See a photo of David, his bio, Part 1 of this Q&A, Part 2, and Part 3.
Q&A with David Kennedy, Question 5:
Q: What future trends or directions to do foresee for story/storytelling/narrative? What’s next for the discipline?
A: The web is really driving storytelling now. It has changed everything.
Television, newspapers, books and word of mouth have all begun a fast-paced evolution because of it. All these traditional and modern-day storytelling avenues will continue to change at a rapid rate. Here are my two big predictions and observations:
- Stories will continue to become more “collaborative.” The web has connected us like nothing has before. As more people gain Internet access, thanks to mobile technology, the stories of society as a whole, of organizations, of brands, of individuals and the stories we tell for pure entertainment will become more of a organic, team-like process. The ability of any of these types of stories to exist on their own has long since gone. Different messages and values will intermingle with all of these, creating communities, small and large all over the world. The ability of stories to have a true, powerful impact will depend upon how well a community’s different authors embrace each other as co-creators.
- People will demand “honesty” from stories. Again, the Internet has connected people in new and incredible ways. It’s easier than ever to ferret out the truth because we now have the wisdom of the crowd. I’m not just speaking about non-fiction and journalistic stories when I say honesty either. It’s harder and harder to hide the truth because of the wisdom of crowds, but it’s also more difficult than ever to tell a story (that really reaches a lot of people, and makes an impact) without putting some “heart” into it. So, honesty also means sincerity in this case as well.