There were so many things that I could have tweeted about, but as I was eating dinner tonight, I was pulled into a documentary about Sesame Street of all things. I’m at the age now that tv shows have become so nostalgic so I shouldn’t have been surprised!
Did you know that a documentary was released last year about the show? Neither did I but it was worth the watch! Check out my thread below to find out why.
Another tough day as the newbie. After the previous family moved, I was locked out, no place to go. I had heard some noises from that ground floor patio, you know, the one closest to the big tree. #EXSM3989
As we know the internet loves cats, kittens, animals of any kind so I figured I had an automatic hit with my live-tweeting story featuring my cat. Snippet storytelling needs to be engaging and visually appealing, and so the cat was going to be the star of my story!
The Newbie
I like to be the center of attention, it’s important there are no small children, no other animals of any kind, I also prefer a quieter environment, air conditioning in summer and real wood burning fireplace for winter naps and let’s not forget access to the outdoors. #EXSM3989pic.twitter.com/2bJ6ztrA06
I tried hard all day to catch these ’micro moments’ the cat was having, but I got too insecure and edited too much to the point of not having any visuals to accompany the content and we all know the importance of visuals in snippet storytelling. I also wrote a very long story then started to chop it up! The edit process is highly recommended for social media and aligns with the idea of concise writing to tell a story regardless of the platform.
The cat and I are just starting a new relationship, she was abandoned at my condo complex by previous residents so I tried to create a beginning a middle and a happy ending to my story by using real pictures, as well as typing on Twitter as I would speak with my friends when sharing stories about the latest adventures of the newbie.
“It was fun writing from the perspective of a cat, hope it worked!“
Digital Newbie, Feb 2022
When I was trying to think of a story theme for this assignment, I was looking around and watching the cat settle into her new home – I then started to wonder what she must be thinking about us! It was fun trying to imagine what a cat would think about and then relaying their judgement for the whole internet to read.
Have you tried to see events or experiences from another perspective, what judgements did you make?
I moved to my neighbourhood in early November, and quickly learned that there is a thriving community Facebook page where folks from all corners of the block come together to indulge in the hot local gossip. Needless to say, scrolling through these posts has become one of my favourite afternoon tea time hobbies. The typical weekday posts include cute pics of cute dogs (and the occasional cat), parents quoting strange things their kids say, or – my personal favourite – the (gentle) reminders to use one’s common sense. It’s truly a great little spot for bonding and venting to your local community.
Last week, our neighbourhood went into high alert after a concerned neighbour posted an owl sighting to the Facebook page, and warned everyone to keep their small pets inside.
It started last week when a concerned neighbour posted an SOS to our community facebook page, alerting the neighbourhood of their shocking discovery. #EXSM3989pic.twitter.com/Hocxkm654J
This post was buzzing with comments and was quickly pinned to the top of the page. Some neighbours went back and forth to confirm whether or not the accused was indeed dangerous or “just a little harmless barn owl.” After much back and forth, it was concluded that this owl was, indeed, concern-worthy.
Clarifications were made and it has since been confirmed that this owl sighting is indeed an issue of concern. #EXSM3989pic.twitter.com/umCHQ3USt4
Very quickly, alliances were formed and a vigilant owl watch committee was created. The brave members strolled the streets, searching for our terror owl.
A week went by, and the owl buzz slowed down. No sightings had been seen, and we resumed our daily nonchalance.
Until today…
OWL SPOTTED:
The terror owl was spotted this afternoon, perched on a neighbour’s window pane, making some seriously sinister eye contact.
BREAKING NEWS:
Moments after the spotting, we learned that a beloved neighbourhood pup, Ellie, had gone missing.
While venturing off isn’t entirely out of character for Ellie, whose photos are often on the Facebook page’s “lost and found” posts, we couldn’t help but wonder if she had crossed paths with our terror owl…
To learn what happens to Ellie and the nightmare owl, read the rest of the story here.
What makes this a good story snippet?
If at any point during this story, you thought “oh my gosh, where is my little DOG/CAT/CHILD,” then I’d like to think that this was a successful story.
Right off the bat, there’s a hook— a lure in– that makes you wonder: why is this neighbourhood being terrorized by an owl? How is that possible? Does anything happen to the pets??!
Setting the stage and the emotion (in this case, fear) from the beginning lets you know that something is happening that doesn’t normally happen in this neighbourhood.
You’re introduced to the main characters: the terror owl and the concerned neighbourhood dwellers. You’re invited into the conversations between neighbours and the actions they take to fend off this owl and protect the pets.
Just when you think that the owl’s flown off to terrorize another community, the plot thickensand things get complicated, thus keeping readers at a heightened state of anticipation.
Visual elements including screenshots and gifs are used to emphasize key points and evoke/enhance reactions, while hashtags are used minimally so as not to detract from the storyline.
As an avid Netflix watcher, I thought I would live tweet myself watching the first episode of Kanye’s new documentary series, called Jeen-Yuhs. I am a fan of Kanye’s music and how vocal he is about his faith in God, so I thought that his new series could be a good watch.
Kanye’s friend and video producer, Coodie, shot all of the footage for this documentary series. They started filming it back in 2000, when Kanye was still at the beginning of his career journey. The fact that this documentary had been filmed for just under 20 years was intriguing to me. Kanye KNEW that from the start, he was destined for greatness. From the start of the story, we come to love the person that Kanye is and feel that we can relate to him throughout his struggles to fame.
Themes of an engaging story:
Like all engaging stories, this first episode had themes of relatability, emotion, authenticity, urgency, and suspense. We rooted for Kanye’s success from the second the show started, and it was because of his authenticity and relatability. It was easy to be invested in Kanye’s journey because of his tenacity and perseverance.
The not knowing if Kanye would get signed for a record deal as an artist was suspenseful to watch. We watched him fail multiple times, but always rise up stronger than before. This humanization of Kanye made him a likeable character.
I love Kanye!
When Kanye finally succeeds in getting a record with his top chosen record label Roc-A-Fella Records, I genuinely felt so happy for him. Seeing him persevere through his journey made me emotionally invested in his story. His reliance and faith in God was a prominent theme throughout the episode, which I think is relatable to a lot of people. The episode ends with him closing the record deal, but the narration alludes that his story has only jus begun (again, utilizing the element of suspense).
I am beyond excited to watch the next episode in this series.
As a family of five, the amount of masks needing to be washed on a weekly basis became VERY mundane in these last two years of our “new normal”. Let alone the panic that arose some mornings when hearing the words “Mom! I don’t have a clean mask!”; Unlike underwear, masks are not something you can just go without for a day. But with rules and restrictions quickly shifting and dissolving here in Alberta, I felt the need to tweet about the changes happening and the new questions I had…
What to do with all those masks?!
We’ve been living in this pandemic for two years, and clearly (as demonstrated by the Freedom Convoy, along with all its supporters), people are tired of the mandates, making our Alberta Premier start lifting restrictions. But now I can’t help but wonder, is this the end we’ve all been waiting for? If so, what in the world do I do with all of our masks? Between all five of us, we’ve probably got a hundred of them!
In my tweet, I share a few options I’m tossing around (and please, if you have any other ideas on what I can do with all our masks, I’d love for you to tweet a comment with your suggestion). My favourite option, being the easiest and most satisfying (really awakening our internal evil laugh) is… I don’t want to spoil it, but here’s a hint:
Unsure of which option to pick. Help!
Since I can’t decide for myself what to do with all our masks, I’m seeking for your input. I’ve thought of four different options and I’ve created a poll in my Twitter Thread to include you in the decision making. I’m hoping to hear from a few of you, in hopes it’ll guide me towards one of the options.
Easier said than done.
I’ve come to the realization that making a decision on what to do with these masks is easier said than done, and the decision making is evoking feelings and emotions within me I didn’t expect. Since I’m unable to know the future, keeping the masks is probably a good idea, should mandates ever return, but the thought of returning mandates sounds so depressing and exhausting. Although I’ve complied to most of these mandates the last two years, and with minimal complaints, I’m not sure it’s in me to go forward the same way.
“All I know is, this “new normal” cannot remain “the normal”. Not for mental health, not for the economy, not for the democracy, and many more reasons.”
So tell me, what I should do with all of our masks? Click-through to my Twitter Thread below, and let me know. I’d love nothing more than to hear all of your thoughts 🙂
Just washed a batch of masks again, which has been the #NewNormal for the past 2 years. I’m now sitting here, wondering, have I washed my last batch? #EXSM3989pic.twitter.com/GGcq7bJeI4
I’ve been a professional photographer for over a decade now and I’ve taken thousands of photos over that time. However, I have a handful of photos that stick out in my mind. These are photos, that even years later I still remember the circumstances that led up to the moment that is photographed.
I’ve been searching all week for a moment worth live-tweeting. I never expected it would come from my cats.
As you can see by the first few tweets, a bit of back story was necessary. I often find that when telling stories about our cats, people often ask, “How in the world did you end up with three cats?” and the answer is quite simple:
This morning was no different than any other Sunday morning. Breakfast, coffee, and Netflix on the couch were all in order. That is until we pulled out the catnip spray.
As I mentioned in my Twitter story, three cats mean plenty of toys and accessories – which our cats don’t always want to use… So, the catnip spray became a tool for us to encourage them to use the things that we spend our hard-earned money on.
Normally, they lay and roll around the area that the spray touches, but today we experienced this…
Well, as the internet has proven to us many a time, cat lovers love to watch other people’s cat do funny things. Trust me, catnip spray makes cats all the more entertaining to watch.
This post is beginning to sound a tad like a paid advertisement, but I can assure you that the catnip spray company is not paying me to write this (although, how cool would that be?).
As we learned last week, a good story is relatable and evokes emotion in its readers. While pet owners may definitely relate to this, those who do not own any pets, or perhaps own a different pet, may not find this as close to heart as some. Well… I at least hope seeing my cat obssessively lick her scratching post made you giggle.
In conclusion…
They have resumed their regularly scheduled activities. Lounging, relaxing, and attempting to fit in spaces that don’t exactly seem the most comfortable. #EXSM3989pic.twitter.com/rSK3eoSMWB
Oh to be a cat… After a solid 30 minutes of independent play time the ladies were exhasuted. They proceeded to find their favourite spots in the living room and settled in for a nap (at 11:15am, but who am I to judge?!).
On an unrelated note, those of you who may have been paying attention to the TV in the background may have noticed Love is Blind Season 2 on the screen. Bad but addicting Netflix reality TV shows are a favourite in our home.
Do you have any pets that do funny things like this? Who is your favourite Love is Blind couple? Leave me a comment below! 🙂
Over the course of a day I worked to document my panic-filled adventure of trying to complete all of my homework on time for my seven classes. At first I really struggled to focus on my readings, before spacing out entirely and ripping out my hair aimlessly. I switched over to work on my assignments instead and was able to finish two of them before eating breakfast and falling asleep (I started my adventure around midnight on Sunday morning). Later in the morning I struggle to accomplish much before having lunch and then a nap. After that I try to begin my analytics homework but am completely stuck, and panicking as time passes. Finally, I figure out the assignment and get everything I need to submitted in time.
Storytelling Principles
My Twitter story uses a variety of storytelling principles to keep readers engaged. Firstly, my story has a clear beginning, middle, and end. It begins as I start my day, the middle is where I panic over my struggle to complete my homework, and it ends with me finishing my work. This story is also quite universal, as many people can relate to having to do either homework or something else in a short period of time. We learned in class that good stories have someone to root for, which in this case (I would hope), is myself as I race against the clock to get everything done. The story is also simple, focusing only on how my homework is going, and ignoring distracting and unrelated elements. Colour, picture, and movement are additional elements that can help bring a story to life, which I was able to create through my use of silly gifs. Due to the stakes I was facing and the suspense of not knowing if I would finish on time, I hoped to keep readers interested in this piece on my daily life.
Because of my humor, suspense, and use of story elements I think I was able to create a compelling Twitter thread! Feel free to read it!
I'm taking 7 courses this term… and everything is due in a little less than 24 hours, for all of them. It took over 45 minutes to write this tweet, so it will be a small miracle if I can finish my work in time. Buckle up and join me on this panic-filled adventure! #EXSM3989pic.twitter.com/JApKp0zdLg
Growing up, I didn’t really have many pets. 1. My mom was Jamaican and in the Jamaican culture, pets are for outside, not inside. 2. I had allergies and 3. My mom knew that even if we got a pet, it would be another responsibility for her after the sticker shock wore off #EXSM3989
The story I told was about my childhood and me wanting a pet.
Started the story with why my mom didn’t really want a pet, and how I convinced her to get me a pet fish, then a pet hamster. Then I talked about all of my childhood adventures with my pet hamster GiGi. Then I finished the story talking about my current pet cats – Benji & Oliver.
I remember when I was younger and I was excited about the Family Day long weekend because it meant no school or it meant time and a half pay if I had to work. I was missing the entire point of the holiday which was created in 1990 by Premier Don Getty for two reasons: to celebrate the family unit, and to lead the war on drugs. So, in my efforts to be a good citizen, I asked my family if they wanted to go out and have fun as a family. This is where the lesson is. As you will see, the idea that something will be fun and what is actually fun are so very different. Of course, there are many factors that play into the “having of fun”. Some of these include: the activity, the demographics of the people partaking in the fun, and the time of day the fun occurs. During all this “fun” I was live tweeting the events as they were folding.
Beginning
After I convinced my husband and five-year-old son that it would be a good idea for us to do something for Family Day, we had to find something, safe, age appropriate and available. While all the ideas put forward were fantastic ideas, especially the all-inclusive vacation my husband suggested, we ended up going back and forth between bowling, mini golf and swimming. The deciding factor was the amount of effort required for the activity. This final factor led us to mini golf.
If you haven’t been to Monster Mini Golf in Edmonton, check it out! The entire place is glow in the dark. It includes an arcade, live DJ and 18 holes of mini golf with moving monsters. We were given our clubs and balls and set off to hole number one. Not so bad! This is going to be so much fun! Until about hole four, then reality set in. My husband and I both looked at each other knowing exactly what the other was thinking…yes, we were only on hole four and had another 14 holes remaining.
As we are making our way through the course, it becomes apparent that no one showed our son how to play mini golf. I think he may have even been using the club backwards at some points. No one was really “playing” anymore. I think we were in the “let’s get this over with and get the hell out of here” stage. That’s when, we weren’t paying attention, and our son decided to drive the ball instead of putting. Well, that ball went flying! It bounced off a fake tombstone, jumped the glowing barricade, narrowly missing the head of a girl waiting to putt on the next hole, hit the wall behind her and landed by her feet. I notice my husband, who seen the entire event occur, do what husbands do. He casually walked away trying to act like he didn’t see the whole the thing. I send our son over to apologize while receiving dagger stares from the girl’s parents. Thankfully, no one was injured, and we reluctantly continued on.
End
Around hole 13 was when it got tough. At this point we were really debating the necessity of actually finishing the game but I’m always trying to teach my son that he needs to finish what he starts and there were really only five more holes. So, when we got to the last hole, it felt so good, almost like we were free. Don’t get me wrong, looking back, it was a fun evening with the family, would it have been better with a group of friends? Probably. Would it have been better in the evening with a babysitter? Probably. Would have been better with some pre-game cocktails? Probably. But will I do it again? Probably!
Live Tweets
In the live Tweets, I did my best to create a timeline of the events by mentioning which hole we were on. I was able to take some video and pictures throughout the experience which I included in the tweets to help give more context to the post and create a feeling. The posts were also short and concise, written how I would speak and included only the relevant details. I tried to make the posts relatable to anyone with young kids.
Family Day long weekend! I've convinced my husband and 5-year-old son we should do something as a family today. pic.twitter.com/oAl2D0lpKD
The mini golf story I was telling on Twitter would be relatable to many people with young children. They can relate to the pressure of trying to plan a family outing, the anxiety of a new activity with a young child and the relief when the activity is over.
Good Stories Have Structure
I set up my Twitter story to have a beginning, middle and an end. In the beginning, I introduce the situation and the characters. In the middle, there is tension and surprise. And at the end there is relief.
Good Stories Are Simple And Focused
This story was documenting events as they unfolded. It was simple since the subject matter was easy to understand. The story had an arc which kept it focused.
Good Stories Give you a Character to Root For
With the audience being parents, I would hope that they were rooting for me and my husband. I hope they would relate to the story and understand the predicament and challenges we were facing.
What family activities have you planned? Were they a success? Would you do them again? Let me know in the comments.
EXSM 3989 - Digital Storytelling Class Blog 