Masonic organizations have jumped in on the internet social networking craze and established a presence on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat.

But what about the brothers who could care less about internet socializing and being notified by computer? Have you made sure “The Oldest Social Networking Site,” your Lodge Room, is being taken care of?

Here are some questions for the leaders of the lodge to ask themselves about their Lodge.

• Is it easily accessible? – Have you made sure the Brethren who need help getting there have a ride if they need it? Think about “mapping” your membership database so you can identify where everyone lives. Divide it into areas and appoint a key person for each area to make contact with the brothers in the area. By doing this you communicate with everyone (a good thing) and also can identify those who would come to lodge if someone picked them up.
• Does it have a good look? – Are your officers appropriately dressed? Have you established an expectation of excellence in all your degree work? Are your refreshments something that is good to eat? As a leader you should be setting the standard and building pride in the Lodge and its performance.
• Is your site pleasing once a Brother arrives? – Is everyone greeted and made to feel welcome? Why not appoint new Masons as greeters. This accomplishes two things; first the new Masons get acquainted quickly with everyone and second, the brothers are warmly greeted when they arrive.
• Is there enough interesting content so the Brother will return? – Have you planned your annual program to include interesting, well thought out and varied programs for Masonic education? Have your Lodge Education Officer submit a plan for the entire year. Publicize the plan at the beginning of the year so everyone knows in advance the topics to be presented.

We should take a lesson from the creative people who design websites. They seem to be looking always for the “wow” factor. They dazzle and amaze us and keep us coming back to their sites. That’s what we need to do with our Lodges. We need to be creative in our Lodge programming design and we need to “Wow” the Brethren will our excellence in everything we do.

Internet social networking sites can do some great things for you but don’t forget about your “Oldest Social Networking Site,” your Lodge room. Make sure it is just as good as you can make it.

Have a Great Masonic Day!