See a photo of Paul and John, their bios, Part 1 of this Q&A,Part 2, and Part 3, and Part 4.

Q&A with Paul Furiga and John Durante, Questions 9 and 10:

Q: How important is it to you and your work to function within the framework of a particular definition of “story?” What definition do you espouse?

A: We define a story as simply “contextual communication with a beginning, middle and end.” Additionally, in our professional practice of storytelling, we work only with clients interested in telling authentic stories. To us, a story must be authentic to resonate with an audience. It must be told by a fluent storyteller. And the storyteller must continually “read the audience” to assure that he or she is engaging the audience or audiences he or she is trying to reach. Only then can true communication result through a dialogue.

Q: The culture is abuzz about web 2.0 and social media. To what extent do you participate in social media? To what extent and in what ways do you feel these venues are storytelling media?

A: Web 2.0 and social media are tools — and as practitioners, we love using them. As communicators and storytellers, we recognize that a tool is still a tool. Or as Paul wrote in a recent blog, you can’t confuse the content with the pipes that deliver it. You need both, but at the end of the day, it’s the content and communication that matter most. We have little doubt, that if applied properly, good social media strategies can benefit just about any business.

You’ll see the entire WordWrite staff engaged in Facebook, Twitter, and other social media environments for both individual and client service reasons.

We also believe these media are important storytelling channels — to a point. Consider the Iranian elections in early 2009. An entire protest movement was heavily stoked by leveraging Twitter to mobilize opposition. As long as the story protagonist was “fraudulent election,” social media was influential.

But current social-media usage (and to some degree social media technological limitations) don’t do enough to create true story context. Twitter got Iranian protestors into the global consciousness, but then where did it get them? As the situation demanded more story context, social media lacked the “special something” to make a lasting and meaningful difference. Those qualities are lacking in the speed and scope that are social media’s strong points.