This is the keynote I gave at the international conference on HCI in Maribor, Slovenia in June 2013. It was about the power of stories and about how to use them to establish better connection with your users/clients. The second part was about our project Edgar, that is empowering craftsmen and SMEs by giving them a tool to create visually compelling stories.

1. edgar
& the story behind the story
as told by Damjan Obal

2. Hello, I’m Damjan

3. I will tell you the story about:
1. What makes a story
2. Hero’s journey
3. The power of stories
4. Stories for business & you
5. Edgar, the storyteller
6. Take away

4. Stories are not for children-only!
No, really.

5. Storytelling 101
Five elements of a story:
setting, plot, characters, conflict and theme

6. Photo by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/madelynnholmes/

7. Setting: Cottage in the woods...
Plot:Hansel&Gretelhaveoutwittheevilwitch
Characters: Hansel, Gretel, the Witch
Conflict: Good vs. Evil
Theme: Famine, outwitting the enemy
Photo by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/madelynnholmes/

8. What really matters:
storyteller, content and audience

9. Content. Is king.
Photo by: http://ingridsnotes.wordpress.com
moral

10. The audience
Photo by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/seandreilinger/

11. Storyteller: my mom
Content: the scary story about the evil witch.
Ifyoudon’tbehavethewitchwilleatyoualive!
So, don’t be greedy, Damjan!
Audience: mini-me
Photo by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/madelynnholmes/

12. Photo by: http://www.manmoth.co.uk

13. http://images5.fanpop.com

14. http://images5.fanpop.com
Frodo is a nobody...
Frodo gets a quest
He meets a mentor (Gandalf) + secret stash
He gets companions
He faces powerful enemies
He gets stronger
He finishes the quest - saves the Middle Earth
... Frodo is a hero

15. The power of stories
Stories boost imagination & creativity

16. Stories for businesses & you
“We’ve gone from being exposed to about 500
brand messages a day back in the 1970s to as
many as 5000 a day today.”
#Yankelovich Consumer Research

17. Stories differentiate you from others &
create added value &
build engagement with your users

18. People have a basic need for storytelling.
Good brands & products address it.

23. www.edgartells.me / @edgartells
storytelling tool empowering craftsmen

24. the problem
Drago
the small
craftsman
VS.

26. the solution
“About.me meets Tumblr for craftsmen“
#AngelHack jury
Edgar helps SMEs and craftsmen that are not
as internet-oriented, to create visual storylines
of their products and engage with customers.

27. why now?
“Craftsman on the rise“ #Wired #Guardian
“Microbrewers and Craft Beer Makers
Raising Millions and Millions of Dollars“
#247WallSt.com

28. why now?
800.000 craftsman,
artists, makers
42 million unique visitors/
month
15 million products
Curated catalog
Sales up by nearly 300%
in 2013

34. Won the AngelHack Berlin, accepted in the
Accelerator in SF, invited to the TechCrunch
Disrupt and… saved a couple of cheerleaders
(the last one is a lie).

35. Now, forget about edgar and remember:
Tell the story
Offer an adventure to your users
Offer rewards for succeeding + failing
Tell the users the story about your values
Your product as a story character
(the more tech you are, the greater the need!)

36. www.edgartells.me / @edgartells
damjan@blok-blok.com / @damjanobal