Awestruck.tv: Not Just Another “Catholic Facebook”

[rug]

South African film producers create Catholic social network

January 21, 2015
Eugene Gan

I must admit: when I learned that the two producers who were coming to meet me in my office are both from South Africa, my mind was stuck on films like District 9, Elysium, and the upcoming Chappie, all three of which were directed and produced by South African-born Neill Blomkamp.

But the conversation with my visitors quickly expanded my parochial thinking. My visitors – Norman Servais, film producer, writer, and director, and Cris Riego de Dios, attorney by trade and training, not only produced films that have been shown on EWTN, but they are both enthusiastic about their Catholic faith and have created Awestruck.tv, a Catholic online social networking site that is unique in more ways than one. Calling it a “Catholic Facebook” would really do it injustice, I soon learned, but I couldn’t help wonder: Do we really need another Facebook (or Google+ or LinkedIn etc.)? Why would we need a “Catholic Facebook”?"

Tell us about Awestruck.tv. What is it all about?

In essence we’re a Catholic social network targeting a niche community. So, we need to do things differently. By mimicking existing offerings on the internet we cannot add real value.

Giant social networks like Facebook, because of their necessarily inclusive approach, are, of course, not there to promote the Church; and they often contravene their own terms and conditions by tolerating and sometimes promoting content radically opposed to faith and good morals. Vimeo and Tumblr (for example) are infested with porn and repeated attempts to close a number of hate groups on Facebook have not been successful. This situation calls for a niche social network dedicated to celebrating the faith and promoting the Church — a trusted space where Catholics can feel “at home," discover trusted Catholic content and have the tools to easily share content to networks outside of Awestruck. We’re outward looking instead of inward looking.

http://www.aleteia.org/en/technology/article/awestrucktv-not-just-another-catholic-facebook-5831771211956224

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

1. Sounds like another one of those sites

Where if one does not parrot the Party Line like a Stalinist of the 1930s, one gets booted off.