Challenge and Selection

As a tool, Storytelling is one that I have used for many years both professionally and in my personal  time. A few years ago, I started a website with some friends where we each wrote columns and short  articles sharing our experiences and interests with the world. I spent time as both a content creator as  well as an editor and site-runner. As a content creator I would often have to consider not only what my  audience was looking forward to reading my opinion on (whether it be current events or the latest  trending topic) as well as who my audience was (this was possible with the help of Google Analytics).

Application

As an editor, it wasn’t solely my job to proofread but also to think of what kind of content we wanted to  create as a group, what kind of identity we wanted to bring to our collective brand, and what kind of  topics we wanted to cover from our unique perspective. Ultimately, we focused mainly on pop culture  and sports, but there were times when we would each write personal essays and share slices of our life  with our audience.

An example of successful storytelling was when there was an incident at my friend’s alma mater. He was  hesitant to write about it because it was an emotional issue for him and one that hit close to home. But I  knew that our main audience were many people who either shared that background with him by going  attending that school themselves, or having family that attended the school, so this issue was one that  was on their radar. As someone who did not have a direct connection it still even affected and  interested me to the point where I started to write a column myself. About halfway through the process  I ended up deciding to interview my friend to relieve some of the burden from him but also being able  to share his perspective in the end result. His take on the situation ended up not being the stereotypical  narrative that was all over the news but one that was deeply personal and could forge an emotional  connection with the readers.

Insight and Approach

My instincts proved to be correct that our audience wanted to read the account of someone who was  very close to the subject, as it would help shed some light on some things with nuance but also maybe  help them formulate the loose thoughts and emotions running around in their own heads. The traffic  numbers were the highest we had during the site’s lifetime as well as the engagement from our  audience (the most comments and shares for any of our content). It made me realize that we did have a  unique perspective to share and encouraged us to continue writing and telling our story, as well as  create a community among our readers.

This course made me consider a lot of things that I had maybe subconsciously though of but had never  approached critically because I hadn’t identified such important concepts like creating a framework for  the audience, or getting people invested and involved in what I was writing. I viewed authorship as more  of a one way road and this helped me realize that audience engagement is actually the end goal and  something to mold my content to achieve.


Challenge and Selection As a tool , Storytelling is one that I have used for many years both professionally and in my personal time . A few years ago , I started a website with some friends where we each wrote columns and short articles sharing our experiences and interests with the world . I spent time as both a content creator as well as an editor and site - runner . As a content creator I would often have to consider not only what my audience was looking forward to reading my opinion on ( whether it be current events or the latest trending topic ) as well as who my audience was ( this was possible with the help of Google Analytics ) . Application As an editor , it was n’t solely my job to proofread but also to think of what kind of content we wanted to create as a group , what kind of identity we wanted to bring to our collective brand , and what kind of topics we wanted to cover from our unique perspective . Ultimately , we focused mainly on pop culture and sports , but there were times when we would each write personal essays and share slices of our life with our audience . An example of successful storytelling was when there was an incident at my friend ’s alma mater . He was hesitant to write about it because it was an emotional issue for him and one that hit close to home . But I knew that our main audience were many people who either shared that background with him by going attending that school themselves , or having family that attended the school , so this issue was one that was on their radar . As someone who did not have a direct connection it still even affected and interested me to the point where I started to write a column myself . About halfway through the process I ended up deciding to interview my friend to relieve some of the burden from him but also being able to share his perspective in the end result . His take on the situation ended up not being the stereotypical narrative that was all over the news but one that was deeply personal and could forge an emotional connection with the readers . Insight and Approach My instincts proved to be correct that our audience wanted to read the account of someone who was very close to the subject , as it would help shed some light on some things with nuance but also maybe help them formulate the loose thoughts and emotions running around in their own heads . The traffic numbers were the highest we had during the site ’s lifetime as well as the engagement from our audience ( the most comments and shares for any of our content ) . It made me realize that we did have a unique perspective to share and encouraged us to continue writing and telling our story , as well as create a community among our readers . This course made me consider a lot of things that I had maybe subconsciously though of but had never approached critically because I had n’t identified such important concepts like creating a framework for the audience , or getting people invested and involved in what I was writing . I viewed authorship as more of a one way road and this helped me realize that audience engagement is actually the end goal and something to mold my content to achieve .