Quantified Storytelling

This book interrogates the role of quantification in stories on social media: how do visible numbers (e.g. of views, shares, likes) and invisible algorithmic measurements shape the stories we post and engage with? The links of quantification with stories have not been explored sufficiently in storytelling research or in social media studies, despite the fact that platforms have been integrating sophisticated metrics into developing facilities for sharing stories, with a massive appeal to ordinary users, influencers and businesses alike. With case-studies from Instagram, Reddit and Snapchat, the authors show how three types of metrics, namely content metrics, interface metrics and algorithmic metrics, affect the ways in which cancer patients share their experiences, the circulation of specific stories that mobilize counter-publics and the design of stories as facilities on platforms. The analyses document how numbers structure elements in stories, indicate and produce engagement and become resources for the tellers' self-presentation. This book will be of interest to students and scholars working in the fields of narrative and social media studies, including narratology, biography studies, digital storytelling, life-writing, narrative psychology, sociological approaches to narrative, discourse and sociolinguistic perspectives.

Presents a framework of method and analysis for exploring stories as metricized activities on social media Empirically documents the on-going changes to story genres and practices Brings together insights and analyses from three case-studies of stories on popular social media apps

Autorentext
Alex Georgakopoulou is Professor of Discourse Analysis & Sociolinguistics, King's College London, UK. Stefan Iversen is Associate Professor, School of Communication and Culture, Aarhus University, Denmark. Carsten Stage is Associate Professor, School of Communication and Culture, Aarhus University, Denmark.

Inhalt
Chapter 1: Analyzing Quantified Stories on Social Media.- Chapter 2: Measuring and Narrating the Disrupted Self on Instagram.- Chapter 3: Making Memes Count: Platformed Rallying on Reddit.- Chapter 4: Curating Stories - Curating Metrics: Directives in the Design of Stories.- Chapter 5: Conclusion.