ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how the audience, while not always in the immediate present in the storymaking space, affects the creation of the digital story. It looks closely at the ways in which audiences can influence storytellers as they compose their narratives and frames this through an analysis of storytelling and audience attention as resources for political gain and listening. Further, the chapter examines the role digital storytelling facilitators play in shaping dissemination practices and the spaces in which digital stories are distributed and shown. I argue that responsible facilitation includes helping storytellers navigate the complex arena of distribution and dissemination, arguing for more storyteller control over what happens to their works after they have been created. Facilitators should be transparent and open when discussing dissemination plans and practices with storytellers so that storytellers have a say over where their digital story goes, whom it reaches, how it gets there, and what to do to reach a specific audience. This will allow for storytellers to continue to retain ownership over their digital story, even if that amounts to shared ownership.
