Stories are the currency of culture.

 

Author and cultural entrepreneur John Seel defines culture in the following manner:

 

“Culture is the governing ideas and images that shape a society’s understanding of

reality. It finds its expression in our personal aspirations about what constitutes the good life as well as in the stories we tell about it. It forms the invisible matrix of meaning that frames our thinking, guides our actions, and informs what we make. We make culture, but more importantly, culture makes us.”

 

The media—comprised of multiple industries ranging from news reporting to marketing to film and TV—consists of for-profit businesses whose products are the stories that constitute our culture. But what makes a story beautiful—meaningful? Is it even necessary to tell stories that are deep, profound, and true and, if so, why? What are common business challenges to meaningful storytelling, and what are potential solutions? How might recent technological advancements, such as the rise of virtual and augmented reality technologies, affect meaningful storytelling?