I can’t help it.

The radio business is calling my name.

When November comes to a close next week, I am leaving my position at Shindigz and joining radio station WOWO.

I’ll share some of my Shindigz lessons about Social Media and Internet marketing in the future.

I have spent more than half of my life in the radio business and this time, it looks like a completion of many circles.

As a kid growing up in Fort Wayne, Indiana in the 1960’s and 70’s, WOWO was always the one radio station that everyone listened to.

Yes, everyone.  I was just listening to an interview with Al Mitchell, who was the Program Director for 3 years, and he mentioned that at one time 2/3rds of everyone age 12 and older listened to WOWO in the early mornings.

Two items come to mind when I think about WOWO in December.

1st is a tradition that lives to this day. The WOWO Penny Pitch concept is that your spare change can change lives.

2nd is the Ho Ho WOWO contest that originated in 1969 when I was a wee 9 year old.  Al Mitchel explains how that contest worked in this interview starting around 12 or 13 minutes in.

The contest involved payphones which are nearly nonexistent these days.

The radio station would call payphones and if the person answered with “Ho Ho Wo Wo,” they would win a holiday ham.

By the way, WOWO is pronounced as two syllables. Just like Sclo-ho.

So, about those circles I mentioned.

There’s the circle of being a listener as a kid, and now working for the station.

Between 1980 and 1983, I worked for WMEE on Maples Road in Fort Wayne.  In 1995 WOWO moved to the same building as they are now sister stations.

Returning to Maples Road is another circle.

In the mid 1990’s I was doing mornings on WFWI, 92.3 FM on the original version of The Fort.  That station was sold and recently became WOWO-FM, and there’s another circle completed.

I will be doing advertising sales for WOWO radio and for their related digital media products including Social Media, Websites, Apps, and so on.  Returning to radio advertising sales is a circle, but there’s more.

Nearly 10 years ago, I started getting involved with the digital world.  I was writing, editing, and posting on several ScLoHo blog sites at the rate of 30 to 50 posts per week.  I also was one of the first active Tweeps (Twitter Users) in our area and have taught, conducted seminars, and advised both individuals and organizations on Branding, Marketing, and Digital Media.  Three years ago I walked away from the radio world to work for a website development firm, and this year I have been handling and overseeing the social media activity for an Internet retailer.

So in my new position, I will be able to take what I’ve been doing in the digital media world, and put that knowledge, experience and wisdom to work for others, thus another circle is completed.

One last circle to mention.  The gentleman who will be my manager at WOWO, Ben… A few years ago he joined the stations I was working for at the time. It was his first venture in the radio business and I was his manager for awhile.

By the way, I will be working with a limited number of businesses who want help with growing their customer base and I’d be happy to talk with you to see if you qualify.  Drop me an email to Scott@ScLoHo.net and we’ll schedule a time to talk.