It is dangerous to assume that people can be trusted to behave in a rational way (Vance Packard)

This is great, from James Clear:

"In many cases, you'll find the only thing preventing you from learning is your ego.

No one enjoys feeling foolish, but attempting something new requires that you climb down from your perch and struggle as a beginner. You must ask questions that reveal your ignorance or attempt skills that make you look uncoordinated.

Learning demands the willingness to live in a brief state of discomfort. You must believe that looking like a fool for an hour will not ruin your reputation for life."  

In many ways I realise I have a lot to learn!

A colleague took a class for me last week, on social media. I learnt a lot - about how much the boys knew (a lot) and about things I had no idea about (also a lot).

Teaching constantly evolves. Like the earth spinning on its axis, teaching evolves without you feeling it necessarily.

While film techniques have not changed much, social media is a different beast.

I do have an Instagram account but it is seldom used so I don't access it; I abandoned Twitter when Elon Musk took over and changed it to X; I also abandoned Whatsapp when I left my previous employer; Facebook is mainly to publish my blogposts; Messenger is to keep in contact with my mates; WeChat is exclusively for family; LinkedIn has also been kind of abandoned.

Marketers are constantly evolving how those platforms are used and it was great being brought up to date last week.

Actually, it would be fun to reread Vance Packard's The Hidden Persuaders (published in the late fifties!) to see if anything much has changed. He could be writing about 2024 advertising algorithms on Facebook when he says:

What the probers are looking for, of course, are the "whys" of our behavior, so that they can more effectively manipulate our habits and choices in their favor.

Another week of learning looming. Wahoo!!