Bring people together from anywhere with digital media. Whakahuihuia mai ngā tāngata ki ngā pāpāho mamati ahakoa kei hea rātou.

[June 2011] Do you have a service, program or venue that gets people together? How about including those from out of town or far away? Recently I heard part of an interview on National Radio Afternoons about a funeral home in Hamilton that live-streams funerals over the Internet if the family request it. Participants are invited by an e-mail that contains a link to view the broadcast.

Small, discreet cameras placed around the chapel record the service. Friends and family who are unable to make it to the chapel participate by watching from home.

Alternatively, participants join in through Skype video. They may deliver a eulogy or simply say a few words that those present in the chapel can see and hear.

He ratonga, papatono, papa tōu mō te whakahuihui tāngata? Ka pēhea te whai wāhi a ērā kei waho i te tāone e noho ana, kei pāmamao rānei?

I rongo au i nā noa nei i tētahi wāhanga o tētahi uiuitanga i te wāhanga Ahiahi o Te Reo Irirangi o te Motu mō tētahi whare whakarite uhunga i Kirikiriroa e whakaroma tangihanga ana i taua wā tonu ki te Ipurangi ina tonoa e te whānau. Ka tonoa ngā kaimātakitaki mā te īmērā kei roto ko tētahi hononga ki te pāhotukutuku.

Ka hopukina te karakia e ngā kāmera iti, ākahukahu hoki i whakatūria huri noa i te whare karakia. Ka whai wāhi ngā hoa me ngā kiriwhanaunga kāore e taea te tae ā-tinana atu ki te whare karakia mā te mātakitaki atu mai i te wā kāinga.

Ka whai wāhi rānei ngā kaiuru mā te ataata Skype. Ka āhei te whakapuaki i te poroporoaki, te kōrero rānei i ētahi kupu ruarua ka kitea, ka rangona hoki e ērā atu i te whare karakia.

Virtual presence is easy these days.

This struck me as a brilliant idea, and one that could easily be applied to weddings, christenings, or in fact almost any gathering.

A quick glance at one popular New Zealand store showed that you could buy a huge 60 inch TV for $4000. That's not really a lot of money in the scheme of things. Of course, web cams and the broadband Internet connection would also have a cost attached.

It's not long ago that something like this would have cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. The technology that allows this is now so popular and inexpensive that it becomes readily feasible.

You may not need large screens and expensive audio equipment either if you have only small gatherings.

He māmā te tae ā-mariko i ēnei rā.

Ki a au nei he whakaaro rawe tēnei, me te māmā o te whakahāngai ki ngā mārena, ngā iriiritanga, me te tino nuinga o ngā momo hui.

I whakaatu mai tētahi tirohanga tere ki tētahi toa tino paingia i Aotearoa ka āhei te tangata te hoko mai i tētahi pouaka whakaata kaitā, e 60 inihi te rahi, mō te $4000. Ehara tēnā i te nui rawa o te moni i ēnei rā. Engari tonu he utu ō ngā kāmetuku me te hononga aunui.

I nā noa nei me utu te tangata i ngā mano tekau, mano rau rānei o ngā tara mō ētahi mea pēnei. Nā te tino paingia o te hangarau ka tuku i tēnei kia mahia, ka hanga noa te whaihua ināianei.

Tēnā pea kāore he mate whiwhi i ngā mata rahi me ngā taputapu ororongo nui te utu mēnā he iti noa iho ō huihuinga.

Is this something to consider?

Think for a few minutes about how your organisation might be able to reach out to a wider group of people. Think about people who are housebound for example. Is there some way you could use this kind of technology to reach out to and engage them with your activities?

Might you be able to help families connect with their members overseas? Does this allow you to redefine who your community is?

Me whai whakaaro ki tēnei?

Huritao mō ētahi meneti ruarua ka pēhea e taea ai e tō whakahaere te whakapā atu ki te nuinga atu o ngā tāngata. Hei tauira, whakaaro mō ērā tāngata kāore e taea te wehe atu i te kāinga. Tērā tonu pea ka taea e koe te toro i a rātou ki tēnei momo hangarau me te whakauru i a rātou ki ō mahi?

Ka āwhina pea koe i ngā whānau ki te whakapā atu ki ērā atu o ō rātou whānau kei tāwāhi e noho ana? Mā tēnei me tautuhi anō e koe he aha tēnā mea tō hapori?

Community can be worldwide.

With this kind of technology the nature of the community can change. We are moving far beyond the time when a community is bound by geography.

Of course the telegraph and the telephone, mail and email have already blurred those boundaries. Television has brought one-way communication, bringing the distant into our homes.

But web cams and live streaming, and Skype video calls, are or can be can be interactive.

The costs aren't that high. Are you making the most of these new possibilities?

Tēnā pea ko te hapori he mea e tautoro atu ana puta noa i te ao.

Ka panoni pea te āhua o te hapori mā tēnei momo hangarau. Kei te neke atu mātou ki tua rawa atu o te wā e herea ai te hapori e te takotoranga o te whenua.

Engari tonu kua makaro kē ēnei paenga nā te waea tuku, te waea kōrero, te mēra me te īmēra. I mauria mai te reo tātaki i te whakawhitinga kōrero ahutahi, me te kawe mai i ngā mea mamao ki roto i ō mātou kāinga.

Engari he tauwhitiwhiti, ka tauwhitiwhiti pea rānei, ngā kāmetuku me te whakaroma i taua wā tonu, me ngā waea ataata Skype.

He ngāwari ngā utu. Kei te whakapau haere koe i ngā whai wāhitanga ka homai ēnei mea ki a koe?

 

Website tips contributed by Miraz Jordan, http://knowit.co.nz . Need help or advice about the Internet? Contact Miraz. 

Miraz also writes the Tech Universe column for the NZ Herald - it's published online every weekday at http://bit.ly/bGX7UY .

Nā Miraz Jordan i takoha ēnei Kupu Tohutohu, http://knowit.co.nz . Kei te pīrangi āwhina, tohutohu mō te Ipurangi? Whakapā ki a Miraz.

He kaituhi hoki a Miraz i te wāhanga Tech Universe ō te NZ Herald - kei te tā ipurangitia ia rā mahi i http://bit.ly/bGX7UY .