The Future of Storytelling is Now

How interested would you be in a story about a rare fish that was found along the coast of North Carolina that scared some beach goers? 

How about now?

Courtesy: Leif Rasmussen

I bet this picture helps pique your interest further?

The truth is images have had an impact on story telling for hundreds of years. However, effective use of multimedia extends well beyond pictures. The use of multimedia is not just about creating a more interesting web post—it’s vital to attracting more eyeballs in the extremely competitive media world.  Telling a story with words is simply not enough with new media generations.  It’s about an experience—striking the most senses you can and helping people experience the story as if they were there.   People no longer want to just read about a story they want to experience it.

The multimedia definition alone specifically mentions several types of media. The advancement of technology makes it possible for professionals and every day Joes to use pictures, audio recordings, video, animation, motion graphics and beyond.  Recently Joe Witte, VP of Business Development and Marketing at ISEBOX talked about this issue related to the marketing world.  ISEBOX is a multimedia content distribution platform.  Witte said, 

 “Marketers have recognized that they can connect with their clients and prospects more effectively if they can communicate 1-to-1 with them (via social) and also connect on a deeper level that touches them emotionally.  A good way to do that is with a photo. A better way is with an infographic. And the best way, is with a video.  These tools help tell stories and hopefully create connections. And if timing is right, could go viral.”

 While some techniques might work better than others singularly, I think using a broad set of multimedia techniques regularly sets a higher standard and would likely result in more viewership.  If I'm a maestro with the best trumpet, violin, piano, and drummer in the world I want to utilize it all in one masterpiece. I don't want to hear each one singularly.   The same can be said about multimedia techniques.

Consider this New York Times piece by John Branch.  

 It’s what I like to call a perfect ensemble of multimedia.  Right off the bat, the animated blowing snow picture sets the tone for the story and creates images in your own mind.   The brilliance of how the story unfolds when you scroll down the page helps develop the story create a flow visually.  The videos, map, and slideshow all provide actual documents, a personal touch and comprehensive story. You read it, see it, hear it, and feel it.  In other words, it's a complete multimedia story.

This story from The Guardian may be the most ridiculously awesome example I have ever seen. 

As you scroll and stop  on the website, interviews begin to play and stop.  In a unique sense, the reader and the story interact.  It’s hard to explain in words but the boundaries of a website even change.  The talking heads are not in typical video players, they just appear on the page before you.  I have no inside knowledge about the work that went into this story but clearly it took time and a significant amount of resources. It points to the need for technical people to become more integrated in newsrooms and teams of people who help create stronger and more compelling content.  Not to mention, for the advertising staff and managers, it’s likely to keep audiences on web pages for a much longer duration. 

If you enjoy this kind of work check out Mediastorm.  Some of the work they do is remarkable use of multimedia.  The capabilities to do more are there and seem almost endless.  We just have to find a way in journalism to capture that ability and do it on a daily basis.  The news organizations that do will thrive and the others will choke on the digital exhaust of those racing past them in the ultra competitive media world.  It takes courage, risk and learning from mistakes.  Simply, we must change our ways to fully engage new media audiences.

Big Time Bloggin'

Got your attention?

I know, I know.  It's a cheap way to get your attention.  But I have a point.  Good or bad, first impressions are everything in the digital world and internet. What gets your attention can vary but that first impression plays a huge role in long term retention. In my opinion, the same is true in the world of blogging. 

I believe there are five or six punch list items that make a blog worth checking out and coming back week after week.  The specifics are always different depending on the type of blog but there are certain best practices that equal success regardless of genre.

• Uniqueness – provide content you can’t get anywhere else

• Find a niche – random musings can be funny but people want to read about similar interests and often follow someone writing about something specific (i.e. biking, writing, cooking, etc.)

• Know your audience – find your core audience and write to them.  If you’re writing about biking focus on biking and stick to that topic.  Use their terminology and know your subject. 

• Make sure it’s visually stimulating.  With the ability in this new digital age to easily add graphics, pictures, and video make sure to make the blog visually stimulating.

• Have something to say and be interesting.  This is probably the hardest aspect and finding your voice can take time but this is what makes people return to a blog day after day and week after week.  Readers love stories and personality and finding a way to weave all of this together creates a perfect blog in my view.

I think GovBeat is a great example of a blog that meets my personal criteria.  Many of you will probably find the content boring but that’s the point.  Not every blog is for everyone.  In this new media age, fragmented audiences create the need to find smaller but very loyal audiences. GovBeat is a blog by the Washington Post’s Reid Wilson with the help of fellow reporters.  It focuses on the stories happening in state and local governments. 

This blog clearly is not for everyone, but if you’re interested in politics on the state level it’s a must read.  It targets politicians, journalists, and public policy experts.  However, it’s written in a way that any citizen could understand if they are interested.  In short, it’s a way for anyone interested in public policy to see how other states are handling major issues for comparison to your own state.

The authors have found a niche that very few news organizations are producing on a national level.  They know their audience is people looking for information about policy in other states across the nationl. In other words, the content is focused.   The blog is visually easy to read and makes great use of charts and graphics to help understand the content.  Finally, the writers write in a manner that’s entertaining to read (at least to us policy nerds) but like to add in humorous comments and anecdotes to break up the monotony of serious politics and policy.

While it’s not for everyone, I think GovBeat has successfully found a way to become a very popular blog to a loyal base of readers.  In this world of fragmented media, it’s a success story on creating content in the blogging world.