virtualDavis

ˈvər-chə-wəlˈdā-vəs Serial storyteller, poetry pusher, digital doodler, flâneur.

Fed Slams Google Books

I’d like to get it out on the table at the outset. I’m not a Google hater.

On the contrary, I’m a fan. A huge fan.

Not always. Not blindly. But I can honestly say that Google has changed my life for the better at least several times over. And I believe that Google Books is/will change my life for the better too. But their vision and the many many strings attached are complex.

My 

Diversity: The Purpose of Copyright

“In my world, copyright’s purpose is to encourage the widest participation in culture that we can manage – that is, it should be a system that encourages the most diverse set of creators, creating the most diverse set of works, to reach the most diverse audiences as is practical…” ~Cory Doctorow (via e-publishing, etc.)

This compelling insight from Cory Doctorow arrives in worn-but-valued-hand-me-down condition from Ed Renehan (Managing Director of New Street Communications) who inherited it from Andrew Sullivan.

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Creativity, Yes. Ownership, No.

It was difficult to think about metadata, RFDI chips and code breaking in the same context, or environment as storytelling. We had to rewire our thinking back to a simple place where story was central – but then apply the basics of that to an audience who consume story so very differently. Keep it simple, but then make it complex enough to engage on new, immersive and constantly evolving levels of engagement… I was lucky to debrief over coffee with Alison Norrington (PHD researcher, transmedia writer, storyteller) and we touched on the difficulties facing writers who want to work in this new environment… Lance Weiler called transmedia storytelling the return to a more ‘campfire scenario’ where stories become passed down, elaborated on, reinterpreted, and retold. So here we have flashes of Barthes ‘Death of the Author’ – since text and author are even less related under new storytelling methodology.

As a writer, or a storyteller, once again your creativity is at the heart, but ownership can’t be. (“It’s not you, it’s Media.”)

Wish I’d been able to participate in those three days in London!

In any event, the debrief is food for thought. For mind wandering. For wondering, and musing and mulling over and… Create. Share. Dig deep. Invent from the source. Share. Surrender your creation and move on.

What do you think about the future of storytelling in the digital age? Where do your storytelling dreams fit into the transmedia landscape?

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