Welcome To The Demographic

I'm reminded of my Dad, who worked for the Baptist Sunday School Board in my early childhood. He traveled around and sold audio-visual systems to churches, back in the day when AV meant film, slide, and overhead projectors. He was fired after an argument with his boss when he wouldn't try to upsell more AV equipment than he thought a church needed.

I'm reminded of my Dad because of this snappy article at CNET: Is Jesus The Next Killer App?

The title is meaningless, but as I've noted, saying "Jesus" gets people's attention. Some choice quotes:

"There's not one major electronics manufacturer who isn't trying to target this space," said Dan Stark, who operates Stark Raving Solutions, a company that specializes in outfitting churches with the latest in audio and video technology.

And:

"Let's face it, we've all experienced the occasional sleeper on Sunday morning," says an Internet advertisement from Audio Visual Mart, an online media tools store. "But it doesn't have to be that way. Technology can inspire your congregation in new ways."

Mercifully, these Baalful proclamations come from manufacturers and retailers, not the churches. The writer seems to have spent more time talking to marketing flacks than their customers. Curious. My first thought is to tie this to my idea of journalists being uncomfortable with religion, but it could also just be laziness. Or something more innocent, I suppose.

I don't know where I'm going with collecting these beasts, but I hope you enjoy my growing zoo of them.