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The story behind the story

You have a story. You have a collection of stories, in Zahmoo. But what’s the story behind each of those stories? What’s the greater story that links all of those stories together?

I drive around town with a friend, a retired builder. He points at the Town Hall: “That’s one of mine” he says. “Fixed the roof above the old clock there. Leaking right down into the archive-room, it was.” Another house: “Did their new verandah, I did. Lovely job, they let me spend the money to do it right. Not like them cheapskates over there. Pah!” – a momentary snarl on his face. And a brighter gesture at the old Telegraph building: “Was the Internet of its day, you know that? News at the speed of electric! Marvel of the age. Beautiful stonework in there too, real craftsmen they was. Mayor got his name on the foundation stone for doin’ nothin’ but standing there, but they carved their own names too, all proper like, hidden away up top on the pillars. Show you sometime if you’d like?” A steady stream of small stories like this, weaving himself into the greater story of the town.

The story behind the story, writing himself into the history of the town with this quiet stream of small stories…

Others weave themselves into the story of their community or company in other ways. As we walk round the town, another friend is stopped repeatedly by former patients, each with their own story of connection. My cousin meets his former students on the street, now pushing the pram with a smile on the face, or rushing off to another business-meeting. Sometimes a whole new generation, but the stories still link everyone together.

Behind each story, a larger story, expressing broader values, broader choices. And each small story reflects that larger story, expands it, challenges it, contradicts it, extends it, layers within layers.

What is that larger story, for you, your family, your community, your company? How does each small story that you’ve stored in Zahmoo interweave with that larger story? Use tags and ratings in Zahmoo to help you trace that deeper meaning, and bring it back into the present in new stories that you create and collect.

November 17th, 2011 by Zahmoo
Filed in: For Business, For Community, For Family, How to
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Zahmoo is a story bank for collecting and sharing your family and business stories.


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