Quibi one week later…
Last week Quibi, the short form mobile-only streaming content provider, launched. The service provided 1.7 million downloads in week 1. The company stated that it has sold out all of its advertising slots for the remainder of the year, and will accelerate its plans to enable casting of programs to a TV. CNBC
dis-rup-shun: As stated last week, this company got Corona-lucky. Never before (or again) will the target audience of people with disposable income have so much time on their hands to experiment with a new, unique form of content. Let’s not forget that Quibi has offered a free 90 day trial, but trials that require a credit card number are quite sticky.
Create a looping video to stand in for you during video calls
New tools make for new creativity, and it is easy to create a video of yourself sitting and listening attentively in a video call — unless, of course, you are called on to contribute your comments. By using Zoom to record a video of yourself sitting and listening, with an occasional gesture or nod, then editing to create a seamless loop, you can create a video virtual background. Lifehacker.com
dis-rup-shun: Having some fun and letting your personality show through is more important that ever. and this hack has been used to amuse. One of my colleagues uses this feature to create a background of himself walking by and waving into the camera — quite a shock while speaking to him, live. Another colleague replaced himself with a puppet, which sat in his chair as he manipulated its mouth and arms through a one hour company-wide status call. Humor is helpful.
Amazon hires yet more workers
Amazon is hiring another 75,000 workers, on the heels of the 100,000 it hired last month. Most workers are in logistics — helping to fulfill orders in warehouses and packing delivery trucks for daily runs. CNBC
dis-rup-shun: Talk about a windfall! Amazon cannot keep up with the inundation of orders from people sheltering in place. Fortunately, the company is making a dent in the massive joblessness caused by the pandemic. The interesting question again is how will Amazon benefit long-term from the massive, likely temporary, uptick in business? Can it retain many of the at least 175,000 new employees it has hired, and will it keep a much larger share of the market for regular household supplies than it enjoyed pre-COVID-19?
Pandemic brings cities an opportunity to reconfigure
Among the many impacts of the pandemic is less crowded streets, but overcrowding of sidewalks and public parks in large cities such as New York, Bogota, Calgary, and Denver. Many cities have closed off streets, creating pedestrian-only centers. Low levels of air and noise pollution, combined with more pedestrian friendly atmospheres promise to create a better experience for urban dwellers. Wired
dis-rup-shun: The world will be a better place after it (we) recovers from the current crisis, and making cities more livable will help us restore our need for community and connected-ness. City planners should make the changes permanent. Expect large cities to be less car friendly as they transform dense areas to favor walkers and large gatherings.