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#RIPKiddKraddick
July 29, 2013
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It's ironic that last week I was writing here on "Merge" about the importance of attending industry events:
"Radio conferences can challenge our thoughts and maybe even get us to think about things differently. But if we're lucky - we also get to be part of something that goes deeper than any lesson in tactics and fundamentals."
While that was referring to getting to hear Jaye Albright sharing her story at Conclave, the thought about why attendance at industry conferences is important ring even louder because of the loss of radio legend, Kidd Kraddick.
Little did those of us know that were able to spend time with and/or listen to Kidd speak this year at the Worldwide Radio Summit in L.A. that it would be the last time.
Kidd was "on" and funnier than ever when he co-hosted the Industry Awards at the Summit with Bert Weiss. It was a chance to hear him having fun and adlibbing – in his element. Like this moment when he offered Fred Jacobs "advice" after presenting him with an award:
Kidd inherently understood the act of acknowledgement – whether face to face or in the social space. He took time to reply to or retweet fans who felt as if they knew him – comfortable enough to tweet him:
So perhaps it was no surprise when I saw Kidd as a top ten Trending Topic on Sunday morning – after all, he and his team are very social:
But when I clicked his name, the tweets were mostly thoughts of disbelief:
From radio colleagues to his radio show fans, the social space was stunned:
What's comforting about this socially open and connected world is that we have the opportunity to share our thoughts, read others, and know that we're not alone.
From Twitter to Facebook to Vine to Instagram – we also have memories stored for posterity.
So when we want to, all we have to do is type in what we're looking for and there is that face and maybe something they said - shared socially at any given time:
Social is personal.
At the end of the day, fans aren't firing up Facebook to be pitched or promoted to.
They're busy taking selfies:
And talking about what they want to talk about:
It's pretty special that we get to read random thoughts of those we've lost or look through pictures that others share of them.
The industry has lost a real craftsman.
But socially, we'll get to read Kidd's humor whenever we need a good laugh – or look at his work with children and remember just how powerful the radio platform can be.
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