Stowi

The invention of social networking technology has given people new ways to communicate with one another. It is now common for pictures, videos, and in depth status updates to become part of the collective consciousness of their entire group of friends. While this is great for keeping up with people in the real world, it also provides a new medium for telling stories, battling fictional tales back and forth across the internet.

While most social networks are set up for real interactions, and actually frown upon role playing or fictional profiles, there are others such as http://www.RolePages.com that have been built and designed specifically to cater to these types of activities. Giving people a place to get their creative kicks.

The most common way people engage in this kind of storytelling is by assuming the role of fictional characters, either from books and media, or someone they made up themselves. They fill out their profile accordingly, uploading a picture of the character, and adding background information.

They then interact with other people, both real and imaginary. This is done most often through posting wall to wall, although sometimes pictures or videos can be used to fill out the story, making it a completely dimensional piece.

Often these interactions will also be supplemented by blogs, forums, and groups, which allow individual stories to be built, either one on one, or in a collaborative manner. Occasionally the site will also provide chat, or private messenger options, which will give the players the ability to act out scenes in real time.

The result is a creation which is looser, and more dynamic than a straight novel. It is an interactive piece, which is constantly growing and evolving; giving the players the chance to tell a story that will never end, with as many other people as they can get excited.

RolePages.com is a role playing social network that was developed to give people a place to interact, where they don’t have to be themselves. Player’s sign up for an account as a fictional character, then interact with other crazy mixed up creatures through a series of blogs, forums, chat rooms, pictures, videos, and groups. The article itself was written by Jim Slate.