This spring Bob asked me if we could offer online membership and retreat registrations via the OPA website. This seemed like a reasonable request, but because of the way I originally developed the site I soon realized that the site would need to be redeveloped. I have natal Uranus at 27 Virgo exactly on my MC, so blending technology and astrology is a great fit for me. 

In 2007 I developed the website using WordPress. WordPress is a free and open source blogging platform and is very well regarded in tech circles. It does what it’s supposed to do and does it well. However it does have its limitations-- membership management and event registration is beyond its capabilities. 

I selected another free and open source web platform called Drupal (www.drupal.org). Drupal is a very popular platform, has a strong community of users and developers, and can be extended through the use of different modules. Drupal offers modules that allow us to manage our membership and events online, so I went about installing and configuring the current website. 

I’d like to take a moment to explain what I mean by free and open source software. Many of you are familiar with programs like Microsoft Word, so let’s use that as an example. Word is an example of proprietary software- Microsoft developed it, owns it, charges you for it, decides when it will be updated, and then charges you for the updates. You don’t own Word, you simply pay for the right to use it. It’s illegal to copy or share it and if Microsoft decided to stop maintaining it no further development work would be done on it.

In contrast to that, many of the early computer enthusiasts and entrepreneurs of the early to mid 1970s were hippies in the 1960s so there is a large contingent of the Uranus-Pluto / Power to the People generation within the technology sector. These people believe that software (the stuff that empowers our technology) should be freely available because it empowers us collectively (cue The Fifth Dimension...). Typically someone will write a piece of code and then make it freely available; someone else will come along, add more code/functionality to it, fix a few bugs, and so forth. No one owns it, its available to everyone and the community contributes to its development and maintenance. It’s a beautiful thing.

To read more about free and open source software see this  Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FLOSS

Okay, so back the OPA website. Armed with a new platform to build on a I set upon creating the new website. While it may not look visually different than the previous one it offers us- both OPA members and the organization itself- much more functionality. 

For the organization this means we can now keep our member records online instead of in a spreadsheet on someone’s hard drive. We can configure the site to send you a notification when your membership is about to expire and provide you a simple way to renew online, securely and safely. 

OPA retreat registration is also available online and will save the board members a lot of time. Instead of receiving a paper registration form that would then be transcribed into yet-another spreadsheet and manually processing the payment our members (or anyone) can simply register online, select the track they want to participate in and pay. The backend of the website provides a convenient way for the board to manage those registrations and it’s centrally located for easy access.

The benefits of the new website to you, the members, are copious and I’d like to outline a few of them here for you:

Member Blogs: Every member who registers on the website can post articles via his or her blog. You may already have a website where you publish your articles and are asking yourself, “Why would I want to put them on the OPA website?” Two reasons: First, because we’d like the OPA website to become the hub where our members can interact and by publishing your article on the OPA website you can reach an audience of peers. 

Second, there’s this thing called “search engine optimization,” and by creating link-backs to your own website you’re helping your website score better in the search engines. This is major. In addition to posting your article, which should always contain a link to your website at the bottom, the site also offers a place to submit a link to your site and it will appear in a list of all member sites.

Member Forums: Every member who registers on the website can participate in the forums. Forums are like discussion boards where you can post a message, question, topic for discussion or announcement. Other members can respond, answer, share, or simply follow a discussion from the comfort of their own PC. It’s a great way to stay connected with our fellow members in that space between OPA retreats.

Member Management: If you need to update your mailing address or phone number you can now do that right from the website. Simply login and click on the My Account link. You’ll see your information listed; click the Edit option and update your information as needed. Don’t worry, this information isn’t visible to other members or site visitors. 

The Career Astrologer: We’re working hard to publish the articles of the Career Astrologer online and hope to soon get our archives posted as well. This will make searching for specific topics much easier.

Soon we’ll be adding the OPA store where we’ll off the OPA Book “How to Start, Maintain, and Expand an Astrological Practice,” teeshirts, and tote bags. We’re also beginning plan on offering digital media- video and audio downloads of retreat tracks and other educational material. If this is something you’d like to be a part of, let us know! 

I encourage you to visit the new site. I’ve ported over most of the registrations from the previous website, but if you have any problems feel free to email me (webmaster@professional-astrology.org). If you haven’t registered yet, take a minute to do so. It’s simple and will give you the ability to post articles, participate in the forums and help the OPA website become a valuable resource for our members, our community and our profession.