How Remote Communication Keeps Life Going during COVID-19

Getting Creative with Remote Life

When life gets shaken up, people get creative. Like those at many companies, PubNubbers are finding creative ways to keep themselves, and family, busy while spending most of their time at home to stay safe. For us, this has included surfing, hiking, learning Urdu, setting up home gyms, and more. 

As a company, we’ve seen trends in the way people are adapting to remote life, thanks to clients that use our technology for all sorts of things around the world. As life has migrated online, we’ve been able to see the services people are using to help structure their days and keep life moving. 

By analyzing the usage of the PubNub network, we’ve started to see the technologies that let people get creative in order to continue their daily lives digitally. We’ve seen how educators have leveraged remote learning applications to reach students at home. Telemedicine services have allowed patients and doctors to communicate. Finally, live-events services have ensured that life goes on in key ways, and that cultural, social, and spiritual life can continue.

Virtual Learning 

E-Learning and educational technology comes in two main flavors: technology to aid within the classroom itself, and services that enable remote learning. As schools move classes online, apps that facilitate video lectures, like Echo360, and platforms for e-learning, like those offered by Learncube, Vista Higher Learning, and ClassDojo, have seen an upward trend in usage. These services offer video lectures, plus features that allow teachers to keep track of how effective their lessons are, answer questions, and give and grade assignments. 

It’s up to E-Learning services to support organic, immediate interaction to make sure lessons are effective. 

Looking ahead, as the next phase of the school year will take place online, more teachers will adopt tools like these. As they do so, it’s up to these services to support organic, immediate interaction to make sure lessons are effective. 

Telemedicine

Telemedicine services are on the frontline of the present moment. HIPAA-compliant, virtual consultations via video, or via text-based chat like Doxy.me, MaNaDr, and Akira.md allow doctors and healthcare professionals to screen symptoms, perform routine check-ups remotely, and otherwise allow patients to meet with their doctors from home. This lightens the load on healthcare facilities, reducing the risk of patient exposure, and allowing a larger volume of cases to be evaluated. 

Rather than drive to clinics, hospitals, and doctor’s offices, patients are leveraging telehealth apps for routine check-ups, prescription refills, and mental health services.

 But, especially when it comes to helping patients find equilibrium and adjust to new conditions, telemedicine plays an important role. Rather than drive to clinics, hospitals, and doctor’s offices, patients are leveraging telehealth apps for routine check-ups, prescription refills, and mental health services. This helps create a vital continuity, ensuring that they get the care they need to keep their lives on track.

Daily Routines Go Digital

 Beyond work and school, our schedules are commonly structured around a few other key venues: gyms, for example, and places of worship. Additionally, industries and social groups hang on major events like conferences, which have all but migrated to digital versions this year. 

 At-home fitness companies like Mirror have seen dramatic spikes in usage, owing to their product’s combination of exercise and the promise of a social, communal class. Life.Church, which provides a platform for churches to hold services digitally, has also seen an uptick in usage, indicating that community leaders and congregants alike have taken the initiative to reimagine their spiritual life through a digital venue. 

Job fairs, trade shows, conferences, and festivals of all sizes have reimagined themselves to move online.

When it comes to bigger events, conferences like the Games Developer Conference have opted to host virtual talks through Twitch, and product announcements like those from Apple come via digital releases with promotional material. Through virtual event platforms like Netshow.me, Amagi, Shindig, and StagIt, and vFairs, we’ve seen how job fairs, trade shows, conferences, and festivals of all sizes have reimagined themselves to move online. Beyond presentations, these events have adopted a platform that offers rich interactions like live chat, letting conference goers connect, interact, and network. 

 This is a broad category, but it’s one that we find both surprising and insightful. Losing out on access to the places, communities, and activities we’re used to is one of the major disruptions of the day. 

Takeaways

As we’ve gotten to see from our brief usage analysis across industries, a number of apps and services are rising to the occasion.

In healthcare, telemedicine services are front-and-center in the way doctors, patients, and other healthcare workers are adjusting. For education, apps and services that enable remote learning are central to finishing out the school-year strong. And, for daily life, products that support live events are bringing home everything from religious services to conferences and daily workouts.

These services embrace an array of features like notifications, organic interactions, and responsive chat, providing human-speed, real-time experiences. Each of these services ultimately gives people a way to continue their lives, careers, and plans with less disruption.