I wonder....

Sometimes, when I plow through  development technical papers, it plays around in my head:

Do we have this feeling that helping a community or a country is so damn hard - because the information and to-do list is damn hard to understand? 

I've nothing against "intelligent" sentences and blabla blublu.  I know we have to sound formal to be respectable, but...

Maybe, just maybe, especially for development work, if we can communicate simply and direct to the point,

• Maybe people will understand the country's problems better.
• When they understand, maybe it's easier to feel hope that a lot can be done. 
• When people feel hope, maybe it will be easier to band people together and they will work better together towards common goals.  
• Maybe it's easier to commit to helping out your community when you feel connected to what you read or saw.

Most of the time, I marvel at how the seemingly impossible ways for a country to progress can still happen. But then, what if more can be done?  What if it was just a matter of how you share information, problems and solutions to common folk?




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Online Writing for Development Issues, Causes

I've been putting together in my head the best practices of writing for development issues these past few weeks.  Of course, the usability principles are the same. It's just that those I've been seeing are writing in the pyramid style.  Inverted pyramid writing is easier to use for online readers (where the most important topics go at the top and is mentioned first).  Headlines I usually see are just events, dates and personality-centered.  I've seen these too much I can easily go on auto-shut off when I see any more.

If we are to be honest, in terms of usability, a headline saying "(Insert name of org official here) attends (insert name of conference here)"  is useless information for an interested development worker. I think even the person mentioned won't read that article either. 

I just wonder really how much of a use it is for readers (even colleagues, yes) to find out the top official went to this or that. These conferences gather the best think tanks in the world, I'm sure tons of  interesting/ relevant resolutions or recommendations are done in these workshops and conferences. Why not focus on new resolutions/ recommendations so that development people immediately get an idea what happened, then just conveniently insert the official attended this or that?

And I'm sure, our top officials, down to earth great leaders they are, are embarrassed (or sick) of seeing their names over and over in lame headlines.  I think they would really appreciate their names alongside with a highly relevant development resolution in a headline. 


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