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What does Shakespeare have to do with clickbait? How much in common did ancient indigenous peoples have with the Twitter community? Was Dante’s “Inferno” the original “explainer” story
The surprising answers, according to Upworthy’s Amy O’Leary, are “plenty,” “a lot,” and “but of course.” O’Leary, Upworthy’s editorial director, presented a lively session at this year’s Power of Narrative conference, making the unlikely connection, as she put it in the title of her talk, from “Scheherazade to Snapchat.”
Upworthy might look like it represents the baser instincts of internet journalism, with its unwavering focus on virality: video memes, listicles, and those “explainer” articles that often feature headlines beginning with “How” or “Why.” (“How SeaWorld’s empire collapsed: a tragedy in 3 acts.”)
But O’Leary was an expert defender of her business, deftly explaining the hows and whys of stories that stick, and demonstrating the ways these “new” journalism models are in fact examples of centuries-old storytelling methods that have always been a critical component of human interaction....
Exploring the art and craft of story and how Shakespeare and clickbait go together like white on rice. Clever.