Giving you the time of day
March 13, 2023•237 words
Rhystic Studies is a YouTube channel whose creator publishes video essays about my favourite trading card game. These have been consistently excellent. The latest one was 2-3 times the usual length. Without thinking, I sat down and watched all of it; it did not disappoint.
FortNine is another YouTube channel - this one's devoted to motorcycle content. I no longer want a motorbike in my life. But I keep coming back to watch these videos, because they keep changing the way I drive my car and ride my bicycle.
When designing learning experiences, one of the key questions is, "how much of the learner's time will this require?" We're thinking in terms of a 30-minute activity, a series of 3-minute microlearning steps, or a 2-week course.
A more involved way of thinking about it would be to ask, "what could this experience do to increase learners' trust and patience with us?" In other words, what can we build to improve our chances of getting learners to stay with us, come back to us, and/or want more from us?
A series of 10 hour-long lessons is a transaction. Take it or leave it. Nothing wrong with that.
A proven track record of mind-blowing, funny, or interesting contributions is - potentially - a relationship. If you've got a big ask in the pipeline ("I want you to watch this hour-long video next"), then having this in place helps immensely.