What’s Going on With Storytelling? We are Addressing the Right Problems in the Wrong Places

May 16, 2019

Michael Estrin has some of the most engageable writing out there now and has learned a lot of lessons in storytelling and connecting online throughout the years. He talks with us today about writing for iMedia Connection, his take on the new Facebook, the modern role of social shaming, what most of us are doing wrong with our social media posts, and advice for those looking to tell a story without a flame war.

 

Takeaways:

[11:58] Michael is a magnet for weirdos and weird experiences because he says YES to life! It makes the days fun and you never quite know what’s going to happen when you say “yes, and” throughout your day.

[17:14] Michael’s engagement is quite high on his writing pieces, but he finds his audience doesn’t typically partake in flame wars or trolling. He suspects it has something to do with the culture he curates on his pages of acceptance and openness.

[20:25] Michael’s storytelling voice is one that is conversational and inclusive.

[21:03] Most Facebook posts are half baked opinions, and you get out what you put in. When you take the time to gather the facts and put out a well-thought-out story, the responses seem to be more thought out as well.

[23:32] The stories that seem to resonate the most on Michael’s social media page are ones where he makes himself the brunt of the joke.

[27:46] On the scale of doing and saying stupid things online, just make sure the stupid thing you are doing isn’t going to destroy your brand.

[31:09] Michael doesn’t shame in his storytelling posts, mainly for the reason that it seems to be the low-hanging fruit that everyone goes for.

[41:57] Our online conversations go a lot better when we have kindness for one another and realize it is still another person on the other end of the screen.

[52:40] It’s important for writers to balance keeping up with the times and trends and also to stay true to what they believe in.

[66:48] We miss the good old days of our timeline being in chronological order, as compared to the relevance algorithm that is mixed up and out of sorts.

 

Quotes:

• ● “When someone says something weird, most people tend to walk away, but I move toward it.”
• ● “I’ve never had a flame war on my Facebook page.”
• ● “Whenever you make yourself the joke, it makes everyone else more comfortable.”
• ● “Public shaming is angry and boring, which is a terrible combination to me.”
• ● “If alien anthropologists showed up, they would be firmly convinced we scream hashtags at each other.”
• Mentioned in This Episode:
• iMedia Connection
• So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed, by Jon Ronson
• Jordan Peterson
• Michael Estrin
• Michael Estrin Wattpad