See a photo of Sean, his bio, Part 1 of this Q&A, and Part 2.

Q&A with Sean Buvala, Questions 4 and 5:

Q: Your Web site, Storyteller.net is a major resource for performance storytellers and others interested in storytelling. The site is almost 12 years old, and even at age 10, you noted, “Ten years is forever in Internet terms.” What inspired you to start the site, and what has motivated you to keep it going?

A: Thanks. It is always interesting to see how people perceive Storyteller.net. It is not as much of a performance storytelling site as it is a clearinghouse for the many ways story can be expressed. When we began Storyteller.net a dozen years ago, there was nothing like it on the Internet. Actually, there was barely an Internet. We are older than Google. Our goal, back in 1995, was to expose people to storytelling in ways they might not have thought of before going to the site. It was unheard of that you could listen to stories online. We hoped that people might turn off their computers once they experienced recorded stories and book one of the storytellers in the directory to help them create storytelling in their schools, workplaces and other places in their communities.

We also wanted to create community online via such offerings as the articles, written and audio stories, events calendar and even, at one point, a “playground.” Back in our earliest days, the playground and the “storytelling coloring pictures” were the most used sections of the site. I still get hits for “coloring pictures” several times a month. We pulled the playground from the site as we thought we were just promoting the idea that storytelling was just for children.

We really were on the cutting edge of blogging, article marketing, directory listings, and podcasting before any of those words existed. The technology barely existed. Now, all the things we built and systems we set in place are ubiquitous for everyone on the Internet. Back then, storytellers trembled in fear about putting their faces, stories and contact information on the Web and we had a huge job in front of us trying to help folks see the future. I am tired just remembering all that work.

We are in need of a face-lift and few new “cool” features, with our last major revision back in 2002. That may take place later this year. I have plans! We are privately funded, that is, my wife and I pay for the site, so we have to work out a new budget. However, even with our need to update, storytellers in the directory are always telling me that they get many bookings from Storyteller.net. The articles and stories, which we are always adding, get plenty of traffic. We have very high Google search-result rankings. So, we are very much alive and well at Storyteller.net. It is our gift to the community.

Q: If you could identify a person (such as a celebrity) or organization who desperately needs to tell a better story, who or what would it be?

A: Just quickly, non-profit organizations must make better use of their stories. People give their money to organizations that have stories (results) that resonate with the donor. For all the years that I worked in non-profit groups, I can tell you the money followed the value of the story, not the spreadsheet.