We are all natural storytellers. That is how we communicate what we have done, what we have learned, what we have seen. That is how we communicate our feelings, values and thoughts. That is how we imagine the future.
Internally, organisations have increasingly been trying to tap into people's stories to capture knowledge, be it for the purpose of retaining it before they leave the company, accelerating the induction of new colleagues, or making available part of the vast experience and knowledge of its staff.
Organisations are also exploring storytelling with other objectives. For example to create public records of traditions.
One such case is the Medicine Chest. Funded by Channel 4, the site was devised as an online presence for the Medicine Men Go Wild show (aired January and February 2008 on C4) and also to collect remedies / stories of how generations have used traditional approaches to health and healing.
Has your grandma used olive oil to treat ear aches? Have you ever drunk tea to help with insomnia? Or do you know of others who trusted shiitake mushrooms to cope with cancer?
Well, these are the sort of traditions and experiences the Medicine Chest site is trying to capture to ensure they do not get lost.
Headshift has worked with Channel 4 to bring this project to life and with Kew Gardens which have provided the factual content on the site.
A new version of the site has just been released. It has a cleaner design and it addresses some of the little things that have been brought up during the user testing sessions we recently ran.
After an initial period where the TV show was the main focus of the site, the latter is now mostly geared towards the public record aspect of it. It is all about sharing stories, preserving traditional remedies, and reading other people's experiences. Registered users can share and comment on remedies, edit their own profile, and watch conversations unfold around the items they're most interested in.
Why don't you drop in for a story or two?
Internally, organisations have increasingly been trying to tap into people's stories to capture knowledge, be it for the purpose of retaining it before they leave the company, accelerating the induction of new colleagues, or making available part of the vast experience and knowledge of its staff.
Organisations are also exploring storytelling with other objectives. For example to create public records of traditions.
One such case is the Medicine Chest. Funded by Channel 4, the site was devised as an online presence for the Medicine Men Go Wild show (aired January and February 2008 on C4) and also to collect remedies / stories of how generations have used traditional approaches to health and healing.
Has your grandma used olive oil to treat ear aches? Have you ever drunk tea to help with insomnia? Or do you know of others who trusted shiitake mushrooms to cope with cancer?
Well, these are the sort of traditions and experiences the Medicine Chest site is trying to capture to ensure they do not get lost.
Headshift has worked with Channel 4 to bring this project to life and with Kew Gardens which have provided the factual content on the site.
A new version of the site has just been released. It has a cleaner design and it addresses some of the little things that have been brought up during the user testing sessions we recently ran.
After an initial period where the TV show was the main focus of the site, the latter is now mostly geared towards the public record aspect of it. It is all about sharing stories, preserving traditional remedies, and reading other people's experiences. Registered users can share and comment on remedies, edit their own profile, and watch conversations unfold around the items they're most interested in.
Why don't you drop in for a story or two?
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