When I went to the Cultivate 2011 conference I wasn’t really sure what to expect but as a writer anything involving social media to spread a message intrigued me. There were numerous talented and insightful speakers (including our very own Scott Overpeck) who are doing some pretty amazing work that ranges anywhere from urban reclamation to cutting edge animation for Hollywood studios. While at first it seemed difficult to pull one main idea away from the conference the more I thought about it the more obvious it became. All of the speakers had one thing in common: they all spoke of the power of story.
That I, and the rest of Intersection Creative Strategies, are basically story tellers. The idea of story is specifically crucial in the area of nonprofit work. If you are part of an organization making a difference in somebodies life or community it is the stories coming out of it that will drive interest in your organization. People actually do want to hear stories about the good in the world and so it’s up to groups like us to get those stories heard by as many people as possible.
This sounds obvious, right? But as a writer it is easy to forget this simple idea. As a writer I often find myself caught up in a situation where I am on the inside looking out. It’s like looking through the wrong end of a pair of binoculars, either way, it is easy to forget that there are stories that need to be told and people who want to hear them. Whether it’s through writing, videos, movies, social media or any other means, our chief job is to be story tellers in the best way possible. If we do this then people will notice and if they notice they might be inspired to take action and if they take action, well that creates a whole new story doesn’t it?
Tags: Cultivate, Uncategorized
