Vertical News – July 2008

Greetings Vertical Thinkers!

The July-September 2008 issue of Vertical Thought is now online, and many of our subscribers are receiving their printed copies in the mail. As one can quickly tell from the cover, this issue addresses a wide range of subjects. Our two lead articles address Internet issues related to social network sites and online games.

The lead article, "Facebook & MySpace: A Young Christian's Guide to Using Social Network Sites" by David Myers, was one I asked the author to write when we began planning this issue a few months ago. Learning that Mr. Myers had been addressing this subject in seminars and in specially-designed messages for young people over the past year, I was delighted to receive his agreement to address this important subject. His article is filled with some excellent vertical food for thought.

As you contemplate the spiritual issues within this article, I think you are also going to enjoy its graphic layout. Shaun Venish made the article look somewhat like an Internet social network site.

Our next article, "The Good and Bad of Gaming" was written by my brother, Ken Treybig, who has years of experience in working with computers and software. Here are some of his observations regarding his contribution: "As I did my research for the article, I found that many of my initial thoughts were supported by research, though I wasn't thinking big enough in several areas.

"I knew it was a big industry, but I was surprised to learn how big. Nearly $18 billion in sales of video games is a lot of money! I also found the 'good' of gaming to be greater than I had thought. It was interesting to learn that games are used to help hone the skills of trainee surgeons."

In this issue of Vertical Thought we start a new series of articles by Mario Seiglie titled "Answers From Genesis." The author uses a question-and-answer format to address questions about mankind's origin. And we also begin a new "What Does the Bible Say About…" column that gives short answers to timely, biblical issues.

Of course, there are many other articles in this issue that also offer important spiritual perspectives. I'm sure that you'll profit from reading them all.

Before concluding this month's Vertical News e-mail, I want to inform you of a special announcement from our VT webmaster, Aaron Booth, regarding a change in the way you will be able to receive communication from us:

New online service

Beginning this month, we will no longer be sending you the Vertical News via e-mail messages. We will now be using an RSS feed to communicate with you when we have added new items to our Web site or want to share important resources with you. We will continue to produce our weekly commentaries and monthly Vertical News messages, but now they will be available online and can be fed directly to your RSS feed reader. Even if you are not sure what RSS is, please visit our Web page http://www.verticalthought.org/vertical-thought-rss.htm and see how easy it is. While you are there, just make sure to grab the RSS feed link and add it to your feed reader so you can stay in touch with the latest updates at Vertical Thought. There's also an option there to receive RSS updates through your e-mail if that's easier for you.

In using this technology, we plan to post articles and commentaries on a regular basis throughout the week. Once set up, we believe this will be a more effective way to serve you and assist people looking for our content via search engines. I began using this feed on my Internet home page recently and am pleased with the way it works.

To more vertical thinking!
David Treybig
Managing editor, Vertical Thought

PS—Don't forget to click on http://www.verticalthought.org/vertical-thought-rss.htm so you can continue to receive Vertical News and the weekly commentaries!