Did you take notes of things that interested you at the LDSTech Conference? Did you find presentations so rich in detail, so timely, and so good you hope to revisit the sessions to enrich your conference experience? Have you been planning all along to be a “virtual” attendee once the sessions are available online?

We're happy to announce that the 2015 LDSTech Conference have been posted on the 2015 Conference Session Streams at tech.lds.org. You’ll find lots of examples and suggestions for using Church technology to the fullest, and a preview of what Church technologists have envisioned for the future. Click Read More below for highlights from some of the most popular presentations.

Leveraging Technology to Share the Gospel by Kelly Gibson

Kelly used the Book of Mormon Facebook page to demonstrate how the reach of a message can extend from friends to “friends of friends” in ever-widening ripples, showing clearly the impact of a message when comments are added and people draw their own inferences from scripture, videos, and authoritative quotes. Using ideas from Elder Bednar’s landmark talk, “Sweep the Earth as With a Flood” he shared concrete examples of ways to share the gospel on social media, how to limit the negative effects of detractors, and how being motivated by love cements your intentions in positive and authentic ways. Simple expressions of doctrine, principles, and applications at your foundation are a guide to positive outcomes with online audiences.

A Peek at the Future: How Multiscreen and Personalization Will Impact LDS.org and Other Digital Products by Jeff Isom

The Church has planned further changes to LDS.org to improve content and make resources more available, searchable, and accessible for many different screen sizes and languages and for low bandwidth environments. Looking toward the future, developers are connecting content with more social channels. They are listening to feedback to make sure your browsing experience at LDS.org is a good one.

The Media Library at LDS.org is undergoing revitalization and an app is under development that will allow users to aggregate media content into playlists and use set-top boxes with more personalization. Better support for “My Account” settings will deliver content customized to individuals so there will be less to sift through with more relevance.

What’s New in LDS Maps and Boundary and Leader Proposal Tool by Bruce Hall

Significant changes are in beta for a release of LDS Maps. The new online interface has many filtering options, a friendly user interface, and new search features to help you locate meetinghouses, meeting times, and member homes within your unit boundaries. The connection to Google Maps shows street-level images of buildings and surrounding streets. The new boundary proposal tool is for leaders, but there is much in the new interface to help members locate and minister to fellow members.

Social Media Trends and How the Church is Responding to Them by Jared Covington

As the use of social media grows, the Church is responding in significant ways providing quality content that meets audiences where they are in authentic and relatable ways. Jared shared many statistics including this one, “By 2017, 74% of Internet traffic will be video!” With that in mind, he demonstrated small snippets of content that are impactful, sharable, and unequivocal without being overtly religious.

He introduced the new blog at LDS.org and explained its purpose and value. He also said the Church is looking at content that is available for a limited time period, mobile messaging, and how to better present online resources to help members with their Church callings, including information from the Church handbook in non-legal language. You will find many worthwhile ways to use Church media in your own online messaging from Jared’s presentation.

Stream the Sessions

There were 29 presentations offered to participants. Presenters were well qualified and encouraged audience questions and comments. Many excellent presentations were back to back with equally great session topics, which will be available as a “virtual” experience online.

As you watch the sessions, pause and let the information sink in while you take notes and plan to share bits and pieces with friends and family. Many sessions would be excellent for training purposes with presidencies, quorum leaders, and ward councils. Get set for a “virtual” feast that awaits your attention.