I was reading an essay about the increasing use of dumb phones today, and ran across the following:
“If you experienced “zoom fatigue” during the pandemic where you felt rather brain dead at the end of a day of video meetings, it’s for good reason. Our brains aren’t quite wired for that form of communication where we can’t read body language.”1
It has its virtues to be certain, but it cannot be a 100% viable alternative for a fraternity with ritual openings and closings that are such a bedrock piece of the overall experience.
I believe that utilizing it for members who live out-of-state so they feel included will become the major use going forward. I know we are looking at its permanent use in appendant bodies to fill that particular need.
I agree, it is a good way to include Masons who can't attend otherwise, so that they can participate in the Lodge's education or program for the evening.
I also think it's really good for bringing in a speaker who couldn't attend otherwise due to distance or cost.
But, within the Lodge environment, I think it is pretty limited beyond that.
I worked 10 years remotely on Teams. Zoom is just hard for me to use, It feels empty and if it is done properly to include the people on the bridge it adds a element of difficulty to ensure inclusion. after 11+ years of office work behind a camera I loath virtual meetings. Except for necessity, i choose not to participate in any thing that has the word zoom or virtual in it.
I think it must be what we get used to using. In my professional world, about half is Teams, the other half Zoom. But, I started with Zoom through Freemasonry, before either of those became options for work. And I find it hard to use Teams.
I agree, functionally its difficult to figure out the latter. However to me the Virtual lodge or team meeting is just empty. I long for the face to face social interaction over a drink, or food. The business, is just a necessity.
I agree, without a doubt, gathering together over food and drink is the very best part of Freemasonry. Ultimately, it is why I'm willing to drive three hours round trip to the Lodge I'm currently standing in the East in. Because that Lodge does that better than any other in my Jurisdiction.
We start with a good meal. Then we have a good meeting. Then we spend hours together, talking over drinks, cigars, and snacks. Those hours together after the meeting are key.
And I find it sad that so many Lodges, maybe most Lodges in my Jurisdiction don't do anything like that at all. The second the final gavel falls, closing the meeting, everyone heads for the exit.
The other thing I don't understand, related to that, is how our Grand Lodges, that are supposed to be non-involved in politics got themselves completely tangled up with the Prohibition movement in the United States. That was an expressly political movement that our Grand Lodges (every single one of them I believe) fully adopted and pursued.
Odd to me, for an organization that was initially organized in a tavern, by Lodges named after taverns.
But strangest to me of all is why Freemasonry didn't abandon that failed political movement when the entire rest of the country did.
One of my Lodges uses Zoom, briefly, at every meeting...
>>>Shifting gears at a meeting to make a zoom portion a seamless part of it? Quite beyond us.
Yes, this is not good at that Lodge. The WM declares it's time to fire up the Zoom, then it seemingly takes forever to get Zoom fired up. Men on the sidelines loudly declaring that the effort needs to be abandoned, while the struggle goes on.
It would be much better accepted if the technology was better handled.
Open Zoom prior to the start of the meeting, leave all the guests in the waiting room. Open the meeting. Then let them in for the Zoom portion. If they aren't in the waiting room when it begins, then they miss it. That would prevent the disruption and delay we find.
By not doing it that way, eventually the effort will be forced to go away, as the Anti-Zoom crowd grows larger meeting by meeting.
>>>We’d ruin the live meeting just to have a poor experience for whoever is online.
That seems to be the concern expressed from the sidelines, and it seems valid as text messages and the like are fired back and forth trying to get folks into the Zoom.
>>>I know it can be done - just not by us.
Just as we must practice the ritual in order to have a good meeting, so too must we practice using Zoom if we hope to have a good meeting that includes Zoom.
I don't mind the camera so much, but I worry about the background. Especially for work things. Like when having to do it from a hotel room. It just seems unprofessional. And I don't like the 'blur' thing that can be done with the backgrounds either, it seems to chop off parts of heads periodically.
I know that some Lodges find it really helpful to have WiFi, others not so much. Just depends on who is using it I suppose.
My first go as WM we didn't have WiFi in the building, and that suited me just fine. But now, in my second go as WM, I really like having my computer up in the East with the agenda and such.
Our Lodge (Tenino) is like VWB Clay's, in that the building doesn't have the technology to do the Zoom meetings. However, we do have a few members who were active in our Lodge before they moved out of state, and would like to remain active. So obtaining the Technology to enable us to do Zoom meetings is on our to-do list, with a couple of our members purchasing components, a little at a time. Eventually we will be joining Centralia Lodge in doing Hybrid sections of our meetings.
I imagine that there are still some Lodges that due to geography don't have access to proper high speed internet access yet. (I've used the satellite stuff that is available everywhere, it's rough) But when the lockdowns happened, this State went on a tremendous internet infrastructure building spree, so it should be available almost everywhere now.
In our case, there is internet available (since we're in a downtown block), but the cost of installation, as well as the monthly cost, isn't in our budget at this time. Optimistically, we might have the capability to achieve that level in the future, but in the meantime, one of our Brothers is willing to utilize his wi-fi hot spot for an internet source, so that part is taken care of.
I am tired of video / telephone meetings in general. I do them for work at least 3 times a week. And then it seems like I'll have a Temple Board, ExComm or Rainbow board meeting on those same days. So it does burn you out.
They are good for those meetings that you really don't need a face to face, a strictly business meeting or a committee meeting. Something that driving an excessive distance for a relatively short time (<60 Min) meeting becomes a burden.
Zoom is good for education, as long as we're careful not to drive into areas of ritual that shouldn't be easily overheard by a non Mason or a Brother not of the correct Degree.
During the lockdown of covid, these meetings were needed just to stay connected as a group. It was a great thing then. Now we have to ensure we don't let it get to a point where someone will say, "I'll just catch Lodge on Zoom and stay home tonight."
>>>During the lockdown of covid, these meetings were needed just to stay connected as a group. >>>It was a great thing then. Now we have to ensure we don't let it get to a point where someone >>>will say, "I'll just catch Lodge on Zoom and stay home tonight."
I've got to say, I was really impressed with how quickly so many of our Lodges adopted things like Zoom when the Covid lockdowns began. And I think that in general, those that did so came out of the lockdowns than those that didn't.
But, you are exactly right, we don't want to fall into a place where guys are skipping Lodge, catching it on Zoom instead.
I see platforms like Zoom as a tool to be utilized when proper. The ability to “Zoom” in speakers for educational opportunities is one way to use it. It should never be used as an alternative to attending lodge.
TLDR version — having a virtual option for Lodge education is (I believe) a highly valuable tool in the toolbox of delivering a great Masonic experience.
I feel that the best uses of virtual communications in Freemasonry as they pertain to Lodge meetings are to connect with Brothers who are too far away to attend (those who are nearby and can’t drive should just be picked up by others!) and for sharing of educational topics. If you can have a call in for 30 minutes so that you can have a speaker bring an awesome educational message you otherwise couldn’t have, that’s great. If it also allows a Brother from a distance away to pop in, learn something new and say hello, that’s also great. But it needs to be limited to that type/portion of the meeting.
The other uses are as they pertain to non-Lodge meetings, which depending on distance of people can be unreasonable for folks to drive >60 minutes each way for a 30 minute meeting on the building.
There is a hierarchy of the business aspects of things I try to follow — should this email have been a call, should this call have been a drop in F2F conversation, should this conversation have been a formal meeting. Find the lowest point on that scale for what you are trying to accomplish in terms of effectiveness and use it. Don’t make 6 people drive 30+ minutes to have a 10 minute discussion about something that could have been an email, and vice versa don’t send an email that really needs to be hashed out in person so that there are no misunderstandings or misalignments. Use the tools for what they are good at.
I do find it extremely helpful for non Lodge Masonic meetings. Temple Board, charity committees, things of that sort. Especially when, as you mention, the drive is really long. In those cases, it can be a great time saver.
It has its virtues to be certain, but it cannot be a 100% viable alternative for a fraternity with ritual openings and closings that are such a bedrock piece of the overall experience.
I believe that utilizing it for members who live out-of-state so they feel included will become the major use going forward. I know we are looking at its permanent use in appendant bodies to fill that particular need.
I agree, it is a good way to include Masons who can't attend otherwise, so that they can participate in the Lodge's education or program for the evening.
I also think it's really good for bringing in a speaker who couldn't attend otherwise due to distance or cost.
But, within the Lodge environment, I think it is pretty limited beyond that.
The Masonic rituals are design to be performed in person. The egregore of the Lodge is dependent on it. And the Brothers benefit from this.
Doing digital meetings will be ok for some type of informal communication, but the formality of the Ritual Meeting has to be in person.
Agreed. Without the in person meeting of Masons, it couldn't be Freemasonry. Or at least Freemasonry as we know it.
I worked 10 years remotely on Teams. Zoom is just hard for me to use, It feels empty and if it is done properly to include the people on the bridge it adds a element of difficulty to ensure inclusion. after 11+ years of office work behind a camera I loath virtual meetings. Except for necessity, i choose not to participate in any thing that has the word zoom or virtual in it.
I think it must be what we get used to using. In my professional world, about half is Teams, the other half Zoom. But, I started with Zoom through Freemasonry, before either of those became options for work. And I find it hard to use Teams.
I agree, functionally its difficult to figure out the latter. However to me the Virtual lodge or team meeting is just empty. I long for the face to face social interaction over a drink, or food. The business, is just a necessity.
I agree, without a doubt, gathering together over food and drink is the very best part of Freemasonry. Ultimately, it is why I'm willing to drive three hours round trip to the Lodge I'm currently standing in the East in. Because that Lodge does that better than any other in my Jurisdiction.
We start with a good meal. Then we have a good meeting. Then we spend hours together, talking over drinks, cigars, and snacks. Those hours together after the meeting are key.
And I find it sad that so many Lodges, maybe most Lodges in my Jurisdiction don't do anything like that at all. The second the final gavel falls, closing the meeting, everyone heads for the exit.
The other thing I don't understand, related to that, is how our Grand Lodges, that are supposed to be non-involved in politics got themselves completely tangled up with the Prohibition movement in the United States. That was an expressly political movement that our Grand Lodges (every single one of them I believe) fully adopted and pursued.
Odd to me, for an organization that was initially organized in a tavern, by Lodges named after taverns.
But strangest to me of all is why Freemasonry didn't abandon that failed political movement when the entire rest of the country did.
Now I guess I've gone completely astray!
My Lodges do not have members who are both willing and able to manage zoom.
Ensuring the camera is off during the Masonic bits? Yeah I don’t think that would happen reliably.
Shifting gears at a meeting to make a zoom portion a seamless part of it? Quite beyond us.
We’d ruin the live meeting just to have a poor experience for whoever is online.
I know it can be done - just not by us.
One of my Lodges uses Zoom, briefly, at every meeting...
>>>Shifting gears at a meeting to make a zoom portion a seamless part of it? Quite beyond us.
Yes, this is not good at that Lodge. The WM declares it's time to fire up the Zoom, then it seemingly takes forever to get Zoom fired up. Men on the sidelines loudly declaring that the effort needs to be abandoned, while the struggle goes on.
It would be much better accepted if the technology was better handled.
Open Zoom prior to the start of the meeting, leave all the guests in the waiting room. Open the meeting. Then let them in for the Zoom portion. If they aren't in the waiting room when it begins, then they miss it. That would prevent the disruption and delay we find.
By not doing it that way, eventually the effort will be forced to go away, as the Anti-Zoom crowd grows larger meeting by meeting.
>>>We’d ruin the live meeting just to have a poor experience for whoever is online.
That seems to be the concern expressed from the sidelines, and it seems valid as text messages and the like are fired back and forth trying to get folks into the Zoom.
>>>I know it can be done - just not by us.
Just as we must practice the ritual in order to have a good meeting, so too must we practice using Zoom if we hope to have a good meeting that includes Zoom.
I can’t stand using a webcam during online meetings. I leave mine turned off 99% of the time.
I notice that!
I don't mind the camera so much, but I worry about the background. Especially for work things. Like when having to do it from a hotel room. It just seems unprofessional. And I don't like the 'blur' thing that can be done with the backgrounds either, it seems to chop off parts of heads periodically.
Our lodge location doesn't have the technology to allow us to use Zoom meetings .
I know that some Lodges find it really helpful to have WiFi, others not so much. Just depends on who is using it I suppose.
My first go as WM we didn't have WiFi in the building, and that suited me just fine. But now, in my second go as WM, I really like having my computer up in the East with the agenda and such.
Our Lodge (Tenino) is like VWB Clay's, in that the building doesn't have the technology to do the Zoom meetings. However, we do have a few members who were active in our Lodge before they moved out of state, and would like to remain active. So obtaining the Technology to enable us to do Zoom meetings is on our to-do list, with a couple of our members purchasing components, a little at a time. Eventually we will be joining Centralia Lodge in doing Hybrid sections of our meetings.
I imagine that there are still some Lodges that due to geography don't have access to proper high speed internet access yet. (I've used the satellite stuff that is available everywhere, it's rough) But when the lockdowns happened, this State went on a tremendous internet infrastructure building spree, so it should be available almost everywhere now.
In our case, there is internet available (since we're in a downtown block), but the cost of installation, as well as the monthly cost, isn't in our budget at this time. Optimistically, we might have the capability to achieve that level in the future, but in the meantime, one of our Brothers is willing to utilize his wi-fi hot spot for an internet source, so that part is taken care of.
Yeah, I use my phone as a hot spot occasionally. It works well. I did run a zoom meeting from a bar in Mexico once via my phone in hot spot mode.
I am tired of video / telephone meetings in general. I do them for work at least 3 times a week. And then it seems like I'll have a Temple Board, ExComm or Rainbow board meeting on those same days. So it does burn you out.
They are good for those meetings that you really don't need a face to face, a strictly business meeting or a committee meeting. Something that driving an excessive distance for a relatively short time (<60 Min) meeting becomes a burden.
Zoom is good for education, as long as we're careful not to drive into areas of ritual that shouldn't be easily overheard by a non Mason or a Brother not of the correct Degree.
During the lockdown of covid, these meetings were needed just to stay connected as a group. It was a great thing then. Now we have to ensure we don't let it get to a point where someone will say, "I'll just catch Lodge on Zoom and stay home tonight."
>>>During the lockdown of covid, these meetings were needed just to stay connected as a group. >>>It was a great thing then. Now we have to ensure we don't let it get to a point where someone >>>will say, "I'll just catch Lodge on Zoom and stay home tonight."
I've got to say, I was really impressed with how quickly so many of our Lodges adopted things like Zoom when the Covid lockdowns began. And I think that in general, those that did so came out of the lockdowns than those that didn't.
But, you are exactly right, we don't want to fall into a place where guys are skipping Lodge, catching it on Zoom instead.
I see platforms like Zoom as a tool to be utilized when proper. The ability to “Zoom” in speakers for educational opportunities is one way to use it. It should never be used as an alternative to attending lodge.
Agreed. Centralia Lodge has been able to bring in some awesome speakers via Zoom that we would have never been able to get otherwise.
Maynard Edwards is an excellent example.
TLDR version — having a virtual option for Lodge education is (I believe) a highly valuable tool in the toolbox of delivering a great Masonic experience.
I feel that the best uses of virtual communications in Freemasonry as they pertain to Lodge meetings are to connect with Brothers who are too far away to attend (those who are nearby and can’t drive should just be picked up by others!) and for sharing of educational topics. If you can have a call in for 30 minutes so that you can have a speaker bring an awesome educational message you otherwise couldn’t have, that’s great. If it also allows a Brother from a distance away to pop in, learn something new and say hello, that’s also great. But it needs to be limited to that type/portion of the meeting.
The other uses are as they pertain to non-Lodge meetings, which depending on distance of people can be unreasonable for folks to drive >60 minutes each way for a 30 minute meeting on the building.
There is a hierarchy of the business aspects of things I try to follow — should this email have been a call, should this call have been a drop in F2F conversation, should this conversation have been a formal meeting. Find the lowest point on that scale for what you are trying to accomplish in terms of effectiveness and use it. Don’t make 6 people drive 30+ minutes to have a 10 minute discussion about something that could have been an email, and vice versa don’t send an email that really needs to be hashed out in person so that there are no misunderstandings or misalignments. Use the tools for what they are good at.
I do find it extremely helpful for non Lodge Masonic meetings. Temple Board, charity committees, things of that sort. Especially when, as you mention, the drive is really long. In those cases, it can be a great time saver.
My thoughts completely. I don't care to drive at night or be out at night except for stated meetings.