I write these every year and as I sat down to compile my year-end thoughts I kept thinking of one sentence.
We will not be going back to normal in this lifetime.
These are unprecedented times in literally every way I could mean that sentence. Across all levels of geek, the way we communicate has changed drastically, and as the chasm between the haves and have nots continues to grow, COVID doubled the width. From economic disparities to mental states, combine the feeling in the US during WW2 with the basic hopelessness of prohibition and you have the current state of things. COVID is reinforcing the “bubble” mentality that the Trump administration had already created. Instead of bubbles divided by politics, it is now your COVID bubble. Even the most open-minded person if they are in the have column is highly unlikely to fathom the world of the have nots. 54% of the country does NOT have broadband ( source AARP). What does this mean? No job searches unless you hit Mcdonalds or a library which you can gain access via open wifi networks. No telehealth appointments because you and your doctor can’t hear and see each other. The good jobs are work from home jobs which you can’t apply to easily when you don’t own the laptop or home computer you probably need for those jobs. The realms of pop culture that are the most insulated against this are gaming and books/comics as there are reread/replay elements and the buyers often have a higher disposable income rate. One-off collections of toys or movies that aren’t “must-haves” can be on pause.
One of the more interesting parts of where we are now is the true beginning of the metaverse. To definite what that it is simply, the metaverse is a collective space that is a sum of the internet, virtual reality, and augmented reality. Videogames are now choose your adventure movies. Augmented reality books are edging their way closer and closer to video games or short films. Augmented games need a community to play them. All pop culture conventions have struggled as they need to become virtual events. Q&A’s with celebs have become a draw but are expensive. Programming is now everything and programming associated with panels are the big draws. Right now virtually, streaming whether it’s esports or a panel at a show is easy access to worlds that fans may simply never be able to afford. As income disparity grows at the same time as tech development you will see more and more people flocking to anything that gives them access to a world that is totally outside their geographic or economic restrictions. As stated previously internet access especially in the US is not ready for this, but cellphone coverage is universal. Apps will continue to develop in ways to try and bridge the gap to connect consumers to their favorite things as they are the tech that is the most universally affordable and accessible to all that gives a consumer the ticket to everything regardless if they can purchase anything related to the line.
The struggles will be how to continually engage a consumer on a smaller screen where you are competing with every other app along with your industry competition. Once cloud access to every cellphone becomes widely available the metaverse will have the framework and much of the content will need to be adapted accordingly.
What does this mean short term and long term?
Short term: Continue building direct to consumer communications and more so interaction. People are desperate for distraction and connection. First and foremost, ask yourself what can you REASONABLE do repeatedly. 2019 you were building a brand or a tribe. Now you need to build a family. Learn as much as you can about your fans and let them learn as much as they can about you. Access to you/your brand holds value even if fans are too strapped to engage immediately financially.
Long term: Content creation is key. Dependence on in-person conventions is costly and risky and creating compelling reasons for people to keep coming back to what you do that is entirely self-sufficient is the #1 thing you must find a way to do. Second of course is become part of organizations that are doing compelling virtual content.
