Entry 6:
Storytelling has always been a powerful instrument. It can create sympathy, empathy, and understanding where there was none. It has become very commercialized by modern marketers. As with anything, there are pros and cons to this.
With commercialized use of storytelling comes tons of new gadgets, apps, and other tools. Social media gives everyone a platform. Apps like iMovie and phones with incredible cameras built in makes everyone a photographer or documentarian. Never has it been easier to share stories with your community or even the world.
However, as Jay Geneske and Doug Hattaway point out in their Stanford Social Innovation Review article, “with all the new tools comes a lot of noise. The ubiquity of digital technology and the explosion of content on the Internet have made it increasingly difficult to break through, capture people’s attention, and engage them in meaningful ways” (2014).
With millions of voices, how do you stand to be heard above the crowd? Some people have broken through to become “influencers” and go “viral” on a regular basis. But what about the kids in their public library program? Or the librarian trying to impact their community?
I find it difficult to determine how to break through as a small voice. It feels very intimidating. I start to think, “Who am I that they should care what I have to say?” I had a great person in Access Services who loved doing our social media and was very good at it. Yesterday was her last day before she moves to N.C. Since social media is under my umbrella of marketing for our library, I find I am overwhelmed by the task. Finding and curating content. Engaging with the audience. There are so many other CCU accounts already out there, how do we make the library’s become something students enjoy visiting and viewing?
I found the suggestions that Geneske and Hattaway laid out to be very helpful.
· Have a strategy.
· Polish your storytelling skills.
· Make sure your story is meaningful and relevant to others.
· Make use of all the storytelling tools and gadgets out there.
· Look for feedback from within the library and your community.
These tips have very little to do with needing be professional movie makers. Instead it is about:
· Doingyourbest and targeting yourcommunity.
· Getting input from your audience.
· Not being afraid of technology.
· Having a plan or schedule in place for each production.
· Practice. Practice. Practice.
I have a lot of practicing in my future and, thankfully, some great student assistants to help me along the way. They are, after all, part of my target audience. I plan on asking them what it is they would like to see and hear. They are also part of our story here in the library, so I would like to give them a voice.
Comments