How Storytelling Relates to Tech Blogging

I recently made an appearance on Kin Lane's new show, API Storytelling, a regular discussion about storytelling in the world of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). You can watch our talk here. It's not often that my musings on the tech industry directly intersect with my Creative Writing major past, so this was really fun to be a part of.

The event also helped me realize how much I rely on basic storytelling techniques on a daily basis as a tech journalist and editor. I don't consider blogging about why GraphQL has usurped REST a creative writing endeavor per se, but much of what I do involves fundamental storytelling techniques. For example, most of my articles use a three-part structure involving a nut graf (introduction), a problem statement, and a resolution. I prefer thesis-driven posts that have a good framework, similar to what Brian McDonald calls an "armature."

Good stories entertain, but great ones carry lessons. Stories impart survival techniques. From the perspective of a tech business publication, the best practices and case studies you share could result in success, whereas those without a lifeline to stories could suffer disruption. Storytelling is critical to share knowledge and improve an industry, especially within a domain with such intense evolution as tech.