Networking is vital, especially during a quarantined life
The digital world has brought us together worldwide. Unlike pandemics of the past, we are not far removed from each other. The news, the online platforms, even radio bombarding us with helpful information and not so helpful information connects us at lightning speed.
Our longing for connection to like-minded souls has us living in communities, joining groups, going out and creating events, selling this in person, sharing meals, sports, and activities outside and then suddenly the world was confined to their homes.
How do we react? It has deeply affected the way the world does business. According to the Economist: ‘Sometimes change is so vast and dislocating that it is hard to tell disaster from opportunity.’ Who is feeling it the most? Small business owners and especially entrepreneurs. Networking to promote and support our business is how we stay alive.
Thankfully there is Zoom. The Morning Brew states: “From handshakes to two-ply, we’re all craving some normalcy. For the homebound and quarantined, Zoom is offering an unconventional return to socialization. “
See: Call Them Zoomers: Gen Z Flocks to Zoom During Quarantine
Zoom is bringing our classrooms together. Zoom has brought me meetings with business colleagues, social groups, my writing group “Coronado Scribes” and most recently the meetings of the “Ocean Beach Networking Group. Our host Chuck Hardwick was quick to transfer us from in-person to online. This week’s meeting was well attended.
See: Ocean Beach Networking Group Continues to Connect Digitally Amid the Coronavirus
One of the most helpful and healing aspects of networking is the sense of community it provides.
In recent years, there has certainly been no shortage of valid reasons for criticizing the side effects of the internet on our society. Dependence on smartphones and social networks, violations of privacy and surveillance, polarization of politics and manipulation of public opinion, harassment, trolls and whoever has more.
It is not that the internet has suddenly become an enemy of humanity. However, we started taking the positive aspects for granted, which represented the dominant narrative of the network in the early 2000s, and we concentrated on the negative ones, also in an attempt to correct them. And then, at the beginning of this 2020, the coronavirus came to mark what could be another halfway point.
No cinema, concerts, aperitifs, restaurants, games with friends, weekends by the sea or in the mountains. No social life. For almost two weeks, and without knowing exactly when this will end, we have been locked up in our homes. And that is how, suddenly, we are rediscovering the huge role the internet plays in our lives. Beyond the inevitable side effects of any social revolution, we have from day to day reopened our eyes on how fundamental the internet is to keep our society functioning and cohesive (within the limits of what it can be during a pandemic).
Thank you for your insights. I do see that as we have life after corona, families that were able to stay connected because of zoom and the like will continue to do so. People networking or in community groups will grow stronger. Business will finally transcend to more online sales and with luck the lessons learned during this time will inspire!