Being in Orlando, I had the opportunity to go to Epcot the other evening. The ticket was graciously provided by the Learning Guild as part of the #Learning22 event.

It was drizzly and quite late. I was, to be honest, a little underwhelmed. What I was surprised by was the number of people who were fanatical about being there and the whole Disney experience. In addition to the branded ponchos, people were talking up every element of the place and how great it was.

The difference in attitude might be worth $159. That is the cost of entry to Epcot and if you’ve invested a not unreasonable sum to go to a theme park you are more minded to enjoy it.

The same should apply to our learning approaches. Anyone can craft stuff and offer it for free. If the cost to the user is minimal, their investment might, quite reasonably, be less than the user who puts time, effort, energy, attention, and work into the same activity.

As I said in my session yesterday, the value of learning is the perceived benefit, divided by the cost. If the cost is nothing, it’s a zero sum game.