Depth and Accessibility
December 7, 2022
Current location: Milwaukee, WI, USA
Reading: The 2020 Commission Report on the North Korean Nuclear Attacks Against the U.S. by Jeffrey Lewis
Listening: Back Around by half•alive(if you have a moment, reply with your own 3-item status—via email or in the comments)
Depth and Accessibility
I struggle sometimes—especially when starting a new project—with intuitively sussing the proper balance between depth and accessibility for whatever it is I'm presenting.
These two attributes aren't inherently in opposition: it's possible to present complex concepts and topics in a concise, casually attainable fashion so that most of what you want to convey translates well to anyone who might even superficially engage with it.
Often, though, that engagement is limited by other factors, like the time, energy, and resources the folks on the other end of your communications have available (or are willing to spend on the thing you made).
Thus, while they might learn a lot about nuclear fusion if they invest 15 minutes in your video explainer, that duration and level of attention might be asking too much—we live in a world of endless and appealing distractions of all shapes, sizes, and mediums, after all.
They may be willing to toss a minute or two your way, but no more than that. And that minute or two could be a ceiling, not a floor: if you fail to capture and hold their attention from the get-go, 10 or 20 seconds might be the most you can hope for, and even then you may be working with partial attention, not complete, absorbed focus.
The theory here is that there's a push-pull relationship inherent in any such communication, and finding the appropriate balance for your intended audience is a perpetual struggle, lest you deliver density to folks who want a base-level understanding, and send superficial factoids to those who would prefer a more-complete analysis.
Compounding this concern is the fact that we tend to prefer depth in some correspondences and shallow-but-useful knowledge-nuggets in others.
I subscribe to a handful of music-focused newsletters and I value the recommendations they provide, but I'm not looking to become a scholar on any of the suggested musicians or the genres in which they operate.
What I'm looking for is a relatively superficial takeaway from people who possess a depth of music knowledge I do not possess.
The folks making these recommendations write scholarly papers on this industry and the people operating in it, as well, but I'm subscribing for what amounts to a list of links from which I derive a huge amount of value.
I also subscribe to a fair number of publications and podcasts that focus on geopolitical topics, and in these I prefer well-constructed arguments and predictions, paired with analysis from thoughtful, informed people.
These writings and interviews are long, involved, and require a fair amount of background knowledge to parse, and that’s exactly what I'm looking for in this genre of work—a stark contrast to my music publication preferences.
Figuring out which of my projects are serving which audiences, who has which needs, and how best to promote these goods to the right audience is an unending undertaking.
There's no perfect balance, and I find myself regularly reassessing and readjusting my projects based on feedback from those engaging with my work.
Keeping this dynamic in mind from the get-go, though, seems to result in clearer messaging that’s more likely to attract the right audience for what you’re making (rather than pulling in folks who will be disappointed that your thing isn’t a different thing they thought they were signing up for).
If you found value in this essay, consider buying me a coffee :)
Some Things I've Made This Week
Aspiring Generalist: Appreciation
Brain Lenses (podcast): Religion and Strife
Climate Happenings: Energy Efficiency Rate Accelerates
Let’s Know Things (podcast): Voice Assistants
Interesting & Useful
2022 Ocean Photographer of the Year Winners
“Competition illuminates beauty of ocean and threats it faces. Ben Thouard’s winning image of surfer was chosen unanimously by the six judges.”
2022 Nature Conservancy Photo Contest Winners
“The diversity of images from around the world gave a glimpse into our fragile planet and all the life that inhabits it. The contest itself was a mesmerizing odyssey and we are left with a profound message of how interconnected all of us are and what it means to our own survival to intermingle with wildness.”
“More than 3,000 species of snakes can be found on our planet, slithering through vastly different ecosystems and exhibiting an extraordinary range of colors, patterns, and sizes. Regarded in myth as guardians of the underworld, cunning spirits, or wielders of magic, they have long been dreaded, revered, and eyed with suspicion by cultures around the globe. German photographer Ben Simon Rehn, who is interested in drawing connections between humans and nature, kindles empathy in a series of expressive serpent portraits.”
Outro
I’m going to keep the outro short this week, as I’m hoping to get in for a haircut (after…way too long) and need to clear a few other things off my to-do list before I can call in and hopefully claim an appointment for later today.
Can you believe it’s December (and thus almost 2023) already? How’s your end-of-2022 going so far? Any big plans for the end-of-year holiday season?
I respond to every email I receive, and you can reach me by replying to this newsletter or by writing to colin@exilelifestyle.com. I’d love to hear from you :)
You can also communicate via the usual methods: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or loop of nature visuals from Studio Ghibli films.