A couple of entries ago, I noted that the Flash movie promoting the new book, The Jackrabbit Factor told a nice story. To my surprise, the book itself is told in story. It’s much more common to see books with an inspirational, self-help message told in a didactic way than … Continue reading
Author Archives: KatHansen
One Moth-er of a Great Recommendation
Annette Simmons turned me on to The Moth.
The Moth produces 12 storytelling events each season and has its home at The Players Club on Gramercy Park in New York City. As the Moth site states: “Each event sells out in 48 hours or less, yet we continue to hold the shows in this relatively small venue with a capacity of 250 because we cherish the intimate atmosphere. A few times each year, The Moth travels to other venues in New York City and beyond. The shows are organized around a theme such as ‘American Myths,’ ‘Scary Wedding Stories,’ or ‘Call of the Wild,’ and feature five or six storytellers who each tell a ten-minute story. ”
I love the idea of The Moth Slam, like a poetry slam.
Annette suggested I order their CD, Audience Favorites, and I did. Got it today and listened to two stories so far (as a PhD student, I think I have to get some work done and use these stories as rewards). I was also so excited to see there are two CDs in the jewelcase! Eleven stories in all.
The announcer made the point that these stories are not scripted, and they are not standup comedy. Matthew McGough, teller of the first story, My First Day with the Yankees sounded like a regular guy, but you could tell his story was meant to convey a lot of humor by the way the audience was laughing. It centers around what I gather is a traditional prank played on new batboys — asking them to find a “bat-stretcher.” But the thing about stories — and I’m sure this is why Annette recommended this CD — is that they teach something. So instead of ending with a punchline, these stories end with a bit of a lesson. McGough’s hit me viscerally, emotionally. A lump in the throat, and something else kind of grabbing at my innards.
The other story, Breaking Up in the Age of Google, was definitely humorous, and its teller, Jessi Klein, actually is a standup comedian. Hers was also a bit vulgar and expletive-ridden. It didn’t offend me; I just thought some of it was unnecessary. On the other hand, the colorful language made it story that a group of girlfriends might tell each other. Klein almost didn’t get to tell her whole tale; at the 12-minute mark, violinist Katy Cox strokes her bow across the strings to signal that the storyteller must wrap up. I’m glad Klein went to the full 17.5 minutes, though, because even her humorously smutty story has a good lesson.
I also found it interesting because I am currently conducting focus groups that deal with, in part, people’s “Googlability” helping them in the job search.
Annette Simmons has written that stories touch the emotions, and these sure do. I will be extra-motivated to do my PhD work for the next several days so I reward myself with Moth stories. Thank you, Annette, for turning me onto them and to The Moth. Continue reading
A Story, Nicely Told
The Jackrabbit Factor is a book launching in Aug. 2005. The link takes you to a screen where you can click on Watch Movie Now and see an appealing self-contained story set to music and based on a 4-minutes long slice of the book. Nicely done.
We Are Made of Stories…
Got a nice mention for this blog in crossmedia by Monique de Haas. I absolutely love her vision: I am a crossmedia communication missionary. My vision: Some people think we are made of flesh and blood. Scientists say we are made of atoms. But I think we are made of … Continue reading
May I Have Your Attention, Please?
I was instantly attracted to this book by Chris Hilicki because of its subtitle, “Build Your Business by Telling Your True Story.” I admit that I haven’t read the whole book yet, but my impression is that the subtitle is a tad misleading — simply because the book is more … Continue reading
Take That, Ivan Tribble
In contrast to a previous entry, which discussed a column by “Ivan Tribble” in the Chronicle of Higher Education entitled “Bloggers Need Not Apply,” Debbie Weil takes the complete opposite position in her article “Seven Tips for Blogging Your Way to a New Job,” in which she states: “If ever … Continue reading
Blogging: Good or Bad for Career?
In my last entry, I cited a case in which blogging had been at least tangentially helpful to aiding a blogger in getting a new job.
Others have noted the benefits of blogging for career success, as in this piece by Tim Bray:
Ten Reasons Why Blogging is Good For Your Career
You have to get noticed to get promoted.
You have to get noticed to get hired.
It really impresses people when you say “Oh, I’ve written about that, just google for XXX and I’m on the top page” or “Oh, just google my name.”
No matter how great you are, your career depends on communicating. The way to get better at anything, including communication, is by practicing. Blogging is good practice.
Bloggers are better-informed than non-bloggers. Knowing more is a career advantage.
Knowing more also means you’re more likely to hear about interesting jobs coming open.
Networking is good for your career. Blogging is a good way to meet people.
If you’re an engineer, blogging puts you in intimate contact with a worse-is-better 80/20 success story. Understanding this mode of technology adoption can only help you.
If you’re in marketing, you’ll need to understand how its rules are changing as a result of the current whirlwind, which nobody does, but bloggers are at least somewhat less baffled.
It’s a lot harder to fire someone who has a public voice, because it will be noticed.
Now, along comes a screed by the pseudonymous Ivan Tribble in the Chronicle of Higher Education questioning the concept of blogging for those in academia who are in the search or plan to seek tenure-track teaching positions. Tribble’s words are a bit worrisome to me since I will soon be in the academic job market. Continue reading
Blogging for Jobs
Christian Crumlish posted a blog entry in April 2005 about needing a job. While the initial post was aimed at some networking and broadcasting the need for the job, the total of three posts (here’s the one in the middle) became a mini-narrative of searching for the job, culminating with his blog entry on his attainment of the new job in June.
He seemed to realize along the way that it was wise to keep a little quiet about the search. I asked him to what extent he feels posting on his blog helped him obtain his new job.
His response:
It helped, I think, although it did not directly lead to the job I ended up taking. That came from a craigslist ad I responded to. I do think that my blog presence and my visibility (googlability) was a factor in gettting my new job, as my firm is looking to get its name out among the web savvy audience and they feel I can help with that. I’m very happy I put my job search into the public, because I think it strengthened my network. A lot of people gave me advice or passed along leads or sent my resume to their recruiters/HR people.
I kind of critiqued his initial post as I would a resume — since that’s what I do to make a living. Continue reading
Story in Advertising
Volumes could be written about story in advertising, but two relatively new taglines seem to acknowledge a new understanding of the importance of story in our lives: Pier 1: Every house tells a story. Levi’s: A style for every story.
Random Story Quotes
Rob Kall has a nice collection of quotations about story on his Storycon site. Here are a few of my favorites: “The universe is made of stories, not atoms.” — Muriel Rukeyser, poet “There is no agony like bearing an untold story inside of you.” — Maya Angelou, American poet … Continue reading