Work, Travel & Events in 2022: Our survey results
Work, Travel & Events in 2022: Our survey results
Our report on what "normal" will mean this year
Sree’s newsletter is produced w/ Zach Peterson (@zachprague).
🗞 TUNE IN: Our NYT Readalong guest this week is professor, columnist and bestselling author Steven V. Roberts, talking about his big new book about his wife of 50 years: “Cokie: A Life Well Lived.” Watch this episode, and our archives, at http://readalong.link/youtubeplaylist. The Readalong is sponsored by Muck Rack. Interested in sponsorship opportunities? Email sree@digimentors.group and neil@digimentors.group.
📺 My Digimentors team is working with companies and nonprofits around the world to create virtual and hybrid events. We’ve worked on events for 50 people and 100,000. See our updated brochure. Please talk to us if you need events help or social media consulting (no project too small or too big): sree@digimentors.group.
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I CONFESS TO HAVING NO IDEA WHAT THIS YEAR WILL LOOK LIKE. States and major cities like LA and NYC are rolling back anti-Covid19 measures, and clearly declaring that “normal” will be whatever happens in a few months.
People are traveling again, they are going to the office (at least sometimes), and enjoying meals INSIDE restaurants — but not everyone. It’s a weird mix, and it’s tough to navigate.
To learn more, we put out a simple survey that asked people both how they had been affected by the pandemic, and how they see this year panning out. The 400 responses were interesting, especially regarding opinions of how the last year had been. I expected there to be a relatively broad dissatisfaction with work, or at least some very middle-of-the-road responses, but people were generally satisfied with how work had gone in 2021 - 3.8 out 5, with 5 being “extremely satisfied.”
We must note, of course, that the kind of folks who read this newsletter and take such surveys are typically lucky enough to work mostly remotely (though we certainly have many healthcare workers in our mix).
We also asked questions about work and leisure travel, events and conferences, and asked you to make a few predictions. The report is free, and available here.
Here’s my prediction for 2022:
Even if everything goes back to “normal,” events have been permanently transformed.
There will be lots of in-person events, which people crave.But the era of all speakers happily flying for hours to do a 45-minute panel are over. Instead, expect featured speakers to do deeper engagements and many panelists to so just Zoom in.
I once flew 14 hours to Istanbul for 14 minutes on stage.
I won’t be doing that again!
I’d love to hear yours — email me, tweet at me, or leave a comment at the end of the newsletter.
More importantly — read what your peers have to say! And big congrats to Kara Gavin (@karag) for winning our survey contest. An Amazon gift card is on the way to her.
- Sree Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn | YouTube / Cameo
A Word About RealEats From Armory Square Ventures
We can't believe it but it's true.
Portfolio company RealEats has shipped over 1,500,000 meals, recently launched in California and now has delivery coverage throughout most of the lower 48 states.
If you haven't already, take a look at the RealEats website to check out a fresh, organic, substantive menu for an easy 6-minute meal you won't forget. For more, see our recent Medium post on the RealEats story.
And as RealEats CEO Dan Wise likes to say: Keep those meals real. We hear you, Dan. And we agree.
Follow RealEats on Twitter @realeatsfood.
#SMWKND is Back!
Social Media Weekend (#SMWKND) is coming in June, and my Digimentors team is on the hunt for partners, sponsors, and a venue for an in-person component. I've been doing #SMWKND since 2011, and we're really looking forward to getting back to something approaching normal.
Stay tuned, and get in touch with me at sree@digimentors.group and Linda Bernstein at linda@digimentors.group, to discuss how we can work together. Details coming to smwknd.com.
Tech Tip w/ @newyorkbob: Samsung Jettisons Note from Smartphone Galaxy
By Robert S. Anthony
Each week, veteran tech journalist Bob Anthony shares a tech tip you don’t want to miss. Follow him @newyorkbob.
While Apple is legendary for its ability to keep a secret, not so much for Android smartphone makers. So much information had leaked about Samsung’s new Galaxy S22 series smartphones over the past few months that last week’s official unveiling was the definition of anticlimactic.
The Galaxy S22 smartphones offer a stunning array of new calling and imaging features, but they also mark the official end of the line for Samsung’s Note brand, once the flagship of Samsung’s lineup. Aside from being huge, Notes were notable for the sophisticated styli that came with them—the Samsung S-Pen, which offers multiple control and editing features, some of which work without even touching the pen to the screen.
With powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processors, 5G network compatibility and sophisticated cameras with enhanced night photography features, the Samsung Galaxy S22 (6.1-inch display) and Galaxy S22+ (6.6-inch screen) represent impressive additions to the Galaxy S series. However, the top-of-the-line Galaxy S22 Ultra (6.8-inch screen) adds something the Galaxy S series has never had: the S-Pen. Even the unit’s official page refers to its “Note-worthy new look.”
The S-Pen works with a Sketch app which can quickly transform writing into text that can be imported into other apps. The slim S-Pen can detect 4,096 pressure levels, thus enabling it to change the thickness of virtual ink depending on the pressure applied to the screen.
The 8-ounce Galaxy S22 Ultra comes with a 40-megapixel (MP) front camera while the rear camera array includes a 108MP wide-angle, a 12MP ultra-wide, a 10MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom and another 10MP telephoto with 10x optical zoom. Its 6.8-inch, 1,440-by-3,088-pixel, 120Hz display is actually smaller than the 6.9-inch screen with the same resolution in the 2020-vintage Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, but the net result is a slightly sharper screen.
The end of the Note line may have started in August 2016 with the debut of the Note 7, which quickly gained notoriety for the frequency with which its batteries would ignite due to an internal design flaw. Things got so bad that the US Department of Transportation banned it from all flights and Samsung ultimately recalled all Note 7s worldwide. Later Notes fared much better, but the bruise to the brand took time to heal.
While the Note smartphone brand will fade into history, its features—including its hefty price tag—will live on. The $1,199 Galaxy S22 Ultra can be preordered now and will ship Feb. 25.
#WorthyThread
This show is an absolute must-watch: #EverythingsGonnaBeAllWhite. It’s on Showtime, where my friend Vinnie Malhotra (@vinniemalhotra) is EVP of nonfiction programming. Read about the pivotal role he played in making Sacha Jenkins’s vision come to life - and how you can watch the first episode free, even without Showtime.
Odds & Ends
🩺 Be sure to check out our “She’s On Call” podcast, with surgeons Sujana Chandrasekhar, MD (@DrSujanaENT), and Marina Kurian, MD (@MarinaKurian) — watch the live show on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.
🗞 TUNE IN: Our NYT Readalong guest this week is professor, columnist and bestselling author Steven V. Roberts, talking about his big new book about his wife of 50 years: “Cokie: A Life Well Lived.” Watch this episode, and our archives, at http://readalong.link/youtubeplaylist. The Readalong is sponsored by Muck Rack. Interested in sponsorship opportunities? Email sree@digimentors.group and neil@digimentors.group.
👀 Did we miss anything? Make a mistake? Do you have an idea for anything we’re up to? Let’s collaborate! sree@sree.net and please connect w/ me: Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn | YouTube / Cameo.