Breathe in, breathe out.

On things that bring us less anxiety on the internet.

Holy heck, friends. How have you been in what feels like the last 20 years?... even if is just been the usual two weeks. And I’m not going to make this a COVID-19 heavy newsletter. You’ve got enough of that.

Rather, today’s newsletter is about what people are doing for good on the internet. Not to make money, but to just have fun, dammit! How to reduce stress, cute animals on the internet. Things that bring us joy.

So, without further adieu: here’s some cool things on the internet that will help you get through this.

Play a cool game on Google Docs

Innovation takes all forms, high tech, low tech, google docs tech. Anthony Smith created an online mystery game through Google Docs. And it’s free!

Unlock the mystery of what happens next by exploring, or create your own. Personally, I’m thrilled to see all the new ways people communicate during the times of COVID-19 while we’re all quarantined online.

Anthony mentioned that this was his first time writing a full story out, but previously created a sort of DnD version using google docs. (I’m curious what all my DnD friends will be thinking up… maybe its time I finally finish writing my own campaign).

Personally, I’ll be creating my own version of this as someone with an avid interest in escape rooms + online communities and hope that you will too! In the meantime, check it out!

Anthony Smith @AnthonyBLSmith

Hi fellow social distancers! I made an Escape Room-style game using... Google Docs. Check it out:

docs.google.comEscapeEscape: A Game by @AnthonyBLSmith Play Instructions FAQ Patch 1.1 Note: “Turn off the little lamp” has become a cute little guestbook for the game, meaning any player can edit that part of the room. Right now, everyone’s being respectful and collaborative, and that’s awesome :] But just...

Animal Crossing is the hope we all need during these times.

Animal Crossing: New Hope is out today! Yay! You’ll be catching me on the internet playing an absolutely ridiculous amount after work today. And I’m not the only one, New Horizons producer hopes that this game can be a light in your world as well. In a quote from the Verge

“We’ve been planning this release for quite some time, so it’s unfortunate that this timing overlapped with what’s currently happening in the world,” New Horizons producer Hisashi Nogami tells The Verge. “I am very disheartened and saddened by the events happening across the world. Considering the timing, we hope that a lot of the Animal Crossing fans will use this as an escape, so they can enjoy themselves during this difficult time.”

and it is, the sound itself has been oddly relieving. When sometimes, going online the world feels like its falling down, the small little details of simply planting a tree or building an island are actually really relaxing.

Hand-drawn comics, via email

I’m completely enamored by the never-ending lack of creativity that people have on the internet, especially in the form of newsletters. I’ve recently discovered Drawing Links. The newsletter focuses on creating weekly comics about daily encounters, with the most recent one being

Twitch comes to the forefront

Twitch, the online video game streaming platform has arisen in popularity in the past few weeks as a leader in not only making us feel connected, but also keeping us entertained. One comedian put on his own Saturday Night Live this past week, and the Twitch organization themselves offered a guide to how streamers can offer help to local charities. If there’s one thing I’m hopeful more, and maybe it comes from taking a bit of a bet on myself — its that nerds on the internet can get shit done + make the world a better place.

Twitch @Twitch

At Twitch, community is at the center of everything we do. With the COVID-19 pandemic creating hardship and uncertainty around the world, many creators have been asking how they can use charity streaming to help those affected. (1/2)

creators on the platform are also recognizing that people are coming to the platform to avoid some COVID-19 commentary, and changing their streams respectively.

Cohh Carnage @CohhCarnage

Quick update here: Going to be removing COVID/virus related emotes from the chat (temporarily). A lot of folks are coming to Twitch to escape that stuff and I want to give them a place to do it. Zero offence to my fellow castes, you do you. Thanks guys! 🤗

Whether you’re leaning into the platform to know more about COVID, or rather leaning out to simply watch someone build an island on Animal Crossing — we support and are here for you.

What does this mean for future communications?

Online communities are important!!! And they can offer connections in this seemingly dark time. But I’m choosing to see all of this as a sign of optimism. We’re learning to connect with people in new ways, and in certain ways realizing what we took for granted. We’re building communities around the globe and learning from each other, and for these reasons, I’m optimistic.

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If you have to cover COVID-19; here’s some tips from Poynter that will help you stay chill.

The one that stuck out to me the most? You are nicer to your coffeemaker than you are to yourself. 

Unplug for a second. Tune out. It’s okay to not look at COVID-19 things all the time, in fact — it’s probably healthy NOT to overindulge yourself on them.

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QUICK LINKS

• Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.

amy @arb

quarantine day ???: my husband just walked into the living room wearing in a t-shirt and nothing else, said "dress for the job you want" and then disappeared

• Play the thing many of us on the internet are going to be wrapped up in for the foreseeable future: Animal Crossing — my friend code is SW-7903-7244-0319

• the HouseParty App has been my recent way to stay in touch with friends across the globe — I’ve been personally playing an insane amount of trivia.

• My local trivia host has been doing trivia live on Instagram — and I’m into it.

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We’ll be back to more tech content this coming week— but I don’t feel as if it’s fair to discuss technology without admitting the current situation that we’re in.

If you need anything internet friends — I’m just an email or tweet away.

Sending so much love to all of you, wash your hands, facetime your mom, tell someone you care about them.

see you on the internet my dudes.