'Infernal Scoop' is like an online, crowdsourced version of a kids' road trip game. Fueled by the collective creativity of the internet en masse, Infernal Scoop allows completely anonymous users to submit story prompts and contribute to already running narratives. The sites lets users click through stories one plot point at a time and marks which points are "dead ends," encouraging users to continue the narrative chain.
For first time users, the site feels like a cross between a choose-your-own-adventure novel and a 90s webpage. Though the interface is relatively bare, this only serves to emphasize the importance of story over everything else. That said, Infernal Scoop is far from immune to internet trolls, and for every well crafted and interesting narrative there are at least a few more meme references.
Infernal Scoop shows both the beauty and the unfortunate byproducts of collective and creative anonymity.
Creatively Crowdsourced Storytelling Sites
'Infernal Scoop' Lets Users Submit Stories' Plot Points
Trend Themes
1. Crowdsourced Storytelling - Infernal Scoop exemplifies the ability for online communities to cooperate in generating creative stories.
2. Anonymous Collaborative Writing - Infernal Scoop brings together an anonymous community where users can submit and build on each other's creative writing pieces.
3. Interactive Narratives - Infernal Scoop's choose-your-own-adventure style of storytelling exemplifies an emerging form of interactive narratives for online audiences.
Industry Implications
1. Publishing - Publishers can apply Infernal Scoop's model to allow users to participate in publishing via collaborative and anonymous storytelling platforms, thus reducing publishing costs.
2. Entertainment - Infernal Scoop's online storytelling game can be applied to video game development to create interactive story games using a crowdsourcing model.
3. Social Media - Infernal Scoop highlights the potential of anonymous and communal writing through social networks for users who want to participate in an online writing community without revealing their identities.