Card game We’re Not Really Strangers has been designed to help people initiate meaningful offline connections with each other. Its popularity reflects a growing awareness that online interactions can’t always deliver the same depth and authenticity in relationships as IRL ones.

Chatroulette is back. Leaning on the promise of AI to push real conversation and improve diversity across the platform, the app, which had its heyday in the early 2010s, is giving people safe, serendipitous connections to alleviate the monotony and loneliness of lockdown.

As the pandemic saw people gravitate towards online shopping and subscription services, publishing house Hachette UK’s decision to launch the Feminist Book Box is no surprise. Hachette’s move indicates a market pivot into a space dominated by independent businesses and creators.

As a result of the pandemic, the travel industry is introducing new ways for people to travel and feel safe. Airbnb implemented 100 changes in May 2021 to adapt its platform to fit customers who are tethered by work but still want to travel to new places and stay for longer once there.