Stories of our City, Connecting the World through Interactive Stories
As globalization marches forward, cultural tensions seem to be at an all-time high. Enter Scott Lashinsky. He is a self-described “stereotype killer” and he also is the creative director of “Stories of our City”, a global repository of personal stories meant to connect us as a global community.
The project started in 2009 as a podcast entitled, “Stories of My City”, and focused solely on stories of people from Beirut. The project has since expanded to have a global focus and to include many different formats depending on the storyteller submitting the project.
Because of their mix of story formats, Scott was elated when he discovered Verse. Scott explained to me, “For me, man, it changed everything. …I saw this thing called Verse and as soon as I saw it, I knew we’re getting this.” One of the main reasons? Scott says his interviews may go for over an hour, but he limits himself to five minute stories for an internet audience. “So when I saw Verse, I realized I could just put a hotspot there and if someone wants to learn more about it they can. I thought about it for two seconds and was like I need this.” Scott says Verse allows users to really get to know his subjects.
I was really struck by Scott’s passion to tell stories and his dedication to connecting with the user. For example with the story, “A Witness, A Testimony, A Fight: Part II (The Fight)”, Scott predicted that at the start, the user may have preconceived notions about Syrians. He hopes that as they watch the narrative they’ll see the human side of this subject. As that feeling grows, a hotspot will appear and offer you a chance to delve into the painter’s past, or an anecdote about his grandmother that is today influential in his art. When the user makes the active choice to click on it, it’s at that point a “wall will be broken.”
“Stories of our City’s” storyteller roster consists of four people in Turkey, Scott in Amman, Jordan, and an upcoming position in Dubai. The non-profit is based in Idaho and is supported by grants, including one from Google Ads, and donations.
Scott is now thinking about future projects involving Verse. “When I first used Verse, I went through the backdoor. I did the video before I knew Verse. Now I’m doing the planning ahead of time and what I’m asking myself is how can I use Verse to tell this story.” For one, he plans to build a Pathfinder where users can meet and learn about three break dancers with three different styles.
I asked Scott if there were any pro-tips that he’d share about using Verse. “One of the things I love about Verse is that I didn’t have to use an instruction manual. It’s self-explanatory and it’s simple, but it allows you to broaden the scope of your videos.” So to that end, Scott really advocates to just jump in and start working on a project in Verse to get a feel for it.
The goal for Scott always remains the same: “To me, Verse allows us to go deeper and allows a person to share more of his or her story. The more we can get them on air sharing their stories, the better chance we have to open people’s minds who are closed-hearted to people of different cultures.”
Follow and support Scott at www.storiesofourcity.com
