How badly do you miss physical events?
I know we live in pandemic times and Covid hasn’t been kind to anyone of us.
We got to mask up, use hand sanitizers, keep our distance, can’t meet too many people at a time and most definitely not attend any physical events as much as possible.
Even now, when things are seemingly getting better (I hope), we still got to mask up and keep our distance, no sharing of food and follow a bazillion other rules.
It is painful.
Yes, to businesses, people, hearts and minds.
Humans were born to be social creatures.
We develop as a species based primarily on social interactions and building upon each other’s energy.
Virtual events on zoom and other video platforms have been a life-saver, but it no replacement for good old networking and brainstorming sessions.
Have you counted how many times you said “can you hear me” in the last year?
Creativity and real social interaction is invariably different when you see and hear another human being right in front of you.
Have you tried brainstorming for a brilliant solution to a difficult problem over zoom before?
When was the last time you attended a networking event on zoom or a rave party in the metaverse?
It is fun and novel at first, but then it gets stale quickly and the vibe just doesn’t seem authentic.
I miss physical events.
I miss it like a puppy plopping it cheeks at the window, missing its owner going to work.
Where I can smile, laugh, toast a beer, be accosted by strangers at a party and observe the small intricacies of human behaviours at the corner of my eye, all while having a conversation with a bunch of founders and VCs.
The energy at hackathons used to be electric.
Unicorns and world-changing ideas used to be born out of intensive networking at physical events.
Strangers would become co-founders.
VCs would meet their alpha.
Ideas would turn into action.
You could literally see the progression bar load.
What do we do then?
We just got to keep at it.
Stay strong, follow the rules, minimise the spread and hopefully we can emerge from this pandemic times faster.
Every step, however small, is a step forward towards progress.
I look forward, with all of my heart, to the day we can host 300 pax hackathons and immersive networking gala dinners without masks and restrictions.
Perhaps that day is 1, 5 or maybe even 10 years away.
But I will not give up hoping for it.
Maybe this post is nothing more than a reminder of the sacrifice that others have made.
And that we should make their sacrifice mean something.
Let’s all keep moving forward.
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