Technology of Storytelling

I happened across this TedTalk, discussing the technological evolution of story telling mediums, beginning with the book, movies, twitter, etc.  Originally, we had the oral tradition of passing down stories.  Then it began to incorporate the visual, when we began creating pictographs in caves.  Next came the written word, in the form of the first writing systems.  And since then the main innovations have been adapting the medium (light, sound, paper) to better convey the story.

I've read about the basic structure of a story - the characters, plot, and settings.  I love storytelling because it allows you to use a medium, either new or old, to tell a story that is completely unique.  One of the dangers today is that your work will be derivative.  This is especially important when you consider the speed at which information moves through the collective consciousness.  But everyone adds something to any idea they touch.  That said, I tend to shy away from telling stories because they can be so heavily influenced by the world around you, which is toady filled with other people's information.  But down the road...  :)

This fits into the technological evolution of just about everything in our society.  Social networking, manufacturing, and even FOOD, all are moving from traditional methods to more modern techniques.  I would like to suggest that, once again, our society is changing in a fundamental way, and its impact will not be fully understood for many, many years.