At the Gathering we discussed commercial digital stories as an emergent issue. For some the idea is a problem; for others, opportunity. So I thought I’d share some examples of this sort of thing for discussion and background information.
Turn Here hosts videos celebrating local businesses, primarily, such as restaurants. The format is familiar: two-three minutes, a mix of video and photography, minimal effects, all driven by a narrative voiceover. The Mercury News has an article on Turn Here. (thanks to Robert Scoble)
Kodak has a story center on their website, devoted to narratives about photography and photo tips.
Sun Microsystems publishes digital stories about networked computing and technology. For example, these videos tend to have the familiar three-or-so minutes length. (NB: not all are accessible now)
MIT prof Henry Jenkins has a new book out, Convergence Culture. Very interesting, accessible stuff, looking at fan culture and storytelling across media. Among many other things, he describes various communities that are primarily commercial, such as the fan groups centered on Coke (!) (68-74) (official one here). Coke communities (I can’t believe I’m typing this) have storytelling, like these text stories. Jenkins explains his focus on commercial community storytelling somewhat here.
Posted by storygathering 
