Launched a new look based on Marcos Sader’s equiX design.

Monk Development has launched a concept (3Prophet System) we thought was somewhat revolutionary in the web/seo world. It turns out the Editor of Wired Magazine wrote about this in October 2004 and coined the phrase the Long Tail.

The 3Prophet System allows companies to target 3 & 4 word phrases people search for online. We launched Musolist (some SEO Results) and it has worked so well we plan on launching a few more sites. (Chic Salons, League List, Direct Mortgage Group, Time to Get Awesome!, MusoSource, IT People and more…all of these will be aggregated at ZipWatch)

The phrase “The Long Tail”, as a proper noun, was first coined1 by Chris Anderson. Beginning in a series of speeches in early 2004 and culminating with the publication of a Wired Magazine article in October 2004, Anderson described the effects of the long tail on current and future business models. Anderson observed that products that are in low demand or have low sales volume can collectively make up a market share that rivals or exceeds the relatively few current bestsellers and blockbusters, if the store or distribution channel is large enough. Examples of such mega-stores include Amazon.com, Netflix and even Wikipedia. The Long Tail is a potential market and, as the examples illustrate, successfully tapping in to that long tail market is often enabled by the distribution and sales channel opportunities the Internet creates. (Full wikipedia on the long tail.)

One of my favorite quotes came from Joe Kraus, a founder of Excite. “The top 10 searches were thousands of times more popular than the average search, yet these top-10 searches represented only 3% of our total volume. 97% of our traffic came from the ‘long tail’ – queries asked a little over once a day.” (full Long Tail post)

“The Pentecostal church is the fastest growing movement in the history of the world. It has grown from nowhere to half-a-billion people,” said Pastor Todd Hudnall. “God is fulfilling his great commission to the world using the Pentecostal church. Pentecostal Power is all about Acts 1:8 power, to be a witness to God.” In Acts 1:8, Jesus promised the church power through the Holy Spirit to evangelize the entire world. Pentecostals hold a distinctive belief that there is a second baptism for believers. “The first baptism is into Christ. The second baptism is into the Holy Spirit,” said Hudnall. “It is an empowering of what you could not have done before. For me, [my second baptism] gave me a new exuberance and passion. [Christians] have a tendency to become satisfied and complacent with what we’ve received,” said Hudnall.

Full Article: San Diego First Assembly

“There is a renewal of interest in the Reformed faith from people who have grown weary of the subjectivity of the broad evangelical faith,” said Pastor Stephen Donovan. “In the first 45 years of our church’s existence [Escondido United Reformed Church], we attempted to plant a handful of churches. But of all these churches that were started, only one survived.” Donovan said in the past five years, their church has helped start two successful churches. “For [a Reformed church] this is radical.” The Reformed tradition may be best known by the name Calvinism. A central belief of Calvinism is that salvation is based on God’s choice and an individual’s faith is a gift from God. “People’s faces light up in response to the [doctrine] of the Reformed faith. They say, ‘you mean to tell me it’s not what I’ve done but it’s what Christ has done that saves me?’,” said Pastor Phil Vos. Pastor Vos said there is no other faith like that of the Reformed tradition. “Other faiths all seem to have a works-based righteousness in them. Heretical movements like Jehovah’s Witnesses or Mormons are all works-based.” Vos said works-based faith can be found in many evangelical churches. Vos said the response Reformed Christians should have is a life of obedience based on gratitude.

Full Article Escondido United Reform Church >

“Traditional churches are in a panic. A lot of pastors are tired. They have lost their love for people, for the lost, and the ability to innovate. These pastors hope they can survive for ten more years because they have no other vocation. These pastors feel threatened. They think they will be replaced by younger pastors,” said Pastor Bill Impey. Impey said he knows pastors who have been replaced. In one case, “The pastor’s congregation forced him out. The congregation wanted to go in a different direction than the pastor.”

Full Article: Grace San Diego Church

Pastor Mitchum’s sermon began with a 15-minute story about wild pigs and a family trip to San Luis Obispo. On this trip, Mitchum and his daughter prayed that God would send a big wild pig. “I knew if this prayer isn’t answered it will take a big dent out of [my daughter's] faith,” said Mitchum to the 35 people who attended the morning service. After the prayer, a 400-pound pig emerged from behind a car. Mitchum said his daughter smiled, looked over to him, and said, “Daddy, prayer works.” Prior to the sermon, communion was served in thimble-sized cups and as fragments of cracker. “The Lord can relate to our weaknesses and took our weaknesses to the cross,” a man said as people partook of communion. Pastor Mitchum preached from the 27th chapter of Acts. In Mitchum’s sermon he read a passage from the Bible and then reworded the text as the sermon’s message. “It is the same fire that melts the wax that also hardens the clay,” Mitchum said of responses people have to the message of Jesus Christ.

Full Article: Calvary Chapel Point Loma

I downloaded and installed the Google Accelerator. So far in 1 hour of browsing I’ve saved 9.4 seconds. I’m taking my life back with this time. I will now use this 9 seconds to relax……….I feel better. Of course you’ve now caught up with the time I was ahead so back to work!

“In a traditional church, God is over here,” said Paula Brandes as she reached her hand away from her body. “In Religious Science, God is within us. We don’t have to reach out to find God. We see God as our equal.” Brandes serves as the teacher for the children’s group at Midtown Church. “Christians want to be your parent, laying down the law for you. Christians, and most religions, have all sorts of rules. Christians have a need for this. They need and want this structure.” Brandes compared Christians to children who thrive in a disciplined environment. “For me, I don’t want a structure. I don’t want to pray to God, I want to pray with God. I am equal with God. I know this seems so New Age, and yet it is inherent in who we are as people. If people were given their own free choice, I think they’d want this. I just can’t see God as a god who wants to be the boss as [these other religions do].

Full Article: Midtown Church (United Church of Religious)

Last time I had to throw something up in one night so I re-did my Monk Development site. Monk Development delivers web-based strategies for clients who want to expand in the internet arena. (Web development, Search Engine Marketing, Viral Marketing, Search Engine Optimization.)

“The Apostolic Church is probably the only truly orthodox church. We teach the apostles doctrine from the original 12 apostles. We do not follow post-apostolic teachings,” said Bishop Joel David Trout. “For example, we are not a classic Trinitarian church, where there are three separate and co-equal, co-eternal persons. We believe there is only one God. He was manifest in the flesh as Jesus. We reject the idea that God the Father was revealed in Jesus. We reject people inserting language besides how God describes God. People don’t understand the trinity. It is extra-biblical.” Bishop Trout went on to tell me that “Catholics and Eastern Orthodox are an amalgamation of paganism with Christianity that was not part of the first-century church. If they want to continue the traditions of Peter, then do so. They have extra-biblical teachings.”

Full Article: North Park Apostolic Church

In the 35-minute sermon, Pastor Brawner included jokes, humorous stories, a fairy tale, and a comment about the Chargers. At one point Brawner said, “The Apostle Paul was a golfer. You can tell this because Paul said, ‘That which I want to do, I don’t do. That which I don’t want to do, I do.’ A joke that referenced Romans 7:15. The simple sermon made five points and concluded with, “Like Jonah, We Are Invited To Run ______ God!” The congregation wrote in “with” as the final point.

Bonita Valley Community Church Article

“Kabbalah is a spiritual wisdom that precedes all religions. It was founded over 4000 years ago. Kabbalah is not really a religion or Jewish mysticism but a spiritual technology. Kabbalah teaches people how to attain lasting fulfillment. The tools of Kabbalah provide peace of mind, transformation, and the ability to rid ourselves of uncertainty in our lives. Kabbalah exposes the real nature of God. God is nothing more or less than a lasting energy. God is not a god that punishes us or rewards us. It is people who follow religions with a mindset of ‘God is doing this’ that are missing the real game.” Joseph Shvili told the class that the rules of the game are like natural laws. “Gravity has nothing to do with being Protestant or Catholic. It’s a principle of the universe. If you know the principles, you can play the game and win.”

The Kabbalah Centre article >

“If you have A.D.D., this is the church for you,” read San Diego Church’s advertisement. “People have commented that they do have A.D.D. and love that we do service under an hour,” said Pastor Chad Furlong. “We strive to create a relaxed environment. We all sit at round tables, dress in casual clothes, and offer food in the middle of service. Often, in the middle of service, we take a five- to eight-minute break to eat, grab coffee, and talk.”

Full article on San Diego Church >

I spoke to Father Aquino who moved here several years ago from the Philippines. “In the Philippines, the Church is more traditional and conservative. In America, there is more of a liberal belief in the Catholic Church. I think people call them Cafeteria Catholics. These people take from the Church what is good for them and if it isn’t good, they discard it,” said Aquino. “For example, the Church in the Philippines teaches respect for human life. Here, a lot of Catholics go out and get abortions.”

St. John of the Cross Article >

“The Salvation Army Church is closely affiliated with the Protestant Church, except that we have no public observations of the sacraments,” remarked Dabis about the church. Dabis said the Salvation Army believes Jesus spoke figuratively about breaking bread. “We see baptism and communion as symbolism of an inward resolve. Something that has taken place inwardly, so we don’t need to do them outwardly. This idea of communion is something we do whenever we eat.”

Full article on the San Diego Citadel Corps >