Have you ever tried to be funny in email? It’s hard to do. We use smileys or other clues because the written word lacks visual clues. Maybe that’s why video is so popular.

Teachers know that different kids learn in different ways. There are some basic learning styles:

• Auditory learning occurs through hearing the spoken word.
• Visual learning occurs through images, demonstrations and body language.
• Kinesthetic learning occurs through doing, touching and interacting.
• Read/write learning occurs through reading and writing.

(I don’t know if 'read/write' was listed last because it is least effective or if this bullet was added afterward by an editor. The article says there are three kinds of learning but lists four. Hmm.)

I recently spoke at the Business of Software 2007 conference. The organizers taped my speech and posted it to Google video. Those who have read my articles will find the theme familiar: product management is how a company defines and delivers products to market in a consistent, repeatable way. Afterwards, about half the conference visited me in a “bird of a feather” get-together to talk about the role of product management in tech companies. Questions ranged from how to find good product managers to how to do product management and also how to sell product management as a valued role to tech companies.

Watching a video isn’t necessarily better than reading; it’s different. But it’s hard to convey humor or emotion in a blog post. Hmmm, maybe a video is better.