The last couple years the COVID pandemic sent millions of New Yorkers into “lock down” mode — ordering in, logging on, and downloading daily. It is so hard to narrow down finding internet joy to a single page or post, but I think I found a word best fitting: Connecting.
Image from Disney’s The Lion King
Like me, most are no longer able to connect with friends at the movies, park, or even stopping by in person to dine & dash (my favorite) — my new top three ways to connect are: YouTube, Twitch, and Discord.
- YouTube: If you haven’t visited, or are a latecomer (like myself), you can find just about anything on YouTube. I enjoy learning from nature documentaries, hearing new music, and dying laughing to hilarious clips.
I connected to a clip I found of my little brother’s college beer pong dunk (it made the news).
2. Twitch: Twitch is an online platform that used to simply allow gamers to connect to professionals. But like us it is still evolving…
…now Twitch includes live concerts, ASMR (if you’re into that sort of thing — no judgement), and sponsored Esport tournaments. But don’t worry it still has the toxic “try-hard” “OP” “broken” gaming content if you want. As it is “Subtember” please check out a few streamers/gamers I follow: Work2Game, Tyler1, Swagg, and SSSniperWolf (who is now a 30M followed youtuber).
3. Discord: Last but not least is Discord, a messaging and digital distribution platform. A friend told me about discord back in HS when we couldn’t afford our own cellphones (that hasn’t changed much — thanks AT&T). Now, I use discord to connect to family, classmates, and radio co-hosts & guests for shows. I trust this platform because of the encryption coding (similar to Whatsapp) that allows privacy as you video or voice chat.
Discord constantly updates the channels you can join or create with innovative tech, emotes, and visuals…a far cry from trying to connect back in the day. You can download for free here (no, this isn’t a virus: just a link to their page).
Thank you for checking out this post, here is a final youtube clip I hope you enjoyed! 🙂
Great work on this! OMG… that dunk!!
Really nice assortment of examples and descriptions here! Imagery, video, text, and hyperlinks.
I would suggest adding direct hyperlinks to YouTube, Twitch & Discord, just a general link for context, its helpful.
Looking forward to whats next!
I totally agree with you, the pandemic had a massive impact on most people’s lives, but the internet made life so easy for all of us. Before the pandemic hit the US, my firm already forced us to work from home, but when everything got shouts down, the internet was the only way to connect, communicate, and order whatever you wanted. There was no way to go out and wait a few hours in the supermarket line to get gallon milk, but I used the internet to order everything I needed.