How Online Communities are Responding to Coronavirus COVID-19
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We started recording this episode about a week before its release, and since then, coronavirus COVID-19 has continued to spread across the globe. News and governmental guidance is being updated frequently and people in many regions are being mandated to stay home as much as possible in an effort to help\\xa0flatten the curve.
The pandemic has obviously impacted online communities, too. In this episode of Community Signal, I (Carol), along with community professionals\\xa0Serena Snoad\\xa0and\\xa0Rose Barrett\\xa0share our communities have changed in recent weeks. But amongst the three of us, there was a common theme \\u2013\\u2013 the work of maintaining our communities as sources of helpful and reliable information is more important than ever.
If you have a story to share about how your community has been impacted, we\\u2019d love to hear from you. But most of all, we hope that you are well, practicing social distancing, and doing your part to stay at home as much as you can.
Here\\u2019s some of what you\\u2019ll find in this episode:
- How we can help restaurants and food industry professionals as they brace for the impact of the pandemic
- Tips from a remote work community on how to adapt to working out of your home
- Evaluating misinformation about COVID-19 and maintaining your community as a space for accurate information
Our Podcast is Made Possible By\\u2026
If you enjoy our show, please know that it\\u2019s only possible with the generous support of our sponsor:\\xa0Discourse.
Big Quotes
The shifting conversations in the Zagat community (2:50):\\xa0\\u201cInstead of sharing food photos and where we\\u2019re going out to eat, we\\u2019re talking about buying gift cards for where we\\u2019re getting meal delivery from.\\u201d \\u2013\\xa0@CarAnnBen
Restaurants and food industry companies are making adjustments (4:06):\\xa0\\u201cA lot of folks I know in catering are actually shifting towards delivering individual meals or thinking about how they can serve individual customers as opposed to bigger events. [One friend] started delivering seasoning salts. She\\u2019s sharing recipes online. I think it\\u2019s forcing [the food industry] or encouraging them to interact with their customers and community in a different way.\\u201d \\u2013@CarAnnBen
How you can support your favorite restaurants (4:50): \\u201cOrder delivery if the restaurants are still open. Remember to tip the delivery workers very generously. A lot of restaurants offer gift cards. I\\u2019d recommend calling or checking their website to see if you can get one from them directly. Then also just check on social media. Many restaurants are offering meals to people in the community at a reduced cost or for free, while they can, for people in need. That\\u2019s been great to see from the restaurant side as well. Just get in touch with them, see if they\\u2019re still open, and ask if there are ways that you can support directly.\\u201d \\u2013@CarAnnBen
Creating a separation between home and work, if you\\u2019re new to working from home (13:01):\\xa0\\u201cEven if you\\u2019re working from the house, just get up and actually leave the house, go for a little walk. It might be a minute around the block and then come back or [practice] other rituals, whatever works for you. For me, I have the habit of getting up in the morning, making my coffee, and watching a talk on YouTube [or a] TED Talk. Then I get my headphones on and start listening to some ambient music. That really helps me get into the headset that I\\u2019m starting my workday. [And] for parents, it\\u2019s having conversations with the kids, around \\u2018mom or dad is actually working.\'\\u201d \\u2013@RemoteRose
Rooting out misinformation (26:44): \\u201cWe are taking a harder line on handling [information related to COVID-19] where it\\u2019s clear that the source is unknown. Particularly, when you\\u2019re a health charity, when you are supporting people who are affected by a condition that could affect their cognition, I think you have to be very careful. With dementia, somebody could have difficulties with being able to process information and they may not be taking those steps to consider the source of information and where it\\u2019s come from.\\u201d \\u2013@serenastweeting
About Our Guests
- Carol Benovic-Bradley, freelance community strategist, currently with\\xa0Zagat\\xa0in the United States
- Rose Barrett, from Ireland, co-founder of\\xa0Grow Remote, a nonprofit with a mission to make remote work local
- Serena Snoad, online community manager at\\xa0Alzheimer\\u2019s Society, a charity in the United Kingdom
Related Links
- Sponsor:\\xa0Discourse, civilized discussion for teams, customers, fans, and communities
- Information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic from the World Health Organization
- Carol Benovic-Bradley
- Zagat
- We Support
- Randwiches
- Help Us Help The Restaurant Community by Zagat and the Infatuation
- Rose Barrett\\xa0on Twitter
- Grow Remote
- ChangeX
- Serena Snoad
- Alzheimer\\u2019s Society Forum
- CIPR\\xa0(Chartered Institute for Public Relations)
- The Simplest Way to Spot Coronavirus Misinformation on Social Media, by Will Oremus
Transcript
Your Thoughts
If you have any thoughts on this episode that you\\u2019d like to share, please leave me a comment,\\xa0send me an email\\xa0or a\\xa0tweet. If you enjoy the show, we would be so grateful if you spread the word and supported\\xa0Community Signal on Patreon.
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