Author: Lee Cockrell
These are tough days and we are all experiencing them in different ways. Some out of work, some overworked. Some isolated with no one and others in homes with more people and time than they have spent together. The thing that we have in common is the lost connections to our community - whether that is a church, a local pub, work friends, school friends, mom friends, workout groups, your regular dry cleaners, nail salon or barber shop. EVERYONE has a community and this virus has taken that away from us.
As state after state continue to shut down, isolating us even more, we may feel lonely, scared and disconnected.
Technology has been playing a huge role in this and trying to keep us as united as possible. We have seen celebrities put on concerts in their homes, creating Facebook or online happy hours with friends, and even transitioned our schooling to online programs. We are coming together in ways that technology will allow, and that is a beautiful thing.
Print has begun to stand out the past few years and grown as people have become tired of technology. People have screen fatigue and want a break from the inundation of ads and chatter that technology now presents in every area. Emails, social media, news outlets…PRINT offers the exact opposite. It gives space and time, but still provides a way to connect and communicate a call to action.
In a world where we feel totally disconnected, print connects us.
In a world where we can’t reach out and touch someone, literally we can touch print. Print is a more important way than ever to communicate to our donors and consumers, as we are all longing for a way to break free from the screens and still feel connected somehow. Print can provide community . The number one activity children did last week was write letters to seniors in nursing homes and family members they couldn’t see.
As the days pass, and we continue to evolve in this new world, take advantage of print and paper and the way that it can continue to connect us, communicate and provide a sense of community. That is really all we want, with or without the virus.