Storytelling in a Digital World

Storytelling is not immune from the new era of digital and social media. See the article below. This article via Karen Dietz caught my eye and so I am sharing it with you. The video mentioned in the article can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=AoT13m8-Kxo#!

 So, after going to the Troy public library website and viewing the video, what do you think--does the video improve the viewer's ability to retain information about the library? Does it help you to remember important details? What emotions does this story evoke?

              Digital storytelling: How to tell a story that stands out in the digital age?

From themuseumofthefuture.com - Today, 5:49 AM

 "So, how do you tell a story in the digital age that stands out, captures people’s attention and gets them to act, engage with your institution? My favourite story for quite some time now and one I’ve been showing in workshops around the world is the story of the Troy public library." Ok -- the author here isn't writing anything revolutionary. So you can skim the text. But watch the 2.5 minute video! It's the reason I selected this piece. The video is brilliant -- and a perfect example of how story triggers can make a difference in social causes and social cause marketing. The video is about a library. It is controversial. Now I am a big fan of libraries so I was rooting for it (my personal bias). And the video itself is a really good example of a digital story. I say 'story triggers' because the library used story elements and metaphors that sparked stories within the viewer's/reader's brains. The library did not actually tell a full-blown story yet the public reaction was immediate and powerful. Go watch the video! Then share what you think. This review was written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on business storytelling at www.scoop.it/t/just-story-it ; Via Karen Dietz

So You Had a Crush: Trace Adkins' Music & Stories

Yes, it's been a long while since I've posted something for you related to story-telling. My life has been a wild ride lately--lots of ups and just as many downs, and then back UP again! Needless to say, the birth of my new grandson on February 10th was a very happy occasion. It brought home to me, once again, the need to continue the tradition of story-telling (both oral and written).

Today, while doing my usual and routine run through of email and other websites, I happened to see the "teaser" headline for this article about Trace Adkins and his college "crush." Sucker that I am for a good romance and feel-good story, I bit and clicked on the article. I'm sharing this link with you (not because of the serendipity of finding and connecting with an old "crush", though that was enough for me...LOL) to highlight that music and story-telling have a real connection.

Music many times facilitates great story-telling and anyone who has heard Mr. Adkins' songs knows that he is a wonderful story-teller. Check out the article and the information about his Music and Stories tour. I hope that everyone had a lovely Valentine's Day and that, perhaps, this will inspire you to tell some stories of your own!

Bank on It!

Here is a way to inject adventure and drama into your life--go to the bank! Doing banking business used to be a pretty mundane event, some might even say boring. Ha! Not these days! The officers of our financial institutions must sit up at night thinking of new surprises for us. Maybe it's a covert physical fitness operation to increase our heart rates, to get our blood moving, to increase our lung capacity as we shout undecipherable sputterings upon leaving the building.

The ingenuity and, quite frankly, stealthiness in relieving us of our hard-earned funds is quite amazing. Perhaps you have encountered some of the following: an increasing list of service fees, ever-changing ways to put "holds" on your funds for ever-increasing amounts of time, a variety of new fees for a variety of "questionable" services, and new reasons why previously offered services can no longer be provided. Isn't it surprising way the way that even if you have direct deposit and your deposit and various check payments arrive on the same day--guess what gets accomplished first, in the order of "largest amount first" which can introduce you to the ever popular "Surprise, your in overdraft" game. Deposit a money order lately? Welcome to the world of a 48-hour wait after purchase, calls to validate that this is not a forgery, and tellers looking at you suspiciously.

These are only a few of the new financial management adventures in store for you. Banking institutions, in bygone years, were the solid foundation that our communities were built upon. They were considered beyond reproach--honest, forthright, run by solid citizens. Banks were there to help you increase your investment. Not,become the banking equivalent of the Dyson vacuum, that never loses suction, inhaling any and all available money. Remember the way it used to be? Not lately! Anyone have a blood-pressure monitor handy...sigh!?

Who Knew...The National Storytelling Network!

The following is a quote from the National Storytelling Network's webpage...check out their website!

"Storytelling...

Storytelling, the language art that predates written history, is also a widespread, dynamic, and varied art form in the modern world. Professional and amateur storytellers entertain audiences of all ages. Storytelling is a key tool in fields such as health and healing, business, law, education, religion, and environmental action.

Everyone is familiar with the power and intimacy of one-on-one conversation. Many recognize theater’s magical capacity to open the mind to new horizons. Storytelling, a life skill with enormous communicative powers, combines these qualities. Storytelling transforms lives - and NSN transforms storytellers."

The National Storytelling Network Conference is being held July 29, 2010 through August 1, 2010. Check out the conference information on their website at www.storynet.org. All I can say is that practice makes for a better storyteller. So go tell your stories!

Remembering....

I woke up this morning at 3AM on the sofa, as I tend to have a habit of doing lately, to the television documentary about the designing and building of the 911 Memorial for the victims of the Pentagon attack. Gary Sinise was the narrator telling the story of that day and how the design of this memorial was intended to remember, as individuals, each of the persons who lost their life that day. Individual people, with lives of their own, with mothers/fathers, husbands/wives, people who loved them dearly. I remember that day vividly, where I was, what I was doing...and did, on my way to my own job in Washington, DC. The voluminous cloud of dark, grey smoke that I watched build and grow taller and taller to my right as I crossed Whitehurst Freeway...and to my left, seeing all of the carpenters/builders lined up, standing on the edges of the rooftops of the highrises they were working on--looking at that same cloud from across the river. We didn't know then that this cloud meant that 184 lives had been taken. The 911 remembrance timeline had begun.

In their design, The Pentagon Memorial designers literally included that timeline and those of the Pentagon victims. The youngest of those individuals, Dana Falkenberg, was only 3 years old. That's what really hit me in the heart--a true innocent lost for no good reason. This child will now be remembered, always, with a memorial attesting to the fact that they had once lived and their life taken too cruelly, too soon. So, too, will I remember that the wife of a Department of Energy colleague will have her own memorial there. I've not gone to the World Trade Center site, nor have I been to the Pentagon Memorial, but I now feel compelled to go. To witness. To remember.

It is truly hard for me to believe that almost ten years have passed since the 911 attacks on our country and our people. We have moved on, as the living must do, and we have tried to bring some sense of normalcy to our daily living. We do this even while the lengths to which we go to protect ourselves from another such attack is, at times, onerous, complicated, invasive, and, yes, sometimes ridiculous. Yet, we must never forget, we must always remember--evil doers are intent on doing evil. We have many Memorials remembering other wars fought, other individuals fallen, all this to honor and validate the cost of living Free. The Pentagon Memorial is the newest memorial. On this weekend that usually heralds the beginning of our Summer fun, I hope that you will take a few moments to remember that we enjoy our life of freedom--to go to the seaside, to take in the sun, to enjoy time with our families because someone cared enough to give their life in order that our Nation continue as the Land of the Free!

How Long is Too Long??

Today I learned a "lesson" from my daughter...the world of story-telling needs to consider the new world of social media. Meaning? Stories should be no longer than 140 characters according to Ms. "Just get to the point!" I can relate...sort of...when I remember how many times I've asked my mother to hurry along a story that she has been telling me (most for the third or fourth time). But really--140 characters! First, I have the speaking habit of many folks living below the Mason-Dixon line--I talk slo-o-o-o-w! That is, according to my daughter who I believe was kidnapped by some family in New York/New Jersey and who secretly endoctrinated her with their speech patterns--"Warp Speed, Mr. Sulu!" I also believe in sharing the details, all of the details, that enrich the story for the listener. At least, I assumed that to be the case--again, incorrectly, according to my impatient listener. For story-tellers, one and all, the dilemma is how to capture and keep the attention of your listener without going on too long and losing them.

So I tried a new approach--"Man, woman, hiking, bad fall, rescued!" Her response?
"Got it--now tell me more!".....Sigh.

Outerspace, NASA, Project Management & Storytelling

Imagine my surprise that one of the very special, unique and brilliant people that I have met during my career turns out to be responsible for using storytelling in a very unusual setting--the Federal Government, no less! I met Dr. Edward Hoffman in the early 90's when working on revising the Department of Energy's Project Management curriculum. Storytelling as a method of knowledge management is not only a novel way of capturing and sharing relevant information; it is also budget friendly. Again, it is a way for more experienced leaders within a specific community to assist a new generation, to give them knowledge and information they may need to avoid costly errors, to lead by their actions and their words, to INSPIRE!

Go to http://www.edutechltd.com/pdf/impact_storytelling.pdf to read more about how NASA and Dr. Edward Hoffman and Dr. Alexander Laufer built a knowledge-sharing community among Project Managers within NASA. If you know of more recent applications of storytelling (for a positive purpose)within the Federal Government or your agency, by all means share them with us!