Here to stay
Last week we explored the topic of remote work. If you missed it, the short version of the story is that roughly half of all job applications on LinkedIn last month were for remote work positions, way more than the number of remote work positions actually available. That got us thinking about other pandemic trends, many of which haven’t stuck around in the same way.
A time in space
Data from Google reveals how online yoga, home workouts, the breadmaking boom and even searches for wine delivery, have all struggled to maintain their early 2020 momentum as life in America returned to something resembling "normal".
Much to the chagrin of Zoom executives, far fewer people are searching for the video chat tool, making the company's share price chart look oddly similar to the search trend presented above. Indeed, many of the lifestyle changes that could have lingered ended up being short-lived.
One hobby that has maintained some buzz is chess. Searches for “online chess” got a modest bump during the pandemic as competitive board game players turned to web versions of the ancient game to scratch their competitive itch. Then Netflix’s popular show The Queen’s Gambit came along and from there the game has made headline a number of times — thanks in part to a cheating scandal. All told, daily user figures have quintupled to 5 million at Chess.com since 2020, according to the platform.
