want us to be heard and I want to give you a voice. So let’s talk. Feel free to pass this on. I’m looking for some ladies.
The Fish Company Newsletter
Why a newsletter?
A couple of weeks ago I was approached to take on the task of revitalizing the newsletters for The Fish Company. These newsletters will go out to Youth Ministers and adults who are involved with The Fish Company in some way. The first question I asked was what’s the age group of our audience? I knew the groups we were sending the newsletters to, but I needed to know the age of the typical reader. They then asked me what age group I would like to target.
I thought about it a bit and answered, “Mine.”
What does that mean you ask? It means this: I can pretty much write—and direct others to write—for people 20-35 years old. Any older than that and I start to get out of my area of expertise. They agreed, so here we are.
So why this newsletter? Simple. The Fish company would like to communicate with the leaders they serve. I believe there is an age group of ministers, both male and female, that have many of the same struggles and joys that we here at The Fish Company have. But, honestly, we don’t talk about this enough with each other. I believe that ministers my age are looking to connect more and more with each other and with the world around them. My hope for this newsletter is not just to show you the new things going on at The Fish Company, but for it to be a place where you can be challenged and educated about the world around you.
What’s in it?
I want this to be more than a newsletter. Whereas normal newsletters let you know the happenings of an organization, this newsletter will show the heart of an organization. Many of the articles you’ll read will either be written by people at The Fish Company, or people I have met in the blog world. My hope is that as this continues to grow we can solicit people outside of my circle. The first few issues will rely heavily on story ideas from the Fish Company staff. As the newsletter evolves, the goal is for readers to contribute to stories, expressing their collective desire to communicate with this generation of youth workers.
I want this newsletter to be informative and entertaining without being too heavy. My thought is that a person should be able to read every article in one sitting. That’s why the length of the articles will only range from 400-600 words. But the newsletter won’t just be writing. Here is what we are planning in terms of structure.
There are four distinct sections that we will always have in each issue.
Media— The media section will cover all things media, from how to use it correctly to what it accomplishes. During our events we get a lot of ministers that ask how we did a certain video or set, and what type of equipment to they need to do it. In the media section we will give users a little peek under the hood, and also give a little advice how to meaningfully use media.
World— We believe the world is our community. We can no longer only consider things that happen in the US as the end of the story. In the world section we want ministers outside of the country to have a place to be heard. We want the newsletter to be a place where we highlight the work they are doing. We want to encourage ministers to guide their students towards lives of servanthood. The world section will be used to expand minters’ and students’ worldviews.
Message— The message section is in tended to be the voice of the twenty-to-thirtysomething youth worker. After all, we are part of a unique place in history. We grew up watching technology make incredible strides. We watched as computers became integrated into our daily lives. We saw the start of the worship movement. And in our professional lives, we are transitioning from being managed to being mangers. In the message section our hope is to deal with issues that effect our students . . . and us.
Truth— It seems over the past few years there has been a resurgence of the Bible not just being what we open to teach our students, but a book central to our daily lives. During the truth section, we will always come back to what the Bible says about a particular issue. I believe we sometimes forget how truly practical the Bible is. We assume that “teaching and rebuking” is only meant for our students. In the truth section we will tackle big issues and work through them together.
Marketing— The name says it all, right?
Waste of Time— The waste of time section is just that. From Youtube clips, to podcasts, to interesting websites, to flash video games . . . you’ll find it here. Listen, we know you are busy. Everyone needs a few moments of down time to unwind. You’ll find plenty of options for doing just that in the waste of time section.
Extra— The extra section will be a sort of bonus section for us. We want to keep you in the loop of the cool books we’re reading, blogs that have affected us, music we are listening to, and so on.
So there it is.
dustin
June 18, 2008 at 5:19 am //
Hey Drew,
Just so you know I haven’t forgotten about this. I’m actually super stoked to do this. I have been telling all my family and friends. Anyway, I have been moving from Hawaii to DC, so it has been a bit hectic. I will get to it this week so you have time to go over it etc.
Thanks again for this opportunity.
Dustin