Vin Scully, social influencer.
The longtime, now retired voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers, conscience of all good in baseball and Fordham University grad recently joined Twitter, and has been posting his thoughts, pictures and anecdotes to a growing number of fans, some of whom certainly know of him but don’t know a lot about how he became who he is.
Now t be fair, some of Vin’s sudden awakening on social is probably tied to the massive auction he is doing of his memorabilia, which he has every right, and smartly to do. However what Vin Scully on Twitter has done is open up possibilities for others who have said “this social media thing” isn’t for me, while sharing some very valuable lessons of days past into the future not just for Dodgers fans, but for consumers of all forms of information today.
Case in point was this past week, when Scully posted a short video explaining how in the Dodgers first year in LA, playing at the cavernous LA Coliseum, he and partner Jerry Doggett realized that transistor radios were helping those sitting far away from the field follow the game, simple because they could not actually see all that was going on that well. In addition to millions listening away from the stadium, Scully saw, or heard the power, that he and his partner could have on those right in front of him, and how they could see, in real time, how they could influence behavior. The test, according to the video, was when Vince not only wished umpire Frank Secory , who was calling the game, but counted down and had those listening in the stands wish him a Happy Birthday as well. It worked perfectly, and showed the power of a social network, and a medium like radio, long before we knew what social networks were today.
I have used the anecdote in my book, and in my class of my grandfather, Joe Sgro in a similar way. Joe, an accountant by trade, was also very involved in the Democratic party in South Brooklyn growing up. He would host groups of “influencers” on Sunday’s after 12:15 mass to have them learn about all that was going on in their area of Brooklyn. It became a very powerful networking tool for aspiring politicians like future Governors like Hugh Carey and Mario Cuomo and many others. The goal in that time in the 1950’s, ‘60’s, and ‘70’s was the same as what Scully did in the Coliseum and later at Dodger Stadium and what millions can do today with the expanded social networks we have…to listen, to engage in conversation, and to sometimes impact those who follow and who we follow. Their networks at that time where smaller, but no less important for those who they were engaged with.
Both stories are noteworthy in that they show how impactful the value of a social network has always been, be it in Brooklyn or Los Angeles decades ago, and how engagement was critical to simple success. The difference is that today the method of engagement, as well as the size of the audience, is so much vaster than was back in the day.
What is even better though, is we have one of our master storytellers who has embraced the new to link to methods of the past, and is using a great tool in Twitter, to do so. Keep giving us lessons Vin, we always need to learn from the trailblazers of the past as we keep looking forward. And for those who say the “social thing” isn’t for them, take a look at the lessons being administered and what we are learning from Mr. Scully, a great product of a Jesuit education and decades of listening now using the social space to expand his universe…again.
