Did you learn anything new in this lock-down?

It was mid-March when India started facing the heat of the COVID-19. As days passed, Corona positive cases kept increasing, and ultimately there came a day when our honourable Prime Minister had to announce a Nationwide Lockdown. With no sign of respite, the lock-down kept on extending, and today, it’s almost two months that most of us are confined to our homes.

When the initial few days were confusing, as people never had this much free time at their disposal. But, as time passed, they learnt to attune themselves with the new normal. Thus, were born Lock-down Chefs, Artists, Writers, YouTubers, Singers, Musicians and what not. If this lock-down had anything in affirmative, then it was the fact that people could find time to reinvent themselves.

When I was writing on and off on my social media handles, during this lock-down, I decided to deep dive in this art and attended an online Content Writing workshop for 6 days.

Here’s an overview of my learning.

Image Source: pexels.com

1.    What is Content Writing?

In very brief, Content writing is a process of writing articles which are informative or     entertaining or both.

Your Content should add knowledge and value to your readers.

2.    Types of Content Writing

·       Corporate Writing:       E.g., Writing content for a corporate Website.

·       Article Writing:             E.g., Blogging.

·       Sales Writing:              E.g., Writing Newsletters, Brochures, etc.           

·       Copy-writing:               E.g., Social Media Ads, Landing Pages, etc.

3.    Styles of Writing

·       Expository:      Wherein you write to explain.

·       Narrative:        Wherein you write to narrate.           

·       Descriptive:     Wherein you write to describe.

·       Persuasive:     Wherein you write to convince.         

4.    Process of Content Creation

Now that you are introduced to Content, let’s see how Content is created.

·       Research:     

     To write on any given topic, you need to be well versed with the subject. This is the step where you gain this knowledge.

·       Write:               

     It’s time to bring your knowledge on paper.

·       Proofread:       

     Read your own Content, look for errors. There will be many.

·       Edit:                 

     Edit your Content. This is a crucial step.

·       Design:            

      A plain write-up looks dull and doesn’t catch a reader’s attention. Format it, design the layout as per the topic.

·       Distribute:        

     Give yourself a shout-out. Distribute your Content to readers.

I hope this must have excited your curiosity.

If you want to learn more on this topic, you can read from the plethora of books available on this topic or you may even join the online Content Writing Workshops conducted by Content Vidhya.

So, what are you waiting for?

And yes, do share with me what all new things you learnt in this lock-down.

 

The Lost World - Life without Phones and Internet

“Hello, can you hear me?” Basu Da seemed to be shouting on the other end of the call.

“Yes, Dada, I can hear you loud and clear. How are you?” I asked.

Once he realized that he could be heard, he was relieved and started speaking in reasonable decibels.

“The year 2020 is taking the hell out of us. Being in the Red Zone of Corona, most of Bengal was already in Lock-down and now this Cyclone Amphan. There is havoc all around.”

“The trees are uprooted. There is water logging everywhere. Power was down for almost two days. Phone lines and internet services were dead. Things have just started to come to life. But nothing is normal.”

He continued talking for some more time, speaking his heart out. When I could empathize with him, his tragic experience kept resonating in my mind, “Phone lines and internet services were dead.”

When we are so accustomed; no, we are so dependent on these services,

What if Phones and the Internet Die tomorrow?

Image Source: pexels.com

1.    The Postman and the Pigeon

Do you remember, we were taught Letter Writing in schools?

But, when was the last time, did you send a letter to somebody?

With phones and internet not around, letters will be back in the business and so will be the two great messengers of the bygone era.

And with no Facebook or WhatsApp, we may revamp the concept of making Penfriends. 

We shall once again long for the appearance of the Khaki clad Postman singing the iconic Rajesh Khanna song, “Daakiya Daak Laaya…”

 

2.    Manual Mode, ON!

Thomas Friedman, in his book The World is Flat, argues that thanks to the internet and the telephones, geographical distance is no more a barrier between people, thus making the world flat. With no phones and the internet, all of us will be geographically far away. This will affect our lives severely; both personally and professionally.

With no internet connectivity, the prefix ‘e’ will be wiped out from our dictionaries.

Which means,

·       No e-Shopping:          

No Flipkart or Amazon! No Festive Sales. No doorstep delivery.

·       No e-Ticketing:          

No IRCTC! Waiting in long queues for buying that one ticket.

 

·       No e-Banking:            

No Net Banking or UPI will make our nearest Bank, our social gathering place.    

 

·       No e-Learnings:         

No online Webinars. Virtual Schools will find a place in History Textbooks.

And by the way, there will be neither Google nor Netflix – can you imagine, how lame the mankind will be then?

Alexa and Siri will be just two girls but with human intelligence.

With No Internet of Things, things will be on Manual mode again.

Image Source:pexels.com

3.    More Tree Cuts

Remember this e-mail signature?

When we are so concerned about the Environment that we think twice before we give that Print Command.

But, with no e-mails, all letters will have to be printed before those are posted.

They say, today, one tree is cut every hour. With everything becoming manual, we will end up consuming more papers and ultimately cutting more trees.

Usually, there is a notion that technology hampers nature, but with the death of phones and internet, Environment will be at a loss.

 

Personal Loss, Professional Loss, Environmental Loss… 

Won’t it be a lost world then?

More such thoughts kept lingering in my mind till my cell-phone beeped and my reverie was broken.

But you know what? When I think from another perspective, my mind tells me that if Phones and Internet Die tomorrow, things won’t be that bad either. Because man is an enterprising animal, he would invent a mode of communication and connection which would be faster and better than any phone or internet speed for that matter. 

What’s your take on this? Do let me know.