Twitter.Com/Isaaclidsky [ DRAFT V5.1 ] Speaking Truth to Technology: Creating Better Stories Together, in Three
[ DRAFT v5.1 ] Speaking Truth to Technology: Creating Better Stories Together, in Three Acts. By Republic A Republic: (1) a body of persons freely engaged in a specified activity; (2) a union in which supreme power resides in the citizens. Prologue Something is rotten in the state of Digital Media. We are ailing. The symptoms are severe, the prognosis dire. In the balance lay discourse,1 democracy,2 our decency,3 our duty to our children,4 and… Act I. What’s Our Story? “After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.” Philip Pullman. Stories are the currency of humanity. They make us who we are, when we live them and when we tell them. We use them to understand each other, to connect with each other, to reason with each other, to collaborate with each other. At our core, we’re moved by good stories. What makes a good story? The bare essentials are deceptively simple: you need a listener and a speaker. Whether it’s a hilarious joke meant to entertain, a painful experience recounted to teach, a meticulous argument crafted to persuade, an expression of creativity to capture the soul—at a minimum, a story needs a speaker and a listener to come to life. Critically, a listener is someone who is listening. Breathing isn’t listening. Hearing isn’t listening either. Listening is a proactive endeavor of intention, and at its core it’s about a profound choice. To listen is to agree to show up, to be open, to engage, to internalize, to feel, to think.
[Show full text]