Hi avid readers,
Thought this maybe of interest…
Pope2You: Vatican Launches IPhone and Facebook Apps - By
Frederic Lardinois
The
Catholic Church isn't exactly know for its speedy adoption of new technologies,
but today the Vatican launched
a new web portal, as well as a Facebook
app to coincide with the upcoming 43rd World Communications Day. In addition,
the Vatican also announced an iPhone application. The iPhone application has
not been approved by Apple yet, (even the Vatican's apps gets scoured for porn
and profanities, we assume), but the Facebook app is available now.
None
of these apps look to be groundbreaking in either design or functionality. The
iPhone/iPod touch app, once approved, will give users the ability to watch
videos and hear speeches by Pope Benedict XVI, as well as other content from
Catholic events worldwide.
The
Facebook app, which is currently loading very slowly, is also not exactly the
most groundbreaking app either. Facebook users will be able to send and receive
20 different virtual postcards of the pope, with texts available in English,
French, German, Italian, and Spanish (with Latin being conspicuously absent
here). According to the app's description, installing it will allow you to
"Spread friendship with the Pope and become a witness of Christ in the world
through the web."
In
January this year, the Vatican also launched
its YouTube channel, though
so far, none of the videos posted there have gone viral yet.
For
now, however, users who were hoping to get a chance to poke the pope or even
just friend him on Facebook are out of luck, as the pope does not have an
official Facebook profile, yet.
Looking forward to Kenyan IT developers and enthusiasts
following suite in and using social media and the internet applications in the
same way. What do you guys think?