OVERVIEW AND CONCEPT
Life After the Great Dispruption covers six interrelated topics and weaves them into a single narrative to guide readers on how to navigate the post-pandemic world.
There’s a new playbook, new guidelines and new rules that are being written and rewritten every day. Life After the Great Discruption presents a critical review of the challenges that have taken place around the world and provides guidance on subjects like tecnology, travel, finance, health and wellness, and the new hybrid work enfironment. This book will help readers get back on track personally and professionally, given the dynamic changes in work, social and family relationships.
With the new me-too movement on steroids, cutural appropriation, cancel-culture, misinformation, "fat-shaming" and political upheavals reshaping our lives, this handbook offers shorcuts to negotiate the attitude adjustments necessary to stay in the game.
Our vocabulary has grown commensurate with the changes in technology, digital currency, and gender identity and has given birth to new jargon and terminology. The term currency has been redefined and expanded to include social capital, cryptocurrency and digital assets.
With a 24/7 online world, it is important to be aware of data mining, cookies and other predatory marketing to ensure personal and financial safety. This book will instruct readers on how to use fact-checking tools to determine the credibility of sources and build personal growth. We must read the small print to understand the jargon of exploitation, misinformation, and scams to avoid the pitfalls of ignorance.
In easy-to-understand terms, this book will help you adapt to these tectonic changes in post-pandemic America.
THE PANDEMIC - ITS RIPPLE EFFECT ON SOCIETY AND CULTURE
In our pre-pandemic world, the possibility of an epidemic of the proportions we have experienced seemed beyond imagination. At the onset, we faced shortages and hoarding of basic goods and services. Before the pandemic, it was rare to see fleets of Amazon trucks, which are now as commonplace as USPS, FedEx, or UPS in this delivery-driven economy.
Employee shortages wreaked havoc on the global supply chain, and we have seen rising inflation the likes which have not been experienced in decades. During this crisis, companies modified their business models to meet these challenges which also fueled technological advances in automation creating new products and services. There are other consequences of the ripple effect, including the backlog of computer chips making electronics and new vehicles scarce. This has driven technological advances in automation. At the outset, suburban housing prices dropped as people exited for safer space and early retirement. As people moved back to the cities, pricing climbed to record highs.
Retailers from restaurants to gyms were held hostage to shifting mandates. Movie theaters closed their doors for extended periods of time and are still trying to lure consumers back to the big screen, while many restaurants reinvented themselves and took advantage of relaxed zoning rules providing takeout and sidewalk options. According to the National Restaurant Association, approximately 80,000 restaurants nationwide initially closed their doors, unable to hang in there with an unpredictable future. Some restaurants moved to delivery-only models and closed their doors to in-house dining permanently. New public offerings like Doordash surfaced to join the ranks of others like Grubhub and UberEasts to provide home delivery.
The enormous “ripple effect” includes the shift to hybrid and remote work, which changed the Cityscape as cities became greener and more sustainable during the early exodus of residents at the beginning of the Pandemic. Housing and commercial real estate companies were forced to rethink how people work and live. Some office buildings converted to residential space and many employees demanded to work remotely, or in a hybrid model. All these trends, created or accelerated by the pandemic have reshaped our cities, our personal lives and our society at large.
This book will highlight opportunities for employment in this shifting workplace and offer tips to address other life issues impacted by the ripple effect.
CHAPTER GUIDE
Each chapter is broken into these parts:
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Chapter Overview
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Chapter Content
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Recommendations
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Case Studies
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Expert Commentary and/or Interviews
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Five Tips for Success
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Takeaways and Avoiding Scams
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Further Reading
CHAPTER SUMMARIES
1. THE HYBRID WORKPLACE (*see sample chapter)
Overview: The Challenge of Reinventing Yourself in These Changing Times
This chapter will speak to the challenges for those who have faced job displacement. The big question is, “What do I do now and how to get there"? When assessing the current alternatives in the job market, having a game plan is essential. This chapter will deliver a much-needed guide on navigating its complexity and rapid shift to hybrid, remote and nomadic work, helping readers to match their skills to the right job opportunities.
There have always been some people who have rejected traditional work environments. With the increase in diverse work options, there is a growing community of “digital nomads”, numbering more than 15 million in 2021 who choose to work remotely while traveling the world. These people are sometimes independent contractors, working for freelance platforms, contributing to blogs, podcasts and can be “influencers” giving a world perspective. They may also be employed by corporations, working from home, cafes, or shared offices.
The authors have had several careers and successfully adapted to changes in the marketplace long before the Pandemic. Adria Belport reinvented her marketing company after the 2008 financial crisis and has worked remotely for over 25 years. She also expanded her professional experience by becoming a Nationally Certified EMT and Justice of the Peace. Allen Swerdlowe, whose main expertise is as an architect, became a Fulbright Specialist offering him the ability to work with professionals around the world. His diverse professional portfolio includes creating films for the Discovery Channel and Paramount Pictures as well as his experience in the medical management profession using data and demographics as the world of medicine shifted online.
Takeaway: This chapter will provide the reader with the tools to use to determine and find new career paths.
Contributor: Eric Koslow, Founder, V-STream, Co-Founder and CTO Lattice, a pioneer of people success management platforms for coporations.
2. TECHNOLOGY & ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Overview: How technology and artifical intelligence are revolutionizing our lives.
This chapter will take a deep dive into the technology revolution. It will discuss the innovations in artificial intelligence, smart systems, smart homes, smart cars and how these devices can be controlled through apps on a smartphone. It will explain the operation of smart devices, and the overwhelming choices of technology in the home.
Rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, fueled by the sparring of Microsoft's Chatbot and Google's Bard, their respective AI platforms, are changing the way we interact with the world and shaping the future through automation.
It is already having a transformative impact on business and our personal ives. There is a growing chorus of experts who are also speaking out about the serious risks to humanity despite the potential breakthroughs in medicine and education. Various inductries are alreay testing the integrration of AI in their businesses. Architects have begun to use AI to develop visulatizations of their projects and doctors are testing the use of AI to respond to patient queries on their interactive portals.
Although the innovations in artificial intelligence can have a transformative impact on business and personal lives to free up the traditional workforce from repetitive and dangerous tasks and maximize productivity, it has the potential to cost lots of workers their jobs.
With the importance of understanding and accessing new technology, this chapter will guide the reader in how to acces what is new. From your mobile phone, you can now start your car, turn your lights on, adjust your window shades, change your thermostat settings, and even mow your lawn. This chapter will discuss innovations that are reinventing kitchens and are becoming welcome additions to our fast-paced lives. It will also preview new scanning technologies that will take place inside the refrigerator that will seamlessly notify food delivery services of current needs. It will be written in an easy-to-follow format with links to more comprehensive information.
Takeaway: Strap in, brace yourself and get ready for a fun ride through the present and future and how you can ease into the benefits of updating your life.
Contributor: David Pogue, Emmy Award winning correspondent for CBS News Sunday Morning, author of "Crowdwise", New York Times Living Section, host of NOVA Specials and writer of various "How-To" books.
3. THE CULTURE WARS
Overview: A Guide to Understanding and Talking Across the Generations, The New Pronouns and New Vocabulary -- The Urban Dictionary and Web 3.0
This chapter will help translate the new vocabulary that has emerged alongside the social upheaval of the last couple of decades. New vocabulary and pronouns have evolved and altered the way we interact with one another personally and professionally.
This transition has penetrated every facet of social interaction, forcing changes in everything from employment applications, and registration forms, to restroom signage and has disrupted the status quo at college campuses and corporations creating confusion for many.
Although this may be generational and cultural, inclusivity seems to be the new mantra. LBGTQ has added + to include the growing list of how people identify. New vocabulary has punctuated our conversations. Words like “woke” have become common parlance drawing increasing attention of racial and social justice. As a community, we need to find a way to adapt and integrate this new language in an understandable and acceptable manner.
Takeaway: This chapter will provide a guide to the new vocabulary and new pronouns that are an integral part of this social revolution along with an abbreviated urban dictionary to help readers participate in this changing conversation.
4. HEALTHCARE 2.0
Overview: The Growth of Concierge and Telemedicine, the evolution of Smart Medical Devices, the impact of Artifical Intellgience on Medicine, and the Cost of and Monetization of HealthCare.
This chapter will explain the health care system, medical insurance, and the impact of artificial intellignece on medical research and treatment. To help navigate this complex network, the tools of AARP. healthcare consultants and providers will be shared to offer the best way to access healthcare, using insurance policies, medicare, medicaid and/or self-pay alternatives. It will examine insurance for what it is and what it is not. It will also discuss how, when, and where to purchase coverage and how to match that coverage to individual needs. Readers will learn to save on medications by accessing discount programs and using alternative marketplaces.
A guide to new healthcare apps will be provided along with a review of state-of-the-art smart devices which monitor medical conditions such as cardiac care, oxygen saturation and blood sugar levels that can send information directly to doctors via smartphones and smart watches.
Takeaway: What's new in healthcare, smart devices and telemedicine
5. RESETTING TRAVEL
Overview: Taking the mystery out of traveling on a budget, taking advantage of frequent flyer miles, and navigating discount travel platforms.
This chapter will take the confusion out of purchasing travel online. Travel choices are clouded by multiple websites, advertisements and other come-ons presented when trying to make a simple reservation and juggling a complex itinerary.
This chapter will give you the know-how to book, (even first class), using less money and more imagination. It will explain how to find the best travel sites, get the best deals, and take advantage of timely promotions. And, most importantly, how to upgrade to the hotel penthouse for the cost of a standard room – or even get three open seats in a row in a crowded airplane.
It will take a deep dive into accumulating and trading points and miles, finding opportunities for free travel and upgrading to the best seats and suites. The authors have been testing these propositions and have collectively traveled to more than 100 countries and 50 states.
Takeaway: This is a must read for anyone who travels to maximize their travel experience.
Contributor: Brian Kelly, aka “The Points Guy”, who has made his living analyzing how to collect and use points and miles to travel around the world in comfort and style.
6. DIGITAL BANKING & CRYPTO
Overview: Why digital banking and crypto currency are changing the way we live and handle transactions.
Venmo and Zelle Apps, used for peer-to-peer mobile payments, have completely revolutionized the way we handle transactions. These digital banking solutions allow for the quick exchange of funds and are leading the way to a cashless economy. Even mom and pop businesses have begun to accept payment on these platforms and countries like Sweden have all but eliminated the use of hard currency.
Wallets have become virtual and “digital wallets” can hold cash, credit cards, movie and travel tickets, boarding passes, and affinity cards all in a single and easily accessible app. With these apps, you can send and receive peer-to-peer payments, purchase goods, and send money to international accounts.
Another part of this revolution is Cryptocurrency aka “Crypto”, a borderless means of payment, like special digital assets or collectibles like art. Known as NFTs or non-fungilble tokens, they have become a slippery slope amidst the collapse of FTX, one of the largest crypto exchanges and the scndal involving its' founder, Sam Bankman Fried. The jury is out on the future of Crypto which has its own language. This chapter will offer a mini guide to digital banking and crypto and the new vocabulary that has evolved. It will explain terms like crypto, bitcoin, NFT, blockchain, crowdfunding, the Metaverse, and much more.
Takeaway: It is unavoidable not to bump up against this new language and the ways in which it is changing our everyday life. This book offers an indispensable guide to understanding this new landscape.
Contributor: Chris Casey, Emmy Award winning, Executive Producer and Director, ABC and the Walt Disney Company. Producer of the ABC documentary in 2022, "NFT's: Enter the Metaverse".
READERSHIP/TARGET MARKET
The Post Pandemic Handbook targets people who are challenged by rapidly changing information systems and technology. Our primary audience is Generation X and Baby Boomers who have lost, or never found comfort, and versatility with technology, social media, and other societal changes. This book will identify best sources and methods for keeping pace with changes in information, technology, and know-how. It will be a valuable resource for those who want to get value for their money, find smart deals and learn about the power of negotiation.
WHY WOULD PEOPLE BUY THIS BOOK?
We have entered a new world. Many things have changed at an astonishing pace and will continue to do so in unexpected ways. In the past, changes were incremental and didn't necessarily require an immediate response. We must now face the global challenge of learning, re-learning and responding to situations with new technology and language.
In response to this shift, it is more important than ever to be informed of the new rules and expectations. As we venture back to restaurants, theaters, hotels, concerts, galleries and airports, it is essential to be informed of the latest platforms, and equipped with tools and apps that provide the most up-to-date technology and information. Many people have been preoccupied and have missed some of these monumental changes that have taken place in the post-pandemic world.
Examples abound. In travel, there’s a world beyond automated check-in, airport lounges, duty-free shops, frequent flyer miles and TSA status. Worthy of note are new protocols like Clear and Global Entry. Restroom signage is being modified to include all gender, WC, whatever and other labels. References to they, them, and non-binary are now present in all forms and media. And the banking world has shifted to digital transactions like Venmo or Zelle and conversations about Crypto and NFTs are hard to ignore, but not necessarily understood.
This Post Pandemic Handbook delivers much-needed information on “how to” navigate these changes in a succinct, easy-to-read, and digestible format.
WHY IS THIS THE RIGHT TIMING FOR THE BOOK?
As this pandemic-driven earthquake subsides, we are now seeing the aftershocks. We are at the precipice of engaging with unforeseen, unexpected, and unprecedented challenges in this post pandemic world. The rules of the game have changed to reflect new technology, the meterological growth of artificaila intelligence, new social engagement, new industries, and even new laws — the outgrowth of this life-changing event is like waking up in a time warp. We must be prepared for the unexpected and take advantage of the new opportunities.
This book is an aggregation of endless hours of research and interviews. Those who take advantage of the tips we offer will be better prepared to meet these challenges and will find it an indispensable resource for a practical method of navigating the world as it is today.
Fareed Zakaria’s book, "Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World", highlights the political, social, and technological impact of the Pandemic. Michele Green’s book, "Shaping Your New Normal", written from the perspective of a Life Coach is about managing anxiety and creating a life-plan for the post-pandemic world.
Most of the post-pandemic books offer observations on single subjects like the new workforce or the social fallout specific to the author's expertise. Life After the Great Discruption discusses six interrelated topics and weaves them into a single narrative to guide readers on how to navigate hybrid work, technology, medicine, cultural shifts, travel and digital banking.
Competitive Analysis - Post Pandemic Books
https://electricliterature.com/7-books-about-navigating-a-post-pandemic-world/
https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393542134
https://https://www.amazon.com/Lessons-Post-Pandemic-World-Fareed-Zakaria/dp/0393542130
MANUSCRIPT SPECIFICATIONS
Proposed Book Length: 150-200 pages.
Estimated Delivery Date: Spring 2023
PRESS/MEDIA/INFLUENCERS & DIGITAL MARKETING
To generate buzz, the authors will participate in public relation efforts, interviews, podcasts, and social media to help promote the book. They will interview high-profile contacts, include their expertise on relevant subjects and ask them to leverage their social media platforms to help promote the book.
The authors have had media appearances, led seminars and have been keynote speakers in their respective industries. They understand how to be interviewed and their collective experience will help sell the book in today’s media-driven environment.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Adria Belport has over 30 years of experience as a writer, editor, and marketing consultant. She has worked with high profile individuals ghostwriting and creating content for articles, books, blogs, and other media.
Adria has consulted with Fortune 500 companies to address the ever-changing media marketplacen using both traditional and digital marketing methods and has been featured in Business Week for her business expertise. Adria has extensive experience as a speaker at industry symposiums and is also a CT Justice of the Peace, and nationally certified Emergency Medical Technician.
Allen Swerdlowe has worked as a journalist, artist, academic and architect and has traveled first class to 84 countries and 49 states using the strategies he shares in this book. He is a Fulbright Specialist who has written documentaries for the Discovery Channel and Paramount Pictures. He is a much sought-after keynote speaker at conferences and other public forums. His commentary has been published in the New York Times and in a wide range of other publications.
Most recently, he was posted in Uzbekistan by the Fulbright Foundation and US State Department as a visiting professional to share his knowledge as an architect, urban planner and environmentalist. His main expertise lies in deep research and navigating complex systems.