When I mention I’m a fan of this show, the most common response I get is:

“Survivor is still on TV?”

Currently, I’m watching the 44th season, which started earlier this month.

In the show, strangers are stranded on an island and split into tribes. They compete for a chance to stay in the game. In every episode, somebody is voted out by their tribemates.

One of my favorite parts of the show is rarely seen in the broadcast.
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Before challenges, which are usually physical or mental games, the teams tour the course. They see what feats they must perform and puzzles they must solve.

Then the teams decide on a strategy for how they’ll approach the challenge.

Who will take a leadership role, who is the better swimmer, who can untie knots, and whose LSAT score suggests they can put the three-dimensional blocks in the right order?

Answering these questions off-camera help the teams perform better in the challenge itself.

It also makes for a much better show for the viewer. While the occasional confused tribe member can add some drama, it would get old week after week.

Far too many technical content teams aren’t using their behind-the-scenes time wisely. Articles are reactionary, promotional, and often not the sort of thing their audience wants to consume.

Don’t let your content get voted off the island.

My hope is that struggling teams will come together and read Technical Content Strategy Decoded when it comes out.

That’s an alliance, in Survivor terms. Work together to build on a shared understanding of your right audience, so you can attract more of them to your technical product.

P.S. my recent piece on the marketing funnel for technical products also tackles some of the ideas in the book.