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One of my favorite college classes was called "Prose Boot Camp", where we basically practiced all the types of writing you don't usually learn in school. Assign

One of my favorite college classes was called "Prose Boot Camp", where we basically practiced all the types of writing you don't usually learn in school. Assignments included writing an obituary, a restaurant review, a termination letter, a letter appealing said termination (subtle threats included), and recipe intros for a fictional cookbook called See Dad Cook!. A majority of these assignments had specific word-count requirements. The appeal letter, for example, had to be exactly 800 words, no more and no less. The requirement irked me at first, but it ended up adding to the value of the class. The professor wasn't an easy grader, so you were forced to really consider how to use the space. A 100 word blurb needs to be approached differently from an 800 word letter or a 2,000 word article. My point is, there's nothing inherently wrong with length targets, and maybe the author needs to find better videos!

naikrovek 5y ago
> maybe the author needs to find better videos! the YouTube algorithm significantly increases the recommendation weight of the 9-12 minute videos, though, and decreases the weight of everything else. it's not like 9-12 minute videos are in short supply, either. I'm trying to say that it is often difficult to "find better videos" in any real quantity without a long YouTube watch history demonstrating a preference for them. this results in a situation where it is somewhat easy to find them if you've already found a lot of them, and not so easy otherwise.
- Wowfunhappy 5y ago
  Right, I'm saying that content creators need to do a better job of writing to that length. Come up with a concept that works in 9-12 minutes, instead of attempting to stretch out a paragraph. Look at it this way—traditional television programs have always had mostly-arbitrary length requirements as well, and I'd say they managed to do a lot with that format!
  - naikrovek 5y ago
    > Right, I'm saying that content creators need to do a better job of writing to that length. yes that would be nice, and there is zero incentive to do that, unfortunately.
  - photoGrant 5y ago
    This is a very good point but puts the arbiter of quality content on those willing and able to be weaker on that ratio and still earn the same dollar. It’s not enough to ask people not to be lazy
  - mikewarot 5y ago
    It typically takes 10 times as long as your content to write a lecture, and according to [1] it takes about 12 hours to produce a minute of video. The algorithm also likes 2 videos per week. 2 videos * 12 hours work/minute_video * 10 minute_video / video --> 240 hours/week to keep the algorithm happy. The algorithm is greedy, and is making videos worse. [1] - https://www.lumavox.com/how-long-does-it-take-to-produce-a-minute-of-video/ https://www.lumavox.com/how-long-does-it-take-to-produce-a-m...
SPBS 5y ago
I disagree, because Bottom Line Up Front. Take the straightest path to communicating intent. Word count is not important. If your intent is to make the reader feel things with flowery language, then it's appropriate to use flowery language. If your intent is to convey a concept, then do it ASAP and don't add anything else.
- Wowfunhappy 5y ago
  Just because a company may have an elevator pitch, doesn't mean that's the best way to explain their business given more time, right? The elevator pitch may be less detailed, or less nuanced, or simply less convincing—but it's useful because of it's brevity. A lot of topics are like this. So you need to figure out how to do what you can in the space alloted.
  - Doxin 5y ago
    I feel like starting a longer pitch with the elevator pitch is probably a good idea. It gives everyone context for the details that'll follow.

naikrovek 5y ago

> maybe the author needs to find better videos! the YouTube algorithm significantly increases the recommendation weight of the 9-12 minute videos, though, and decreases the weight of everything else. it's not like 9-12 minute videos are in short supply, either. I'm trying to say that it is often difficult to "find better videos" in any real quantity without a long YouTube watch history demonstrating a preference for them. this results in a situation where it is somewhat easy to find them if you've already found a lot of them, and not so easy otherwise.

Wowfunhappy 5y ago
Right, I'm saying that content creators need to do a better job of writing to that length. Come up with a concept that works in 9-12 minutes, instead of attempting to stretch out a paragraph. Look at it this way—traditional television programs have always had mostly-arbitrary length requirements as well, and I'd say they managed to do a lot with that format!
- naikrovek 5y ago
  > Right, I'm saying that content creators need to do a better job of writing to that length. yes that would be nice, and there is zero incentive to do that, unfortunately.
- photoGrant 5y ago
  This is a very good point but puts the arbiter of quality content on those willing and able to be weaker on that ratio and still earn the same dollar. It’s not enough to ask people not to be lazy
- mikewarot 5y ago
  It typically takes 10 times as long as your content to write a lecture, and according to [1] it takes about 12 hours to produce a minute of video. The algorithm also likes 2 videos per week. 2 videos * 12 hours work/minute_video * 10 minute_video / video --> 240 hours/week to keep the algorithm happy. The algorithm is greedy, and is making videos worse. [1] - https://www.lumavox.com/how-long-does-it-take-to-produce-a-minute-of-video/ https://www.lumavox.com/how-long-does-it-take-to-produce-a-m...

SPBS 5y ago

I disagree, because Bottom Line Up Front. Take the straightest path to communicating intent. Word count is not important. If your intent is to make the reader feel things with flowery language, then it's appropriate to use flowery language. If your intent is to convey a concept, then do it ASAP and don't add anything else.

Wowfunhappy 5y ago
Just because a company may have an elevator pitch, doesn't mean that's the best way to explain their business given more time, right? The elevator pitch may be less detailed, or less nuanced, or simply less convincing—but it's useful because of it's brevity. A lot of topics are like this. So you need to figure out how to do what you can in the space alloted.
- Doxin 5y ago
  I feel like starting a longer pitch with the elevator pitch is probably a good idea. It gives everyone context for the details that'll follow.