NPTimes TechnoBuzz: Telling Stories Online Makes That Vital Connection

The NonProfit Times has an e-newsletter.  (Disclosure - I've written a few articles for the TechnoBuzz newsletter) But, that's not why I'm pointing you over there.   

This week's TechnoBuzz Newsletter has an excellent piece by Jonah Sachs from FreeRange Studios on online storytelling, making the point that you don't need the latest web2.0 technology tool, but the oldest communication method known to human beings - stories!

This came just in the nick of time as I'm remixing my Web 2.0 workshops for July.  These are all on the on the topic of Web2.0 tools and fund raising.   For BlogHer, I'm on a panel with Britt Bravo and I have to present the widget fundraising case study in ten minutes. (rest of the session will be discussion/questions).  So, I am thinking about some of the advice in that Nonprofit Times article on how to do this.  Jonah has laid out a really good design process:         

• The Heroes: Who are they? What are they trying to achieve? What person, historical figure, even animal or mythical creature might represent these heroes? Think beyond your organization's employees when searching. The hero need not be you! Oftentimes it is our constituents or those we are trying to help who emerge as the most compelling heroes in our stories.

• The Villains: Every story needs a bad guy. People just won't accept a struggle without a villain and with no struggle there is no story. Who stands in our hero's way? Are they identifiable individuals or a set of problems that can be personified in a character or person? Villains should feel evil in your story but that doesn't mean you have to vilify your opposition. We don't have to personally attack other people to show the problem as evil (although at times, it has undeniably worked).

• The Catalyst: Stories begin with a struggle between hero and villain that does not begin to resolve until a catalyst appears. Something or someone shifts the balance and the hero begins to prevail. Who, or what, is the catalyst in your story? What people or actions will come along to break the deadlock and allow the desired outcome? How can the listener (or viewer) of the story be the catalyst or cause the catalyst to come about?

The other remix challenge is take the Social Media and remix for fundraising 2.0.  Luckily, my colleague Francesco has remixed the game for fundraising, but it is in Italian!  (cards and presentation).   It's so cool that the cards have OKNO and Segnalo - the Italian versions of Digg and Del.icio.us.  I wonder what they translate into?

Comments

[Britt Bravo]

Last fall I did an interview with Jonah for the Big Vision Podcast that might be interesting to folks. You can read a transcript here, or listen to it on the Big Vision Podcast here