A late-night Southwest Airlines flight taught me a new travel trick… but reminded me of a common content strategy mistake.

After several hours of delay, we’re finally boarding.

Southwest Airlines has a unique boarding process. Passengers choose their seats based on check-in order. This creates a particular kind of frenzy.

I’m very tall, so I paid extra to board early. I secure an aisle seat near the front of the plane and watch the chaos unfold.

The boarding process follows its usual pattern. Most passengers pass by me at first. They’re hoping to find an empty row for themselves.

Eventually, someone takes the window seat. This leaves just the middle seat open.

It’s inevitable that this middle seat will be claimed. It’s near the front of the plane, after all. Someone from a later boarding group will want it.

But then, my new rowmate pulls out a large bag. She places it in the empty space between us.

Then she dives deep into it, down to the bottom. Clothes, electronics, beauty items – everything comes out. She appears to be searching for something urgently.

Something like this, only right in her seat:

The activity is intense. It’s constant. Right next to my elbow.

Passenger after passenger walks on by. No one wants to interrupt this apparent personal crisis.

The flight fills up. All passengers find seats elsewhere.

My rowmate’s demeanor changes completely. She calmly repacks her bag. Zips it up. Stows it in front of the empty middle seat.

We spend the next four hours in relative luxury. An empty middle seat between us. The closest thing to first class on Southwest Airlines.

Looking back, my rowmate’s strategy is brilliant. The appearance of activity provided the buffer she needed.

What works on a late-night Southwest flight is unlikely to lead to technical content success. Too many teams focus on being busy rather than being purposeful.

I see this pattern in content calendars all the time. Teams plan a large volume of technical content that’s haphazard and disorganized.

The topics might not be relevant or resonant with the audience, but you can’t deny tht the marketers are active.

This approach sometimes leads to unexpected hits, but that’s far from the majority. Even worse, these few posts that bring traffic may not be connected at all to the product or business.

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