The power of communication is no longer restricted to the ‘mighty pen’ or the ‘powerful word’ or even the interpretation of the stories that a picture can tell. In fact ever since the early visionaries saw the potential value of sharing information via a network of computers way back in the early 1960s, we have seen the skills of the pen, the word and, to a lesser degree, the picture become far less important when interacting with our fellow man.
    The serious researcher cannot deny the power that the Internet can offer, nor can we ignore the cost and time saving benefits that accompany this medium. Interestingly, the internet started its journey under the name ARPANET whereby The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), headed by Dr. J.C.R. Licklider, was challenged to develop a new and exciting mode of research. Dr. Licklider was among the first to perceive the spirit of community which could exist among the users of the first time-sharing systems. In pointing out the community phenomena created, in part, by the sharing of resources in one timesharing system, Licklider made it easy to think about the interconnection of interactive, on-line communities of people. Today, some 40 years on, there are approximately 64 million websites with an average of 125 pages per site... Now that’s growth for you!
    In October 1994 the first masonic web page ‘A page about Freemasonry’ was created by Gary L Dryfoos. Launched and still managed by him to this day. www.masonrypage.org has attracted more than 1.5 million visitors. I wouldn’t say that it was the best masonic website around but it’s certainly purported to be the oldest. Now there many thousands of websites related to Freemasonry. Many have come and gone over the years…so what has this extreme relationship produced?
    We all know that our fraternity is many hundreds of years old and that our origins are now and may always be uncertain. That we can live with, but to grow and develop well into the future we must embrace every opportunity to communicate. I don’t mean with those who have already made the decision that Freemasonry is all good and exactly what they need to develop as individuals, I mean everyone. I especially mean those who criticise the things we do - or should I say their interpretations of what they think we do. We have, literally at our finger tips, the power to debate, describe, dispute and dispel.

Where are we today and can the internet help or hinder?

We see many private, Provincial or District and even Grand Lodges introducing themselves by way of a website. Imagine telling the popular world who we are and where we meet! So what should a masonic website do? What are its required obligations?
    Firstly we have Grand Lodge websites, such as our own United Grand Lodge of England at www.ugle.com Their aims, indeed responsibilities, should be to utilise the internet to its full potential, offer a full contact structure. I don’t mean a simple telephone number or ‘info@’ email address, but a filter system whereby visitors can select the right path for their enquiry. The real trick is to have the content there in the first place and make it easy to find. There also needs to be a comprehensive ‘News’ section.
    If you visit a Grand Lodge website you want to see what has happened that is important, such as principal speeches and addresses, consecrations and even the things we may be embarrassed about, such as exclusions and the like. We need to see what’s happening in the future, such as important dates for our diary.
    Let’s see up-to-date news, not news that is weeks or even months old. Let’s face it; if a Grand Lodge has such little activity then it needs to question its existence – if it does then tell us! The other mistake that sites make is the quality of news, where the news article does not fit the look or style of the website. I have seen professional websites who upload articles that look as though my youngest son Joshua has designed them. Obviously the ‘content’ is controlled so as to ensure that it falls within the tenets of our Craft, so why ignore how that message looks?
    Provincial websites should have similar goals, with a little more of a parochial feel, while private lodges should go the whole hog and really make their visitors feel like they want to come and talk to us. Advertise the white table and open evenings which seem necessary to encourage potential members and not to forget informing the wives, partners and other family members of the principles and ideals of Freemasonry.
    It’s not a case of success over failure; it’s simply which websites will do their job best. The answer is simple – proactive forward-thinking people will make the difference, not the fact that the website is a Grand Lodge or Provincial website, but the effort that the correctly chosen, enthusiastic individuals demonstrate.
    On a final note, I would like to mention MQ (Masonic Quarterly). United Grand Lodge of England wanted to communicate with its members, so they created a publication, which off the record came across a little too elitist to me, giving the wrong impression to the uninstructed and popular world who are not Masons. It looks expensive and must cost a lot of money to distribute. Now take a look at their website www.mqmagazine.co.uk. Now that makes sense! It is superb. The benefits are so obvious – it’s clean, always up to date, costs very little to distribute and everyone who can see, or hear, has access.
    I can’t finish without mentioning a really great example in www.districtgrandlodge.org. F. William Gardiner, the District Grand Secretary of Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean recently wrote to me with a request to review their new website. I was so delighted to see that they had considered communication with their members a priority. Well done!

If you know of any other fraternal sites we should take a look at email us at sites@thefreemason.com
    Mike Murphy and Andrew Skidmore of thefreemason.com

This article was written and sponsored by www.thefreemason.com