Roov.com is one of those .com names that is simply cool.

It slips off the tongue and makes me think of “groovy” things (It actually is a new term coined by Micah, the founder, to mean shared experience).

It’s also very simple to type and only uses two-fingers each pushing two keys twice (Yes, that is super geeky, but, you’d be surprised at the studies done to prove that easy to type domain names are more likely to be remembered and visited…).

So what’s this Roov-thing all about?

ROOV is an online community that connects like-minded individuals around their shared experiences and passions within their church and city.

Roov, which launched this past summer, is, as ChurchRelevance describes:

ROOV is a new Christian social network that connects you with others in your church and community that have the same ROOVs – shared passions, experiences, and goals. Although it is an online tool, its goal is to connect, motivate, and mobilize people locally and nationally to pursue ROOVs together.

And that probably is one of the most beautiful things about Roov: Mobilizing people through online technology to do things in teh meatspace (the real, living breathing world).

Started by founder Micah Davis and his two partners Jeremy Boles and Ryan Heneise, their idea was to better build the “bridge to facilitate community around these action oriented items.”  Coo beans, right?

In addition, their build of the site has advanced well-beyond their walls and into one of the largest “gardens” on the planet, Facebook.  As Digital Sanctuary notes, it wasn’t planned (and isn’t) just another facebook app.

So what was planned?  Facebook API baby!

(Another nice note is that Micah Davis is super accessible, and I had the opp of meeting up with him after Catalyst this year, but was unfortunately too busy to do so… drat!)

If you’re interested in following his stuff, he’s here:  @mdavis and also @roov.

So, what’s beneath the surface?  Sounds all gravy, but does it do as it advertises?

After a really simple registration process (praise the Lord), I was in, and about 15 minutes later I was involved with 3 “roovs”, created another one (I was unoriginal) and had begun discussions with a few other members (and dreaming wild fantasies of connecting with like-minded individuals and actually doing something tangible with them).

Creating a new “Roov”…

Obviously I was NOT original… that’s fine!  And now…

I can join forces and begin discussing with people locally about building cool web apps for Jesus, and that was just the first 15 minutes!

So, what else can be done?  Well, besides searching for more common interests and activities, you can have “gatherings”.  Nothing more needs to be said here:

Jeff Goins says it perfectly:

Their goal is to connect people online so that they can connect offline. As someone who spends over 10 hours a day on the internet (that’s probably a conservative figure), this is something I need to do – unplug, detach, and really connect with flesh and blood.

Amen brother.

So is Roov the perfect web app for getting people together locally to do damage for the Kingdom?  Not quite, but it’s a really great start.

For starters, there’s still a question of getting the site to “critical mass”, since it’s a typical social network where the value of the community increases with adoption rates and members.  Can it continue to build as other apps are released, such as Unifyer and OneApp?

In addition, what about portability?  Widgets?  Mobile devices?

What about the Facebook API?  Was that the best decision considering not everyone uses Facebook and/or likes it?  Will the API-play limit the adoption, flexibility, versatility, and scope long term?

Finally, what about the issues of “Subject Matter Experts” or “Trusted Sources”?  How does one know, through Roov, if another member has the experience or background necessary for the particular project?  (Perhaps that’s not the point, but some kind of “ranking” system, point system, or anything to encourage use would help besides the “You’re x% complete!”).

I’d also love to see some project management-esque systemfor taking the interaction one step further… but that’s perhaps way in the far future.

All in all, it’s a very cool service.  I have yet to see some traction, personally, in Roov and making a move toward meeting up personally with some of the folks I’ve connected with, but perhaps in time…

And time is certainly one thing that Roov has.

Check out these informative videos as well:

What is ROOV.com? from ROOV.com on Vimeo.

ROOV.com Stories from ROOV.com on Vimeo.