Once upon a time, back in the 5th Century Anno Domini (AD), Attila the Hun was Leader of the Barbarian Hordes and ruler of the Hunnic Empire. The man was a savage. He brought death and destruction upon the remaining vestiges of the Roman Empire, and was feared as a Demonic Leader to the extent that he was considered ‘ungodly’ even amongst his own men. He was the sort of the leader that lived up to his reputation as ‘The Scourge of God’ and, if we believe, feasted on the blood of the fallen – eating two of his sons and serving up one of his wives to his children.
Anyway, that is the onlinehisotrycommunity (and others) version. Re-visiting this period many individuals have laid down their own versions of the story as historical fact and character representation of the events. In short, they articulate a history through the manner of drama and the savagery of consequent, with Hun’s ruthless barbarity, violence and cruelty at the heart of the narrative. We put the blood and guts centre and this holds our attention. Well it made history more captivating when I was behind a school desk.
Today, there is the opportunity to recreate an apparent self-history. An autobiography that is broadcast as historic fact. And who really knows the truth?
This Friday, Digital Storytelling ’10, supported by the BBC College of Journalism, sees a coming together of the ‘storytellers’ (journalists, technology experts, commentators, bloggers, you(?), me); as digital media makes collective stories, histories and connections possible. This event aims to answer: How do we create better stories using digital media?…
And so, before the event, I get to speculate and reflect a little…
Everyday, unprovoked, we put on a performance in front of one another. We constantly recreate our history. Even two years ago, it would have mattered less if Twitter, Facebook etc. were left aside from connections. And certainly from meetups, geekups and conference breakouts. Now, such digital media are increasingly key; for business, for personal lives and for personality. Digital Storytelling ’10 shares this perspective – where the narrative takes central stage and I’m intrigued to find out how much of this means that we can never create or ever capture the entire story.
Human communication has not be deadened by the internet, if anything the web has enabled us to make more noise and to communicate simultaneously in any number of streams. In the past, we had finite platforms and positions, now we have a multitude of technologies with even greater social outlets. There has been much voiced about the paradigm shift (see O’Reilly and expert others for more); overall things are getting faster, and are affected by the slightness of touch where, even in 140 characters, one person’s expression can quickly become a cacophony of voices that extends worldwide and become deafening. Everything from Britney’s breakdown/s to Haiti support.
To be up to date; you can read blogs – like this one - and (shameless self-promotion) this one. You can check tweet updates. You can gain mild amusement from Facebook updates/feeds/postings. You may even occasionally read something in a newspaper, or watch it on the news. But what is the real take away message? And who is in control? You? The BIG Them?
For who is to say who or what is real. To return to my historic snapshot, who was Attila the Hun? The one who was known to friends, to family, to his followers (not yet on Twitter). Perhaps he really was a man of violence who has faded into history forever to be portrayed as a loathsome character? Today, only our imagination serves to recreate the man, the events, and the savagery; in the same way that we seek to recreate ourselves and the stories of others.
We are the storytellers and storytelling is to be forever rewritten. Again. And again…
About Dr Mariann Hardey
I hold the position of Lecturer in Social Media Marketing at Durham Business School. I also spend too much time enjoying social technologies, media+ stuff. That'll make me a Geek then. And a gal.
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