Yesterday, I started to explore the use of Twitter as a storytelling medium. My idea was to start with a simple example followed by more complicated ones (like a longer series with a number of branches). The plan for the first experiment was to post a 140-character tweet and letting somebody else finish the story with another tweet. End of story!
The first tweet was:
#twistory1 Finish the story w/a tweet incl tag #twistory1: Having just finished cooking, Jane sat down to eat when a dark shadow appeared in the window. OMG, she cried.
Gerorge Brett did a nice job by posting his ending:
#twistory1 Janet turned from the window as a knock was at the door. A gentle tapping. She opened to find the ebony feral cat, hungry again.
The beauty of this ending was that George continues the dramatic tension of the first tweet by the knock on the door and ends it with a surprise- it was a cat. Please note that George changed Jane’s name to Janet. So, that’s her name from now on.
I was still expecting alternative endings, when Jason Rosenbaum posted a continuation:
#twistory1 Sighing, Janet turned back 2 to get the can opener. She had started keeping cat food around 4 Fred, the name she gave the cat.
So, now it is either closed with the second tweet, or wide open with the third. This has taught me a lesson: In an open environment of interactive storytelling, the initiator does not have control not only on the content but also on when the story will end or on the rules of the game. This is not only fine with me but also a great demonstration of the freedom Web 2.0 provides us.
My reaction was to post another tweet continuing the story further:
#twistory1 Fred ate quickly while Janet observed him intensely forgetting her dinner. When she looked back, her meal wasn't there.
The last sentence creates another point of tension- Janet’s meal disappeared!
What would be the next tweet?
If you try it, please don't forget to tag your tweet with #twistory1
Summary
So far, the story is:
Having just finished cooking, Jane sat down to eat when a dark shadow appeared in the window. OMG, she cried.
Janet turned from the window as a knock was at the door. A gentle tapping. She opened to find the ebony feral cat, hungry again.
Sighing, Janet turned back 2 to get the can opener. She had started keeping cat food around 4 Fred, the name she gave the cat.
Fred ate quickly while Janet observed
him intensely forgetting her dinner. When she looked back, her meal wasn't
there.
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