This document discusses plans for growing the Cowbird platform and achieving its goals of promoting human potential through communal storytelling. It outlines the document author's background and interests. It then examines different parts of the Cowbird business model and stakeholders. It proposes partnerships with organizations like TED, Coldplay, and local governments to incentivize users and drive growth. It also suggests improving the storytelling interface and providing recommendations for crafting compelling narratives. The document aims to map out strategies for expanding Cowbird's user base and impact through targeted partnerships and initiatives.

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2. My background
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Interest in events
Human potential
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Peak Graph, Experience Spectrum, Concentric
Circles
As you’re working on this, think about how
Accountability
Storytelling
people respond to your work (namely
positively to parts like PIDs) – likely signaling
that they can relate to and apply it
themselves – and build on that in what you
“preach” here
Growing & Sustaining Cowbird + Achieving Goals
of Human Potential Through Storytelling

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4. Impact
Time
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5. =
Ownership
Impact
Time
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6. - Big challenges - humans learn from
experiencing highs and lows
- Belief in storytelling as a solution
OR, if you’re not going through this
deck with them, either record audio
to send them
OR remove slide for something more
obvious
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7. What
How
Ownership via
Accountability
Why
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Communal Storytelling
Responsibility + Interest

8. Mapping out different parts
of Cowbird (as I see it)
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Individuals
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Meetups
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Orgs
Platform
Local Govs
Incentives
Partners

9. Shared Vision?
Build my confidence in my Role
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General: Library of Human Emotions
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Stakeholders become Evangelists through [Communal] Storytelling
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$ growth?
Disruption: Everyone has unique experiences; now everyone can tell beautiful
stories
Spark People-to-People interaction (peeked curiosity / Team Brainstorming)
(maybe already happens)
User base growth?
Storytelling volume growth (mainstream activity)?
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10. Given Shared Vision +
Different Parts...
• Who cares most?
• Who has the most pain?
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11. My role
(given shared vision)
• Selling
• Fielding User / Customer Empathy for
Product Dev
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12. Packages to sell to big
clients
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They incentivize their users
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Directed to a page that’s specific to the organization
so that it makes sense, yet still invites curiosity to rest
of site
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Packaged Analytics, Email Activity Dashboard (like user
emails of popular stories), ...
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Auto Moderation technology...
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How to ensure that storytelling is delivering value
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13. Client ideas
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TED
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The White House
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Coldplay
U of M
Mercedes Benz
Jazz at Lincoln Center
UMS
UNSIDS
Central Park
Truckers’ Association of America (map of truck drivers’ routes, stories
From the road)

14. Notes for wireframes
• Organization’s page (Coldplay)
• Option to join community, post to that
org’s page
• Default to view stories
• Easy to still peak curiosity to see other
stories
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15. Client Example:
Coldplay
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16. Take another Cowbird screenshot
in salon view to improve this page
Have a Coldplay story show up on
this page to intro Coldplay pages
(maybe use another slide to
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17. Coldplay
- Add Coldplay concert photos to fit collection
- Duplicate and change ‘Collections’ to Projects to
show how fans can create posts (Collection) as well as
band (Project)
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18. Coldplay
Format these to look like other Cowbird story tiles
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19. Coldplay
Alternate homepage (displaying random story)
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20. Coldplay
UK | London
Be sure to note additional
location filtering approach (or
can just be org-specific and in turn
below yellow box)
OR remove this page all together and
wait until mockup on their site if you’re
showing how they do location FIRST?
Think of how you want to
format this page to be easy
to 1) change locations and
2) see corresponding content
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21. Change tags to reflect Coldplay / music
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22. Maybe change image to look more like Coldplay
concert
* mention making a simpler storytelling interface,
perhaps by moving this one up and having media fill
more of screen? (liked original one)
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23. Thursday, October 17, 13

24. Chris
Martin
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Musician

25. - Refine storytelling interface to be
easier
- Include help page button for
recommendations for telling a multisensory story (Moth-like)
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26. - make interface of help page for
recommendations for telling a story
(Moth-like)
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27. Coldplay
Change stories to music stories (making sure they’re
formatted in Cowbird way)
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28. Coldplay
Keep this? (does it create an
opportunity)
OR can move ahead of new Cowbird
interface and include screenshot of
people at concert
OR just go right to what we could
create?
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29. Coldplay
UK | London
Find way to include social
media tags they have at
bottom of their site
Note location filtering
button at top (or change if
you change on earlier slide)
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30. 5,888,235 Fans
288 New Followers
Email that companies receive with info, top stories
(very visual, with a digital newspaper-style feel)
Live in Spain
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Jan. 7
Lasdlfkjas;ldfkjas;ldfkjas;ldfkjas;ldkfja;sdlfjaasl
;dkfjasldfja;slkfja;sdlkfjasidjf;alskjdf;laksjdf

31. Moth partnership
• especially given work they’re already
doing...
Can borrow from Moth guide to telling stories to help more people tell stories
(with a page with an image and brief description - a brief storytelling
handbook)
"A good story can put your whole brain to work"
Have one or several of following:
- plot
- character
- sensory descriptions
- challenge / cross roads
* caveat is having people write in ways they wouldn't otherwise
"A story, in its simplest form, is a connection of cause and effect"
"a story is the only way to activate parts in the brain so that a listener turns the
story into their own idea and experience."
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32. Ask Big Qs Partnership
• To get Cowbird Physically into local
communities via Cowbird “reps”
include picture of someone holding a
Cowbird card, reading together in
public square format
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33. Local Partnerships
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News Orgs
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IF mission is to enable grassroots news reporting,
which could be considered disruption if disruption is a
goal
Local Govs
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promoting public communal storytelling events
include picture of public square,
perhaps w/ Cowbird theming
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34. Linearity events
• Despite Cowbird’s non-linearity yet
hierarchical structure, linear events could
accelerate usage traction (i.e. w/ elections)
Makestories play like areflects
wireframe that
can have option to have
linearity + playing relevant
slideshow based on when / where they
stories woven together
happened
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Partner w/ Living Voters’ Guide?
Bring Travis on-board?
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