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5 Steps Guide to Storytelling for Content Marketers
A nifty infographic from the folks at imagination. In their words: "The people you work with are sitting on a mountain of stories that could help create new business opportunities. We've outlined the basic elements needed to turn that untapped potential into a successful content marketing program."
Snow Fall: Multimedia journalism New York Times
This is one of the most impressive interactive news stories I've seen. Click the picture above and experience it for yourself. Grab a cup of hot chocolate and watch the whole thing. Trust me, it's that well done.
It took more than 11 staffers at the New York Times more than six months to complete. One can only imagine the budget. To learn how this interactive news story was made, read this Q & A with the graphics director, multimedia producer, video journalist and editor who worked on the project: How We Made Snowfall: A Q & A with the New York Times team
"The New York Times’ astonishing Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek, launched in the final days of 2012, capped a year of extraordinary work in interactive journalism, both at the Times and in newsrooms around the world. In the six days after Snow Fall’s launch on December 20th, 2012, it had received more than 3.5 million page views and 2.9 million visitors, nearly a third of whom were new visitors to the Times website."
I am neither an adventurous skiier, nor an adventurous sports person of any sort. But as a young girl I spent many weekends on the bunny slope at Stevens Pass, the setting of this story. I remember stories of my older brothers skiing at Seventh Heaven, as well as stories about my dad almost dying while climbing Mount Rainier. My family moved from Seattle to Boston when I was five years old, and I spent occasional winter weekends on intermediate slopes while friends raced down black diamonds. But I admire great storytelling and was quickly drawn in by this piece. I am excited to see what this team, and others like it, come up with next.
The Atlantic: 'Snow Fall' Isn't the Future of Journalism
Journalists will continue to find more options and build more tools to astonish us. Stuff like this will get better and better and slightly more frequent, one hopes. But it won't become, generally speaking, frequent....Give "Snow Fall" the respect it deserves. It doesn't need to bear the augury of "journalism of the future." It's just a rare and sensational gift for readers in the present. That's quite enough.
The Energy Balance 101: Enrichment Zone web content I developed last spring for the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation is now live on TogetherCounts.com, and I'm excited to see kids already participating in these first weeks of September. Developed to complement the existing standards-based Energy Balance 101 curriculum for grades K-5, the Enrichment Zone is a flexible program designed for after-school programs, clubs and community organizations across the country. I've had a hard time explaining to people what it is, who it's for and who's behind it, so here's the skinny:
What is the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation? It is a CEO-led coalition of over 200 organizations working together to help families and schools reduce obesity — especially childhood obesity — by 2015. With corporate heads from General Mills, Inc., Coca-Cola and PepsiCo.; Kraft Foods and Kellogg's; Anytime Fitness and Sports Authority; Hershey, Nestlé and Mars at the table, the impact is significant.
How is Michelle Obama involved? In May 2010 the First Lady, founder of initiatives like Let's Move! and Partnership for a Healthier America, announced with HWCF companies their pledge to reduce 1.5 trillion calories annually by the end of 2015. These changes are being made through new lower-calorie options, reduced calorie content of current products, and reduced portion sizes of existing single-serving products.
Next the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation set its sight on the nation's elementary schools. Developed in partnership with Discovery Education, the Energy Balance 101 program provides schools with a free online K-5 curriculum and resources to help kids lead healthier, more active lifestyles. Building on the success of its program in the schools, EB 101 began extending its reach to the home and out in the community. Fueled by a successful brand and social media campaign, the TogetherCounts movement has a wide following (and 12,000 followers on Twitter!). Check out this quick Together Counts! animation to get what the movement is all about.
The next phase is underway. HWCF is rolling out programs and activities for kids, parents, families and community groups outside of school. Here's where I come in. The Energy Balance 101: Enrichment Zone is now being used by after-school teachers, Girl Scout leaders, parents... pretty much anyone interested. More flexible than the in-school curriculum, it is modular in format to suit a range of programs and schedules. The lessons and activities incorporate and reinforce Energy Balance 101 concepts; promote physical activity after school and on weekends, and inspire students to make healthy choices and be mindful of their daily Energy Balance for life. Organizations like the following have already signed on as Enrichment Zone partners:
Girl Scouts of the U.S.A.
U.S. Soccer Foundation
National Recreation and Park Association
K. Kellogg Foundation
Gen Youth Foundation
Paul Pierce’s The Truth onHealth
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
Although separated into different websites last year, all of the above can now be found in one place: TogetherCounts.com. Here you'll find interactive features and active social media channels for schools, homes and community organizations. It's a fun way to track who's doing what in K-5 schools across the country. Check out the blogs, tweets and posts from schools and organizations already actively participating. I'll be helping out with a pilot after-school program at Inly School in Scituate, MA and will blogging about the experience along the way. I'll keep you posted!
