Nurtured by our own Vanity, our Ignorance blindsides us.
'Something Of A Rockstar' Friend
It had been another nice post by a friend who posts every Monday on LinkedIn. He is somewhat of a rockstar in our small group of friends, who also write with varying frequencies and on specialized or various topics on the social media platform. We like comparing notes and invite suggestions from the others.
Cometh The Monday, Writeth The Man
Seems like, his legion of friends and followers wait for my friend's posts each Monday. I have seen this kind of frenzy if you can accommodate a little hyperbole (just a little, mind you) only for those artists serving food. The most delicious food I have tasted have been at home, on the streets, or in simple eateries.
Those 'Gourmet Grenades'
It could be the more popular vada pav vendors of Mumbai, where if you miss a particular 'lot' which has emerged hot from the frying pan, you may have to wait a while. At least in this case, you may wait and be served in a maximum of 15 - 30 minutes.
A Idli Indulgence
Then there had been the 'idli' vendor, popularly called 'anna' whom my FMCG distributor serving Central Mumbai used to await each afternoon. The gentleman would come on a bicycle with a vessel full of 'idlis' and another one for 'chutney' to serve the commercial establishments in the area. Despite all his alacrity and enthusiasm, a few afternoons a month, the distributor ended up disappointed. Those nutritious 'rice and skinned black gram' cakes really sold like hotcakes.
Writing Is Easy. Getting It Right, Maybe Not So
Let's get back to my friend's posts. Writing a smart one-liner or two is no mean feat. The lesser the number of words, more the effort that needs to go in, they say. But then at the end of the day, these are still only one or two liners. Imagine writing a longish post of about 3000 characters (LinkedIn Limit) and sustaining attention over the course of the entire post. Also, leaving that nice after taste, to ensure the readers await the next Monday's serving. Sounds easy?
Knowing Your Onions & Kneading Opinions
Anyone who does this regularly and very much more than moderate success (numbers don't lie), surely ought to know his onions. The rest of course, are entitled to their varied opinions. Like me for example. In a recent post he had written about songs whose lyrics are mistaken for something else because phonetically the words are alike.
Exemplary Post
My friend had used multiple examples from various English songs across singers/ genre. For instance, the original line 'Fire in the sky' was misheard as 'Fire-engine guy'. He then went on to explain what this type of homonym is called, with the history for the nomenclature too. All in all, a nice post. Within 24 hours of the post, it had gathered 150+ likes and 50+ comments. I chanced upon it at this stage.
A Stance - One Instance Too Many
I opined one to one that maybe he needed to remove a couple of examples he had shared in the post to make it a tad shorter and thereby sweeter. He took it sportively but also informed me that a lot of the positive comments received had been based on one example or the other. The reader identified with these examples and each example struck a chord in its own way.
A Slap That Sticks
It was as if I had been slapped. How could I have possibly not seen something staring at me? I had let my prejudice overwhelm my reasoning. I have never had an ear for English songs. Primarily because I could never catch the lyrics sung in an accent so different from my Indian one. Not to speak of the accompanying music that surely did nothing to help my hearing.
Examples Help Connect
The fact now very stark and surely so with hindsight's wisdom, was that he had given just five examples. These also possibly occupied less than 25 percent of the total space of the post. Very importantly, the examples were necessary to set the stage for the lines that followed them. As my friend explained, these examples also helped the post vibe personally with many readers.
Nurtured By Our Own Vanity, Our Ignorance Blindsides Us!
Had the post been about some things that interest me as in books or sports or leaders to learn from, I would have surely lapped up each example and maybe even suggested that my friend could have added a couple more. The best intention is surely needed while offering counsel. But maybe it helps to also have at least a little knowledge on the domain in question. Above all, a little humility.
Else, nurtured by own Vanity, our Ignorance may easily blindside us!
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