I hate to fill your inbox with things not directly related to Freemasonry, but there have been two developments here with Emeth that I’m extremely excited about, and want to share. One of those developments will have a positive impact on your daily enjoyment of Emeth, and the other may help to protect what we are building here over the long term.
First of all, I would like to announce a tremendous improvement to Emeth Chat.
I’ve known that this was in the works ever since I first set up the Chat function here, so have been waiting impatiently for it to come.
Emeth Chat has the potential to be a truly powerful communication tool for committed Freemasons working to improve their Lodges. It can allow for the collaboration, communication, and sharing of best practices among Freemasons throughout North America and indeed around the world. (Emeth currently has subscribers in 71 countries and has paid subscribers throughout North America, Europe, and Asia.)
What better tool can we have for discussing our ideas about Masonic improvement and the creation of truly legendary Freemasonry than the ability to reach out to the large and diverse group of truly committed Freemasons gathered together here?
The trouble with Emeth Chat, at its inception was that it was completely dependent upon me starting any discussion.
In order for any conversation to happen, I had to come up with the topic.
That can’t work well, for I of course don’t know what might be at the forefront of your mind, or what might be confronting you as a Mason or your Lodge at any given moment in time.
It also doesn’t work well because while I am 100% committed to Emeth, and continuing to grow and improve what we are creating here, I can’t be on the site at all times. I do my very best to be here always, even when I’m on vacation, but as was shown recently, sometimes something happens in life that just prevents it. Luckily those things are extremely rare, but they do happen.
So, with that, the first thing I want to announce today is the brand new ability for all those holding a paid subscription to Emeth to be able to create new conversations in Emeth Chat.
Starting conversations is no longer an ability limited to me.
This will allow you to write about, or ask about, whatever Masonic topic1 is of interest to you at the very moment that interest is highest. It will allow you to ask questions and get feedback from Masons around the world in a timely manner. It puts the power of Emeth Chat right into your hands.
For those in the know, this can also grow into a good way to get the word out about what your Lodge is doing. Need or want more Masons to attend and visit? Make a post about your event over on Chat.
Of course, this will also allow conversations to occur when I am not actively on the site. You’ll be able to keep right on talking no matter where I might be or what I might be doing. That should prove a superb benefit as well.
Like before, participation in Emeth Chat is open to everyone who holds a subscription to Emeth, either free or paid. I certainly hope that you’ll take advantage of it and share your thoughts on the many topics explored there.
Creating new threads or conversations however is limited to those who hold a paid subscription to Emeth. If you don’t already have one, you can get one by clicking the button below:
Another extremely welcome change to Emeth Chat is that it is no longer limited to the app.
Since inception, it was only available to those who had the app installed on their phones. Today, it is open on the web as well.
If you are a subscriber to Emeth, just go to substack.com and on the left hand side of the page you’ll see a link that will take you to Chat. The other way you can find it on the web is by clicking your profile photo (upper right hand corner of whatever page you are reading. That will bring up a menu with the Chat link. Click it and viola!
I’ve really enjoyed the app, but for typing greatly prefer using my laptop, so am thrilled with the new web based interface. All the content is the same either way, so however you chose to engage with Emeth and the Chat, you’ll get everything.
If you are interested in the app, but don’t yet have it, you can get it for iOS and Android here:
Ultimately, Emeth Chat is our own private social network. A Masonic social network without the drama and without the toxic people. Without an algorithm too. I think that these improvements will unlock its amazing potential, and I hope that in time you come to find great value in it.
Chat is a moderated space, and I am the moderator. If you are interested in them, my moderation guidelines are posted here: Terms
That brings us to the second piece of news that I am really excited about.
Earlier this week I started the process of purchasing a small stake in the platform that hosts Emeth, Substack. My small investment is in no way comparable to the tens of millions invested by venture capital firms in the past, but I’ve put skin in the game with Substack, and I feel that helps protect Emeth in the future. I’d like to explain why.
From day one the three founders of Substack have repeatedly and loudly expressed their support for the right of free speech. Expressing that support even when doing so was a negative for the company’s bottom line.
Free speech is an Enlightenment value. It is a Masonic value.
I want my dollars to support a platform that values what I value, and what Freemasonry values. Not a large social media platform (take your pick, they are all mostly bad) that gleefully censors content that the largest shareholders or largest stakeholders don’t like. The only way to discover truth is through open and honest debate. Substack gets that, and that is of vital importance to our society.
Another thing that the founders have loudly and often professed is that there will never be an algorithm or advertising here. Both of those things lead to ‘clickbait,’ things created just to provoke a strong reaction, often a negative reaction. When we look at our society and see the division and hate simmering within it, much of that can be laid directly at the feet of social media platforms. Their encouragement of the posting of content that is designed to spark outrage, and their amplification of that content via their algorithms.
There is none of that here on Substack. Here, you only see that which you have signed up to see. There is no amplification of that content which is designed to create division and inflame anger.
Substack’s expressed mission is to elevate discourse above that which is offered on Social Media, and thereby help to heal the divisions tearing our society apart. It seeks to help repair our culture.
All of that is easy to get behind.
But, here’s the thing…
In the past, Substack has raised money in the same way all tech companies seem to raise money. By hitting up venture capital firms.
There is certainly nothing wrong with that, it is how business is done.
But I have always worried about it a little bit. I’ve worried because while Substack has been extremely open and vocal in its stands for free speech and against advertising and algorithms, it could make more money if it abandoned those stances.
Unquestionably, Substack would make more money if it gave into demands for censorship. If it filled this page with advertising. If it actively promoted content that created outrage.
And the purpose of venture capital is to make as much money as possible. In a fairly short period of time.
Frankly, these two things always seemed incompatible with each other. I’ve always worried a bit that eventually Substack would be forced to move over to the dark side in pursuit of maximum profits.
But early this week Substack opened a funding round on the same terms as its last venture capital backed round whereby those who write on Substack and have a paying subscriber base could buy a small chunk of the company. As of this moment just under six thousand of us writers have done so.
Our individual investments are of varying amounts over a large range, but all of them are small. Collectively however, we are acquiring a not insignificant portion of the company. We are led in this by Bill Bishop, one of Substack’s most successful writers.
This will give those of us who are creating communities on this platform, indeed Emeth, a seat at the table when decisions are being made.
When there is a push for arbitrary and capricious moderation we will be there to express our opposition, and our opposition will have power commensurate with our ownership stake. When there is a push for advertising and algorithm driven content we will be able to object from a place of some power.
This will give us a voice at the table. It will give Emeth a voice at the table. It will help us to ensure that changes made to the platform are improvements for our subscribers, not detriments to them.
Here is how I look at it:
Years ago, my Lodge found Facebook to be a tremendous way to advertise our Stated Meetings and special events. We would post about what was upcoming, and that post would be seen by all of our members, and by loads of Masons in our corner of the world. Just by putting these things on Facebook, we could ensure a successful event.
That was then, this is now.
Now when we put something like this on Facebook it is seen by very few people. The algorithm buries it. The only way we can dig it out of the hoe Facebook puts it in is by purchasing advertising. Ultimately Facebook expects our Lodge to pay them in order to show our Lodge content to our Lodge members.
Facebook2 is a private company. They can do whatever they would like. I have no beef with that. I do recognize however that in an effort to maximize profit over everything else, they have taken what was a tremendous tool for our Lodges and made it worthless.
So this is why I’m sending investment capital to a relatively small, non publicly traded, tech company.
I’m doing it so that when they are talking about doing something that could be harmful to the community we are building here called Emeth, or harmful to the experience of those who subscribe to Emeth, we, the people who use the platform will be there to say no, and to have some power of ownership behind that no.
This is, I think, a great step to take to ensure a bright future for Emeth.
And it was a great step on Substack’s part to diversify their funding beyond just venture capital. Putting Substack’s users into the ownership mix will help ensure that the founder’s vision is maintained.
Thanks for reading this long post. I hope that you’ll try out the new Chat features, I think you’ll like them. I also appreciate you giving me the time to explain why I, along with so many others, decided to take an ownership interest in the platform that provides the technology on which Emeth operates.
This tool continues to get better and better as Emeth continues to grow. Together we will use it to improve the Lodge experience and create truly legendary Freemasonry!
I do ask that all conversations started on Emeth Chat be somehow related to Freemasonry. Freemasonry is Emeth’s entire focus. While I love Cooper Dog to death, photos of him are best placed on Social Media, and while I have extremely strong political interests, my opinions on political matters are best expressed to my local Legislators.
I’m picking on Facebook here simply because it is my most used social media platform, and the platform most used by the majority of my Lodge Brothers. This certainly applies to all the other large social media companies as well.
M:W: Bro Cameron, thank you for the in depth post and thoughts on your rationale for supporting Substack in particular. Over the past year I have been moving more of my allocated funds for news subscriptions to various voices on Substack who I believe are positive value adders to the virtual town square of civil discussion and from whom I want to see more.
Congrats on becoming a part owner of Substack!