I came across an interesting interview last week with Cynthia Franklin, author of Academic Lives: Memoir, Cultural Theory and the University Today. I was attracted to the interview by Scott Jaschik because I sometimes think about and consider writing about my all-too-short academic life as a college instructor. But the … Continue reading
Category Archives: Blogging and Storytelling
Is It Smart to Denigrate Blogging as Inferior Storytelling?
An organization called JTA created a huge flap recently by denouncing the storytelling capabilities of bloggers. JTA must be one of those acronyms whose letters once stood for words but now is just an acronym; in any case, I could not find out on its Web site what the letters … Continue reading
Why Did This Blog Post (sadly, not one of mine) Generate Book-Deal Offers and Thousands of Views?
Seth Kahan posted to the WorkingStories e-list of the Golden Fleece group wondering why the blog entry he posted on his Fast Company Expert Blog, Leading Change, on Feb. 12 generated a request for a book proposal, an offer of representation by a literary agent who wants to shop a … Continue reading
Champion of the Sustained Storytelling Practice: Barbara Ganley
One of my new heroes is Barbara Ganley, who blogs at (The New) BG Blogging. I find her fascinating because of her work with story in higher education and in community storytelling. She recently left the former to focus on the latter: Barbara Ganley recently left higher education to set … Continue reading
Skip This If You Hate Self-Indulgent Blog Postings
Today is an anniversary of sorts. A year ago today, I relaunched this blog (originally launched in May 2005) and made a commitment to blog every single day. I’ve kept my commitment. Purists can uncover one entry (sometime in Aug. 2008) that I placed back into draft status because I … Continue reading
Real-Time Storytelling
Chris Brogan earlier this month raised the question: “How have (or how can) you use social media tools in real time to capture the stories around us, in whatever form you want?” The example Brogan used was being at a Panasonic press conference at a larger convention and sending out … Continue reading
Am I a Storytelling Expert?
I’m currently reading The Huffington Post’s Complete Guide to Blogging, which makes the point that many people blog to establish or share their expertise on a topic. Similarly, a Technorati State of the Blogosphere 2008 report indicated that “To share my expertise and experiences with others” is the second-biggest reason … Continue reading
In Case You’re Curious about “The Best…”
I blogged the other day about a group writing project in which bloggers identified their best blog entry of the last year and explained why they felt it was the best. Project initiator Joanna Young has published the results today — 38 entries. I enjoyed seeing some fascinating blog posts, … Continue reading
Simply the Best 2008 Entry in A Storied Career (?)
I stumbled upon a group writing project at ConfidentWriting.com in which bloggers are asked to choose their best entry of 2008 and, in 30 words or fewer, finish the sentence, “This post is simply the best because ….” I chose my post about an article in The American Scholar titled … Continue reading
What is the Holy Grail of Online Content?
Not too long ago (although I have been percolating this posting for longer than I care to admit), Reuben Steiger wrote a blog entry asking, Has the Internet Failed as a Storytelling Medium? Steiger was trying to hire a creative director, but found that many of his candidates had “gaping … Continue reading