How to Still Be a Geek in the Middle of a Pandemic

{Header image by Pete Linforth, used courtesy Pixabay, under a Creative Commons license.}

Note: this article was also published on Fandompolis.

By now, you’ve received an email from every company you’ve ever given your email to on how they are dealing with COVID-19 (commonly known as the coronavirus). Additionally, events are being canceled left and right in order to flatten the curve and encourage social isolation to stop the spread.

But you might be wondering what you can do. Here are some suggestions.

First off, follow the advice of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and don’t panic! Stay informed and think rationally about the situation. Here’s The Guardian’s section of their coverage, and it’s a good bet that your local newspaper and NPR affiliate are keeping you apprised of local information in terms of closings and resources.

This is basically con season — and as such, many fan creators and fan-owned shops are going to be losing money as a result. If you can afford it, consider supporting them virtually. The Twitter hashtag #ECCCOnline is being used for artists who would have been at Emerald City Comic Con, while there’s also the hashtag #ArtistAlleyOnline. WonderCon is also doing a “WonderCon Online” to show support for the artists and vendors there. Many smaller shops are offering curbside pickup. Finally, Not Penny’s Cosplay has created “Cancellation Con 2020” on Facebook to create an online support event.

If an event hasn’t been canceled yet, it may not be up to the con. As Anthony Capobianco stated in this Facebook post, many events can’t cancel unless their city or state cancels it, otherwise they lose all deposits. This means a lot of the smaller cons, if not canceled by the hotel/venue or the government, may end up losing significant money. Consider carefully before asking for refunds from events regardless of whether it gets canceled. If they are a nonprofit or smaller event, this could mean the end of the organization or event.

If you are an artist or fan creator yourself, here’s an ongoing list of resources, opportunities, and financial relief options that is available. Additionally, StateraArts has compiled an Emergency Response Resource Directory with links to financial support, advocacy channels, and more. SoundGirls has created a list of resources for those in the audio / concert world.

And while there is the joke that geeks are anti-social by nature, we all know that’s a generalization. If you’re having issues with staying isolated and not knowing what to do, there are plenty of options out there. Here are some links:

• Comcast has started offering their ‘Internet Essentials’ package for free for low-income customers.
• PBS SoCal has created an ‘At-Home Learning’ educational resource list of programming for those who may be seeing schools being canceled.
• Here’s a list of educational resources for those of you with children.
• Here’s another list of resources, ideas, and tools for if you have kids staying home.
• Meanwhile, Class Central is one of the many online resources for free educational classes.
• Open Culture has been doing a great job of spreading information about various free cultural and educational media out there even before we were all told to stay isolated.
• The Metropolitan Opera is offering ‘nightly Met opera streams’ on their website and on their app.
• The Berliner Philharmoniker is doing a digital concert hall.
• In fact, the filker Tom Smith has started a thread of any online concerts and films being offered.
• Some museums offer virtual tours of their exhibits.
• OntheBoards.tv has plenty of theatre, concerts, and movies for free to stream.
• While your local library may be physically closed, it’s a good bet they have plenty of digital resources. Many libraries get you free access to the online streaming platform Kanopy with your library card, which has the entire Criterion Collection, some of the Great Courses Plus, and plenty of documentaries and other cultural outings.
• Be sure to read through my Podcast Review tag on my website, as well as my Audio Recommendation tag on my Tumblr if you’re looking for good audio options, and of course be sure to check out my own podcast.
• And, of course, Archive of Our Own already has a Coronavirus tag. Read your ‘and they were quarantined together’ fics here.

This is, of course, nowhere near the extent of all the resources that are out there. While the Internet may be a horrible place at times, it also shows the best of humanity — and many people are coming forward with ways to help each other out during this time. I’ll try and share resources as I get them on my Facebook pages — both the one for Contents May Vary as well as my Geek Out Los Angeles one. In the meantime, stay geeky!