Our New Blog Series Exploring Tech In The Time Of COVID

from the techdirt-in-the-time-of-covid dept

It should be no secret at all that the world is a different place than it was just a few months ago, thanks to the novel coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19. We've been doing our best to deal with these trying times, as I hope you are as well. One thing we've noticed over the last few months is the role of technology in these crazy times, leading myself to often wonder what this kind of crisis would have looked like if even only a decade ago. As we were seeing more and more stories highlighting the amazing ways in which technology has been a huge (sometimes literal) lifesaver, we thought it would be worth launching a new "edition" on our site, focused on the role technology has played during this pandemic.

We're not even entirely sure what sorts of stories we'll see in this section, but the intersection of the pandemic and the technology world is something that is worth exploring. Some of the stories out there about tech and COVID may be more obvious than others (really, how many stories can there be about how much Zoom everyone is using?), but we're going to try to dig a bit deeper, and explore the perhaps more unexpected ways in which technology is playing a role in our everyday lives under lockdown, as well as how technology is changing how businesses operate, and (perhaps most importantly) the role of technology in response to the pandemic itself (mitigating, treating, and -- most hopefully -- curing the disease).

This, like so much of what we do, is an experiment and we're excited to see where it goes. The posts will appear right here on Techdirt, or you can check them out directly (as they are posted) in a new dedicated tab up top.

We're excited that the Charles Koch Institute has agreed to be our launch sponsor for this new section of the site. As its Executive Director, Derek Johnson said: "We are excited to continue our support of Techdirt, especially during this unique moment when we're likely to see significant creative destruction and experimentation with new business models in digital media. Innovation has been a force for good throughout human history, a trend especially evident today. Telling the story of how American individuals and institutions are leveraging digital tools during the coronavirus pandemic will reinforce that, as a society, we remain open to exploring creative applications of technology and ingenuity."

That perfectly sums up our general viewpoint on the importance of innovation in so many different aspects of our life -- and we expect it to be an educational journey to explore exactly how that innovative spirit plays out in helping get us through a massive pandemic.

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Filed Under: covid-19, innovation, technology