Farewell Boy Scouts America-Podcast 724

The Boy Scouts of America recently changed its name. The reason? Scouts USA will admit girls. These days a decision like that can kick off a firestorm of criticism. There’s even a new Christian alternative to the Boy Scouts. For my best friends and I, BSA was all about camping. We’ll talk about it in Farewell Boy Scouts America-Podcast 724.

Best Friends Like None Other

I had two best friends growing up. Both of them invited me into the Boy Scouts. The other day one of them texted me, concerned that the Boy Scouts would not admit girls. “Are you gonna do a podcast about that?”, he wondered. I said I didn’t think so. The idea of a podcast about changes in our social institutions though, stuck with me.

Summer Memories

Especially relevant is how summer brings back memories. It’s warm already in Minnesota and that makes me think about my best friends, camp outs, summer camp and fun. For us, that’s what the Boy Scouts were. So I’ll share some stories about our campouts in Farewell Boy Scouts America-Podcast 724.

Nonconformist Scoutmaster

What’s more, as I researched and thought about this podcast I realized how important our scoutmaster was to all of us. It’s not what you’d expect. Our scoutmaster and the men who watched over us were anything but conformists.

No Patience For Rules and Regulations in 1970’s America

As world war two vets, our scoutmasters weren’t about to take crap from anyone. Moreover, they didn’t have much patience for bureaucracy, rules and regulations. What they did was make sure we were safe, had a good time, and took care of each other. They also stood up for us, celebrated us and had our back. In Farewell Boy Scouts America-Podcast 724.

Changing Institutions

Most noteworthy to this podcast is the idea that institutions like the Boy Scouts are changing. Crumbling even. There’s no shortage of criticism for ‘Scouts USA’ from commentators who make sure to tell the reader they were Eagle Scouts and went on to Explorers. We didn’t. In fact we thought ‘Super Scouts’ were kind of weird.

Friends For Life

For us it was all about camping and the kind of friendship none of us will have again. I think it was that way with our scoutmasters and the fathers of the kids who came to the campouts too. For me, I don’t mind leaving it all behind and keeping those times as memories. As Stephen King once wrote, “I never had friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12. Jesus. Does anyone?”

My sentiments exactly.

Was it the Boy Scouts? Or was it us?

Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating Of Saint Paul

Farewell Boy Scouts America-Podcast 724

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 36:45 — 84.1MB) | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

Back To School 2017-Culling The Social Media Herd-Podcast 659

State Fair Time in Minnesota. A change in the weather. Time for Back to School. Back in the studio after summer traveling. An afternoon with FaceBook convinces me it’s time to start culling the social media herd. In Back To School 2017-Culling The Social Media Herd-Podcast 659.

Back In The Studio

These days all of my travel is on America’s back roads. Summer 2017 saw thousands of miles of travel for The Bob Davis Podcasts. All of it on two lane state and US highways. You see a different United States from the two lane highways. Whether it was Joliet, Illinois or Rapid City, South Dakota or traveling through rural Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, West Virginia or mining towns in Ohio. I did not see Americans consumed with politics.

Backroads Education

When you travel the backroads you see people doing what they do every day. Getting up and going to work. Running their businesses. Taking kids to baseball, football soccer and hockey games. This is not a country of feral political beasts. It is not a country of angry supporters of either political fringe. Looks pretty much the same as it did when my family toured the country by the same highways, back when I was a kid.

Social Media Cesspool

On social media though, it is a different world. In Back To School 2017-Culling The Social Media Herd-Podcast 659 it’s time to cull the social media herd. Unfollowing those dear friends who post links to articles and demand your support or comment on the latest political and usually nonsensical missive from someone who exhorts you to think and act a certain way.

Where’s The Vision?

Back to School also means reengaging in a political process gone mad. Vision? Concrete plans for the future? Political organization? Those are relics of the past. What’s left are screaming matches, memes, reposts and going ‘live’ on FaceBook to grind your political axe. How does a podcaster add to this cacophony of ignorance and advance the story at the same time? In Back To School 2017-Culling The Social Media Herd-Podcast 659.

No Good Citizens

Neither mainline political party serves the interests of its adherents anymore. Part of the reason is demographic. Much of the reason is people seem to think negatively commenting on a congressman’s FB Live post or protesting is the same as involvement. There are no political movements to convince legislators to take a course of action because no one wants to do that work anymore. Maybe the reason people have turned away from politics are the loud mouths and those who fill their social media feeds with partisan posts, and demand reaction.

Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul

Back To School 2017-Culling The Social Media Herd-Podcast 659

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 36:04 — 82.6MB) | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

Return On Investment Chaotic World-Podcast 646

Fast and sometimes chaotic change sometimes causes people to cling to the old days and old ways. Return On Investment Chaotic World-Podcast 646 focuses on advertising for small business.

An Incredible Time

These days individuals and small business have the ability to achieve the kind of reach only dreamt about in past eras. One of the biggest problems I encounter is the habit of small businesses to fall into small thinking.

You Put A Dollar Into One End Of This Machine and You Get Twenty

Seems like business owners think there’s a machine somewhere that converts one dollar bills into twenty dollar bills and its called ‘Return on Investment‘. Social Media. Digital Advertising. Funnels. SEO. What are these? How do you set your business apart from competitors? We’ll talk about it in Return On Investment Chaotic World-Podcast 646.

ROI Is A Pig In A Poke

You don’t build a brand – as hackneyed as that concept is these days – worrying about ‘return on investment’. You don’t build a brand with ‘Hey Come On Down’ advertising approaches. Old thinking dominates main street and our political process.

Do You Feel The World Change?

Change is especially relevant these days. Chaos is another thing. Problem is if you don’t orient yourself and your business to it, change will become chaos.

There are more yoga teachers in the United States than Coal Miners, but we are developing a major economic policy for coal miners. Internet Commerce is in the process of disrupting and destroying retail. Yet, we’re building more malls. Autonomous machines and software of all kinds is replacing workers but city councils are passing higher minimum wages. In Return On Investment Chaotic World-Podcast 646.

Delivery By Drone

Technology already exists to deliver most of major company’s commerce by drone. Regulation and approval is holding it up. Same with driverless cars and many other innovations.

Meanwhile Back At The Ranch

I think it is probably predictable that in the face of potential chaotic change, people cling to the old ways of thinking and doing. Especially when it comes to advertising and politics. Change waits for no one though. It seems like the more we wait to adapt and improvise the more potential chaos looms.

Mundane to Extraordinary

The Return on Investment trope is the trigger for a romp through a discussion of new technology and its effects. From tanks in World War I to Edward Snowden. From advertising to asymmetric threats. It is here and more is coming. Return On Investment Chaotic World-Podcast 646.

Sponsored by Brush Studio In The West End

Return On Investment Chaotic World-Podcast 646

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 39:02 — 89.3MB) | Embed

Subscribe: RSS