Best approach for me is to make sure I apply what I'm trying to learn to a specific project. If I'm going to learn a new programming language, I cannot just learn it from a book, it does not stick. I always find some project (which may or may not be relevant to what I'm learning) and build the learning up around the project. For me this also works with other things than a programming language.
Yes, what we see is that it seems to be very focused on groups and not so much brands. The only real advantage we see is that it should help SEO on our website, but not much more.