Technology has taken the virtual world to unimagined heights in the past two decades or so. But 20-years ago, no one would have predicted an unknown virus would have brought the world to a screeching halt and cause much of commerce as we know it to migrate to the virtual world to survive.
Ecommerce was created to complement and enhance the shopping experience. Websites were made to offer customers more. As they evolved, online shopping meccas were born. Brick and mortar stores took advantage of the easy and cheap way to ship and move products.
Virtual Pioneers
In every industry, there were virtual pioneers. These industry leaders began online and their brands were designed for E-Commerce. This is why online experience with them just seems easier, smoother, and more natural.
Lottoland
Lottoland took the lead in the online gambling industry long before the world ever heard of Coronavirus. Lottoland is an offshore online casino that provides lottery betting, sports betting, and casino games (which includes the entire casino experience) from the comfort of your home or office. There are no retail locations to visit and no lines. Social distancing is not a problem. You deposit your bets and are paid via your online account. Small winnings are deposited in your online account and lottery jackpots are paid in the manner that you choose when you are contacted at the time of your win.
House of Solo
House of Solo Magazine is a magazine that is digital and print, but we dare say more available and accessible digitally. They keep their finger on the pulse of music, art, fashion, culture, and beauty, but as you can see in a nonconventional way which has earned them their unique customer base. Right now, every paper, magazine, and catalog everywhere seems to have their publication online out of desperation to stay in business, you will not find another like House of Solo.
Summer Runways
The summer fashion shows were being shuffled and many were considering not showing their summer collections at all until they came together and decided to pool their talents and put on a couple of digital showcases which turned out to be successful and promising for future ventures.
In 2020 nine fashion super-star companies decided they had no choice but to allow their fashion shows to summer shows to be shown virtually. They are:
- Moshino
- J. W. Anderson
- Prada
- Collina Strada
- Khaite
- Balenciga
- Loewe
- Thom Browne
At the time, everyone was looking forward to the 2021 line-up. As things look now, 2021 will not be any better as far as Covid-19 is concerned. But at least the internet shows and business will be more cultivated and perhaps they will enjoy the production without rush or worry.
Music
It took us by surprise. We were getting used to being told we had to buy masks. Hand sanitizer was showing up and selling out on counters. Most of us thought a bottle or two would be all we need to get through this. We still are not thinking that anything that we consider part of our “normal” lives would change.
Concerts and festivals in 2020 started canceling in mass when the seriousness of the virus became known. It started with SXSW, AEG, Live Nation, and every concert in venues great and small and even underground had no choice but to cancel.
Milwaukee’s Summerfest
Don Smiley is the Chief Executive of Milwaukee’s Summerfest. The Milwaukee Summerfest calls itself the “World’s Largest Music Fest.” Every year the 11-day event drew over 900,000 people and it had never been cancelled or even postponed. But, in 2020 the Covid-19 Pandemic proved to be bigger and stronger than anything else. For the first time in its 52-year history, the Milwaukee Summerfest was cancelled and the entire platform was dismantled.
Music Artists
An entire year of music shows, concerts, and productions has been wiped away. It will never be replaced. It did not happen and it can’t be changed. We do not know what 2021 will bring. We do not know if the virus will be contained and a cure will be found or if it will mutate and change, leaving us with a more challenging illness to deal with. We do not know what effects this will leave on the world economy and if the world will be able to afford the luxuries of live concerts in the near future.
Currently, artists and promoters are concentrating their efforts on live streaming events. It seems that is the safest way to entertain their public while keeping them safe. As energy is focused on what can be done and accomplished virtually, we are finding new ways that all of us can be happy and make a living. Enjoying events while some of our friends and family are joining us via their phones, laptops, and computers is not such an odd thing anymore. Buying our concert souvenirs from the live stream event is just as exciting when you know it is exclusive. To put it simply. We are evolving.
We will never fully return to our pre-Covid lives. We have come too far and we have learned too much. It is doubtful that any of us will take our health for granted like that again. Some of us can never imagine shopping for groceries when we can place pick-up orders and not come face to face with people in cold and flu season. Some of us never plan on sitting in an ER again without a mask on.
When it comes to entertainment, will we take a risk? I guess time will tell. It is just too soon to know if we can ever forget the day the music died.
