Digital Pandemic
“The coronavirus pandemic has caused changes - primarily wrought by technology - that have been evolving over the years, that were suddenly catapulted forward by a decade”
As Covid-19 started to spread around the world in early 2020, I began to document what would become the largest pandemic in modern history - through my opinion writing, podcasts discussions, interviews, original research and panel discussions. Due out in spring 2021, my first book - Digital Pandemic: How Technology Went From Bad to Good, delves into how technology acted as an accelerant for many of the trends that existed previous to Covid - from working from home and the mass adoption of wearable technology to disruptions to travel, food delivery, health consultations and relationships. Peppered with colourful, real life anecdotes, and written in real time, the book will offer a fresh understanding of one of the most consequential events of our time.
Written in an unconventional style, the book opens with The Big Read - a compelling essay chronicling some of the major trends that surfaced in the past year, including how the pandemic exposed glaring inequalities - including in access to technology. Who benefitted big time, and who didn’t. It then moves onto bite-sized, snack-able essays on topics ranging from the impact of the pandemic on the news business, diplomacy and online behaviour. A separate chapter delves into how Singapore managed to sling the pandemic. Another on how the pandemic presented the Chinese Communist Party - on the eve of its one hundred anniversary - with its “Chernobyl moment.”
My chapter, ‘Broken News',’ takes a sober look at how the news business has been transformed during this pandemic. Will those free commuter tabloids ever re-appear? Will newsroom beancounters raise the bar so high that foreign reporting trips or pricey documentary making will become a thing of the past? In this and other chapters I look at how strongmen and dictators have leveraged the pandemic to level the playing field in their favour. Looking at this last phenomenon, I look at how social media and the Internet have become the ultimate disruptive force for both good and evil.
As the pandemic took hold, a staggering 40 million people in Southeast Asia logged into the internet for the first time. I discuss this massive adoption spurt and point out some of the dangers lurking for these technology newbies.
Crucially, the book offers my future-gazing on what the ‘new normal’ will look like.
Digital Pandemic - now available in digital and print formats. Coming soon: audio edition. To learn more and to purchase, click here
“Covid-19 is the first global pandemic to hit just as technology became embedded into pretty much every aspect of our lives. To the extent that humans insert microchips into their bodies in order to store health data and access homes, cars and gyms. And yes - even swap LinkedIn details at networking parties with a touch-less wave of the hand.
Luckily for much of humanity, digital services came of age just in time to enable us to keep physically distanced from others for days, weeks or even months. Apps popped up to enable us to seamlessly order our next meal, consult a doctor and even surreptitiously monitor guests’ temperatures as they enter our homes.
The pandemic pushed ‘wearables’ to come of age far faster. From Singapore - where Bluetooth disks were distributed to kids and seniors to monitor exposure - to the US where a wearable sensor ‘bio-button’ monitors your vitals 1,440 times-a-day. Just a click away: a mask with a built-in sensor and filter which tracks your breathing rate and air-quality index.”