Great things that came out of the internet in spite of COVID-19

It’s difficult to imagine what life was like a century ago when 675,000 people in the US succumbed to the Spanish flu pandemic. Historians have found a number of similarities between the 1918 policies of social distancing and work stoppages to the current response to COVID-19.

Except we have the internet.

Not everything the internet has bestowed upon us has been positive, but we can all agree that it’s what has kept us sane, entertained, engaged and connected.

The New York Times found that visits to Facebook, Netflix, and YouTube had increased up to 27 percent. We’re connecting with friends and family via video apps like Houseparty, whose traffic rose nearly 80 percent. To stay informed about neighborhood matters, we turned to Nextdoor.com, which saw a steep increase of 73.3 percent in traffic. Thanks to services like Zoom, Google Classroom, and Microsoft Teams, teachers brought learning home. Zumba offered instructors an online portal to stream classes, and brands like Peloton and Alo Yoga offered free fitness programs online—no stationary bike, treadmill, or hot studio required.

So while the internet is far from being nice, we’ve certainly seen a shift of it being used for good. Below are some of our favorite things that have come out during a period of uncertainly.

View From My Window Facebook Group

Amsterdam-based Belgian designer Barbara Duriau created a Facebook Group to satisfy her curiosity about learning how the rest of the world was handling the stay-at-home directive. She posted a view from her window and started a movement that would engage more than 2 million people worldwide. Members posted everything from photos of beautiful scenery and landscapes to the harshness of urban environments. While we’re all isolated and disconnected physically, this simple idea inspired the world to connect over the shared human experience of quarantine life. Duriau hopes to publish a book with the submitted pictures, with proceeds going to charities.

Getty Museum in Los Angeles #gettymuseumchallenge

One tweet unleashed a wave of creativity when the Getty Museum in Los Angeles challenged followers to recreate a favorite work of art with three household items. Then came 27,000 likes, 11,100 retweets, and some 4,700 comments alongside countless submissions that were funny, introspective, and everything in between.

Goat 2 Meeting

If your video conferencing meetings feel like the opening grid of The Brady Bunch, you’re not alone. Sweet Farm animal sanctuary in Silicon Valley found an interesting way to make some cash while adding Zoom fun. For a fee, llamas, goats, and other farm animals could make a cameo to end the monotony of cam-enabled conference calls.

Humor

They say tragedy plus time equals comedy, and while the human toll of this epidemic is nothing to joke about, there have been plenty of opportunities to find some needed levity regarding the new status quo. When the always-classy Barefoot Contessa is sharing a recipe for a cocktail for one by pouring vodka straight into a pitcher, you know things are getting a little punchy.

Artful Travel

Some were stranded in faraway places while others canceled plans for leisure travel. But borders closed doesn’t mean our penchant for travel goes away. Google Arts and Culture has collaborated with museums across the world to provide virtual access to renowned institutions like the Guggenheim in New York, Musée d’Orsay in Paris, Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Uffizi Gallery in Florence, and the MASP in São Paulo, alongside 2,500 other destinations.

Bumble Presents: Virtual Connections

First dates are hard. First dates from dating apps can be awkward. What about first dates over video chat? During the lockdown, that was the only safe choice for singles, so dating app Bumble partnered with BuzzFeed to create Virtual Connections. The public was invited to be flies-on-the-wall while strangers tried virtual dating for the first time. Los Angeles based plus-sized fashion model Jazzmyne Jay, also a BuzzFeed video producer, popped in to add commentary and keep things light and fun.

Music Without Borders

Very little can replicate the experience of a live music concert regardless of the genre, but artists weren’t going to let COVID rain on their musical parade. Small classical music groups like Houston’s DACAMERA and the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra (ROCO) brought music home in new and interesting ways, while the New York Philharmonic rocked a Boléro. Garth Brooks’ live concerts with Trisha Yearwood got intimate with their audience and broke the internet with a performance of “Shallow” from the movie A Star Is Born starring Lady Gaga. Speaking of Lady Gaga, her “One World: Together At Home” primetime concert raised $128 million to support those fighting COVID-19.

Do you have a favorite quarantine life moment that happened online? Email us with your ideas at info@theckpgroup.com.