I know that Lodges and other Masonic bodies in the UK utilize Twitter a great deal more than we seem to do in the US, so I presume that it works out well for them.
I use it a little bit, but am not too sure about it. I've started baby steps with Bluesky, just testing the waters. And of course everyone who receives Emeth has an account here on Notes.
Our understanding of social media must evolve, and we must take advantage of these new enhancements with intent.
Instead of an alternate platform, we need an alternate framework to understand social media. To be relevant, a Lodge should seek to become 'content creators' with a well thought out public facing persona, and use multiple platforms to funnel interest towards an updated and engaging website that highlights our charitable work and our Lodge program.
Further, we must improve how we promote our 'public' events. Just google 'events in my area' and see which websites are publishing local events, then publish there. Not just one, all of them.
For our trusted community, a more secure platform like Telegram or Signal should be used. Our District has adopted Telegram where Brothers discuss topics of Masonic interest daily, and the community is stronger for it.
In summary, everything is a nail if you've only got a hammer, but a master craftsman knows the right tool for the right job provides the best results.
>>>a Lodge should seek to become 'content creators'
I agree, this is the proper mindset/intention to hold while doing public facing Lodge stuff on social media.
And in my view, our Craft holds vast troves of interesting stuff that can be utilized. Freemasons have been publishing for 300 years now. This has created a vast archive from which to draw for ideas and inspiration.
I advocate for a global social media platform that is decentralized and run as a not-for-profit NGO, something along the lines of Wikipedia and establishes a universal standard for data structure and markup for integration with other platforms.
Having said that, as I wrote in my book "Webmastering the Craft", our communications are a combination of internal and public faces and audiences. We can't "make our own" and expect the public to be there. We need to go where people are already, and that's still Facebook and more and more Instagram. Twitter (X) is a time bomb I don't even want to address here, but I'll just say we should all be VERY concerned that it may displace other media.
Regardless, we need to touch all the bases, including channels that are used by PROSPECTIVE members, not just existing ones.
>>>Regardless, we need to touch all the bases, including channels that are used by >>>PROSPECTIVE members, not just existing ones.
Agreed. And the chase to find those will be ongoing, for the young abandon platforms when the old adopt them. We saw that with Facebook years ago. It was a young person thing, then their parents joined and the young ran!
Do you believe Mastodon could be the decentralized social media platform you speak of? Some of the tech guys I know speak highly of the way it works.
Thanks! I've not explored it, but I've done a fair amount of reading about it trying to decide if I should do so. A lot of that reading does seem to indicate that the various 'servers' tend to become echo chambers.
What an awful conundrum.
I have our lodge an “X” account…I guess that might be best…but man, what a pain.
Back in the day, there were 3 good way to get the Lodges information out, telegram, telephone, or tell a Manson.
I do believe that Doric Lodge is using the Telegram method now. Perhaps though, a different sort of Telegram! 😁🐿😎
Because of this post, my lodge just created an X account. I guess we'll just have to see how this goes...
I know that Lodges and other Masonic bodies in the UK utilize Twitter a great deal more than we seem to do in the US, so I presume that it works out well for them.
I use it a little bit, but am not too sure about it. I've started baby steps with Bluesky, just testing the waters. And of course everyone who receives Emeth has an account here on Notes.
Our lodge has been using GRAND VIEW quite successfully for our up coming meeting, so far it's been well received.
I think that it does work well for internal communications, and as I recall, is easy to use for that purpose.
Our understanding of social media must evolve, and we must take advantage of these new enhancements with intent.
Instead of an alternate platform, we need an alternate framework to understand social media. To be relevant, a Lodge should seek to become 'content creators' with a well thought out public facing persona, and use multiple platforms to funnel interest towards an updated and engaging website that highlights our charitable work and our Lodge program.
Further, we must improve how we promote our 'public' events. Just google 'events in my area' and see which websites are publishing local events, then publish there. Not just one, all of them.
For our trusted community, a more secure platform like Telegram or Signal should be used. Our District has adopted Telegram where Brothers discuss topics of Masonic interest daily, and the community is stronger for it.
In summary, everything is a nail if you've only got a hammer, but a master craftsman knows the right tool for the right job provides the best results.
>>>a Lodge should seek to become 'content creators'
I agree, this is the proper mindset/intention to hold while doing public facing Lodge stuff on social media.
And in my view, our Craft holds vast troves of interesting stuff that can be utilized. Freemasons have been publishing for 300 years now. This has created a vast archive from which to draw for ideas and inspiration.
We use GroupMe internally and Facebook Externally.
We also use Groupme internally for DeMolay in both the state and Local chapters. Works fantastically. Owned by MSFT https://groupme.com/
Thanks for this. I'd not encountered GroupMe before.
I advocate for a global social media platform that is decentralized and run as a not-for-profit NGO, something along the lines of Wikipedia and establishes a universal standard for data structure and markup for integration with other platforms.
Having said that, as I wrote in my book "Webmastering the Craft", our communications are a combination of internal and public faces and audiences. We can't "make our own" and expect the public to be there. We need to go where people are already, and that's still Facebook and more and more Instagram. Twitter (X) is a time bomb I don't even want to address here, but I'll just say we should all be VERY concerned that it may displace other media.
Regardless, we need to touch all the bases, including channels that are used by PROSPECTIVE members, not just existing ones.
>>>Regardless, we need to touch all the bases, including channels that are used by >>>PROSPECTIVE members, not just existing ones.
Agreed. And the chase to find those will be ongoing, for the young abandon platforms when the old adopt them. We saw that with Facebook years ago. It was a young person thing, then their parents joined and the young ran!
Do you believe Mastodon could be the decentralized social media platform you speak of? Some of the tech guys I know speak highly of the way it works.
Mastodon is close, I just think there needs to be a space without bubbles, and not sure if that meets such a need.
Thanks! I've not explored it, but I've done a fair amount of reading about it trying to decide if I should do so. A lot of that reading does seem to indicate that the various 'servers' tend to become echo chambers.