Well hello there everyone, and happy Friday!

This week’s been a good one. Amongst other things, I attended Live Union’s event on transforming events for senior leaders. Jez Paxman from Live Union mentioned the story about Gorbachev and Reagan going for a walk after formal discussions stalled, and how it was that change of setting that enabled the end of the Cold War. So for an event to be successful, make it about creating conversations, and try different formats if the old ones don’t work - something we endorse at Storythings!

We also had an amazing Away Day in Brighton with our team, chatting all things format development and B2B creativity, and a thought-provoking one with our amazing Foundation client discussing the alternative futures ecosystem. We’ll reveal more about the project in due course!

A reminder that if you’re a B2B or Foundation client looking to engage audiences in a way that helps you sound human and not robotic, we can help - give us a shout!

OK that’s all for now - on to the links. Enjoy the lovely sunshine and have a happy weekend!

Anjali

How To Win A Fight (Multiple articles in different formats)

Social Media Overtakes TV As Americans’ Top News Source (27-min read with charts and summaries)

Are We In The Post-Follower Era of Social? (7-min read)

The Solve Effect (podcast)

Why B2B Is Stealing The Show At Cannes Lions 2025 (12-min read)

The Platform 92% of Social Media Marketers Consider A Priority (10-min read)

What Did You Learn About Yourself Today? (14-min read)

How The UK Biobank Was Built (35-minute read or 49-minute listen, don’t ask me why the discrepancy exists!)

Oddly Compelling: The Denis Kitchen Story (Kickstarter project)

Creative Work Is Always Perfect (Instagram video)

Don’t become a B2B zombie. STAY HUMAN.

Storythings is the content marketing agency that helps you STAY HUMAN in a sea of marketing slop. If you think you’re at risk of becoming a B2B zombie, we’ve got the antidote. Click the button below for your free guide.

How To Win A Fight (Multiple articles in different formats)
Wired Magazine has done a very creative thing: they’ve got different stories about how people have won fights over the years (like how environmentalists, anti-Trump advocates and federal workers took on Tesla’s stock price, the fight for trans health care in the US Supreme Court, or how to actually fight when you’re outmatched) and showcased them in a beautifully designed way. One of the stories is presented as a series on Instagram stories, others more straightforward interviews…you may run into a paywall at some point, but do take some time to go through them.

Social Media Overtakes TV As Americans’ Top News Source (27-min read with charts and summaries)
Nieman Lab has summarised key takeaways from 2025 Digital News Report by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford. Findings include that though social-media based personalities are on the rise everywhere, the changes are happening ‘faster and with more impact’ in the US. Some of the more key charts from the report have also been pulled out.

Are We In The Post-Follower Era of Social? (7-min read)
I first heard about Gary Vaynerchuk’s comment on the post-follower era a month ago, but Joe Lazer has made that the subject of his newsletter in a very illustrative way. The diagrams are great. The line from algorithm-driven social networks > subscription-based communities > group chat micro-networks makes sense in this content era, and we talk about it a fair bit at Storythings.

The Solve Effect (podcast)
I’m working on a project to do with social justice and alternative futures, and this newly launched podcast from MIT’s Solve stood out to me. In a world grappling with complex issues like war, genocide and starvation, here are some positive stories.

Why B2B Is Stealing The Show At Cannes Lions 2025 (12-min read)
A conversation with Marian Brannelly (global director of awards, Lions), Wendy Walker, (vice-president of marketing ASEAN, Salesforce and Creative B2B Lions jury president), and Davang Shah (vice-president of marketing, LinkedIn) where they discuss how B2B brands are standing out in a crowded awards arena: “Five years ago, we were just starting to see emotional storytelling and brand-building emerge in the space. Since then, it’s been a steep upward trajectory. What was once seen as dry or overly rational has become more dynamic, human and creatively ambitious. Today’s B2B work embraces storytelling, taps into emotion, and connects on a far deeper level. We’re seeing work that’s more human, more daring and far more connected to the world around it.”

The Platform 92% of Social Media Marketers Consider A Priority (10-min read)
No prizes for guessing the number one spot, but I’d be interested to know how many of you guess the second most popular platform correctly! This is a quick look at the results of a survey of 825 social media marketers by Rachel Karten and Mitch Goldstein.

What Did You Learn About Yourself Today? (14-min read)
Absolutely beautiful and personal read from friend of Storythings Steve Bryant on what he learnt from going back to drawing lessons, something he hasn’t paid attention to since be was a child. Some neat references to Wolverine, comics, The Artists’ Way, George Costanza, and writing. There were so many lovely lines I found it hard to choose, but I’ll go with: “When you make art you realize, and joyfully, that the map you’re making is not territory. Of course it’s not. The map is you.”

How The UK Biobank Was Built (35-minute read or 49-minute listen, don’t ask me why the discrepancy exists!)
This is for those of you who are working on projects with a long time-scale, where you are unlikely to see the fruits of your efforts for years (we are working on one such project). Santi Ruiz interviews Sir Rory Collins, CEO of the UK Biobank, a database of half a million British participants whose health is being tracked longitudinally for the next 30 years. It is an excellent case study of long-term thinking, and what that can achieve, with patience.

Oddly Compelling: The Denis Kitchen Story (Kickstarter project)
This will be a great film when it’s done. In the meantime, have a look at the trailer and if you’re so inclined, back the Kickstarter project (though they’ve blown past their original goal, unsurprisingly). It’s a look at cartoonist Denis Kitchen ‘from his early days as a hippie cartoonist, to his thirty years as one of the most important independent comic book publishers and his work as a fierce advocate for the First Amendment.’

Creative Work Is Always Perfect (Instagram video)
A short video featuring distinguished writer and commentator for NPR’s All Things Considered, Nancy Aronie. She says she’s had enough of criticism of authors; there is already too much judgement in our lives, and that creative work in itself is brilliant.

If you made it this far, here’s some trivia as a reward: on this day, June 20th, in 1840, American inventor Samuel Morse patented the telegraph (hence ‘Morse code’), and in 1975, Steven Spielberg’s ‘Jaws’ was released!

STAY HUMAN everyone, don’t let the AI bots bite!

Matt, Anjali, Hugh and the rest of Team Storythings

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