ONLINE DD: New & Improved
For those in Da Nang, Vietnam, it’s been one week now of Lockdown 3.0 and wow…what a difference 9 months can make. The online #dorkdancing experience during Lockdown 2.0 was nothing like this. Some serious progress and improvements have been made. Let’s rewind back to August for more context, so we can more effectively understand and appreciate where we are today.
In late July 2020, Da Nang went into its second lockdown so Dork Dancing moved online for the very first time. By this point, we had been #dorkdancing on the beach every day for only 41 days, for about 1.5 months. We moved online because we wanted to continue introducing the #dorkdancing concept to the Da Nang community and help people with their mental health, communicating the idea that Dork Dancing is a resource that we can carry with us no matter where we are, especially if we find ourselves locked indoors in our rooms.
Now, for the roadblocks. Ethan, who started #dorkdancing, was the only host at the time. He had never hosted Zoom meetings before and he had limited access to technology (only an iPad, no laptop). Because of this, Ethan could not share his music with others so instead everyone danced with muted videos. A handful of dorks really enjoyed the muted experience so they could play their own music. It was something unique, fun, and funny to observe!
But at times Ethan felt disconnected — he hosted every day for 41 days and felt low/ tired on occasion. Ethan knew the online experience could be better but ultimately was happy knowing that a handful of dorks really enjoyed. Despite an imperfect experience, the Dork Dancing online concept seemed to work. And that mattered most! It helped people with their mental health during lockdown. Goal achieved.
Fast forward to today and the experience is entirely different. First and foremost, the audio is now shared, so everyone can dance to the same music at the same time. Additionally, Dork Dancing is now supported by a team of Dork Dancing hosts, there’s 6 of them now! This helps keep the energy higher and adds a greater diversity of playlists. Zoom is now easier to access, with one simple link and no time limits (we have an upgraded account!). Also, the group size online during this first week of lockdown 3.0 (12.5) is about double what it was in lockdown 2.0 (average 6.5).
Moving forward we have more options, too. We now understand how to tap into the power of breakout rooms, allowing multiple spaces to be hosted at once. If our group size gets bigger, then we can offer a few sound possibilities. We could offer again the muted experience, for instance, for dorks who prefer dorking to their own tunes.
This Dork Dancing online experience has been a fascinating journey. Really, it’s a social experiment of sorts. We didn’t know if the idea would work but it seems to be working much more effectively than expected. It’s quite a funny thing to dance like dorks with strangers, or friends, online in front of a video camera, separately but together.
Looking back, it’s hard to feel any way but grateful for the changes and progress that have been made. This post is dedicated particularly to the Dork Dancing host team: Thai, Bence, Tram, Michael, and Mon. These individuals are changing the game, elevating Dork Dancing online to a new level.
As a team, we are excited for possibility ahead, carrying hopes that this ONLINE experiment will help us spread Dork Dancing to new people and communities. After all, anyone with access to internet can join us. If you, the reader, find yourself indoors around 5PM Vietnam time, we really hope to meet you — to see you. We hope that you may give this ONLINE Dork Dancing thing a try.
Dork Dancing is a grassroots mental health initiative, campaign, and community effort. We depend on charitable giving to inspire impact. We hope you may consider supporting by donating.