Writing and learning, package delivering

The other day I was reading my marketing textbook by Philip Kotler. The book was so thick and heavy, and I had to put it on a small tea table to support it while I was reading. And I was think that since this book was so heavy and thick and not good for people to take it along with, maybe we need something more convenient and versatile?

And then I was thinking of the fact that people are so busy today with their work, life and other stuff. And they may not have time to read a book so heavy. Yes we should read. But the fact is we seldom read, including myself. It is a pathetic fact.

And what’s worse, no everything in the heavy book is helpful of common people. The marketing textbook by Mr Kotler was a complete coverage, from the basics of marketing to every detail and aspect. And marketers like me may not need to know, at least for now, how to hire celebrities for our brands. We do not have the money! And that’s not realistic. Therefore I do not have to spend hours digging out information on how to work on that. Because there’s no such a necessity.

I’m not suggesting that we should not read it. It’s just that people living in this epic world are more hasty and practical. They just want to do it cut to the chase. They do not have time to read a whole book to understand the basic meaning of marketing. They want to know just what’s what.

And modern technology has catered such needs. Keyword searching and search engine, I was thinking of. They are the tools people use to search information they need. If I need information of writing skills, all I need to do is type “writing skills”, “how to write”, etc., into the search box and hit enter. Thousands of entries will be there. And I will get the first idea by reading 3-5 articles on this topic. If I want to dig further, I can read more. It’s up to me!

So, I think, that is a new way of personal improvement: topical study.

And from the view of a writer, if he/she wants to be found, recognized, and applauded, he/she will need to work on topics that people may be searching. Write an article of a topic, and publish. That’s it. And no more doctrine. He/she does not need to cover every aspect and make the article very long. Cut to the chase, and tell people what you know and see. Finish the article here and start another article under another topic. People will search for that if they want.

And this is topical writing.

Now I am considering it to be a package delivery: from the writer to the reader. A writer wrote an article, pack the information and idea he/she had, and sent. A reader search for a topic/keyword, unpack the article they found, and perceive. It’s more like a courier service. And it’s convenient for both sides.

This is helpful for people who are working while at the same time learning. For example, if I am to start a Google Adwords campaign for the first time, I can search the info I need by typing in keywords such as Google Adwords, Adwords, How to start Google Adwords, etc. And there are thousands of articles waiting for me to unpack them, enough for me to get an insight. And when the campaign is started and running well, I have myself improved. And same practise can be true for other topics.

This is faster than traditional studying which is sequential and step by step. And it is cutting-to-the-chase. And this is what people need today.

And that’s what I am trying to say: writing and learning are package delivering.