Here's a fresh example of umami content. This is the first episode of a fake show created for Pluralsight's rebranding effort, produced as an Office-style mockumentary ("fake company, real problems"):

I've watched the whole series and I love it. The videos are entertaining, well-produced, and have relatable humor for technologists. They also produced a case study video to go along with it.

I want to point out how well done this is from multiple angles:

• It showcases a fake customer – but it's based on real issues Pluralsight's ideal customer might be facing
• It uses technology humor accurately – the "talking heads" cuts from engineers are something I laughed out loud at
• The style of the mockumentary is their new brand strategy in action. Instead of a deck, they made this

This is umami content. It's high leverage, remarkable (literally), and infuses the brand into the content. Importantly, it is still educating the customer on the value of Pluralsight.

Here's the thing...

Yes, Pluralsight has the tools, tech, and skill to produce TV-quality videos.

But this isn't out of reach for small teams. Constraints breed creativity.

Low-budget video can be just as effective and is perfect for channels like TikTok and Twitter. I want to say Cassidoo's entire following was built on her funny meme videos. KRAZAM's programming skits have almost 9MM views. In the non-tech world, Please Don't Destroy made Twitter videos before eventually getting onto SNL.

Those are all humorous examples but serious ones exist too – focused on education. Microsoft switched their boring internal corporate training to a soap-opera style show that educates employees on information security. It doesn't use humor – it uses storytelling and drama. I know from MS folks on Twitter it was wildly engaging. It even won a Telly award.

It's not easy to create content like this but not because of budgets – all you need is some creativity, the willingness to make a bet, and an iPhone. You can't create remarkable content without taking a risk.

Have a lovely day,
Kamran

PS. Maybe you can introduce your own DevOps seltzer?