Perhaps the Word&Way site (wordandway.org) looks a little different to you. It should. The present incarnation was launched on April 9 and is the result of a collaboration of the four New Voice Media partners: Baptist Standard of Texas, Religious Herald of Virginia, Associated Baptist Press and, of course, Word&Way.
The Brainstorm Lab, a Macon, Ga.-based firm, developed the new site and our partner sites.
Look closely at our site and you will find "rich media" — like audio and video clips — and options for commenting on stories that appear on our site. The site is even more interactive than our previous one.
Blogs are another innovation. This is my first, and it needs a name. Hence, the current title: "Name This Blog." I'm not very creative with such things, so feel free to make your suggestions. (Let's be serious; nothing disparaging, please.)
I would be remiss — Word&Way would be remiss — if I failed to acknowledge the wonderful contribution made by our previous Web designer, Chris Brown. I came to know Chris after his mother, Vicki Brown, joined our staff in early 2002, first as news writer and later as associate editor.
Chris is one of those whiz-kid Web site developers with a heart for helping churches and other religious organizations with their Web site needs. A missionary kid who spent some of his growing-up years in Tanzania, Chris noticed that we did not have a site at the time his mother joined Word&Way. So he volunteered to design and launch one for us — virtually pro bono.
Chris recently sold his business — Fundi Technologies. Fundi is the Swahili word for expert. His phase-out pretty well coincided with our transfer to the collaborative site with our New Voice partners.
We will always be indebted to Chris for developing our earlier site and then updating it with several innovations. He was always very responsive to needs involving the site and our staff e-mail accounts. And even though he is highly qualified "geek," he communicates in understandable English most of the time.
Thanks again, Chris. We are indebted to you.