TLDR: Check out Lunchclub, I’m loving it. Coronas4CoronaVirus and Connect.Club look cool too but I can’t vouch for those because I haven’t personally tried them yet.

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We are living in quite some times (I’m sure you have heard of this a million times already).

Whether you a working from home or lost your job and are looking for work, chances are you are staying cooped-up most of the day in your home.

Maybe you are doing fantastic so far. Or maybe you had a terrific start, but are starting to grow tired. Or maybe you had a terrible start, but now are making the most out of Human Life 2020.

But there seems to be a pretty universal challenge that all of us has during these times, me included.

It’s meeting with people.

In my case, networking.

Prior to the quarantine, I frequented networking events, conferences, and the like. I believe meeting different people and learning from various walks of life is a way of development. If anything, expanding your network allows you to plant the seeds for future career opportunities.

But then this whole pandemic happened, and look where we are.

Networking? That’s pretty much thrown out the window. Heck, most of don’t even meet our friends in-person anymore. Video chats have quickly become the norm. If we are feeling brave enough, we will squeeze in a walk or a picnic together here and there while taking care to not get a ticket. Meeting with friends was a casual pleasure we took for granted. Now? It still is a simple pleasure, but an extremely grateful one.

So does this mean that I should just sit still and remain stagnant until the situation passes? You could. Use the quarantine as an excuse for your slough.

But for those of us that want to keep up the grind? Are there ways for us to meet people without coming off as some crazy dude who might give off the virus?

I looked around for some answers and found these platforms. I present to you, Networking in 2020!

Lunchclub

Lunchclub is an AI-powered platform that matches professionals for a short 45-minute 1:1 meeting.

It’s really easy and simple to sign up and get your first curated meeting.

You simply indicate your interests, what you are looking for (meeting people, looking for a job, finding co-founders, discussing projects, etc) and the platform takes care of the rest.

I gave it a try. The experience is very smooth. I recommend this to others who would like to network.

It’s an invitation-only platform, and the waiting list can be very long. Use my invitation link if you would like to move up the ladder :)

Coronas4CoronaVirus

Coronas4CoronaVirus is a weekly Zoom party. Every Saturday at 9 PM Eastern Time, people are invited to simply click on the button to join the Zoom meeting / party. In order to keep the groups relevant and fun, people are divided into groups of 5-6. After 15 minutes, everyone regroups again, chat, divide into different groups, chat, regroup, etc.

I have’t tried it yet but I think it would be a fun experience for those of you that crave some social interaction.

Connect.Club

A really creative way to host video calls. Has a game-feel to it. Basically your camera displays your face on a circular video frame that you can control to “move around” in virtual places that have different themes. Plus, you will only hear people that are close to you too, which adds to the “realism” aspect of the game, I guess.

I haven’t tried it because I don’t have an IPhone (boo!). I would love to explore how smooth and easy-going it is to meet new people there, or if this app is designed mainly for friends you already know.

Nonetheless, why not give it a try if you have an IPhone?

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That’s all! Hope you found an interesting activity to try out.

Hang on in there (I’m sure you heard this a million times too).

Happy networking!