Real Time Information Puts a Premium on Meaning What does it mean when we have real time on-demand information? It means there is no longer an information shortage. We have more information that we know what to do with -- even when we ask for it. We have a filter shortage. Stories are the way the brain processes information. Don't leave it up to the receiving brain to make sense of your message. Stories are the way to contextualize information so people hear what you have to say. Yesterday, I watched it snow in New York City. A lot. Today I am seeing people digging out and slushing through the snow banks at curbside. I can also watch a comedian named Mike Birbiglia, through a window in the Herald Square Macys. He is hanging out for a week on a queen-sized bed doing a real life demonstration for Downey's "Clean Sheet Week" Challenge. I can see all this, but I live in San Francisco. Nevertheless, because of live videostreaming, I can appreciate the snowy mess … [Read more...]
5 Keys for Social Media Marketing Using Storytelling
A story is the center of every successful social media marketing campaign. Effective campaigns are not about the tools. They are about substance. Stories provide an authentic human experience that taps into psychological fundamentals, making them the most effective way to engage audiences. Stories have the ability to express the essence of a brand or advocacy campaign because they convey meaning. Stories transport us into a participatory world that we personalize using our goals, imagination and emotions. Stories are how we make sense of the world, how we connect, and how we share. In other words, a story does for brand messaging what social media does for people: it engages, connects and shares. Here are 5 keys to harnessing story power: Find your story. What is the essence of your goal, organization, or service? Why does it exist? What is the fundamental message? Who are you saying it to? Build your story. Stories consist of characters with goals: the hero we root for … [Read more...]
Lowlifes: Transmedia Crime Mystery Story
Calling all mystery buffs: thanks to Transmedia producer Robert Pratten and colleagues, you can experience a transmedia Crime Mystery. Transmedia stories usually make us think of major franchise efforts, such as the Matrix, or Avatar. Transmedia storytelling is not about budget, however. It’s about the power of the story and the story experience. So check out Lowlifes (http://lowlifes.tv). Pratten recently launched this innovative application of transmedia storytelling that enables you to join in the fictional world of a San Francisco homicide detective named Larry Hayes from multiple perspectives. This is “an expanding universe of digital mobile downloads, video episodes, blogs and interactive challenges that meld San Francisco's past and present with a fictional narrative designed to blur the boundaries of what's real and what's not.” PR Web I like this project because it is driving transmedia out to wider audience by making it accessible, easy to use, and … [Read more...]
