I'm a big fan of Scott McCloud's work. I linked to this 2005 TED talk a few years ago, but it's worth linking to again today. Not only is Scott's content stimulating and directly relevant to our world of presentation, the unique presentation of his story is a wonderful example of what is possible with your basic slideware app (and this is almost nine years ago!). I've talked about Scott many times before on this site (such as here) and I talk about him a bit in the Presentation Zen book as does Nancy Duarte in Slide:ology. This is just a fantastic TED talk and a powerful yet simple use of the slide medium. If the principles Scott talks about excite you, then I recommend his best-selling book on the art of comics (and why and how they matter) called Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. This is an amazing book with applications far beyond the world of comics. Watch Scott's talk below or here on the TED site.



Good advice from comics guru Scott McCloud
So much good stuff in this TED talk, but here's something that sticks out to me. Three types of vision:

1. Vision based on what one can not see (unseen and unknowable)
2. Vision based on what has been proven (or has been seen)
3. Vision based on what can be, what may be based on knowledge (but is not yet proven)

What Scott is saying is that there are many ways to pursue a vision based on what can/may be. People are doing this in science, the arts, politics, personal endeavors, etc. What it all comes down to, says scott, is this:

• Learn from everyone
• Follow no one
• Watch for patterns
• Work like hell

These four guidelines will take you far indeed as you create your own life story.

Update
Here is a nice 10-minute interview from a few years ago when Scott was on his 50-State Tour in the US.