Using Location-Based Data, Christian APIs and

the Christian Social Graph APIAndrew Sears

Executive Director

Outline1. Background on the Semantic Web2. Christian Social Graph3. Helpful tools for local apps & websites

The Need for the Semantic Web:What are the Online Megatrends?

Browser traffic

General Search

Proliferation of Closed Datasets/APIs

App Traffic

Vertical Search

Open, StandardizedMachine Readable Data

All of these trends call for more standardized APIs and linked datasets = Semantic Web

App Traffic Growing beyond Browser Traffic

Note: Includes all web (desktop and mobile)

Examples of Semantic Web & Vertical Search

What is the Semantic Web? AKA Web 3.0

RDF: data sharing format in XML

Sparql endpoints: Christian Social Graph

Schema.org: churches, organizations, job postings, events, volunteer opportunities

Aggregators: Thousands of Christian Websitesand Applications

API Terms of Use Contracts

Semantic Web is an Initiative of World Wide Web Consortium for providing common formats for web data. It is led by Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web.

Key Semantic Web LinksFreeBase.com: Google’s open database of

structured dataDBpedia.org: database of structured data

from WikipediaSindice.com: index of the semantic webSchema.org: most widely used ontology &

schema of the Semantic web

Schema.org: Church DefinitionProperty Expected Type DescriptionProperties from Thingdescription Text A short description of the item.image URL URL of an image of the item.name Text The name of the item.url URL URL of the item.Properties from Placeaddress PostalAddress Physical address of the item.

aggregateRating AggregateRating The overall rating, based on a collection of reviews or ratings, of the item.

containedIn Place The basic containment relation between places.

events Event Upcoming or past events associated with this place or organization.

faxNumber Text The fax number.geo GeoCoordinates or GeoShape The geo coordinates of the place.

interactionCount Text

A count of a specific user interactions with this item—for example, 20 UserLikes, 5 UserComments, or 300 UserDownloads. The user interaction type should be one of the sub types of UserInteraction.

maps URL A URL to a map of the place.photos Photograph or ImageObject Photographs of this place.reviews Review Review of the item.telephone Text The telephone number.Properties from CivicStructure

openingHours Duration The opening hours for a business. datetime="Mo-Su">Monday through Sunday, all day</time>.

Schema.org: OrganizationProperty Expected Type DescriptionProperties from Thingdescription Text A short description of the item.image URL URL of an image of the item.name Text The name of the item.url URL URL of the item.Properties from Organizationaddress PostalAddress Physical address of the item.

aggregateRating AggregateRating The overall rating, based on a collection of reviews or ratings, of the item.

contactPoints ContactPoint A contact point for a person or organization.

email Text Email address.employees Person People working for this organization.

events Event Upcoming or past events associated with this place or organization.

faxNumber Text The fax number.

founders Person A person who founded this organization.

foundingDate Date The date that this organization was founded.

interactionCount Text

A count of a specific user interactions with this item—for example, 20 UserLikes, 5 UserComments, or 300 UserDownloads. The user interaction type should be one of the sub types of UserInteraction.

location Place or PostalAddress The location of the event or organization.members Person or Organization A member of this organization.reviews Review Review of the item.telephone Text The telephone number.

More specific types: Corporation, EducationalOrganization, GovernmentOrganization, LocalBusiness, NGO, PerformingGroup, SportsTeam

Schema.org: Job PostingProperty Expected Type DescriptionProperties from Thingdescription Text A short description of the item.image URL URL of an image of the item.name Text The name of the item.url URL URL of the item.Properties from JobPostingbaseSalary Number The base salary of the job.benefits Text Description of benefits associated with the job.datePosted Date Publication date for the job posting.educationRequirements Text Educational background needed for the position.

employmentType Text Type of employment (e.g. full-time, part-time, contract, temporary, seasonal, internship).

experienceRequirements Text Description of skills and experience needed for the position.hiringOrganization Organization Organization offering the job position.incentives Text Description of bonus and commission compensation aspects of the job.industry Text The industry associated with the job position.jobLocation Place A (typically single) geographic location associated with the job position.

occupationalCategory Text Category or categories describing the job. Use BLS O*NET-SOC taxonomy: http://www.onetcenter.org/taxonomy.html. Ideally includes textual label and formal code, with the property repeated for each applicable value.

qualifications Text Specific qualifications required for this role.responsibilities Text Responsibilities associated with this role.

salaryCurrency Text The currency (coded using ISO 4217, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_4217 used for the main salary information in this job posting.

skills Text Skills required to fulfill this role.

specialCommitments Text Any special commitments associated with this job posting. Valid entries include VeteranCommit, MilitarySpouseCommit, etc.

title Text The title of the job.workHours Text The typical working hours for this job (e.g. 1st shift, night shift, 8am-5pm).

Schema.org: Event (i.e. small group)Property Expected Type DescriptionProperties from Thingdescription Text A short description of the item.image URL URL of an image of the item.name Text The name of the item.url URL URL of the item.Properties from Eventattendees Person or Organization A person attending the event.

duration Duration The duration of the item (movie, audio recording, event, etc.) in ISO 8601 date format.

endDate Date The end date and time of the event (in ISO 8601 date format).

location Place or PostalAddress The location of the event or organization.

offers Offer An offer to sell this item—for example, an offer to sell a product, the DVD of a movie, or tickets to an event.

performers Person or Organization The main performer or performers of the event—for example, a presenter, musician, or actor.

startDate Date The start date and time of the event (in ISO 8601 date format).

subEvents Event Events that are a part of this event. For example, a conference event includes many presentations, each are subEvents of the conference.

superEvent Event An event that this event is a part of. For example, a collection of individual music performances might each have a music festival as their superEvent.

What is the largest social network in the world?

No. Facebook is the largest online social network900 million

The Global Body of Christ isthe largest social network.2 billion Christians.

The problem is the Global Body of Christ is Disconnected!

Christian Social Graph VisionWhat if every Christian could connect with

the needs and resources to maximize their calling on earth?◦Missions: Mapping every need in the world to

Christians with resources to meet that need◦Discipleship: Mapping every Christian with

resources they need for growth◦Helping Christians meet the needs of non-

ChristiansWhy do thousands of people have this

same vision?◦It’s something that God is doing

Examples of Resources NeededChristian Social Network: $100 millionChristian Social Graph: $100 million

◦Global Church Directory: $50 million◦Global Parachurch Directory: $10 million◦Global Volunteer/Missions Directory: $10 million

Christian Wikipedia: $10 millionChristian YouTube: $10-50 millionChristian TED Talks: $10-50 million

How do you build a $100 project when you only have a few million dollars?

What is the Christian Social Graph?

1. The Christian social graph is a social utility to connect Christians and resources

◦Similar to the Facebook Social graph, but more open and focused on mapping resources related to Christians

2. It will be how Christians contribute to the semantic web (Web 3.0)

◦Will build on standards like RDF, Schema.org and Facebook Open Graph API

3. Provides a way to:◦Share data and code to avoid replicating each others

work◦Use each other’s data to build apps and websites

Existing Christian API’sLocation Based

◦Christian Social Graph, ChristianChirp, WeGather, ChurchZip

Church Management Systems◦Access ACS, IconCMO, Fellowship One, Planning

CenterBible

◦American Bible Society, Bible Gateway, Bible Lookup, Bible.org, Biblia.com, eBibleicious, ESV Bible Lookup, Living Stones, St. Gregorios Church Bible

Misc◦Prayer Planet, SermonAudio

Christian Social Graph API

Christian Social Graph

Volunteer Opportunitie

s10,000

Jobs6,000

Organizations15,000

Churches

PeopleClassifiedListing

Groups & Events

Content

Funders & Grants

TechMission’sInitial Focus

Demo LinksData Available & Facets

◦Local Volunteer Opportunities◦Short Term Missions Opportunities◦Organizations◦Christian Jobs◦Virtual Volunteering◦Maps

Sample API Request◦www.christianvolunteering.org/apiaccess.jsp◦Feed of All Opportunities in XML

Data Sharing Agreement and API TechMission will have contracts both with data providers and

those using our API An API key can be provided to partners to access data from

the Christian social graph◦ Partners not following terms of agreement in using data correctly

may have their API key revoked Key API Terms

◦ Only used for live access through programming on websites and applications

◦ No use in mailing lists◦ No reselling data◦ May be used in for profit websites and apps◦ Intent is to provide open access to data while protecting from abuse

Tech Specs◦ Will use initially Solr query syntax, but later will provide SPARQL◦ Will provide data as XML, JSON, RSS or CSV

Christian Social Graph FeedsData From:

◦ ShortTermMissions.com, Meet the Need, Oscar.org.uk, SimplyHired, All for Good, IRS Nonprofit Database, HandsOn Network, AARP, Idealist.org, United Way, Truist, Habitat for Humanity, Service Nation, Universal Giving, ChristianVolunteering.org, Craigslist, MENTOR, Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, Girl Scouts, YMCA, Up2Us, CatchaFire, Volunteer.gov, Rock the Vote, Citizen Corps, Red Cross, Samaritan Technologies, Catchafire

Data To: ◦ Meet the Need, Needs Met, AllforGood, jobinventory.com,

jobisjob.com, olx.com, simplyhired.com, trovit.com, job-search-engine.com, yakaz.com, oodle.com, workhound.co.uk, www.wowjobs.ca

Expanding Christian Social GraphTechMission Projects

◦Parachurches: 100-200k by 2013◦Churches: 300-400k in USA by 2013◦Christian Foundations: 10-15k by 2013 (English

only)◦Jobs: 5-10k now (English only)◦Volunteer/Missions Opportunities: 10k now

(English only)Projects Needed

◦Small Groups/Events◦Classifieds

Events/Small GroupsSecular Sources

◦Meetup.com◦Craigslist.org (use 3taps.com API)◦Eventful.com◦Upcoming.org◦Eventbrite.com◦Sindex.com

Sources for Localized DataSemantic Web:

◦Not ready for prime timeAPIs & Feeds (XML & JSON)

◦Currently best sourceWeb Scraping Scripts & Tools

◦Be sure to obey copyright Web Crawler ScriptsPublic DataPurchasing DataPartnering to Share Data

Demo LinksMeetupCraigslist/3TapsOpen Source Code Base

◦code.google.com/p/ivolunteering-christianvolunteering/

◦https://github.com/techmission Simplyhired_feeds Solr-synonyms

Feeds LibrariesInput Feeds

◦PHP HTTP Request: php.net/manual/en/book.http.php Parsing:php.net/manual/en/book.simplexml.php Optional Database Abstraction: PHP Data Objects

◦Ruby HTTP request: mechanize Parsing: nokogiri

◦Drupal Use Feeds Module

Output Feeds◦ Solr: use XSLT stylesheets for XML, RSS, JSON and CSV◦ Each language provides libraries for outputting various format

See code at: https://github.com/techmission

Tools for Local Apps/Websites IP Geolocation

◦ Free: www.maxmind.com/app/geolite◦ Use to populate location in web browser

Metropolitan Statistical Areas Database◦ Use to map metro area based on Zip code entered in Web form◦ Free (old) or pay for new◦ Google “metropolitan statistical area zip code”

Geo Search◦ Solr: Geospatial

Geocoding◦ Google Maps API

Maps Display◦ Google Maps, Bing, Mapquest, Open Layers, etc.

Most CMS’s will have module providing some of these functions

Location in Mobile AppsOptions

◦Xcode, Java, C#, PhonegapProvides

◦Coordinates, direction & velocity, map displayMay still need to build your own

◦Geospacial search, metro database, database of geocoded objects, etc.

Partnering Christian Social Graph

Christian Social Graph

Christian Websites & Applications

ProgrammingConsultants

Data Sources

Global Standards & Aggregators

• Websites• System Integration• Mobile Apps• Facebook Apps• Widgets• Open Source Projects

• Schema.org• Semantic Web• Search Engines• Social Networks• Places/Maps• AllforGood• 211• Specialized Directories• National Aggregators

• 1,000’s of websites• Volunteer, Jobs, Orgs, etc.

• Regional Christian portals• Church management Systems• Christian social networks• Christian portals

Potential Apps & WebsitesNeeds by Data Type

◦Volunteer Opps, Missions, Parachurch & Foundation Search: ChristianVolunteering.org

◦Church Search: Church Finder (concept app)◦Small Group Search: No public search app◦Christian Classifieds: None with critical mass

Needs by project◦Websites◦App Platforms: Android, iOS, Facebook, Widgets, etc.◦ Integrations: CMS modules, Church Management◦Languages & localizations◦Customizations: church/parachurch website

integrations

Longer Term Applications of the Christian Social Graph

“Siri find a Bible study on Luke that meets on Tuesday nights”

Personality/profile type mapping to…◦Churches, jobs, volunteer opportunities,

roommates, etc.Social maps to identify “seekers” and

people about to become a ChristianSocial maps of the Global Body of Christ

◦Relationships and giving across country, race, languages, class, etc.

Appendix

The Problem of Splintering: Christian Jobs

Probably 20k-100k Christian jobs onlineChristian searching for a job would need to search…

◦Over 100 Christian jobs sites, most with less than 1% market share

◦Hundreds of thousands of church and parachurch websites with job postings on their sites

◦Secular job sites with Christian jobsUsability for Christian job seeker

◦Top 5 secular job sites combined probably have 80% market share

◦Top 5 Christian job sites combined have less than 20% market share

◦Results in secularization

The Problem of Secularizing: Volunteering1. If Christians cannot easily find opportunities in Christian

ministries, they will serve in secular ministries◦ Strong secular bias against Christian organizations exists on

secular sites◦ About 40% of volunteers are in FBOs, but the leading secular

volunteer site only list 3% of their opportunities as religious2. Christian volunteers provide hundreds of billions worth of

donated services each year◦ $100 billion x 40% = 40 billion◦ $100 billion x 3% = 3 billion

3. Lack of Christian volunteer directories with critical mass will result in secularization and a major loss of volunteer resources to ministries and churches

4. Goal is to avoid secularizing Christian resources while also avoiding creating a “Christian ghetto”

Law of Network Effects

Achieving Critical Mass

Viral Rate is % of Users that invite, post content, etc. adding value to your network times the value of those actions

Positive Feedback Loop when…

Examples: Facebook, Craigslist, eBay

Number of Users

Cost/

Valu

e

User Generated Value

Cost

Achieving Critical Mass

Will Christians Online be like Christian Radio or Christian TV? Christian Radio

◦ Called “the major single innovation of the present missions era.” ◦ Christian Broadcast Network alone has reported 45 million

decisions to follow Jesus through their broadcasts. ◦ At its peak, religious broadcasts represented the single largest

component of transnational broadcasting Christian Television

◦ Gave us tele-evangelist and some really bad Christian TV◦ Negligible presence in television compared to Hollywood

If Christians remain splintered online in the social graph, the impact of Christians online is likely to be negligible like Christian TV