I was recently struck by the power of video. The sun was shining and I was sharing a ride with a engineer in his forties when the impressive strength of my smartphone was highlighted in a spectacular way. The engineer-driver had just told me that he had watched tutorials of how to assist his wife giving birth in case the pregnancy would take an unexpected turn. Therefore, he completed his prenatal training online. Learning how to assist your wife delivering a baby on youtube. Why not? The most intense moments and experiences are now at the tip of our fingers at all time. It is as easy to tune in to the live view of a boat Captain in Alaska as it is to watch Snoop Dog perform in 1995. This accessibility has become a part of us in the sense that the screens in our pockets keep us connected and improve the way we experience life.
These figures are from a forecast that was done before the covid-19 crisis so it is realistic to imagine that it would increase even more until we reach the end of 2021. This other study, conducted during the crisis this time, suggests that 44% of millennials and 51% of the generation Z have consumed more online content than they used to. The world is changing and we all have to adapt but one thing that does not change for us at Tribu is the desire to create gathering opportunities for communities. The possibilities to create large gathering in person are limited for now but we have tons of ideas to keep the flame alive and to create unique experiences nevertheless. It has to stay undisclosed for now but you will soon know what it is all about.
An inspiring example
Here is an amazing story about the incredible gathering power a video can have (you already know we love to celebrate communities getting together at Tribu). It happened to Elaine Shallcross, she is 8 years old and lives in Scotland. When she was diagnosed with breast cancer, she decided to fight the illness by setting up a fundraising campaign to help with the research on cancer. Her son-in-law, a skateboarder, came up with the funky idea and she decided to listen to him. The idea was to learn to land a shove-it (or shuvit). You know what trick I am referring to right (see below)?
In order to get the attention of potential donors, she documented her daily trials until the day of her great and touching success. Throughout her campaign #shuvitcancer on different social media platforms she was able to reach out to thousands of skaters and many pros with a huge following such as Tony Hawk, Torey Pudwill and Daewon Song have shared her posts. All that visibility lead her to double the objectives of her campaign and she was able to contribute to the research to find a cure by donating thousands of dollars. In this interview that she gave to Theberrics, she testifies of her amazement for the generous, enthusiast and positive response she obtained from the skateboarding community and industry.
