The Path Tells a Story

Abstract

Stories have been shared in every culture because they are a powerful means to entertain, educate, and preserve traditions or instill values. In the history of storytelling technological evolution has changed the tools available to storytellers, from primarily oral representations that have been enriched with gestures and expressions to the sophisticated forms we enjoy today, such as film or complex layered hypermedia environments. Despite these developments the traditional linear presentation of a story is still the most dominant. Yet, the first decade of the twenty-first century established a technology that finally, after many attempts, can challenge the dogma of passive linearity. It is mobile technology that makes people aware that a digital environment opens opportunities to everybody to freely socialize through and with stories relevant for the current spatial, temporal, and social context.