Me
Just who is this person, this so-called “Isaac Bell,” if that’s even his real name?
I came out the wrong way around in the early 70’s and my life has continued to be a little off-kilter. I was trying (without much success) to read book like Dune and The Lord of the Rings at the age of 5, and I’ve been interested in creating and sharing stories ever since.
After an early stint of moseying through school trying to find myself, I discovered I was uncertain of what I wanted to do with my life. I fell sideways into a position at the Lawrence Journal-World, where I updated the news website and eventually helped train others to do the same. Eventually, I was managing the website at KMBC Channel 9. Without quite meaning to do so, I made online journalism my career for 12 years.
I’ve been part of the evolution of news reporting over the internet. I was posting live results from the controversial Bush v. Gore presidential election in 2000, was part of the horror of the 9/11 tragedy, and helped cover tornadoes, floods, and the normal trivia of everyday life. I’ve seen websites become more sophisticated, witnessed the massive impact social media had on the news, and watched old industries stumble and falter when they did not adapt their methods and business models to the new world.
During all of this, my interest in storytelling has remained strong. I’ve seen how the freedom and versatility of the new media age has thrown open the doors of creativity. People have always been able to create art without permission; now they can share it with anyone who wants to look. There are stories being written 140 characters at a time on Twitter, urban legends being generated and spun into chilling tales on message board forums, and frustrated actors creating their own small media empires one 5-minute PayPal-funded episode at a time.
I’ve returned to school with a passion I was lacking in my youth, specifically because I think online storytelling is not receiving enough attention. Traditional means of publication and distribution are suffering while hopeful creators are trying to figure out how to find an audience and maybe make a little money from their works. I want to study what these creators are doing, help them find solutions for problems that might arise, and apply those lessons in my own creative efforts.
