14 DAY TRIAL // We should have seen this coming – the Pope has launched his own Facebook application. It looks like everybody is getting on the social media bandwagon now though, admittedly, Twitter has been the new hip celebrity hang-out in recent months. Now it's Facebook's time in the spotlight, as Pope Benedict XVI launched Pope2You. With a name like that it's guaranteed to be a hit with the cool kids today.
This isn't the pontiff's first foray into the social media world as last year saw the launch of his own YouTube channel as a way for the church to stay connected to its followers. The launch was not only of the application but also of an accompanying web site and an iPhone app. Here's what the Vatican had to say about Pope2You.
“Pope2You for Facebook lets you receive the messages of Pope Benedict XVI through the most important social network of the world. So you can meet the Pope on Facebook, listen to his words, see his pictures, receive his messages of congratulations through “virtual postcards”. The postcards can be sent to your “friends” on Facebook and the application can be shared with anyone.”
The iPhone and iPod Touch application doesn't do much and is more like an extension of the previously mentioned YouTube channel. “The H2Onews application for the iPhone and iPod Touch brings you timely, insightful news about the life of the Church in the world. In collaboration with the Vatican Television Center and Vatican Radio,H2Onews connects you with video and audio news from the Vatican.”
These steps are a nice change for the historically conservative Catholic Church but it looks like they, along with just about any other old media or corporation trying to get in the social media game, don't really understand what it is all about and are treating social networks like just another news outlet. Still, they're going in the right direction.