The plain truth is we hear about the good news of Scouts and Scout volunteers in action every day. Social media is a phrase being tossed around. For Scouting, social media offers easy ways to share the Scouting good news of good people doing good things to help Scouts and the community.

1. Dear Scouting Friends,
Whether you are a new Den Leader or a veteran of the Broad Creek Campmaster
Corps you hear about or create Scout programs that becomes part of the fabric
and magic of Scouting.
The plain truth is we hear about the good news of Scouts and Scout volunteers in every day.
- Glaci Hines in National Pike District led her Pack and families to earn the new
PALA SCOUTStrong Award. Did you know that she was invited by a federal
agency to share her story? I posted her actual presentation on slideshare.com/
ethandraddy.
- Dana Edwards, our Jamboree Commissioner and the Jambo Committee wanted
to promote the Baltimore Area Council contingent to the 2013 Bechtel Summit
National Jamboree. I posted his meeting announcement on twitter.com/
ethandraddy.
- Jeff Griffin and Earl Adams had photos and testimonial video of adult Eagle Scouts
at the Gathering of Eagles. I posted the photos on flickr.com/ethandraddy and
video on www.vimeo.com/ethandraddy.
Please understand that “social media” is a phrase being tossed around some these
days. For us in Scouting, social media offers an easy and great way to share the
Scouting good news of good people doing good things to help Scouts and the
community. It really doesn’t take much effort or time if you understand the
resources. Just pick several that work for you following common sense and BSA
guidelines.
1. Twitter.com: Enables each of us to connect with like minded Scouters to send
and read text-based messages of up to 140 characters. I am at www.twitter.
com/ethandraddy so are Scouters like Wendy Islett of Arrowhead District
twitter.com/WendyIsett. In fact, I have several reporters ask me for contacts
on some positive Scout news.
2. Facebook.com: Check out some useful examples of Scouters who promote
their programs on Facebook, such as The Capitol District’s Cub Scout Day
Camp Tomahawk at facebook.com/CampTomahawkBSA and the Carroll
District’s page at facebook.com/groups/Carroll.District.Scouting. Both do a
great job telling stories and inspiring others.
3. Linkedin: Our Council Eagle Scout Network page has grown organically to
add hundreds of adult Eagle Scouts expressing an interest in staying informed.
Visit linkedin.com/groups?gid=1846116&trk=myg_ugrp_ovr. We have
even reconnected some back to local Scouting service as Merit Badge
Counselors and Commissioners. It’s easy. You’re off and running. That’s it.
By implementing the right tools in your Scouting world, you can become...and
importantly helps others become...more efficient and effective with your Scouting
message.
What do you think? Have you used any of these tools or will you try them?
Please share your thoughts and comments with me at edraddy@baltimorebsa.org.
Yours in Scouting,
Ethan Draddy
Scout Executive & CEO