Social Media – The new watering hole

By WB Alberto C. Dumlao, PM (46) Managing Editor

Social Media (SocMed) has grown exponentially in the last decade, and more so since the COVID-19 Pandemic struck in the first quarter of 2020. We know that many Masons have regularly connected through Facebook and other social media platforms even before the Pandemic, but with the suspension of Lodge Meetings, our Brethren have jumped on the social media bandwagon even more so to connect and discuss with each other on matters within and without our regular masonic duties and functions.

As with everyone else, our Brethren use social media to get access to information. News networks who have traditionally published information on the tri-media of Television, Radio and Print, have all graduated to a social media presence where more people are able to access news and information in real time and on-demand.

International agencies like the World Health Organization have also taken to social media to disseminate information, giving us a more accurate picture of the pandemic’s global scale, as well as efforts by different governments to contain and prevent its spread.

Here in the Philippines, we get daily updates from government agencies like the Department of Health (DOH) through their Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Viber Accounts. Daily COVID-19 updates from DOH include data on active cases, recovery, deaths, number of tests done, and hospital capacities, among others.

Local government units have also taken to social media to reach out to their constituents. Anonymous community accounts have also increased in number, catering to specific geographical locations and interests.

Even before the pandemic, Freemasons have been active on social media, either as individuals or as groups. Masonic social media activity may be categorized into four: Lodge level, District Level, Jurisdiction Level, and Special Groups.

Masonic Lodges usually have chat groups in Facebook Messenger or Viber, or both. These chat groups provide a medium for masonic discussion, both informal and educational. Also, it has provided a means for easier lodge management, in terms of announcements, meeting notices, and communications from the Grand Lodge in the form of Edicts and Circulars. Some Lodges also have Facebook Public Pages, functioning more as a website, and act as the Lodge’s public relations arm. Inquiries from the general public are usually entertained through these Public Pages, with questions ranging from broad Masonic topics to specific inquiries on how to join the fraternity.

District Level social media activity is a combination of chat groups (as described above) and FB Groups. The difference between a chat group say, on FB Messenger and an FB Group is that discussion threads on FB Groups make it easier to find topics of discussion. Discussion on chat groups is running by nature and is very easy to get lost in the discussion if you have not been active for a while. When this happens, you may have to backread over tens sometimes hundreds of comments, depending on the number of members and level of engagement of the chat group.

Jurisdiction level masonic activity is also a combination of chat groups and FB groups.

This also allows for easier information dissemination, albeit on a higher and more formal level. An example of a jurisdiction level group which has benefitted our Brethren for many years now is the Guild of Lodge Secretaries (GLS), which has chat group accounts in FB Messenger, Viber, Telegram, as well as an FB Group and an FB Public Page. The GLS FB group, the oldest (since 2018) and biggest group with 567 members, it is a comprehensive resource of Circulars and Edicts dating as far back as MW Abraham ‘Bambol’ Tolentino’s term.

Amidst the social distancing and quarantine measures that resulted from the COVID-19 Pandemic, our Brethren have felt the itch to go out and enjoy fellowship with each other. While not quite the same as sitting face to face across each other over coffee, a bottle of beer or a shot of single-malt whiskey, Masons from our jurisdiction have found a way to enjoy each other’s company on special masonic social media groups across different platforms, but mostly on Viber, FB Messenger, and FB Groups. These special masonic groups may be categorized into:

1. Social groups – where brethren share commonality with their location, fraternities outside of Masonry, the schools they went to, etc.

2. Interest-based groups– where brethren share interests and hobbies, such as sports, music, food, books, art etc.

3. ‘Sharing economy’ groups- where brethren advertise, find, share, buy, sell, and trade products and services.

4. Discussion groups – where brethren find, discuss, and share news, information, and opinion.

5. Fraternal assistance groups – a group category probably exclusive to Freemasons, where brethren may seek aid and assistance on any and every situation.