The Memorial Day holiday is a good time to capture and share veterans stories.  There are over 21 million living U.S. military veterans from all time periods. The U.S. Veterans Affairs Department estimates that of the 16+ million World War II veterans, less than 1.5 million are alive today, with more than 600 WW II veterans passing away each day.

Where to share the stories? One option is the Veterans History Project of the Library of Congress, established in 2000 by Congress and the AARP as corporate sponsor. Stories in print or digital format, photos, and memorabilia can be donated to the Project.

How to record veterans’ stories? Digital recording using a web service like Evoca or a handheld digital recorder work well. Evoca offers its affordable, cloud-based subscription plans for audio recording by phone, computer mic or Skype and for archiving and sharing privately or on websites, blogs, Facebook and Twitter. Voice recordings can be made directly by the veteran or during an interview by a family member or friend. Playback is possible on any smartphone, tablet, or computer using Evoca’s smartplayer technology. A free trial subscription is available with no credit card required.

How the U.S. recognizes veterans: Memorial Day honors U.S. military veterans who died during their service in the United States Armed Forces. Traditions surrounding Memorial Day include participating in the Veterans of Foreign Wars [VFW] Buddy Poppy Program, placing a flag at veterans’ graves, holding parades, and pausing at 3:00 PM local time for a moment of remembrance and respect. It is different from Veterans Day, which recognizes the service of all U.S. military veterans, living or dead.

Teleconferencing can be a great way to reach hundreds of people all over the globe without having to leaving your home or office. But if you are the only presenter during a teleconference, there are several guidelines you need to follow to ensure success. Need to record the conference call? Evoca makes it easy to record phone and Skype conference calls, including the audio stream of video calls, and then easily saving and sharing the MP3 recording file from your cloud-based Evoca account.

1. Stand, don’t sit while speaking. Your breathing, energy and volume will be much better if you stand. At least get up from time to time to re-energize yourself.
2. You can’t take visual cues from your audience, therefore you can’t count on natural dialogue happening in your teleconference the way it would in a normal small group presentation.
3. Because no one else is asking questions during the first part of your presentation (the usual structure of a tightly timed 60 or 90 minute teleseminar is to hold questions until the end), you will find that you will get more tired and your throat may get drier than when giving a normal presentation. Have water handy.
4. Without visual cues from your audience, you cannot be quite as interactive. Therefore you need even more material and stories than usual.
5. Your lips may get dry. Keep a lip balm handy.
6. Keep tissue nearby. And be prepared to quickly mute your microphone if you start to cough or sneeze.
7. If you spot an error in your slides, don’t panic! (You can make it seem planned by offering a gift to the first person who spots the error)
8. Without an audience to play off of, a teleconference may seem “harder” to do than a normal speech. This just means you need to do more practice in advance.
9. Your audience can’t see you read during a teleconference, but don’t try to read! If you read during a teleconference you will sound boring, flat and monotone and everybody will tune out instantly.
10. You can drink a lot more water during a teleconference without anyone noticing. So that leads to the final tip. Make sure you go to the lavatory right before the teleconference begins.

With thanks to TJ Walker, top notch communications trainer and author and friend of Evoca, for sharing these tips. For more information on TJ’s media and presentation training please visit http://www.mediatrainingworldwide.com.

As an interviewer  — journalist, researcher, historian, author, or coach — you have favorite methods for getting the most from your interviews. Some interviewers model their approach based on how others conduct interviews in their professional field or in the media.

Here are some useful tips to consider adding to your own set of techniques, whether interviewing in person, by phone or with Skype.

• Develop a check list of questions. You may or may not want to share detailed questions with your interviewee, but make sure to share the purpose of the interview and themes.
• Reconfirm how much time the interviewee has available. If there is a misunderstanding and you will need more time, ask for a second session.
• Interview one person at a time unless there is a shared experience or expertise you need to capture at once.
• Make sure your permissions are in place, whether provided by your organization or from other professional resources.
• Start with a warm-up or neutral question to start the flow.
• Use open-ended questions and limit the “yes” or “no” types of questions.
• Be prepared. Whether the topics are familiar to you or not, check current sources for recent news.
• Signal your interviewee when you change direction during the interview, with a phrase such as “Now that we’ve covered the period of time before the factory was built, let’s move on to the phase when it was being built and first started to operate.”
• Record the interview in the most unobtrusive way possible. Taking some notes is okay, but if you are in person, you lose eye contact each time you look at your pad.
• Avoid interrupting the interviewee. Use pauses to allow the interviewee to share some unique information.
• Take a few minutes to summarize the points at the end of the formal interview, in case you misunderstood some of the responses.
• Transcribe your notes as soon as possible after the interview, especially if you have only hand-written notes and not a recording.
• Follow up with a thank you email or note. Your interviewee has generously given up their time to support your objectives.

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Check out Evoca interview recording services

If you are looking for reliable digital audio recording methods, we recommend that you consider using one or more of our 4 methods for recording interviews offered by Evoca. You can use your phone, Skype or online recorder embedded in your Evoca account. Your cloud-based Evoca subscription provides secure storage of digital audio recordings in your Evoca account [in MP3 format], online playback under your control,  and convenient file sharing via online streaming, email and downloads. Evoca subscription plans are generous and flexible. If you are project-driven, you can archive your Evoca subscription for up to 90 days to avoid payment during down time and reactivate when you are ready to use it again.

The Evoca Transcription Service offers reliable, accurate and timely transcriptions in English language.

Want to get promoted or reach the top of your chosen career ladder? If you are not yet fluent in English, you may want to include English language learning in your professional development. Already fluent in English? Learning a second or third language could prepare you to become a global leader.

Dorie Clark, CEO of Clark Strategic Communications and Forbes contributor, shares what experts are saying about the connection between language proficiency and career success in different global industries.

In her Forbes magazine article, English – The Language of Global Business?, Clark states “for better of worse – it seems that English may be the most essential language for global business success at the moment. Indeed, even in powerhouse China, more people are currently studying English than in any other country.”

Clark quotes a new study of 1.6 million online test-takers in more than 50 countries conducted by EF Education First, a company  specializing in English language training. Global industries requiring proficiency in English include travel and tourism, consulting, telecommunications, engineering, aviation, technology, and banking and financial services.

In Five Ways to Become a Global Leader, Clark suggests that reaching the top in your industry or profession requires knowledge of more than one language. So if English is one of them, learn another language. If your native language is not English, learn English. Knowing a third language is, well, icing on the cake. She notes that Gregory Unruh, professor at the Thunderbird  School of Global Management, offers his number one recommendation for native English speakers to become global leaders: “Learn a new language. Though English is the most commonly used business language, you can still turbocharge your career and understanding of other cultures by developing foreign skills – even rudimentary ones.”

About Evoca

Since 2006 Evoca has delivered global, cloud-based and mobile digital content recording services to thousands of professionals, marketers, educators, students, journalists, researchers, experts, and individuals and streamed millions of digital recordings.

Evoca cloud-based voice services include its  Evoca subscription service for professionals, businesses, and consumers and Evoca Enterprise, a licensed software-as-a-service [SaaS] for companies and organizations to integrate voice into their online applications. Both voice services capture and share valuable digital audio content using traditional and VoIP phones, Skype, and online recorders and support audio playback on any smartphone, tablet or computer.

Evoca’s new Boca Video app product line positions Evoca in the explosive market for mobile applications for creating video content using photos and voice.

Boca: Visuals + Voice = Video!

Sharing the blog article in Social Solutions Collective by Mandy Edwards of ME Marketing Services, social media expert and blogger.

I recently had the pleasure of being asked to host a video contest for a new social media video app, Boca Video, by the company Evoca. Based out of Savannah, Georgia, this neat app was recently rated one of the “Top 100 Best iPhone & iPad apps of 2012″ by Addictive Tips. This is nothing like any other video app I have seen out on the market.

So, what is Boca?

Boca Video is a free iPhone app that creates engaging videos on the go, simply by using your own photos and voice. You can immediately share your videos on Facebook, YouTube, Dropbox and email. The Boca Video format is well suited for online advertising, daily deals, viral promotions, product reviews, field reports, news updates, and how-to’s.

Boca is a free app that produces 30-second videos using up to 9 images from the user’s camera roll or photos taken on the spot. The videos are automatically saved in .mov file format both to the app and camera roll. A flexible photo editor delivers features like cropping and adding text, arrows, stickers, and filters.

This is not your normal video app.  Imagine a mobile version of Slideshare with Instagram abilities, but MUCH cooler.  Some of the videos submitted at the contest I judged included a photographer giving one of her brides a sneak peak of her bridal pictures and a promotional video of the Savannah Arts Festival where they showed pictures of the sidewalk chalk art while discussing the upcoming festival.

This app has so many uses.  A realtor can take pictures and create a short Boca video to send to a client. An event planner can take some snapshots of an event and immediately post them to show what was going on.

Take a look at some actual user videos:

http://youtu.be/bqoyuk1-gjQ

http://youtu.be/p9Cge7fSdj8

http://youtu.be/maMBdHPCzt4

As a social media marketer, the uses for this are endless.  You could put together a short contact video with the different platforms you or a client are one or even a quick how-to video.

Right now, users are limited to 30 seconds of video, but longer video time and increased photo numbers will be added soon.

CEO and Founder of Evoca, Murem Sharpe told me that “Boca Video’s mission is to help people to rapidly communicate their messages with viral video by conveniently using their own photos and voice.” Sharpe adds, “It will reduce the big gap between the proven effectiveness of videos for boosting online traffic and sales, and the need for regular people to easily and affordably produce attractive videos.”

To download Boca, click here.  Currently available for the iPhone and iPad. Android apps are in the works.

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About Social Solutions Collective

The Social Solutions Collective is a multi-author site dedicated to showcasing best practices and top tips as relate to engaging in and succeeding with digital, social and traditional marketing initiatives. Topics covered range from digital design to reputation management, from SEO to connection building – and everything in between. Connect with the Collective:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/SSCollective
Twitter: https://twitter.com/collectivess
Google+: gplus.to/SScollective
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/sscollective/
Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Social-Solutions-Collective-4648712

About Evoca and Boca Video

Since 2006 Evoca has delivered global, cloud-based and mobile digital content recording services to thousands of professionals, marketers, educators, students, journalists, researchers, experts, and individuals and streamed millions of digital recordings. Evoca is a member company of the Global Network Initiative [GNI], a multi-stakeholder organization committed to collaborate in the advancement of user rights to freedom of expression and privacy.

Evoca’s Boca Video app product line positions Evoca in the explosive market for mobile applications for creating video content using photos and voice.

Evoca cloud-based voice services include its  Evoca subscription service for professionals, businesses, and consumers and Evoca Enterprise, a licensed software-as-a-service [SaaS] for companies and organizations to integrate voice into their online applications. Both voice services capture and share valuable digital audio content using traditional and VoIP phones, Skype, and online recorders and support audio playback on any smartphone, tablet or computer.

Easy as opening your mouth

Locally-created app allows simple, personalized video for everyone

By Jessica Leigh Lebos, Connect Savannah

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video says volumes.

In the age of RedBullTV and other corporate YouTube channels, more companies are using videos to promote their wares and services. But what about small businesses with neither the time, budget nor access to produce professional videos to keep up with and expand their customer base?

That’s the niche Boca Video, a new iPhone app developed in Savannah, is aiming to fill.

Developed by Savannah-based company Evoca, Boca Video simplifies the video process by employing technology most people are already comfortable with: Users download the app to their phone, choose a few photos from their camera roll, add a recording in their own voice, and boom — there’s a 30–second curated video that can be emailed or uploaded to Twitter, Facebook or any other site instantly, no editing necessary.

Through market research, Evoca found that most people are “video–challenged,” frustrating themselves with wobbly, grainy footage and soundtrack syncing. Hiring someone to do the job is not always feasible for small businesses, and the company set out to create a simple alternative anyone with a smartphone could figure out.

The Evoca staff will host a “Launch and Learn” lunchtime event at the Creative Coast on Friday, Feb. 8. Attendees can enjoy demonstrations as well as a contest for the best video made on the spot.

“Our breakthrough was really in deeply understanding how people like or don’t like to create digital content,” says Evoca CEO Murem Sharpe. “We know people want it but it’s hard to make decent video. We want to become the go–to, easy–breezy video production app.”

Boca was under development for most of 2012, and ease of use was the number one goal. The app was well–received by tech bloggers when it launched in December, hailed as a “pocket video studio” with “virtually no learning curve.” AddictiveTips.com rated it one of the top 100 apps of 2012. It’s currently available exclusively through iTunes, with Android and web–based versions on the way.

Already embraced by real estate agents and local restaurateurs like Zunzi’s Johnny DeBeer who uses it to show the daily specials, the Boca Video app taps into the less–than–technologically–advanced population. Ebay vendors, artists and anyone with just about anything to sell can showcase multiple items with a minimum of time and effort, and Sharpe touts the potential for educators and students as unlimited.

“We’re aiming for the average user. It’s ideal for non–technical people,” she says. “But we’ve also found that techies in a hurry like it, too. It really brings authenticity and personalization to online video.”

The slideshow format also helps businesses break down their processes for their clients and create easy–to–follow web–based tutorials.

“The standard ‘non–designer’ will appreciate the videos we make because it will visually guide them through how to prepare their work for our printers,” says Travis Sawyer of Creative Approach.

The complexities of readying materials for print can be a challenge for the layperson, from choosing the correct color mode or exporting the files with crop marks and bleed. The simple tutorials will help clients receive their orders faster and save the company valuable time.

“Boca Video is going to be a key asset with our business,” adds Sawyer.

Small businesses need all the tools they can get, and artisans like bead designer Leslie Miller are also using Boca to showcase their work and demonstrate their methods.

“It’s definitely a great way to quickly advertise current projects. People can connect with it and feel a little closer to the process,” says Miller. “You can say as much or as little as you want and still get your message across. The fact that it also can be easily uploaded to all social media sites is great for endless publicity.”

Sharpe pledges that Boca Video’s free version will be upgraded from 30 seconds to one minute of space in the next few months. Also coming are additional transition features and the ability to import other video clips from FaceBook or Flickr.

Though Sharpe has been on the west coast as of late wooing major tech companies into Boca Video partnerships, she sees Savannah as ground zero for Evoca’s groundbreaking video app.

“We’ve had so much fun working with users here, we want to invite the Savannah community to our hands-on event where people are going to make their own videos on the spot,” she says.

“We’ll show you just how easy it can be.”

Boca Video “Launch–and–Learn”

When: 12:00-2:00 PM Friday, Feb. 8

Where: Creative Coast, 15 W. York Street, Savannah GA

Cost: Free. Includes lunch

RSVP: http://www.bocavideomaking.eventbrite.com

Download the app here

More info: http://www.facebook.com/bocavideo and http://www.getboca.com

View videos at: http://www.youtube.com/bocavid

BOCA VIDEO APP FOR IPHONE TRANSFORMS THE WAY WE MAKE VIDEOS

Video creation for businesses, products and causes gets simpler using photos and voice

The Boca Video mobile app launches in the App Store, revolutionizing video creation for small businesses and the average user. Anyone with an iPhone or iPad can get the free app to create engaging videos on the fly, simply by using their own photos and voice. They can immediately share their videos on Facebook, YouTube, Dropbox and email. The Boca Video format is well suited for online advertising, daily deals, viral promotions, product reviews, field reports, news updates, and how-to’s.

While online videos are proven to substantially increase user engagement and purchase rates, they are complex and time consuming to make for the average user. Boca Video reduces the barriers of time, cost and complexity. Because it is always available on mobile devices, early adopters dub the app a “video studio in your pocket” and a “mobile DIY video tool.”

In his review of the app, Hamza Khalid from the tech blog AddictiveTips.com remarks on its striking ease of use. “There is virtually no learning curve, meaning you won’t have to spend any time to learn how to use the app and can instead start making your clips,” says Khalid.

A number of local businesses in downtown Savannah, Georgia [US] have been involved in beta testing the Boca Video app, including Zunzi’s Carry Out & Catering, whose Conquistador sandwich was rated the third Best Sandwich in America by the Travel Channel in 2012. Johnny DeBeer, co-founder of the restaurant, acknowledges, “it’s incredible how simple it is now for me to create and post daily specials on social media and quickly notify our nearby fans, hungry SCAD students, and Savannah tourists.”

Examples of Boca Videos are available on Facebook/bocavideo. The app spans business, professional and personal uses such as:

● Show and tell the best features to sell your product or service

● Post quick promotional videos for your daily deals or specials

● Send design or construction progress reports to your boss, colleagues or clients

● Send authentic eyewitness reports or stories as a journalist – pro or citizen

● Bring your photos to life with your voice – as a photojournalist or proud parent

● Reinforce your sales pitch using PowerPoint slides and your narrative

The free app version produces 30-second videos using up to 9 images from the user’s camera roll or photos taken on the spot. The videos are automatically saved in .mov file format both to the app and camera roll. A fun and fully featured photo editor powered by Aviary delivers features like cropping and adding text, arrows, stickers, and filters. Longer video length and additional features will be rolled out for this patent pending product line.

Boca Video was developed by Evoca, the global pioneer of cloud-based digital content creation and publishing. Murem Sharpe, CEO and Founder of Evoca, has an ambitious vision for the app and comments that  “Boca Video’s mission is to help people to rapidly communicate their messages with viral video by conveniently using their own photos and voice.” Sharpe adds, “It will reduce the big gap between the proven effectiveness of videos for boosting online traffic and sales, and the need for regular people to easily and affordably produce attractive videos.”

How to make a Boca Video — used the app to make this how-to video

About Evoca

Since 2006 Evoca has delivered global, cloud-based digital content recording services to thousands of professionals, marketers, educators, students, journalists, researchers, experts, and individuals and streamed millions of digital recordings. Born in Barcelona, Evoca grew up in Savannah, Georgia, tapping into talent from the Savannah College of Art and Design and Georgia Tech. Evoca continues to expand the reach of its mobile and web services to customers around the world. Founded with the vision to “Empower your voice”, Evoca is a company member of the Global Network Initiative, a multi-stakeholder organization dedicated to the advancement and protection of freedom of expression and privacy in the ICT [information and communications technology] industry.

The Boca Video app product line positions Evoca in the explosive market for mobile applications for creating video content that is both practical and engaging to watch. It is delivered using mobile device software and Evoca’s scalable enterprise-grade platform. Evoca voice services include a subscription service for professionals, businesses, and consumers and Evoca Enterprise, a licensed software-as-a-service [SaaS] delivered as a customizable solution using a RESTful HTTP API [application programming interface] for companies to integrate voice into their online applications. Both voice services capture and share valuable digital audio content using traditional and VoIP phones, Skype, and online recorders and support audio playback on any smartphone, tablet or computer.

For more information about the Boca Video mobile app product line or to schedule an interview with Murem Sharpe, email: press@evoca.com or call: 1.480.588.0851.

When you are recording your own voice for a podcast or recording an interview or conference call with others, you can capture good quality voice recordings using these tips from the pros.

• Choose a location where you can keep a consistent environment to ensure the best sound quality. Limit all background noise.

• Turn off any feature alerts to limit any interruptions and prevent distractions.

• Avoid using your speaker phone. Instead use a regular or bluetooth headset ear buds with microphone.

• Relax. Don’t speak too quickly. Use a tone and volume that’s easy to understand.

• If you are conducting an interview, it’s okay to ask “Can you hear me clearly?” at the beginning of the call. And if you can’t hear your interviewee clearly, diplomatically ask, “Would you please speak a bit more loudly?”

• Do a test recording before the “real thing”. This will give you the opportunity make sure your recording environment and mic volume setting are optimal.

• Listen to the recording to learn how could improve next time. With Evoca you can save your recording to your online Evoca account and play back from any device.

Check out these Evoca How It Works articles for specifics about:

• Record using your phone — your own voice. You can also use your phone “live” to record interviews by using your speakerphone [in a quiet location]
• Record phone interviews — you + your interviewee, who is in another location
• Record phone conference calls — you + others on the call. Even if you’re not the host, you can record the call.

You can use these same tips when doing Skype recordings. Check out: 5 ways to record Skype calls.

When Amilcar Maceo Priestley, Director of the AfroLatino Project, was seeking a technology partner to facilitate the digital creation and curation of the cultures, histories and experiences of Afrodescendant people in the Americas, he selected Evoca. The cloud-based voice recording and publishing service provides three easy-to-use and accessible methods for audio recording: phones, Skype, and online recorder.

“Evoca incorporates all of the Web 2.0 tools that are familiar to many people. It gives participants the convenience of telling their stories at a time and location that are convenient to them”, Priestley reported. “We looked at all of the other options and Evoca was the best fit for our project. It’s a great tool”, he added. Murem Sharpe, Evoca CEO, said “Enabling people of the AfroLatino diaspora to share their stories around the world is an ideal use of Evoca’s global voice-to-web services. We are honored to support the Project.”

The website’s Conversemos Afro section invites participants to record online and also by phone and Skype at +1-646-475-2190 and custom Skype call recorder contact: proyectoafrolatino.

Hear more about the Project’s history and activities from Amilcar Priestley, its Director, interviewed by Murem Sharpe, Evoca CEO. Use the player below or visit the recording page view.

Learn more about the Project’s Mission, Vision, Goals, and Past Initiatives below, in English and Spanish.

Mission: The mission of the Afrolatin@ Project is to serve as a digital resource center and archive for the historical and material documentation and preservation of the cultures, histories and experiences of Afrodescendant people in the Americas and to facilitate collaborations and programs that advance Afrolatin@ Studies and grass root activities.

Vision: To use technological tools to promote awareness and research, ensure the preservation of the histories and cultures and build support for the struggles of Afrodescendant people in the Americas.

Organizational Goals:
1. Develop digital tools that strengthen research and support ongoing documentation and archiving of the AfroLatin@ histories and experiences in the Americas.
2. Facilitate, develop and collaborate with research projects that ensure the ongoing cultural preservation of the AfroLatin@ histories and experiences in the Americas in digital mediums.
3. Use digital tools to increase regional and global awareness of the experiences, histories and struggles of Afrodescendant people in the Americas.

Some Past Initiatives: Conversemos HIV/AIDS Prevention Initiative was intended to provide an effective transnational, captive response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic among select AfroLatin@ populations from three home countries (Honduras, Panama and the Dominican Republic) in the circum-Caribbean region and a number of communities in the United States to which these population groups tend to migrate.

Mision: La misión del Proyecto Afrolatin@ es servir como un centro de recursos digitales y archivo para la documentación material e histórica; la preservación de las culturas, historias y experiencias de los afrodescendientes en las Américas; y facilitar colaboraciones y programas que avanzen estudios Afrolatin@s y actividades populares.

Vision: Usar herramientas digitales para promover conocimiento e investigación, garantizar la preservación de las historias y culturas y construir el apoyo a las luchas de los pueblos Afrodescendientes en las Américas.

Metas:
1. Desarrollar instrumentos digitales que refuerzen las investigaciónes y apoyen la documentaciónes ya en marcha y archivar las historias y experiencias de Afrodescendientes en las Américas.
2. Facilitar y desarrollar proyectos de investigación que aseguren la preservación cultural sus historias y experiencias en las Americas en medios digitales
3. Usar herramientas digitales para aumentar la conciencia regional y global de las experiencias, historias y luchas de los Afrodescendientes en las Américas

Algunas Iniciativas Pasadas: Conversemos se proponia ofrecer una respuesta transnacional y adaptativa a la epidemia de VIH/SIDA en poblaciones Afrodescendientes de tres paises de la region del Gran Caribe (Honduras, Panama y Republica Dominicana) y en varias comunidades de los Estados Unidos a donde dichos grupos poblaciones tienden a migrar.

The Story Slam movement that’s been sweeping the nation is coming to the 40th Annual National Storytelling Festival to be held on October 5-7, 2012 in historic Jonesborough, Tennessee, with the challenge —”Have you got what it takes to be America’s Next Best Story Slammer?” Based on a poetry slam format, a Story Slam is a contest of words by known and undiscovered talent who vie for prizes and recognition.

Organizers chose Evoca as the virtual audio audition service for the Story Slam contest auditions. Evoca provided its online recorder and dedicated dial-in phone number with its customized welcome greeting by the Story Slam officials. Both methods gave the teller the opportunity to record, listen to their recording, and re-record to polish it to their satisfaction. Recordings were instantly saved as MP3 files into the secure, online Evoca account for the Festival. Organizers could easily, and privately, share recordings online with judges around the country.

Old School –
Contestants will tell a story. A true (or mostly true) one – with a beginning, a middle, and an end.

New Rules –
It’s a competition – tellers will have only five minutes at the mic to wow the judges. They will be judged on performance, how well the story is crafted, its connection to the theme (“Rear View Mirror”), and adherence to the 5-minute time limit.

Festival events also include a Midnight Cabaret, Ghost Story Concerts, a story Swappin’ Ground, and more. Fans can follow the October events on Twitter @StoryConnect, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/StorytellingCenter, on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/storytellingcenter, and on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/user/StorytellingFestival.

Read more about the history of the National Storytelling Festival from its origins: “On a warm October weekend in 1973 in historic Jonesborough, the first National Storytelling Festival was held. Hay bales and wagons were the stages, and audience and tellers together didn’t number more than 60. It was tiny, but something happened that weekend that forever changed our culture, this traditional art form, and the little Tennessee town.”