IF YOU READ ONE THING

How to launch a news site during a pandemic

A global pandemic wasn’t exactly in the plans for Emily Ramshaw and Amanda Zamora (as we imagine was the case for most of us), who had planned to launch The 19th, a nonprofit news site dedicated to covering the intersection of politics, policy, and gender, this summer. Yet, despite having to change its approach to hiring, launch, and even its coverage, the site is still planning to go live in the coming months. In an interview with Nieman Lab’s Laura Hazard Owen, co-founder and CEO Emily Ramshaw explains the decision and shares how the organization has adapted its strategy:

“Should we just hunker down, delay the launch, and ride out this storm? For a hot second, that was our plan,” said Ramshaw. “But then it became abundantly clear that in virtually every arena except for mortality rates, women were going to be disproportionately affected by this pandemic. … We had to stay engaged and, in some ways, speed up our plans.”

In lieu of its planned six-city listening tour, The 19th is now debuting a virtual live events series called “Live With The 19th.” Its once-weekly newsletter, originally intended to be a marketing email and recruitment tool, has turned into “full-fledged journalism” and is sent to subscribers almost every week day. As far as coverage goes, in many ways, COVID-19 is “the only beat right now,” Ramshaw says, and The 19th has pivoted accordingly, exploring “the politics of the pandemic and what that means for women.”

POWERSTAT

While Instagram Live has been seeing an uptick in use during the pandemic, as musicians, chefs, and fitness gurus “go live” to connect with their followers. Now, the professional world seems to be following suit with LinkedIn Live, as a number of brands take to the platform to host live events.  

Source: AdWeek

TRENDWATCH

AR is having a moment

While you can’t currently share experiences, you can share an Instagram filter. The Atlantic’s Kaitlyn Tiffany recently explored the ways augmented reality (AR) on social platforms is allowing people to stay connected and keep busy, particularly those who live alone during the pandemic. But would AR be rising if not for a stay-at-home order? Tiffany explains how beauty brands, interior designers, and other industries were using AR prior to the pandemic in order to bring their services to a wider range of clients. 

In contrast, Axios’ Ina Fried explains how virtual reality (VR) could have had its moment during the pandemic, and why it didn’t—the main reasons being that VR is still a clunky, expensive, and uncomfortable experience. During this unique period when everyone is a captive audience, “Virtual reality remains in its infancy, despite decades of on-and-off development, billions of dollars in investment and a ton of anticipation.” The one similarity between AR and VR during this time? Both types of content can be made without the help of production teams and crews. While it’s unclear whether AR will continue to flourish beyond the pandemic, we’ll all have reminders of this time alone, Tiffany says: Our AR-filled camera roll and reservoir of virtual Zoom backgrounds.

NEWS YOU CAN USE

Your daily reminder to look away from your screen (after finishing this newsletter)

With so many activities conducted on screen these days, it can be challenging to find ways to take breaks without sacrificing the positives afforded by our virtual activities. Thankfully, The Wall Street Journal's “Personal Tech” columnist Nicole Nguyen, has compiled a detailed list of key resources, techniques, and products to help you strategically reduce your screen time, without sacrificing your productivity or your fun. Below are just some of our favorites: 

• Follow the 20-20-20 rule. While looking at your screen for hours on end won’t damage your eyesight, taking a 20 second break to look at something 20 feet away at, yes, 20 minute intervals can mitigate the temporary blurred vision, headaches, eye dryness or aches associated with extensive screen exposure. 
• Turn on your fitness tracker’s move reminder. There are plenty of apps available to help implement time management systems like the 20-20-20 rule or the more famous Pomodoro technique. But, Apple Watches and Fitbit both have standard activity settings that can send reminders to move if you’ve been sitting for the first 50 minutes of an hour. Fitbit even accounts for those short walks to the couch or bed, with its reminder threshold at less than 250 steps. 
• Dial into video calls. Using video for virtual meetings can help maintain a sense of normalcy and camaraderie. And yet, if meetings served as quasi-mini-social breaks in the physical office, maybe, as Nguyen suggests, when there’s no need for you to speak of course, they can serve as a tech break as well.

PERSPECTIVES

Tech companies announce their remote working policies

As U.S. states consider whether to begin lifting social distancing restrictions, companies are deciding whether there’s a need to open their offices this year or, in some cases, if their employees could work from home indefinitely. These companies include big tech companies like Google and Facebook, both of which announced they would extend their work-from-home policy through the end of 2020. Twitter announced its plan to not open before September, but the company will also allow its employees to work from home permanently if they choose. According to a Twitter spokesperson said, “The past few months have proven that we can make that work. So, if our employees are in a role and situation that enables them to work from home and they want to continue to do so forever, we will make that happen.” With tech companies extending their WFH policies, will other companies follow suit? And how might this impact different industries?

• “If indicative of a new normal for even portions of employers, this has BIG implications for cities.” — Brent Toderian, owner and consultant at city planning consultancy TODERIAN UrbanWORKS  (Twitter)
• “I’m definitely seeing a reevaluation of whether meeting in person is truly necessary. You can really see people moving away from having in-persons that they know deep inside are just for the comfort of seeing someone for some reason.” — Ed Zitron, founder and CEO at PR firm EZPR (BuzzFeed News)
• “How many people will really flee the Bay Area in the coming year? Will Silicon Valley finally be wounded in the manner that so many skeptics have long predicted? At this early stage of the pandemic, the answer is still unknowable. But as of this week, it is no longer unthinkable.” —Casey Newton, writer at The Verge (The Verge)