The Capuchin Province of Mid-America has again updated its website. Version 5.0 includes a lot of additions and new features. First and foremost is the Province news blog which you are currently reading. Previously, the province used various blogs on an independent server (blogger.com) and linked to those blogs from our own server. The four different province blogs have now been incorporated into a single blog on our own server. It is still possible to individuate between posts by clicking on a particular category from the column at right. For instance, if you would like to see all posts regarding vocations, click on the "Vocations" category to bring up those particular posts. The second main addition to our website is the incorporation of various new means of social networking and communications. As most people know, the web is constantly evolving as is the technology by which people communicate while online. It is important to keep up to date with this technology if the province wishes to communicates its life and mission to an ever growing online audience. As a result, the province now has a Facebook group, a Youtube group, and a Flickr group. Facebook is the most popular means of social networking online, along with Twitter. It allows the province to communicates its message quickly and easily through online posts, images, video clips, and more. The group allows followers (benefactors, friends, family, vocation prospects, etc.) to join and follow the latest additions to the group, including information about upcoming events. Youtube is the most popular means of video sharing currently available online. It allows users to view and share high-quality, digital video instantly with millions of people. Due to the great strain which video puts on an individual server, Youtube provides an excellent way to share video without burdening our own limited resources. Flickr is the most popular photo sharing website online (along with photobucket). Like Youtube, it allows individuals and groups to share large numbers of high quality photos online without undue strain on a server's bandwidth. All three of these social networking tools can be accessed at the footer of every page on our website. Another big upgrade to the current version of the website is the "media" section. Located under the "News" link at the top of the page, media includes flash photo galleries with Lightbox technology, video and audio clips, as well as downloads of the province's latest print media and publications. In order to take advantage of all of the features on this website, it is important that you have the most updated version of your particular browser and all the latest flash plug-ins. The latest version of Flash can be downloaded for free at www.adobe.com. The website, while largely complete, continues to be a work in progress. This is especially true of the photo gallery and spirituality pages. Both will be updated regularly over time. Br. Joseph Mary Elder, O.F.M.Cap. Province Facebook Group Province Youtube Group Province Flickr Account