The Memorial Day Weekend is fast approaching – the official kick off of summer, despite the fact that the official start of the season is still a few weeks away. Given all of the restrictions on our movements and impediments to travel, and since different rules apply in different places, we know that many of you can’t or aren’t traveling and perhaps haven’t been able to go see friends and loved ones for quite some time now, but not to worry: in the event that we’re ever in a lockdown situation again, Google is on the case.

 

As Futurism says, “they’re now debuting a new video chat system they’re calling “Project Starline,”… a dystopic 3D prison-style video chat… So basically, they’ve re-invented the virtual prison visitation phone booth.”

 

Is this how Google sees the future? People happily communicating in a virtual prison? Considering this and the deplatformings on YouTube, just a bit obvious, no, Google? Pay attention, out there: the lockdowns made it obvious enough – orange is not the new black.

 

Admittedly, we are having a bit of fun here today.

 

In all fairness, this sort of technology could certainly be a real-life game-changer in telemedicine and rural medicine, for example. The tech is still in development for consumers, as it is currently prohibitively expensive, so if you do plan to see friends/family and need a break from Zoom, you might just have to do some traveling. Although as Futurism pointed out, Google isn’t the only company focused on “real-time 3D renderings.” This space is red-hot, especially given that, despite the fact that the world seems to be opening up again, many people have pre Whole Earth Flu homes and settled into other parts of the country and/or the state, and they may not have plans to go back, be it due to rising crime rates in the places from whence they came, or the quality of life that their new-found locations have to offer – or the possibility of finally having achieved that work-life balance, which we’ve mentioned before and will say again: unintended consequences…

 

Seems that people have moved on in many senses of the term.

 

The so-called ‘new normal’ appears to be an evolving landscape. As one of the members of this latter-day diaspora, we find ourselves spending time on Next Door to network, in addition to the usual LinkedIn and Clubhouse, so, again, pay attention, entrepreneurs: like all plans, the ‘New Normal’ may be in something of a pivot. As to the future of social interaction, we’re not quite convinced that a Google prison is going to cut it, but it does make you wonder about Google’s vision of the next stage of social. Then again, Google never has been able to distinguish itself in the world of social, or even video chat for that matter, despite the fact that Google Meet is sitting right there in gmail.

 

People will assess situations – and will determine their reactions to them – in their own ways. Don’t think ‘New Normal’ – think ‘New Lifestyle.’

 

Wishing you all a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend, and whether you’re heading out of town or will be heads down considering and possibly brainstorming on new opportunities arising from this shifting landscape, whatever you do, at least at some point, do make sure that you take the time to sit back and enjoy the ride as we move onward and forward.