storytelling.

I am a social media junkie (well, clearly, since I'm blogging and I've been working at a social media agency for the last few months :) duh). I've loved social media for a while -- the ability for people (and brands, celebs, activists, etc.) to instantly connect with one another and share their thoughts, lives, conversation... it's incredible how quickly the landscape of communication has changed.

Anyway, one of my favorite directors, Tim Burton, recently did a little cadavre exquis ("exquisite corpse") social media project -- essentially meaning that via Twitter, users contributed to a collective story. The story was initially started by the @BurtonStory twitter account, and each day, the best tweet (tagged with hashtag #BurtonStory) that followed up on the last plot point from the previous day was selected until the story was complete.

The finished story can be read here.

I thought this was a genius idea. For an artist/director that is so highly renowned for his unique creativity, this was a great way to connect with his very dedicated and niche-like fanbase. The site that houses the story also credits each and every contributor, serving as a stepping stone for aspiring writers and filmmakers.

Burton always seems to come up with incredible, "out of the box" stories. I hope he does another experiment like this -- maybe even using the result as inspiration for a new film :)