Reader Raf Stevens’s challenge to me to present examples of good storytelling had the interesting effect of getting me thinking about categories of storytelling that one can access on the Internet. Here’s the list so far:
- Digital/video storytelling
- Live storytelling performance, captured on video
- Live storytelling performance, captured on audio
- Stories — preferably nonfiction — that are told purely with words in print (as opposed to spoken words); in other words, a story that must be read. I asked for nominations here, but have not received any yet.
I’ve come across a couple of examples of sub-genres in the last category:
- The founding story of an organization. Thaler Pekar turned me onto the story of how Mercy Corps was founded 30 years ago.
- Blog storytelling. I’ve written before about blogs that consistently present good storytelling, and Moon Over Martinborough remains one of my favorite examples. Here’s a single story in a blog that touched me: Reprise: Ode to FM Sunday Mornings, by Jesaka Long, whose a.k.a. writer blog is a delightful new find.
Why is it important to categorize, appreciate, and identify good examples of the narrative Web? To counter assertions like Ben MacIntyre’s “the Internet is killing storytelling” that I took on here. All of these examples show the Internet’s capacity for enhancing and disseminating excellent storytelling.
(I smell “Best of the Narrative Web” awards.)