The Online Story Swap

Every year it seems there are more opportunities to connect with storytellers around the world and it doesn't always mean jumping on a plane and traveling thousands of miles.

The Federation of Asian Story Tellers is hosting regular online story swaps. These story swaps are FREE and you can either tell a story or tune in and listen.

I joined the November Story Swap and had a great time.

It's easy to participate. Once you've registered you're sent a link that asks you to download the ZOOM software which is simple to install and use. While being very enthusiastic about technology, I can be a bit phobic, so simple is good.

Roger Jenkins and Sheila Wee host the Story Swap from Singapore and you can see people popping up on the screen from around the world. Apart from the storyteller and Roger, participants are muted but they can still chat. I took a screen shot of Meenu Sivaramakrishnan in action. (Thank  you to Meenu for allowing me to use this image). This will give you a bit of an idea. You can see the dialogue box in the corner. The chat has options so you can share your comments publicly or message the tellers privately.

Its all excellent fun I have to say.

This is a You tube video of the first Swap held in September. Roger's introduction is enthusiastic and no wonder, over 50 people checked in! Have a look. Sometimes the audio struggles to stay in sync but if you move the cursor along, you'll get a good feel for what it's all about and the variety of stories and storytellers.

For more information visit FEAST's website. And maybe at the next Swap, I'll see you there.