Four years ago it didn't exist. Today, it's a thriving community. Thousands of Church members worldwide (and even a few non-Mormons) have joined together through an online website called LDSTech (tech.lds.org) to solve problems, share information and work on projects that further the mission of the Church.
Tom Welch, Technology Community Manager for the Church, was hired in 2006 to garner a community of online volunteers. The LDSTech website officially launched in 2007 as a "content only" site designed to share information about technology solutions that the Church is working on and for Church clerks to get help with technology problems associated with their callings.
For example, members could come to the site to find out how to troubleshoot MLS computer software issues, set up satellite feeds and fix equipment. It eventually evolved into an online community consisting of volunteers and Church employees working together to achieve three specific goals:
1. To enlist volunteers and collaborate with the LDSTech community on Church-sponsored technology projects.
2. To encourage community discussion, support, help and feedback about technology and how it can help people serve in the Church.
3. To communicate to the public how technology is being used by the Church.
LDSTech is self-regulated by its members who police discussions and answer questions. Brother Welch said, "One day we had computer bots attack our site by filling out hundreds of dummy registrations on our forum. Our members stayed up all night deleting the registrations as they came in, keeping the site safe until a change could be put in place that prevented the bots from continuing their attack."
Members also have a variety of projects they can choose to work on. One example of a project recently completed by the community was an application developed for the major mobile device platforms such as Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and WebOS. This program, called Mormon Channel, allows access to the Church's radio station, conference and scripture recordings and even audio recordings of individual Church magazine articles.
"I am amazed at how generous people are with their time," said Brother Welch. "Most of our members will never see or use the applications they are working on."
To become part of the LDSTech community you can visit tech.lds.org/volunteer. Volunteers must create an LDS account at LDS.org and must fill out an individual contributor's license agreement. A skills assessment is also available to match up members to appropriate projects.
"There are currently over 8,500 registered forum members and 915 people who have signed up to help with projects," said Brother Welch. "Members or non-members of the Church can help out. We just need them to register. We have volunteers who contribute anywhere from 1 hour to 30 hours every week."
e-mail: rmorgenegg@desnews.com
