Category Archives: Uncategorized

“Twist of Fate” – Step Three of the Brand Storytelling Hero’s Journey

YOU HAVE CANCER. You go through treatment, get very sick and then, slowly but surely, you get better. The most advanced medical technology available saved your life – but then you drop dead at a backyard party because no one knew basic first aid. This narrative sleight of hand is what I call a “TwistContinue reading ““Twist of Fate” – Step Three of the Brand Storytelling Hero’s Journey”

Breaking the Story Code: The Brand Storytelling “Hero’s Journey”

“A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder; fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won; the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.” – Joseph Campbell ANYONE WHO HAS WATCHED “STAR WARS” (andContinue reading “Breaking the Story Code: The Brand Storytelling “Hero’s Journey””

Technology’s Next Great Moment

“The most profound technologies are those that disappear. They weave themselves into the fabric of everyday life until they are indistinguishable from it.” – Mark Weiser, The Computer for the Twenty-First Century, 1991 WE ARE A COLLECTION OF MOMENTS. The Moment when you first fall in love (and when you fall out.) The Moment whenContinue reading “Technology’s Next Great Moment”

My 20 Years of Hearing Dangerously

IT WAS AROUND THIS TIME 20 YEARS AGO when my life changed forever, and I’m not talking about the birth of the Web browser (though that was pretty cool.) I’m not talking about my marriage, which will be 22 years young next month, or the birth of my daughter, who will be old enough toContinue reading “My 20 Years of Hearing Dangerously”

Data + Storytelling: Emotion Must be in the Equation

1+1 = 2. This is fact. It’s balanced. It is universal, comforting and logical. 1+1 = 2 tells a story. But sometimes, 1+1 = 3. This, too, is fact. 1+1 = 3 is powerful, ironic and messy. It’s surprising, uncomfortable and transcendent. 1+1 = 3 tells a great story. I celebrate the end of “content” and theContinue reading “Data + Storytelling: Emotion Must be in the Equation”

The End of “Content” — Storytelling Using the Layered Narrative System

In my previous post I explained the Layered Narrative concept and why it’s the future of storytelling. But a concept is nothing without an engine to make it work in real lifeI’ve developed a simple system to help brands get the most out of their stories. It’s a system grounded in journalistic principles and driven byContinue reading “The End of “Content” — Storytelling Using the Layered Narrative System”

Layered Narrative Storytelling: A Journalistic Standard for Creating Content

ALL THE FACEBOOK UPDATES, tweets, RSS alerts, texts, chats, Instagrams and pins can’t change the One Simple Truth of countless millennia: We are wired for narrative. Similarly, all the opining for simpler days when media was mass and J-school graduates got to decide what stories to tell won’t change the exponential media fragmentation that ledContinue reading “Layered Narrative Storytelling: A Journalistic Standard for Creating Content”

Why “Content Marketing” is A Model for Disaster – And Why Journalism is the Answer

A FORMER COLLEAGUE RECENTLY asked me the following in an email: “I’m looking for recommendations for good content marketing conferences to attend. Let me know if you have a few minutes sometime to chat?” So it’s come to this. We’ve gone so far down the “content” rabbit hole that there are now entire conferences dedicatedContinue reading “Why “Content Marketing” is A Model for Disaster – And Why Journalism is the Answer”