There is undeniable joy in storytelling and the urge to share experiences with others. Today, thanks to digital technology, the tools exist to share that joy more easily than ever before. The result has been an explosion of creativity, with more content being produced and consumed than at any time in human history. And yet, because of the accelerated disruption in the business of media—including a shift in investment from content creation to monetization and the reallocation of economics away from the artist—it’s harder than ever to make a living as a content creator. The situation is unsustainable, and it’s getting worse.
The Storyteller’s Dilemma is about how we share experiences in a connected digital age. Featuring sidebars from media industry–leading contributors such as Jesse Willson, Alan Bell, Darren Long, Paul Stevenson, and others, it’s a tale of a changing world, the impact of technology, and the unintended consequences of the media landscape’s evolution. More important, it’s a close look at the challenges created by the collision of new technology and outdated business models, why the system doesn’t work as it should, and what can be done about it.
This is a vision for the future—one in which the complexity and imbalance of the media industry as it is has been wiped away by new processes, new resources, and new tools that simplify and streamline how content is created, distributed, and monetized, so that all may benefit. That’s the key to shifting the focus back where it should be: to the pure joy of storytelling.
