UMs can follow General Conference action on line

United Methodist News Service
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—People unable to attend the 2008 General Conference in Fort Worth still can watch proceedings and keep track of actions on the Internet.
Audio proceedings of the April 23-May 2 assembly will be available through www.GC2008.umc.org or www. umc.org. Worship, special addresses, celebrations, and other selected plenary sessions will be available through live video streaming. 
“The Internet is the window into the General Conference for people around the world,” said the Rev. Larry Hollon, top executive of the denomination’s communications agency. “Live video and audio streaming offer an opportunity to view and listen to many of the proceedings of the General Conference.”
Since the 2004 General Conference, the General Commission on Communication has markedly upgraded its Internet capability to meet users’ needs and expectations.
“Our goal is to be the online leader among major denominational organizations,” Hollon said. “We are confident we will not have the issues that affected many persons who followed the work of the General Conference on the Internet four years ago.”
The denomination’s Web sites were often overloaded during the 2004 conference, resulting in shutdowns and lengthy delays in accessing vital information.
After the 2004 General Conference, Hollon said the communication agency selected Kintera Inc., a San Diego, Calif.-based software service provider, to host the organization’s Web site. Kintera can handle high volumes of Web traffic.
“We live in a different Web world in 2008,” Hollon said. “We learned from 2004, and we are benefiting from expanding technology. We are better prepared. We have the right systems in place, and we have the right people positioned to deal with any issues.”