Narrative is something everyone should think about. I believe this is true for two reasons. First, I study literature and thus think about, write about, and complain about narrative all the time. As such, clearly, everyone else should be thinking about it too. Second, and perhaps more importantly, stories are quite literally how we engage with the world. If literature has taught me anything, it is that stories are an important method of self-identification. Novels are powerful things because they show us that we affirm our own significance within narratives; a story provides a framework wherein we can establish an identity, pinpoint a role, and identify our relationships to others.
So in terms of the week’s readings, I’m on board. Stories = important. Agreed.
However…
I have to admit that I was not gripped by the selections from Squirrel Inc. or Neuro Web Design. Granted, these books are not about ontology or literature, so my expectations when it comes to the importance of story-telling are admittedly skewed. And the information presented is certainly valid. I believe that the connection drawn between storytelling online and creating a social environment in Neuro Web Design is an astute one. The inherent implication here is that the web is a place that web designers want people to actively inhabit. Images, unsurprisingly, play an important role because they register with a person’s experienced reality. Stories naturally encourage this kind of behavior. [Side note: I noticed that on Clemson’s student page, www.clemson.edu/students, stories about students and life at Clemson University, along with corresponding photographs, are constantly run across the top banner. It’s a little eerie to think too long or hard about this, but it seems to reason that even when we are online we are being reminded that we are a part of the Clemson family and should be in touch with that element of our lives constantly. It seems to be a lesson in interaction and integration. A link, by the way, appears to the bottom left of the photo which reads, ‘Tell us your story!’] I can say the same about Diana’s story in Squirrel Inc. Making an idea useful and effective requires, to some extent, the ability to make individuals take personal ownership of that idea – to relate to it in a significant, visceral, natural way.
On the whole, however, I found these readings rather obvious. This is perhaps naïve of me. I will allow that it is possible that the writers and editors of these books have presented these concepts so simply and effectively that I have been tricked into adopting the ideas as my own (weaving them into my own narrative, if you will). Nonetheless, I found that Made to Stick was a much more engaging, surprising, and, as a result, convincing read.
[CAVEAT: Again, nothing seemed particularly erroneous about the other texts; I agree in general. I simply didn’t find myself viscously nodding my head in agreement as I read or shouting, “Yeah! Wow! That makes sense!” Of course, Neuro is more of an instructional book which answers specific questions which address specific web design issues – it’s just not designed to be particularly entertaining. As for Squirrel Inc., I’m perhaps just not a fan of the writing style. Or, for that matter, the idea that squirrels are super intelligent creatures with the ability to organize and effect major change unbeknownst to humans. Which leads to a second CAVEAT: I am a huge snob and have possibly been seduced by the well-advertised fact that the authors of Made to Stick are directly associated with Harvard and Stanford University. This doesn’t necessarily diminish any of the points that follow (though maybe it should), but it does give you a sense of my perspective.]
I wonder, now retrospectively writing about these excerpts, if Made to Stick proved meaningful to me because, in its own way, it practiced what all of the books are getting at: people relate to stories. I appreciated that this particular book told me the story of two brothers investigating the “stickiness” concept and invited me into the story by incorporating other narratives and characters and ideas with which I am familiar and interested. I, for instance, am along with the rest of America well acquainted with Jared and his successful Subway diet. Combine this with ample research, and I find myself more willing to accept their SUCCESs model and to forgive their self-proclaimed corny-ness. Of course, Squirrel Inc. tells a (mostly) relatable story as well. What I think Heath and Heath do that Denning does not is tell me a story about me. Made to Stick explores the human brain, visualization, and simulation, offering a brief narrative about why the stories work – essentially about why I am the way I am.
Another lesson learned from literature (one I believe is vital for exercising narrative as a learning, leading, advertising, or publishing tool): we ultimately need and rely on stories to understand us.
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