In a series of lightning talks, local story architects,  innovators, and advocates will discuss trends and projects at the intersection of storytelling and social media.

Featured speakers include:

Rob Shore, filmmaker and Digital Media Director at the FrameWorks Institute
The Community is the Story
Advocates, journalists, politicians, and everyday people love telling “personal” stories; but a growing body of research suggests that these episodic stories — which concentrate on the emotional stories of individuals — are failing to engage audiences in the ways that storytellers are intending. Thematic storytelling, on the other hand, widens the storytelling lens by connecting the stories of individuals to public systems, structures, institutions, and policies, and has been proven to engage audiences in ways that lead to more support and action, and which lead to better outcomes for issues advocates and their communities.

Kelli Anderson, Interactive Media Strategist & New Media Instructor, Duke Ellington School of the Arts
35th and R Immersive Storytelling Project
35th and R St is an interactive, immersive tour, currently a work-in-progress, where the audience experiences Duke Ellington School of the Arts as a student in one of its eight arts disciplines. The viewer is taken into an immersive experience presented through POV scenes of their student guide as they move through their day-to-day. The viewer is also given the option to explore common spaces within the building to learn unique details about the school, its rich legacy, and extensive art collection presented through social media and archived digital content produced by Ellington.

Angelica Das, Associate Director, Center for Social Media at American University
Social Media & Social Justice Documentary Film 
A look at storytelling and social media through the lens of social justice documentary case studies.

Misha Leybovich, Founder and CEO of Meograph
An Introduction to Meograph
Meograph aims to be the easiest way to create multimedia stories. With no special training you can quickly tell and watch stories about the news, history, travels, life events, and more by intuitively combining video, audio, pictures, text, maps, timelines, and links. Meograph is being used by major media organizations, in hundreds of schools, and by tens of thousands of storytellers worldwide.