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STOP TELLING STORIES Why storytelling isn’t the answer to good content Wednesday, 26 October 2011

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1. It’s not an English lesson •Tone of voice •Language •Stories •Character •Audience •Points of view Wednesday, 26 October 2011

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1. It’s not an English lesson •Tone of voice •Language •Stories •Character •Audience •Points of view Wednesday, 26 October 2011

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1. It’s not an English lesson •Tone of voice •Language •Stories •Character •Audience •Points of view Content? Wednesday, 26 October 2011

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WHY ‘STORYTELLING’? •Sounds warm and wholesome •Implies a connection •Sounds like something anyone can do, while implying a skill •Sounds social and/or interactive = hip •Sounds like meaning and learning will result •Sounds accessible. We all think we know what it is Wednesday, 26 October 2011

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CONTENT ISN’T ‘STORIES’ Wednesday, 26 October 2011

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CONTENT ISN’T ‘STORIES’ Wednesday, 26 October 2011

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CONTENT IS JUST WHAT GOES IN Wednesday, 26 October 2011

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THE STUFF THAT FILLS THE GRID Wednesday, 26 October 2011

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2. MAGAZINES ARE EVERYTHING Wednesday, 26 October 2011

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•All issues are united by CONTEXT, not content •Grids are rules. MAGAZINES ARE GRIDS OF REASON Wednesday, 26 October 2011

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•Unlike stories, content is needy. •Rationale comes from formalism, not English lessons. 3. Content is needy Wednesday, 26 October 2011

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“Content is a glimpse of something, an encounter like a flash. It’s very tiny, content.” - Willem De Kooning Wednesday, 26 October 2011

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We don’t need more content strategists We need more content-ambivalent formalists Because you can’t start with content Because stuff needs a reason to be there Wednesday, 26 October 2011

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Reason/co ordinates/ rationale/structure/ form/point/ argument/ defense/ case/justification/ grid/rules Decisions about specific content THEN FIRST Wednesday, 26 October 2011

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•Truth-seeking. •Testable. •Frameworks for inserting optimal ideas. •Precede everything. •Don’t need an ‘expert’; do need intelligence. •Go hand-in-hand with the unrepresentable. 4. The argument for arguments Wednesday, 26 October 2011

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Content locks together. Stories don’t. Wednesday, 26 October 2011

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Stories don’t like arguments •They’re representational •...and self-contained •Online, social storytelling means expressing feelings and showing off •No reason here. You either ‘get it’ or you don’t Wednesday, 26 October 2011

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WHICH IS FINE Wednesday, 26 October 2011

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CONTENT ISN’T STORIES! EVERYTHING IS A MAGAZINE ARGUMENTS AND REASONS GIVE CONTENT NECESSARY LIMITS SO... Wednesday, 26 October 2011