Me and Susan Boyle: The three and a half minute video that changed my life

by Richard Mooney, Storyteller and Content Analyst at StoriesinContent.

This content story will tell how I became the first journalist to interview Susan Boyle on camera and how that video went onto be officially named as one of YouTube’s Most Memorable Videos of 2009.

Having read the above paragraph I still can’t believe it. This was one of the craziest weeks of my career. Why have I not written about it until now? Four years later?

Susan Boyle Nov 2009

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Content story: Indoor gardening in Washington D.C

by Richard Mooney, Storyteller and Content Analyst at StoriesinContent.

Indoor garden

Gardening has long been a favoured past time of people all across the world. The fresh air, exercise, care and nurturing plants (young and old) speaks to the nature of people. But what about those of us who live in a city? Can these individuals have the same experience?

One freelance science writer  says YES they can.

Kenneth Moore, founder of blog The Indoor Garden(er), writes about gardening indoors in Washington D.C. He’s quirky, scientifically minded and a hell of a writer. He’s lived all over the states and even worked in Saudi Arabia (where we met last year). He’s written for Nature, the American Chemical Society and was a Science editor at my former employer King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.

His mission? To make a difference one seed at a time.

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Q&A: Michael Oghia - Blogging Lebanese Love

Photo by Carolina Farion.

Relationships are tough. Very, very tough. I’ve had my share and am involved in a long-distance one right now.

The life of being on the road.

Now imagine trying to hold one down in a region in which unmarried youth face societal pressure to look great, have a fabulous social life and be in good moral standing all at the same time.

Now, that’s TOUGH capitalized.

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Opening Our Eyes - A mother and daughter’s 100-day round-the-world journey to produce a feature documentary….all from two backpacks

Copyright Gail Mooney.

The following post is about the project: Opening Our Eyes. OOE was produced by a mother and a daughter who embarked on a journey around the world to document and film the stories of ordinary people who are following their own dreams, passions and ambitions and doing extraordinary things. They filmed 11 subjects on six continents over the course of 99 days. All images used in this post are copyright Gail Mooney.

An exhibition, an empty nest and a daughter’s friend

It’s the fall of 2009 and my distant cousin of the Mooney clan, Gail, (we’re not actually cousins, just creative types with the same surname) is visiting Robert Frank’s exhibition at the Met in New York City.  The exhibition sparked early memories of how Gail began her career as a photographer.

“I had been studying architecture at Syracuse University and, after my sophomore year, I took leave from school and travelled. At 19 years-old, I took a year off and traveled around the world, following what is now referred to as the “hippie trail”. When I came back, I realized I wanted a life that would allow me to travel and immerse myself in other cultures. So, my camera became a means to that end.”

After seeing Frank’s exhibit, Gail was yearning to get back on the road before she “got too old” to do it again.

“I had always traveled for magazines like the National Geographic and Smithsonian throughout my career. But this time I wanted to travel for a bigger purpose.”

Gail “had recently become an empty nester,” when her daughter, Erin, who had just graduated from Northwestern University, got a job and had just moved out, ready to begin her post-university life. Erin had attended highschool with Maggie Doyne, a girl who is featured in the film. This connection with someone from her daughter’s past started to put the wheels in motion.

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Gravity, eat my shorts – Leaping 170ft from a crane and raising £500 ($800) for children with cerebral palsy

“Don’t look down,” says Dave the safety engineer beside me as we stand in a basket hanging 170ft above Xscape, near the River Clyde.

“Thanks for the advice,” I gulp.

He opens the gates and begins the countdown.

“Three, two, one,” he pauses. The wind rocks the basket ever so slightly.

“Bungee!”

I step out and plummet 170ft.

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Welcome to Stories In Content

Hi dear user and welcome to Stories in Content,

Come in, sit down and I’ll put the kettle on. I need a favour.

While I get the tea, look at this image of Puss-In-Boots. Isn’t he just the cutest? Who could refuse that face? Now imagine that’s me as I write the rest of this post…

We Need Your Help!

This blog is designed to tell the stories behind the stories you see online. These can be articles, online videos, website projects, successful social media campaigns, blogs, etc.

We’ll feature it as long as it’s online and there is a good human story behind it.

Stay tuned for stories over the coming weeks. If you’ve been involved in producing web content (in whatever form) and told a great story, then this blog is for you. It’s time to tell the stories behind the content. 

If you’re interested, email me with links to the work you would like to showcase. 

This is a platform to tell the stories behind your creations.

This is a call to all creatives to showcase their talents beyond their online portfolios. 

This is Stories In Content.

Rich.