Where I Spent My Time Online – Throwback Edition

In my research to find the best use of a website by a Catholic Parish, I stumbled across this 2009 article , “Google’s Top 25 Catholic Websites,” based on research from the now defunct Google Reader.

I couldn't help but wonder: they were popular then, but are any of them even still in existence? That, and of course, I am always on the lookout for more great Catholic blogs or websites to ‘pin’ – my new favorite pastime.*

Many of the sites on this 2009 list experienced name changes, but I was (happily) surprised at how many were still in existence. Here are three that were brand-new to me:

The Curt Jester

A blog written by former Atheist, Jeff Miller. That, in his own words, “hopefully humorous and sometimes serious take on things religious, political, and whatever else crosses my mind.”

The Pewsitter

This site intrigued me with this concept of allowing “people in the pews” (one of my favorite expressions), to become the Catholic news ‘reporters’, or in this case, news ‘posters’.

However, as with all new websites I come across, I did a Google search to read more about the site – from a source other than the content creator. In this case, I found a great mix of reviews – some loving how it gave access to all the news one might be seeking in one place, and others who found it an unexpected mix of Catholic and secular, as well as being accused by some of perhaps having an agenda beyond what is stated in the ‘about’ section.

Whether this is your first glance too, or if you’ve known about it since 2009, I would love to know any thoughts you have about The Pewsitter.

(P.S. they have a free app as well!)

CatholicVote

Many of you just read the name of this last ‘newly found website’ and thought, “Where have you been?” I wonder that too sometimes when I discover a new Catholic website and realize it is far from being NEW! Highlights how much is available on the World Wide Web, when someone who spends 50% of her waking hours online is still finding new resources.

This was the website that "American Papist" blogger Thomas Peters merged with back in 2010. Again, I knew he’d combined efforts with another site, but I'm embarrassed that I never explored to find out which one.

I follow him on Twitter, and was one of the thousands who has been praying for his recovery from a devastating spinal cord injury, but obviously I didn’t engage further with any of his Twitter posts that would have brought me to CatholicVote.org.

As a side note – as I explored CatholicVote.org I was very excited to see a RECENT post by Thomas Peters indicating he is on the road to the recovery!

Oh, and to return to my main reason for this search – if you know of a Catholic Parish that uses their website well – to welcome, instruct, and encourage – please let me know!

*Why I Pin: No more bookmarking or marking favorites for me – even with the search feature, I can never find them again. I would much rather categorize them in Pinterest folders that I can not only remember but also locate visually much quicker. My main reason for pinning though, is SHAREABLITIY!! What good is finding a cool anything online if you can’t share it with your friends, or complete strangers?

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