GodTube Head Dreams of Christian Tech Growth
The GodTube chief wants to make the term "Christian technology" obsolete.
"My vision and goal for Christian technology is that it would be on par with normal technology," Trey Bowles, CEO of Big Jump Media, parent company of both tangle.com and GodTube.com, recently told The Christian Post. He envisions a world where "Christian technology and Google are no different; the only difference is the way [Christians] live and love others."
Bowles recently relaunched GodTube.com, the Christian video-sharing site that reached 2.7 million users monthly before turning over to a new URL, tangle.com. The site, which had reportedly reached 400,000 unique visitors weeks after reopening, has grown by over 100 percent for each of the last two months, said Bowles, making it one of the largest Christian video sites on the Web.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
For the relaunch, Bowles used a new, "dual-brand approach." GodTube focuses on Christian users while its sister site, tangle.com, has found its own niche. Tangle's social network reaches "outside of the four walls of church" to a broader faith and family audience. A final website, ecommerce store ChristianGiver.com, rounds out the company's network.
"It's very clear what the company is and what we do," said Bowles, explaining GodTube's rapid growth. "We are a Christian alternative to YouTube."
The difference between Google's YouTube is that GodTube filters content making it a "safe, secure" place for families online. Looking at YouTube, by contrast, he noted that "inevitably" four or five things on Christian or ministry channels are inappropriate, with links to content like "cuss words, soft-core pornography," or worse.
Facebook and MySpace may also feature inappropriate user-generated pictures such as "underage drinking and inappropriate clothing," said Bowles.
While he noted that secular social networks are not intrinsically bad, the Big Jump Media network pre-approves content so that families will not be offended.
Since its launch, GodTube has grown organically, starting with a page full of videos and adding features like categories, search, user accounts, comments, and a ratings system. Developments underway include an integrated online Bible and prayer wall.
"A lot more companies are rising up" to offer Christian technology solutions, making more sites and services available. Bowles wants to see leaders adopt new technology to "open the floodgates of knowledge, data, and technology that will open opportunities" for Christians online.
Bowles emphasized the need for Christians to be excellent in business while striving to be the best they can be in everything. But some ministry and non-profit leaders are lagging behind, he said.
"If it were up to me," said Bowles, Christians would be "leading the change" in Internet technology.
