Zoom is the pandemic’s success story. As lockdowns around the world closed offices and made working from home compulsory for vast sections of the working population, businesses and individuals grasped for a way to carry on at a distance. If it felt like everyone was suddenly using Zoom, that’s because they were: in April, Zoom peaked at over 300 million daily meeting participants – up from ten million in December 2019. Its measurement of “annualised meeting minutes” jumped 20-fold, from 100 billion at the end of January to over two trillion in April. For the quarter ending April 30th, 2020, Zoom reported total revenue of $328.2 million, a 169 per cent increase from the same period last year

 

Covid-19 forced the world of work to adapt. But is this a glimpse of the future of the workplace, or will our love affair with video technology dissolve as soon as the virus recedes, the office re-opens and Zoom fatigue sets in? Given a real choice, will we continue to do business via webcam – or will we leave our microphones permanently on mute?

 

And of course, this has a major impact on the beautiful game, especially how fans gain access to the watching games as well as interacting to support their beloved clubs.

In a test of a fan experience that may become more common in the post-pandemic age, AGF’s fans took in the game not the club’s home field, Ceres Park, but as part of a giant Zoom meeting arranged by the team. Through 90 minutes of ebb and flow action, their shouts were piped into the stadium’s loudspeakers and their faces were projected as a giant video wall of support as the Danish Superliga team sought a way for match-going fans to keep connected even as new hygiene protocols mean it may be several months before fans can set foot inside a stadium again.

The events are perhaps the best example yet of the innovation teams and leagues are being forced to consider as the sports industry grapples with ways to return to competition despite rules banning large public gatherings. For millions of people the world over, the cherished ritual of attending a favourite arena, ballpark or stadium has been upended. In many places, that is likely to remain the case for at least the rest of the year.

 

At Jus ball we are always aiming to innovate and move ahead with the times, with our latest trial zoom training sessions with the Jus little ballers we are turning our attention to the future. Could zoom online sessions be the way of the future and pave the way in which we teach away from the school and extracurricular activities in our child’s daily lives?