I experiment a little bit

我在推特以外的閒暇時間

with telling stories online, experimenting

會做一點實驗

with what we can do with new digital tools.

關於線上說故事的實驗

And in my job at Twitter,

看看新的數位工具能怎麼用

I actually spent a little bit of time

我在推特工作的時候

working with authors and storytellers as well,

其實也會花一點時間

helping to expand out the bounds

與作家和說書人合作

of what people are experimenting with.

幫忙拓展

And I want to talk through some examples today

實驗領域的界限

of things that people have done

我今天想要談談幾個例子

that I think are really fascinating

別人已經做過的例子

using flexible identity and anonymity on the web

我覺得真的很棒

and blurring the lines between fact and fiction.

靈活利用網路身分與匿名

But I want to start and go back to the 1930s.

模糊現實與虛構的界線

Long before a little thing called Twitter,

回溯至1930年代開始講起

radio brought us broadcasts

遠在推特誕生之前

and connected millions of people

無線電為人們帶來了廣播

to single points of broadcast.

連結數百萬人

And from those single points emanated stories.

到單一幾個廣播站

Some of them were familiar stories.

從這幾個廣播站發送許多故事給大家聽

Some of them were new stories.

有些是耳熟能詳的故事

And for a while they were familiar formats,

有些是從沒聽過的故事

but then radio began to evolve its own

有一陣子說故事的形式都差不多

unique formats specific to that medium.

但是廣播開始發展出它獨有的

Think about episodes that happened live on radio.

獨特形式 特別適合傳播訊息

Combining the live play

想想看現場廣播劇

and the serialization of written fiction,

結合了現場演出

you get this new format.

與一系列的小說

And the reason why I bring up radio is that I think

新的形式油然而生

radio is a great example of how a new medium

我會提到廣播 是因為我認為

defines new formats which then define new stories.

廣播是一個絕佳例子 看新媒體是如何

And of course, today, we have an entirely new

為新形式定義 之後新形式再界定新故事

medium to play with,

當然我們今天運用的

which is this online world.

是全新的媒體

This is the map of verified users on Twitter

那就是線上世界

and the connections between them.

這是推特認證用戶

There are thousands upon thousands of them.

及用戶彼此連結關係的圖示

Every single one of these points

可以看到成千上萬的連結

is its own broadcaster.

這些小點中 每一個單點

We've gone to this world of many to many,

都是一間專屬的廣播電台

where access to the tools is the only barrier to broadcasting.

我們已進入多點對多點的世界

And I think that we should start to see

工具的使用是廣播的唯一門檻

wildly new formats emerge

我認為我們會開始看到

as people learn how to tell stories in this new medium.

嶄新的形式就出現了

I actually believe that we are in a wide open frontier

當人們學會在新媒體環境說故事

for creative experimentation, if you will,

事實上 我相信我們的創作實驗

that we've explored and begun to settle

還有很大的開拓空間 如果你願意的話

this wild land of the Internet

我們已經完成探索 開始安頓在

and are now just getting ready

無邊無際的網路世界

to start to build structures on it,

現在才剛剛準備

and those structures are the new formats

開始在上面開始蓋建築物

of storytelling that the Internet will allow us to create.

這些建築物就是說故事的新形式

I believe this starts with an evolution

就是由藉由網際網路我們才能辦到的方式

of existing methods.

我認為這種形式是由

The short story, for example,

現存方法的進化開始

people are saying that the short story

舉短篇小說為例

is experiencing a renaissance of sorts

有人說短篇小說

thanks to e-readers, digital marketplaces.

正經歷像文藝復興的變革

One writer, Hugh Howey, experimented

這歸功於電子書、閱讀器和數位市場

with short stories on Amazon

有位作家Hugh Howey在亞馬遜網站

by releasing one very short story called "Wool."

用短篇小說進行實驗

And he actually says that he didn't intend

藉由發表了極短篇故事《羊毛》

for "Wool" to become a series,

事實上 他表示當初確實無意

but that the audience loved the first story so much

將《羊毛》寫成系列作品

they demanded more, and so he gave them more.

但是讀者非常喜歡這第一篇故事

He gave them "Wool 2," which was a little bit longer than the first one,

還想繼續看下去 於是作者就繼續創作回應讀者期待

"Wool 3," which was even longer,

他寫了《羊毛二》 故事比第一集長一點

culminating in "Wool 5,"

《羊毛三》又更長些

which was a 60,000-word novel.

《羊毛五》是最後一篇故事

I think Howey was able to do all of this because

這是六萬字的系列小說

he had the quick feedback system of e-books.

我認為Howey能發表整個系列

He was able to write and publish

是因為電子書的快速反饋系統

in relatively short order.

他能夠創作與出版

There was no mediator between him and the audience.

以相當快的速度

It was just him directly connected with his audience

他和讀者沒有隔著中間人

and building on the feedback and enthusiasm

他直接和讀者互動

that they were giving him.

建立讀者給予他的

So this whole project was an experiment.

反饋和熱情之上

It started with the one short story,

因此整個計劃是一項實驗

and I think the experimentation actually became

這篇故事是起源於一篇短篇小說

a part of Howey's format.

事實上我認為這項實驗變成

And that's something that this medium enabled,

Howey創作形式的一部分

was experimentation being a part of the format itself.

藉由網路媒體

This is a short story by the author Jennifer Egan

讓實驗成為它本身形式的一部分

called "Black Box."

這篇是由珍妮佛．伊根創作的短篇小說

It was originally written

叫做《黑盒子》

specifically with Twitter in mind.

原本就是

Egan convinced The New Yorker

專為推特而寫的

to start a New Yorker fiction account

伊根說服《紐約客》

from which they could tweet

建立一個《紐約客》小說專用帳戶

all of these lines that she created.

以便他們可以在推特發表

Now Twitter, of course, has a 140-character limit.

她創作的文句

Egan mocked that up just writing manually

當然推特有140字的字數限制

in this storyboard sketchbook,

Egan為了模擬這種限制

used the physical space constraints

就親自在手寫本上書寫

of those storyboard squares

利用實質上手寫本

to write each individual tweet,

有限的空間

and those tweets ended up becoming

寫出每條推文

over 600 of them that were serialized by The New Yorker.

那些推文最後變成

Every night, at 8 p.m., you could tune in

超過600條連載刊登在《紐約客》上

to a short story from The New Yorker's fiction account.

每天晚上八點鐘 你可以線上觀看

I think that's pretty exciting:

由《紐約客》小說帳戶推出的短篇小說

tune-in literary fiction.

我認為非常令人興奮：

The experience of Egan's story, of course,

收看文學小說

like anything on Twitter, there were multiple ways to experience it.

當然 欣賞Egan的小說

You could scroll back through it,

就像推特上的其他東西一樣 有許多方式能夠欣賞

but interestingly, if you were watching it live,

你可以滾動捲軸慢慢看

there was this suspense that built

但有趣的是 如果你線上觀看

because the actual tweets,

會有緩衝的情況發生

you had no control over when you would read them.

因為實際推特發文

They were coming at a pretty regular clip,

你在閱讀的時候 你無法控制

but as the story was building,

雖然發文的步調很有規律

normally, as a reader, you control how fast you move through a text,

但是隨著情節發展

but in this case, The New Yorker did,

讀者通常可以調整自己的閱讀速度

and they were sending you bit by bit by bit,

但就這個例子而言 《紐約客》的作法是

and you had this suspense of waiting for the next line.

一點一點的發給你

Another great example of fiction

你等待下一行出現時，就會有懸念

and the short story on Twitter,

推特上的小說和短篇小說

Elliott Holt is an author who wrote a story called "Evidence."

還有一個很好的例子

It began with this tweet: "On November 28

就是《證據》的作者艾略特‧霍特

at 10:13 p.m.,

《證據》的第一個推文：「11月28日

a woman identified as Miranda Brown,

晚上10點13分

44, of Brooklyn, fell to her death

經人指認 一位名叫米蘭達‧布朗的女性

from the roof of a Manhattan hotel."

44歲 來自布魯克林區

It begins in Elliott's voice,

從曼哈頓飯店頂樓 墜樓身亡

but then Elliott's voice recedes,

一開始是艾略特的聲音

and we hear the voices of Elsa, Margot and Simon,

但隨後艾略特的聲音逐漸淡出

characters that Elliott created on Twitter

我們聽到艾爾莎、瑪格、西蒙的聲音

specifically to tell this story,

都是艾略特在推特上虛構的角色

a story from multiple perspectives

專門為說這個故事而設定的

leading up to this moment at 10:13 p.m.

這個故事有多重觀點

when this woman falls to her death.

一直在為晚上10:13分鋪陳

These three characters brought an authentic vision

這個時間點就是 這個女人墜樓身亡的時候

from multiple perspectives.

這三個角色帶來真實的視角

One reviewer called Elliott's story

從多重觀點

"Twitter fiction done right," because she did.

一位評論家艾略特t的故事稱做是

She captured that voice

「最佳推特小說」 的確如此

and she had multiple characters and it happened in real time.

她那種聲音

Interestingly, though, it wasn't just

故事中有多重角色 時間也是同部在進行

Twitter as a distribution mechanism.

然而有趣的是

It was also Twitter as a production mechanism.

推特不僅是發行的管道

Elliott told me later

也是一種創作的機制

she wrote the whole thing with her thumbs.

艾略特後來告訴我

She laid on the couch and just went back and forth

故事完全是用拇指寫出來的

between different characters

她躺在沙發上 不斷轉換心態

tweeting out each line, line by line.

在不同角色之間

I think that this kind of spontaneous creation

一行接一行地發推文

of what was coming out of the characters' voices

我認為以各個角色聲音

really lent an authenticity to the characters themselves,

所說出的話的這種即興創作

but also to this format that she had created

不但讓角色有真實感

of multiple perspectives in a single story on Twitter.

這種創作形式也同樣具有真實感

As you begin to play with flexible identity online,

這種行式就是她在推特上單一故事裡 所創作的多重觀點

it gets even more interesting

你開始靈活運用網路身份時

as you start to interact with the real world.

會變得更有趣

Things like Invisible Obama

同時你開始與真實世界有所互動

or the famous "binders full of women"

例如「隱形歐巴馬」

that came up during the 2012 election cycle,

或是著名的「裝滿女性人才的檔案夾」

or even the fan fiction universe of "West Wing" Twitter

這些都是在2012年選舉期間出現的

in which you have all of these accounts

或甚至同人小說《白宮風雲》的人物

for every single one of the characters in "The West Wing,"

在推特上你都可以找到

including the bird that taps at Josh Lyman's window

《白宮風雲》每個人物角色的帳戶

in one single episode. (Laughter)

包括那隻啄喬許·賴曼窗戶的鳥也有

All of these are rapid iterations on a theme.

牠只在一集出現過（笑聲）

They are creative people experimenting

所有這些元素在同一主題上不斷重複

with the bounds of what is possible in this medium.

他們都很有創造力

You look at something like "West Wing" Twitter,

實驗網路媒體的潛力有多大

in which you have these fictional characters

看看《白宮風雲》之類的推特

that engage with the real world.

在這些推特帳號上 你可以看到虛構的人物

They comment on politics,

正與現實社會互動

they cry out against the evils of Congress.

他們評論時政

Keep in mind, they're all Democrats.

他們大聲批判國會的不當作為

And they engage with the real world.

別忘了他們都是民主黨

They respond to it.

他們會與真實世界互動

So once you take flexible identity,

他們也會回應

anonymity, engagement with the real world,

所以你一旦靈活運用網路身分

and you move beyond simple homage or parody

匿名以及參與真實世界

and you put these tools to work in telling a story,

就超越了只是致敬或諷刺模仿

that's when things get really interesting.

運用這些工具說故事

So during the Chicago mayoral election

事情就會變得非常有趣

there was a parody account.

在芝加哥市長選舉期間

It was Mayor Emanuel.

有一組假名人的帳號

It gave you everything you wanted from Rahm Emanuel,

掛著市長以馬內利的名字

particularly in the expletive department.

你想知道市長的大小事都在這裡

This foul-mouthed account

尤其是言辭粗魯的一面

followed the daily activities of the race,

這個發文用詞都很粗俗的帳號

providing commentary as it went.

都會追踪每天的競選活動

It followed all of the natural tropes

提出評論

of a good, solid Twitter parody account,

運用了自然的比喻

but then started to get weird.

這是一個優質的推特假名人帳號

And as it progressed, it moved from this commentary

但是事情之後開始變得詭異

to a multi-week, real-time science fiction epic

這個帳戶漸漸從政治評論

in which your protagonist, Rahm Emanuel,

變成長達數週的即時科幻史詩故事

engages in multi-dimensional travel on election day,

故事主角拉姆·伊曼紐爾

which is -- it didn't actually happen.

在選舉當日踏上多空間之旅

I double checked the newspapers.

事實上並沒有這回事

And then, very interestingly, it came to an end.

我仔細看過好幾份報紙

This is something that doesn't usually happen

然後很有趣的是，整件事就戛然而止

with a Twitter parody account.

這種事情通常不會發生

It ended, a true narrative conclusion.

在推特的假名人帳戶上

And so the author, Dan Sinker, who was a journalist,

說完了 故事結束

who was completely anonymous this whole time,

這名作者丹·辛克是一位記者

I think Dan -- it made a lot of sense for him

他在這段期間完全匿名

to turn this into a book,

我認為丹得到很多靈感

because it was a narrative format in the end,

將其轉化出來出了一本書

and I think that turning it into a book

因為故事結尾是以敘述的形式結束

is representative of this idea that he had created something new

而我認為將其出書

that needed to be translated into previous formats.

做為代表他創造出新形式的概念

One of my favorite examples

而這種新形式需要被轉換成舊有的形式

of something that's happening on Twitter right now,

我最喜歡的例子之一

actually, is the very absurdist Crimer Show.

正在推特上演

Crimer Show tells the story

就是場荒謬的「歹徒秀」

of a supercriminal and a hapless detective

「歹徒秀」講述的是

that face off in this exceptionally strange lingo,

一位超級惡棍和一位倒霉偵探的故事

with all of the tropes of a television show.

以非常奇怪難懂的語言開場

Crimer Show's creator has said that

還用所有電視劇會出現的譬喻方式

it is a parody of a popular type of show in the U.K.,

「歹徒秀」的創作者曾說過

but, man, is it weird.

那是一種在英國相當受歡迎諷刺時政的戲劇

And there are all these times where Crimer,

但是也夠奇怪了

the supercriminal, does all of these TV things.

歹徒（超級惡棍）經常

He's always taking off his sunglasses

做出那些你常常在電視都看得到的橋段

or turning to the camera,

他常拿下太陽眼鏡

but these things just happen in text.

或是轉向鏡頭

I think borrowing all of these tropes from television

但這些都是以文字描述

and additionally presenting each Crimer Show

我認為引用這麼多電視元素

as an episode, spelled E-P-P-A-S-O-D, "eppasod,"

再加演每次「歹徒秀」

presenting them as episodes

做成一集（episode拼成eppasod）

really, it creates something new.

將這些影片以影集的形式呈現

There is a new "eppasod" of Crimer Show

就創造出一種新的形態

on Twitter pretty much every day,

新的「歹徒秀」

and they're archived that way.

在推特幾乎每天推出

And I think this is an interesting experiment in format.

全劇也是以影集的方式存檔

Something totally new has been created here

我認為這種有趣的形式實驗

out of parodying something on television.

從諷刺模仿電視劇

I think in nonfiction real-time storytelling,

衍生了一種全新的形式

there are a lot of really excellent examples as well.

我認為在非小說類即時說故事方面

RealTimeWWII is an account

也有很多極佳的例子

that documents what was happening on this day 60 years ago

「即時二戰」帳戶

in exceptional detail, as if

記述60年前的今天發生的事件

you were reading the news reports from that day.

描述極為詳細

And the author Teju Cole has done

宛如閱讀當天的新聞

a lot of experimentation with putting a literary twist

作者泰居．柯爾

on events of the news.

做了很多嘗試 將文學的手法

In this particular case, he's talking about drone strikes.

放入新聞事件

I think that in both of these examples,

這裡他談到無人航空器攻擊行動

you're beginning to see ways in which

我認為從這些例子

people are telling stories with nonfiction content

可以開始看到

that can be built into new types