Hi everyone,

If you’re seeing this in your inbox today, we (and you) successfully made the transition from Substack to Beehiiv, hurrah! And welcome to our new digs.

Friend of Storythings Russell Davies is running the Interesting conference in London next week. It’s always a mix of fun and thought-provoking talks – you won’t be disappointed. See you there perhaps?

OK, the sun in shining in most of the UK, the weather is finally that bit warmer, and most people are in a good mood. As we head into the weekend, we hope this newsletter gives you some inspiration, some laughter, and a lot of fun to take with you.

Anjali

How Stories Happen: a cool video illustration of the podcast’s story (5-min watch)

No Web Without Women (website)

Apple’s New iPad Pro Ad Sparks Outrage as Hugh Grant and More Slam Tech Giant (2-min read)

Phoenixed: The Fallout – Who Will be Held Responsible for the System’s Failures? (29-minute listen)

In An Emoji History of Art, ND Stevenson Playfully Recreates Iconic Paintings (1-min read)

The Diminishing Returns of Having Good Taste (8-min read)

Bravespace: a new music compilation from the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center (playlist)

Playbook-itis: How to Check for Common Symptoms of Brand Failure (11-minute read)

Music vs. Lyrics: Fight! Fight! (13-minute read)

Chantel Walkes Creates Collages That Are Like “Snapshots of Memory” Depicting Black Joy Throughout Time (image collection)

How To Build An App: Everything You Didn’t Know You Needed To Know 
We made this YouTube series for Tom Scott, who wanted to speak to people who wanted to make an app – but without being too technical. The 15-part series is about everything outside of the code: the real world that apps have to navigate to be successful. A lot of people can code and build apps, but getting people to talk about your app so you can grow through word of mouth? That’s a different thing altogether.

How we can help you

Storythings is the content marketing agency of choice for some of the world’s most forward-thinking B2B brands and organisations. Here are 2 reasons to get in touch. 

1. “I don’t know what to do” – You’ve been creating content but it’s not having the impact you need. Talk to us about our Content Audit Workshop.
2. “I need something making” – You know what you want to make but need an agency to make it. We can help make your podcast, video, publication, animation and newsletter. We do other things too. Get in touch for a FREE 30 minute consultation. 

How Stories Happen: a cool video illustration of the podcast’s story (5-min watch)
Author and speaker Jay Acunzo’s How Stories Happen podcast talks to entrepreneurs about how they build their business through meaningful narratives, not stunts. We really like the style of this video which captures one story from Episode 1 of his podcast, about a contractor in Tulsa, Oklahoma whose on-site team creates daily videos for homeowners to show the progress of the work on their homes. The video mixes a number of animatic and visual styles really neatly.

No Web Without Women (website)
This project by New York-based agency Selman Design is right up my alley. As a co-founder of Ada’s List back in the day, it really spoke to me. The website shows how key web technologies all have women to thank for their existence. Also see: Nevertheless, our podcast and platform for Pearson from a few years ago, which was about STEM role models - in fact, we referenced a number of these women in that project too.

Apple’s New iPad Pro Ad Sparks Outrage as Hugh Grant and More Slam Tech Giant (2-min read)
I’m sure most of you have seen the most dunked-on ad of the year (so far) by now, but if you haven’t, Variety has collected some of the most damning comments. Filmmaker Asif Kapadia said “it is the most honest metaphor for what tech companies do to the arts, to artists, musicians, creators, writers, filmmakers: squeeze them, use them, not pay well, take everything then say it’s all created by them.” And one filmmaker even created a reverse animation of the ad.

Phoenixed: The Fallout - Who Will be Held Responsible for the System’s Failures? (29-minute listen)
In Episode 5 of Phoenixed, the investigative podcast we make for the Global Payroll Association, we look at the fallout of the Phoenix pay system implementation disaster for the Canadian government. One auditor called it “an incomprehensible failure” – but who would be held responsible for it?

In An Emoji History of Art, ND Stevenson Playfully Recreates Iconic Paintings (1-min read)
Emoji versions of famous paintings! This brought a smile to my face and I’m sure they will to yours as well. ND Stevenson, the creator, says: “at some point a few years back, I discovered that Instagram Stories not only allows you unlimited emojis, it ALSO allows you to enlarge them to an apparently infinite degree. Thus, a very strange new hobby was born.” Some of these paintings are immediately recognisable, some less so - but all worth looking at!

The Diminishing Returns of Having Good Taste (8-min read)
Once upon a time, cheat codes for games were valuable, a marker of social status. Now, when a Google search makes things like that instantly attainable, what does that mean for mass culture? We’ve moved from instantaneous information sharing (which I certainly partook of when Twitter came on the scene in 2007) to information hoarding. As W. David Marx says in this piece that references everyone from the Beatles to Taylor Swift and Canadian indie music project Cindy Lee, “The move from billion-user platforms back to balkanized networks on clubbier apps such as Discord could allow savvier individuals to step in and bridge distinct worlds. We may also seek to reduce the amount of information shared online - keeping information exchange personal and limited to real life may restore some value to what tastemakers know.”

Bravespace: a new music compilation from the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center (playlist)
This compilation of original songs, sounds and meditations by Asian American women and non-binary artists and musicians was commissioned at the beginning of the 2020 COVID lockdown and has now come to life. I was introduced to the work of transdisciplinary artist Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya through this project as well (love her website URL, as a fellow long last name-r).

Playbook-itis (11-minute read)
Annie Kreighbaum was VP of brand development at Glossier. In this post, she gives some of her advice on “common pitfalls when doing things according to some assumed playbook of successful contemporary brands.” Some very on-point tips for brand people of all types, from copywriters to digital designers, in a tone of voice that speaks to her experience of developing them for Glossier: “Stop the royal “we””, “Stop saying that you do things “thoughtfully””, “when presented with the choice of stealing content to repost and creating something new with nothing but a dream and your camera app, choose the latter”. HT Emily Sundberg.

Music vs. Lyrics (13-minute read)
For no other reason than I really like the roundtable format; and in this instance, as someone who finds it hard to decide if I like music or lyrics more, I really like the idea of pitting music-lovers against lyrics-lovers (but there is also a secret third factor we need to consider). Which one(s) are you?

Chantel Walkes Creates Collages That Are Like “Snapshots of Memory” Depicting Black Joy Throughout Time (image collection)
New York-based Chantel Walkes pairs colour with black-and-white imagery, people and place. Evocative of a specific time in history, her art is nostalgic and powerful all at once.

That’s it for this week - we hope you enjoyed it. Let us know on LinkedIn if you have comments or thoughts, or indeed if you wanted to share it there, we’d be very appreciative! Thanks for reading. Till next time.

Hugh, Matt, Anjali and the whole team at Storythings.