Here goes with issue #1

In this introduction to my newsletter I talk about what is at the core of my work - storytelling - and how the advent of YouTube, TikTok and the rise of gaming have brought about significant changes in how we create stories for kids.

???Technology changes the narrative

Since humans first started telling stories to each other we’ve played around with new ways to deliver them. Whether it was via cave drawings, song, books, movies or TV, the medium through which we communicate stories has evolved thanks to technology.

Even relatively recently, if you try to explain to kids how Disney used to make animated films - by drawing each frame by hand on paper, then having them photographed onto celluloid to be projected onto screens in movie theatres - they will look at you and scoff at how analogue a process it was.

Modern storytelling in children's media is a far cry from what it was just a couple of generations ago. Technology has not only revolutionised the way stories are created, but also how they are told, and it feels like the evolution speeds up every day.

It’s my hope that this newsletter will be a source of inspiration, news, information and a few stories in itself of how the kids media landscape is changing thanks to tech - and how we as producers, educators, professionals and parents can use technology to make stories as interesting and innovative as those first cave drawings must have seemed to our ancestors.

?? Once upon a time… there was a thing called Gamification

This first issue is a helicopter view of the broad themes that I intend to explore in this newsletter about our business of media for young people. And it’s worth starting with one of the biggest shifts in recent times, one that was supercharged by the pandemic, the rise of gaming.?

Gaming has revolutionised the way kids consume media, its interactive nature offers a unique platform for storytelling. Gone are the days of passively sitting back and watching a story unfold on a screen. Today's kids are actively participating in stories through gaming, where they make decisions, shape characters, and influence outcomes.

In role-playing games such as Elden Ring players make choices that affect the storyline and character relationships, giving them agency and control over the narrative.

In others like ‘Life is Strange’, players navigate moral dilemmas and make choices that impact the character's progression. These games blur the lines between traditional narrative and gameplay, and give kids a dynamic way to consume whilst taking part in the storytelling process itself. In this way gaming has truly changed media consumption for kids, offering them a new level of agency that they love, and increasingly demand from producers.

And social gaming platforms such as Roblox have opened up new opportunities for brands to tell their stories in far more interesting ways than was possible simply by advertising. Vans, Gucci, Doritos and H&M have created their own experiences within Roblox that allow players to engage with their brand in everything from virtual events and scavenger hunts to interactive storylines and quests. The power of gaming to connect with younger audiences in a meaningful way is undeniable.

??Multimodality: everything, everywhere, all at once

Alongside gaming, YouTube and social media platforms speed the shift towards multimodality in content for kids. Video, social and gaming combine different ways to communicate - visual, auditory and interactive - all of which enhance the storytelling and make it more dynamic. Kids aren't happy with just watching passively, they want to?participate?in the stories and worlds?that they like, they want to?interact?with the characters that they love and, in some cases,?they want to co-create?with the IP too.?Layer on a TikTok channel, Insta, a few Snap filters and a podcast and that's a LOT of touchpoints for which to create content and make the story compelling to your audience.

And that's the point of this newsletter really, to assist creators, producers and professionals working in kids media to make better decisions. To navigate the bumpy road that is the current content landscape and ride the pace of technological change together.

?? What to expect from future issues

Each issue I'll pick a theme and do a deep dive into trends and examples of technology changing how stories are created, told and consumed. Whether it's the switch to shorter formats and the art of quick-paced narrative, how to build IP across the new media flywheel, or the challenge of creating meaningful characters when attention is more fragmented than ever before.

I've got a huge list of ideas - from user-generated content, audiences as avatars, kids customising their story and more, so if there's a topic you want to hear more about please let me know. As we continue to navigate the ever-evolving world of kids media, I want this newsletter to be a valuable tool, and I'm excited to share it with you in the coming months and work together to create the best possible content for our young audience.

Until next time! ????