Reaching a zenith in 2008 and 2009, a steady stream of new Web sites to facilitate online storytelling seemed to pop up regularly. I list many of these sites here and here.
Not only am I seeing a dramatic drop in announcements of new online storytelling venues, but I recently received notice of the impending closure (on June 30) of one such site, Tokoni, the interface of which is shown below.
Perhaps there’s nothing to read into the demise of this site. Perhaps storytelling sites have reached enough of a critical mass that the audience can no longer support the glut of sites. Maybe Tokoni had a weak business model.
An ongoing theme here at A Storied Career has been the current “explosion” of storytelling. With Tokoni’s closure, I can’t help wondering if the explosion has reached its peak, and we are seeing an inevitable decline in storytelling fervor. What do you think?
By the way, Tokoni helpfully provides instructions for those who want to save the stories they’ve posted on the site.