Digital storytelling

Storytelling is one of the oldest of all human occupations. Since hunter-gatherer times, human beings have used storytelling has a means of explaining ideas, building communities and passing on cultural traditions to their progeny. Storytelling has captivated audiences since time immemorial and in spite of the technological revolution that has taken place in recent years, storytelling continues to be an essential aspect of our society. Some people argue that data science is all about using data to tell a story. In fact, stories from big data are sometimes called 'anecdata'. Others argue that video games are now experimenting with more interested forms of storytelling. What is utterly undeniable is the fact that the digital revolution has produced some superb works of literature in recent years. 

Traditionally, the best storytellers have come from a humanities background while the leading tech gurus have come from the engineering or computer sciences. Incidentally, the two had little in common. The digital age is changing this. More and more we are seeing greater integration and convergence between the arts and the sciences. Steve jobs famously said that for technology to be truly brilliant it must be coupled with artistry. Many of Apple's employees come from a liberal arts rather than a hard sciences educational background. What this means for the future of digital technology is not entirely clear. But it seems that however the economy evolves, there will always be a need for good storytellers!