ComNet26 Keynote: Storytelling with National Geographic

I love this quote by Joseph Campbell.

It's pretty simple, but I think it resonates probably with most in this room.

People do forget facts, right? We're awash in numbers and big, bold statements, some of which may or may not be true.

But we remember stories.

We remember how we feel when we're told a story.

We remember why a joke makes us laugh, right? Stories engage a different part of our brain.

They lay down memories, and while the numbers are avoidable or forgettable, the stories are not.

Visual storytelling has always been really the core of National Geographic.

Well, actually that's not true, not always.

We started in 1888 before photography was easily printable in our magazine.

In the early 1900s, we started printing photography in the magazine and half of our board resigned.

in protest.

It was a terrible decision.

We were dumbing down the science.

We were going to bring National Geographic down.

And I think we got the last laugh there.

But I actually think about that a lot because I think about what are the new technologies, what are the new formats of storytelling that I might be like, no, we'd never do that.

That's not good for National Geographic.

I don't want to be the anecdote 100 years from now, right? But visual storytelling, I don't think photography is going anywhere, particularly in our brand.