What Are ‘Connections’?
The most basic explanation is that “connections” are the number of phones/tablets/devices that are able to connect and participate in interactive elements (like Live Voting) at the same time. Here are a few helpful scenarios to show how we calculate the number of connections in different situations:
Scenario 1:
If you are presenting to a room of 75 people, and all 75 decide to scan the QR code to vote in a Live Poll, you are using 75 connections.
Scenario 2:
If you are presenting to a room of 125 people, and 75 decide to scan the QR code to vote in a Live Poll, you are using 75 connections.
Scenario 3: (However unlikely):
If you are presenting to a room of 75 people, and all 75 decide to scan the QR code on their phones AND on their tablets (effectively letting each person connect twice) to vote in a Live Poll, you are using 125 connections.
This means that if you are planning on using the live voting element during your presentation, you’ll need to make sure that you have enough connections available for each person to scan the QR code that is presented on the screen.
Frequently Asked Questions About ‘Connections’
Since launching, our users have asked a lot of really good questions about connections, so we wanted to take a moment to answer them here for everyone:
If our plan has 75 connections, do I need to register 75 specific users?
If our plan has 75 connections, do I need to register 75 specific users?
Nope! ’75 connections’ refers to the first 75 devices that scan the QR code shown on the screen during an interactive element such as Live Voting. As soon as your presentation ends, all connections are reset, and you are able to connect a completely different set of 75 devices. The same is true for our 25, 75, 125, 250, and 500-device plans.
Our account is shared between our youth ministry and another ministry in our church. How does that affect our available connections?
Our account is shared between our youth ministry and another ministry in our church. How does that affect our available connections?
The number of connections in your plan covers the number of phones/devices that are able to connect and participate in interactive elements (like Live Voting) at the same time. Here are two scenarios that may help make this clearer:
Scenario 1:
If you have multiple groups who are using Sidekick at the same time (like youth group and kids ministry both meeting at 7pm on Wednesdays), this would mean that the number of connections is shared between those two groups. If your plan includes 75 connections, but you have 40 participants in each group (totaling 80 participants trying to connect at the same time), only the first 75 participants will be able to connect. In this scenario, we would suggest increasing your membership to include 125 connections.
Scenario 2:
However, if you have multiple groups who are using Sidekick, but they meet at different times (for example, your youth group meets on Wednesdays at 7pm, but your kids ministry meets on Sundays at 11am), you will only need enough connections to cover each group individually. For example, if your youth group and kids ministry each have 40 participants, you will only need a plan with 75 participants, since the two groups are not trying to connect at the same time.
Our group is growing! What happens when we need more connections?
Our group is growing! What happens when we need more connections?
That’s so exciting! In order to increase the number of connections on your account, you will need to upgrade your account to the next DYM Gold+ membership tier. The best way is to contact our support team at [email protected] so they can pro-rate your current plan so that you’re not paying more than you need to (plus they’re super-nice people who are always eager to help!).
We have a large event coming up. Can we temporarily get more connections for that one-time event?
We have a large event coming up. Can we temporarily get more connections for that one-time event?
If you need more connections than your current membership allows for a one-time event, please reach out to [email protected]. Our support team is made up exclusively of veteran youth workers who totally get what it’s like to lead from the trenches. Plus, they’re really nice people, so when in need, reaching out is always a good idea.
As always, if you have any additional questions, please feel free to reach out to our support team at: [email protected]