I’m no scientist, but things will not be the same moving forward. The COVID-19 pandemic is radically shaping how we see the world and the way we live in it. As local businesses continue to close we’re quickly seeing changes in our community and it’s painful.
Having faced job insecurity many times in my life, I am fortunate enough to now work remotely. I discussed working from home in my last blog but Michael and I weren’t going to go 100% remote just yet. And then everything changed. I would never have predicted that I’d be writing my second blog during a pandemic but here we are.
A lot more of us are going to start working remotely if we are lucky enough, and I don’t see any reason why that will go away once all the tools are in place. This pandemic will pass but it is not a phase. Alanna Shaikh just held a lecture at TEDxSMU on the current state of affairs titled ‘Coronavirus is Our Future’ and I am highly recommending you watch it. Especially with the current amount of misinformation online, we absolutely need to read from verified sources. Pinterest has set a great example by limiting its search results for ‘Coronavirus’ to “internationally-recognized health organizations”. Check it out below.
Things will not be the same. How can we grapple with fake news & the harm it causes during a pandemic? What can we do to avoid massive layoffs? How prepared are our hospitals for future outbreaks? This week many of us are focused on working remotely and keeping our businesses going (even Facebook is sharing resources to mitigate business issues) but in time we will need to address our handling of this situation and what needs to change. At MacMillan Search we are already making big changes in regards to our monthly events.
I threw the idea to Michael that we should host our next SEO Brunch meetup online. Last week we thought it would be an interesting idea. On Friday, after the WHO officially declared a pandemic it wasn’t just an interesting idea anymore, and our idea quickly became a necessity. We decided to hold this month’s SEO Brunch event online to protect: ourselves; our regular attendees; and, our community. SEO is one of those fields where you can expect things to change overnight, but this ‘hit different’ as the kids say. There are varying levels of risk factors, but the WHO says social-distancing is one of the most important things we can do to prevent the spread of this disease. Read their super helpful list detailing ‘Basic Protective Measures Against the New Coronavirus’.
So yeah, things can’t be the same moving forward. Video-communication companies, like Zoom, are seeing a massive increase in demand for their video conferencing platforms. We’re… hoarding toilet paper when we shouldn’t! There’s ‘a lot going on’ as the adults say. We have to do what is best for everybody and that means less TP hoarding and more proactive measures. As many have been saying, COVID-19 preparation should feel like an overreaction if we do it right.
Maybe this new way of seeing the world will help us address the carbon footprint associated with commuting. Maybe we move on from toilet-paper panic and start using bidets (like this hilarious bidet commercial insists). I don’t know and I am not teaching you anything with this blog. Listen to experts! I’m just trying to take it all in. And until I hear different, I will be taking it all in from my home-office after I wash my hands again. Protect the vulnerable, flatten the curve, and please only share information from verified sources. See you online!
