Questions, Titles and Predictions

Hey all,

Our call for applications for our annual pro-bono mentoring programme First Draft is open! We're looking for UK-based organisations, small networks or collectives that are less than 2 years old, help underrepresented communities and have a comms problem to solve. Is this you or do you know someone that could use our help?

This week Matthew Hawn got in touch and wrote a about a game experience from the mind of Neil Patrick Harris that he’s loving. Do you have a favourite format you’d like to unpack? We’re always looking for writers.

Finally. Do you need a content audit? Is the content you produce getting the attention it deserves or should you put your focus elsewhere? Book a call with us and we’ll help you find the answer.

OK. Some stories for you all. Enjoy and have a fantastic weekend.

Hugh

Found/Saved/Subscribed/Shared with Steve Bryant (4 min read)

A Guided Tour of All of Vermeer’s Paintings, Narrated by Stephen Fry (Interactive)

How to Write Titles That Get Audience Attention (18 min watch)Setting Sail For Unchartered Waters: Creative Council From David Bowie (9 min read)100 Questions to Shape Your Strategy (List)Silence is a Pocket of Possibility (1 min read)Ben Evans: Tech Trends For 2023 Presentation (Slide deck)The Journalist Who Loved Spelling Mistakes (3 min read)Shift Happens: 150 Years of the Keyboard (2 min read)

Short Doc Club - Joychild (5 min watch)

How can we help you?

Storythings is a strategy and production company based in Brighton, London, Bristol, Berlin, and Ibiza. We'd love to help you with some creative and bold ideas. Here are 3 reasons to get in touch. 

1. Audience Strategy - Do you struggle to understand constantly changing audience behaviours, and what strategies you need to reach them?2. Content Format Development - Do you want to develop and test content formats that give you a direct relationship with your audience? (eg newsletters, podcasts, publications, or video series).3. Production - Do you need help developing and running an existing or new content format, and growing loyal audiences around them?We do other things too. We're very friendly and always enjoy meeting people, so get in touch. 

Found/Saved/Subscribed/Shared with Steve BryantWe have a new format. Found/Saved/Subscribed/Shared asks content creators to talk about how they find interesting content, what makes them save or subscribe to something, and what makes them want to share it. We hope these stories will help all our readers stay on top of ever-changing audience behaviours. We’re kicking off the season with marketing strategist Steve Bryant, whose brilliant work features in this newsletter on a regular basis. (List)

A Guided Tour of All of Vermeer’s Paintings, Narrated by Stephen FryThis is really nicely done. Stephen Fry tells the story of some of the artist’s most famous works via this interactive experience. It includes The Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Geographer, Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid and Woman Holding a Balance.(Interactive)How to Write Titles That Get Audience AttentionIf you produce complex content and hope to reach a broad audience, getting your titles and imagery right is crucial. Clickbait is not the answer but as this hugely successful YouTuber discovered, having to think about what “legitbait” is and how to write it was something his audience really needed. It’s a great video that is worth the attention of all content creators, not just YouTubers. (18 min watch)Setting Sail For Unchartered Waters: Creative Council From David BowieAfter watching David Bowie’s superb documentary Moonage Daydream, Jim Carroll distilled the genius into 14 things we can learn from Bowie to aid our creative process. I particularly loved this on Bowie’s grasshopper mentality: “I’ve got a grasshopper sort of mind, and I can’t resist bringing things to a conclusion, and saying that’s a piece in itself and now I’ll move onto something else. That’s a freedom-giving umbrella. It gives me a chance to do anything I want – successfully or unsuccessfully – without being tied down.”(9 min read)100 Questions to Shape Your StrategyA really useful set that are more than just strategy questions: “4. What’s your most controversial opinion? 10. Everyone has access to the same consumers. What does the brand have access to that nobody else does? 18. Are you being ruthlessly clear on what needs to be done? 61. Would a 12 year old understand it?”(List)Silence is a Pocket of PossibilityI loved this phrase from Rob Walker’s The Art of Noticing newsletter. Noticing is an essential element of your creative process and often just shutting up is a great first step. (1 min read)Ben Evans: Tech Trends For 2023 PresentationA few years ago everyone would wait for Mary Meeker to release her annual deck on tech trends for data to include in their own slide decks. It feels like Ben’s annual deck has taken that crown. This year’s looks at the new gatekeepers and the latest ways companies are reaching their customers. (Slide deck)

The Journalist Who Loved Spelling MistakesI loved this story of a Norwegian journalist who used subtle spelling mistakes as a way of resistance during the Nazi occupation. (3 min read)Shift Happens: 150 Years of the KeyboardFully funded a few hours after launching on Kickstarter, Shift Happens documents 150 years of keyboard history from early analog typewriters to the pixelated versions on our phones. The book features 1,300 photos of a huge range of devices and typists at work. (2 min read)Short Doc Club - JoychildAnother great short film recommendation from Short Doc Club in which an eight-year-old has an emotional conversation with their mother about gender identity. As Rob points out “Don’t worry about what other people think! You do you!” is fine for hermits and psychopaths. This week in the UK we were given another heartbreaking and brutal reminder of what trans children are subjected to, something any civilized society should be embarrassed by. The hope in this film is powerful. If you like short films you really should subscribe to .(5 min watch)

We hope you've enjoyed this week's newsletter. I'm sure some of your friends would love to read it. Sharing it would be really appreciated. If you've received this from a friend you can subscribe below and get it direct to your inbox every Friday.

Thanks for reading. We’ll see you all next week.

Hugh, Matt, Anjali and the whole team at Storythings.