On livestreams, zoom parties and how the pandemic evoked a more creative way of using social media.
*insert skype ringtone*
Due to the Covid-19 quarantine and the increased time spent at home, it seems that we can gradually remember why we love social media so much. Now that people are no longer able to meet in person, social media has become a place where people can party, exercise, collaborate and communicate with others and feel part of a bigger whole while stuck at home. And at the end of the day — social media is a pretty good distraction from everything going on out there at the moment.
The last few weeks have been an eventful time for social media. Newer platforms like TikTok and Twitch have experienced record growth, while Instagram’s Stories and Live Features have inspired brands and individuals to entirely new approaches to storytelling.
Here are a few examples of this, which I quite enjoyed:
PALOMA WOOL — SEARCHING FOR TOGETHERNESS
Paloma Wool, a Spanish fashion project run bei Paloma Lanna gained a lot of popularity throughout instagram since its launch in 2014. Featuring a network of creatives from all around the globe, they managed to offer their followers a variety of content during the past couple of weeks.
From their PW STAGE format, where they had various artists, performers and musicians - obviously dressed in Paloma Wool - curate a live evening on the brand’s instagram channel to the PW ROOM — a virtual dance party hosted on the video communication platform zoom, free for anyone to join.
Their most recent coup is the PALOMA WOOL VIRTUAL RUNWAY, which is best described by the founder herself:
“During the process of any creation, the runway has never been the frame where I visualize our project, but rather I create pieces for my friends or people I admire, and imagine said pieces on them on a daily basis. It was exciting to find a way to bring that to life these days when the thing I missed the most was bringing us together.
I’m very proud to present my friends around the world, in quarantine, featuring their favorite pieces in our first ever paloma wool runway, which I like to think of as a parade of friends, celebrating the project together.”
JOHN KRASINSKI — SOME GOOD NEWS
Everyone’s new favourite web series is here! Some Good News was started by the American actor and filmmaker John Krasinski (or better known as Jim from The Office) and the only purpose of the show is to spread some good news during times like these. The show, which is hosted on youtube, has featured guests like Oprah Winfrey, Martha Stewart or the entire cast of a broadway production. Krasinski even hosted an online Prom for all the graduates, who can’t attend their own this year. It debuted at the end of March 2020 and by May 2020 it has already gained more than 2,5 million subscribers and up to 17 million views per video.
CARSON ELLIS — QUARANTINE ART CLUB
Portland-based illustrator Carson Ellis started to keep her followers occupied with daily art assignments “designed for kids and grownups alike”. Among a number of other ideas, she provides her audience with different “drawing prompts” (pieces of paper with random, unrelated terms on them) and thus tries to challenge their creativity. The participants then share their final works of art on instagram.
HONORABLE MENTION: LIVESTREAMS
With an isolated audience at home, closed venues, cancelled events, the art industry, which operates almost exclusively in public space, is also trying to reinvent itself online. And that’s happening mostly via livestreams.
Whether the Vienna state opera, which provides streams of performances on its website, the American rapper Travis Scott, who gave a concert for over 12 million players in the battle royale game Fortnite (the video was then uploaded to youtube and has over 35,5 million views!!), or completely new online festivals — there is clearly a lot happening.
The bottom line here is that we as humans have a peculiar way of contesting times of crisis with an enormous and often beautifully diverse outpour of creativity. Because in our imagination we can always be as close to each other as we wish. Working in social media myself, I’m really curious where this is headed!
So keep your head up and your distance physical. :)
