I launched my survey on digital storytelling today. I need 120 respondents between the ages of 16-28. The survey takes about 20 minutes. Participants are entered into a drawing for a $50 gift card to Amazon. If you’re in the age range, please take my survey. It should yield some interesting results.
Here’s the link: http://kwiksurveys.com/s.asp?sid=2cuc0x5gox88nj0290568
I ran across this great TED Talk while trying to decide which new social network to try for my final class project. Enjoy!
Any suggestions on what social media fits best with digital storytelling? Tweet me @CaitlinWhite3.
That’s right, I love my Subaru. I have a 2003 Forester and before that I had a 1998 Legacy. My family has a long history of Subaru love, and we’re definitely not the only ones. Why is my love for my Subaru related to digital storytelling? Because the automaker is one company that has used digital storytelling to sell its brand. The four videos below are just a taste of what Subaru has done to make a more personal connection with their customers.
Subaru has even started asking the question, “What makes a Subaru a Subaru?” And the answer is love. Subaru started a whole campaign around this idea, including the videos you see here.
This campaign used digital storytelling, telling the personal stories of Subaru owners. Subaru drivers were even asked to write personal letters about they they love their Subaru.
And this type of advertising may be working. In 2013, Subaru had a record breaking year, and guess who has started buying more Subarus lately? That’s right, Millennials, a part of the population that has consistent exposure to media and is familiar with digital storytelling.
What other brands are using digital storytelling? Tweet me at @CaitlinWhite3.
Just a quick and fun post of great digital storytelling resources. I’ve grouped them so it’s a bit easier to find what you’re looking for and they are all resources I haven’t shared yet on this blog. Post your favorite links as comments!
Organizations/Groups:
Academia:
Education:
Sets of Examples:
This post shares a more personal digital story in a new way. For the past two years, I’ve been helping my great-uncle transcribe written journals into a historic memoir. His memoir, “As I Saw It: The Story of GI’s in World War II” is a day-by-day account of his service in World War II. The picture on the left is my uncle on the day he enlisted in the infantry regiment.
My great-uncle, William C. Lagos — or Uncle Bill, to me — is now 92. In 1943, he was supposed to be attending college at the University of Wyoming, but then joined the U.S. Army as a communication sergeant. Over the next two years, he wrote everyday about his enlistment, training and eventually, action in the European Conflict.
This historic story is truly interesting to read, but since the war zone stretched thousands of miles, it is difficult to visualize how far my great-uncle walked while serving in the war. By telling his story visually through the use of a Google Map, I was able to turn my great-uncle’s memoir into a digital story.
The Google Map has three layers for easy differentiation. The first layer — the blue markers — represent a time before the war. The second layer — the green markers — represent his time training. The third layer — the red markers — represent his time overseas.
Each marker holds a piece of the memoir from tough training in high temperatures to drinking champagne due to a shortage of water.
Now I realize that this is a video about the birth of Jesus, but since it’s Easter I thought I would share it anyway. It’s a fun, short digital story using social media to tell an age old story.
Since digital storytelling is a relatively new field, there are still many definitions and uses. This article “7 things you should know about…digital storytelling” does a great job of summarizing what digital story is, who is using it, and why it’s hard. One part of the article that is particularly interesting is why digital storytelling is significant. One reason the article says it’s significant is because stories are designed to teach beliefs and values. Oral storytelling has held up for quite a while, but with digital stories, the storyteller can create subject matter that uses dynamic media to create a connection with the audience.
This video is a good example of why digital stories can be largely significant to an audience. This storyteller is using her own history and digital media to teach her audience about history. She is able to make a noticeable connection with her audience by using her grandmother’s story.
When I first started this blog, I decided to use a quote from Ira Glass as a tagline for my blog. The other day I ran across a series of videos where Ira Glass is talking about storytelling and he offers some truly excellent ideas. In the first video, he mentions how we are taught to tell stories in high school is not always what really speaks to an audience. This was interesting to me as I have read quite a bit of research on how adults are less likely to be creative with storytelling because of how they were taught as children to be creative and the “right way” to tell a story.
A great tip Glass mentions is that as a storyteller you should constantly be raising questions. This implies to the audience that you will answer them at some point, but also keeps the story moving and interesting. The first video in the series is only 5 minutes so take a bit of time and watch it. You won’t be disappointed.
Just a short post today. I read an interesting article this morning about a Canadian water park that is heavily incorporating digital storytelling and story content into it’s $60 million complex. The plan for the water park is to engage customers at every step of the game – before, during and after their time at the water park. The digital storytelling concept for the water park comes form the idea that young people that play video games or surf the Internet will want to come to this water park with their families because of its unique characteristics. The water park will actually have attractions related to digital storytelling such as an elaborate laser tag arena, physical sets and next-generation technology to combine virtual worlds with reality. The water park is set to open in 2016.
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A digital story in still images.
What's Your (Digital) Story? 