Alexander+and+Levine.+Web+2.0+Storytelling

= Bryan Alexander and Alan Levine. “Web 2.0 Storytelling: Emergence of a New Genre.” = =// EDUCAUSE Review, // vol. 43, no. 6 (November/December 2008) =

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 * Abstract**

The typical structure of a story consists of a beginning, middle, and end. When reading a story, the goal is to get from point A, to point B, to point C. However, Bryan Alexander believes that Web 2.0 is changing the structure of stories on the Internet into something far more complex and diverse.

Alexander claims that two things separate Web 2.0 from the overall web: mircocontent and social media. Microcontent is small chunks of content that contain an idea or concept. An example would be a comment on a YouTube video. For people who wish to share their ideas on the web, but don’t wish to learn XHTML coding or DreamWeaver, they can use microcontent features and tools to inform others about their “stories.” Social media enables people to better share these stories, discuss their ideas, and work on projects. Alexander even uses his article as an example of Web 2.0 storytelling: it was created in GoogleDocs so his colleagues could offer suggestions and add to it even if they were in different parts of the world. With linking and search tools, we are able to help storytellers find more stories simply by entering words into a search engine, or with a simple click of the mouse.

In the next section, Alexander gives a brief historical background behind the origins of web storytelling, how it evolved, and how it is still evolving today. He has high hopes for including web story telling in the classroom. Students such as creative writing majors could benefit from blogging and Twitter by using them as character studies. While Twitter may have a strict word limit, it could inspire students to be both short and creative in their writing.

Alexander concludes by saying, "not all forms of web storytelling should be used for educational purposes due to the Internet’s constant evolution." We should always be on the lookout for new storytelling forms that are sure to emerge in the future.


 * Key Passages**

“What is //Web 2.0 storytelling//? As the phrase suggests, it is the telling of stories using Web 2.0 tools, technologies, and strategies.”

“Stories now are open-ended, branching, hyperlinked, cross-media, participatory, exploratory, and unpredictable. And they are told in new ways: Web 2.0 storytelling picks up these new types of stories and runs with them, accelerating the pace of creation and participation while revealing new directions for narratives to flow.”

“Should Web 2.0 storytelling be considered for educational purposes as well? After all, not every art form needs to be used in academia. We believe that the answer is “yes” and that Web 2.0 storytelling offers two main applications for colleges and universities: as composition platform and as curricular object.”

“For now, perhaps the best approach for educators is simply to give Web 2.0 storytelling a try and see what happens. We invite you to jump down the rabbit hole. Add a photo to Flickr and use that as a writing prompt. Flesh out a character in Twitter. Follow a drama unfolding on YouTube. See how a wiki supports the gradual development of a setting. Then share with all of us what you have learned about this new way of telling, and listening to, stories.”


 * Authors**

Bryan Alexander and Alan Levine

Bryan Alexander is Director of Research at the National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education (NITLE, http://nitle.org). He blogs at @http://b2e.nitle.org/. Alan Levine is Vice President, Community, and Chief Technology Officer for the New Media Consortium (NMC, http://www.nmc.org). He barks about technology at http://cogdogblog.com

Comments on this article can be sent to the authors at Bryan.Alexander@nitle.org and alan@nmc.org and/or can be posted to the web via the link at the bottom of this page.


 * Notes**

1. Tim O’Reilly, “What Is Web 2.0,” //oreilly.com,// September 30, 2005, @http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html. 2. See Bryan Alexander, “Web 2.0: A New Wave of Innovation for Teaching and Learning?” //EDUCAUSE Review,// vol. 41, no. 2 (March/April 2006), pp. 32–44, @http://connect.educause.edu/Library/EDUCAUSE+Review/Web20ANewWaveofInnovation/40615. 3. Anil Dash, “Introducing the Microcontent Client,” //Magazine,// November 13, 2002, @http://www.anildash.com/magazine/2002/11/introducing_the.html 4. As defined on Wikipedia, August 15, 2008, @http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storytelling. 5. Annette Simmons, //The Story Factor: Secrets of Influence from the Art of Storytelling,// 2d ed. (New York: Basic Books, 2006), p. 34 (see also pp. 45, 94). 6. Charles Baxter, //The Art of Subtext: Beyond Plot// (Saint Paul: Graywolf Press, 2007), p. 37. 7. See Joe Lambert (Center for Digital Storytelling), //Digital Storytelling Cookbook// (Berkeley: Digital Diner Press, 2006), @http://www.storycenter.org/cookbook.html, and Jason Ohler, //Digital Storytelling in the Classoom: New Media Pathways to Literacy, Learning, and Creativity// (Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press, 2008). 8. Espen J. Aarseth, //Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature// (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997). 9. See N. Katherine Hayles, //Electronic Literature: New Horizons for the Literary// (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2008). 10. Joe Lambert, //Digital Storytelling: Capturing Lives, Creating Community// (Berkeley: Digital Diner Press, 2002); Lambert, //Digital Storytelling Cookbook//; EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI), “7 Things You Should Know about Digital Storytelling,” January 2007, @http://connect.educause.edu/Library/ELI/7ThingsYouShouldKnowAbout/39398. 11. Bruce Mason and Sue Thomas, “A Million Penguins Research Report,” Institute of Creative Technologies, De Montfort University, Leicester, United Kingdom, April 24, 2008, @http://www.ioct.dmu.ac.uk/projects/amillionpenguinsreport.pdf. 12. Original text from Sarah Schmelling, “Hamlet (Facebook News Feed Edition),” //McSweeney's,// August 2008, @http://www.mcsweeneys.net/2008/7/30schmelling.html. Thanks to "Bill" for pointing out the source: August 10, 2008, comment at http://infocult.typepad.com/infocult/2008/08/retelling-hamlet-via-facebook.html#comment-125956268. 13. See more examples at //The Trailer Mash:// @http://www.thetrailermash.com/. 14. See International Game Developers Association (IGDA), “2006 Alternate Reality Games White Paper,” @http://www.igda.org/arg/whitepaper.html, and Christy Dena, “Emerging Participatory Culture Practices: Player-Created Tiers in Alternate Reality Games,” //Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies,// vol. 14, no. 1 (February 2008), online augmentation to web version of paper in @http://www.christydena.com/research/Convergence2008/TieringandARGs.html. See also John Gosney, //Beyond Reality: A Guide to Alternate Reality Gaming// (Boston: Thomson, 2005). 15. Bruce Sterling, “Dispatches from the Hyperlocal Future,” //Wired Magazine,// vol. 15, no. 7 (June 26, 2007), @http://www.seanstewart.org/interactive/args/. 16. Tony Walsh, “Google Spreadsheet as Virtual World,” //Clickable Culture,// March 28, 2008, @http://www.secretlair.com/index.php?/clickableculture/entry/google_spreadsheet_as_virtual_world/. 17. For example, JayCut (@http://www.jaycut.com/) and Jumpcut (@http://www.jumpcut.com/), web-based video editors, have most of the features that one would find in desktop software such as iMovie or Movie Maker. 18. Alan Levine, “50 Web 2.0 Ways to Tell a Story,” http://cogdogroo.wikispaces.com/50+Ways, and “50 Ways to Tell the Dominoe Story,” http://cogdogroo.wikispaces.com/Dominoe+50+Ways. 19. Angela Thomas, “Fictional Blogs,” in Axel Bruns and Joanne Jacobs, eds., //Uses of Blogs// (New York: Peter Lang, 2006). 20. Alan Levine, “The Fifty Tools,” http://cogdogroo.wikispaces.com/StoryTools. 21. Dan Visel, “Twittering from the Past,” //if:book,// August 11, 2008, @http://www.futureofthebook.org/blog/archives/2008/08/twittering_from_the_past.html. 22. Nathan Yau, “21 Ways to Visualize and Explore Your Email Inbox,” //FlowingData,// March 19, 2008, []