Innovations and new business opportunities that wouldn't have existed without the coronavirus

While the world pointlessly throws accusations at each other as to who's to blame for the current state of affairs, we here at the Cherryflava HQ far prefer to cast our eyes to the horizon and take note of changes now that could have far greater impact in the time yet to come.

The future is created today - so spotting feint signals of change now is what tomorrow's opportunities are made of.

In this scan, we have a quick look at a few new opportunities that are emerging as a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic, which really should inspire you.

You can waste time and effort in worrying about things totally out of your control, or you can open up your mind to see what new opportunity has been created for those with the foresight to see it.

In first world countries around the world - ones that have functioning public transport systems - and more specifically in the UK; people emerging from states of lockdown are now hyper-cautious about taking cramped and crowded public transport and are now opting to cycle and walk instead where ever they go.

Having a stranger breathe dirty, stale breath air into your face on the Underground is unpleasant at the best of times - now it could land you in the ICU.

This fear has resulted in an unprecedented rise in demand for bicycles (people would rather take their chances with a bus that a sick co-traveller) and prompted the government to announce a £2 Billion post-pandemic plan to incentivise more alternative transport use in the future.

Great news for bicycle retailers.

Read more:

Coronavirus: Boom time for bikes as virus changes lifestyles - BBC

U.K. Government Boosts Bicycling And Walking With Ambitious £2 Billion Post-Pandemic Plan - Forbes

Fortnite is the biggest game on the planet, but the owners of the title, Epic Games, have found a brand new, non-gaming application for the online platform thanks to the Coronavirus crisis.

In early 2019 multiplatinum-selling recording artist DJ Marshmello performed the first live concert in Fortnite, which ended up being viewed by almost 11 million players.

Since then, multiple collaborations with Fortnite have been executed to great success. Star Wars, Avengers, Stranger Things, Batman and the NFL are just some of the major brands that have dropped into the Fortnite playhouse.

Now the latest event was a concert with deadmau5, Steve Aoki and Dillon Francis that took place last Friday on a new stage called Fortnite Party Royale.

You might remember the hype around Second Life a few years ago which kinda died a slow death because there wasn't anything compelling to do there, Fortnite is a totally different story.

Could this be the Metaverse - the  next evolution of the Internet itself?

Read more:

Imagining the future of Fortnite in-game events - ESPN

‘Fortnite’ Party Royale Will Become ‘Second Life’ On Its Way To Being The Metaverse - Forbes

Look it's not news that we're all sick and tired of watching the news. And social distancing rules have meant that the people who sit so close to each other on the news are less able to do that during a pandemic.

Which has been a total win for a new animated news series called Tooning Out The News, where the creators can put together news presented by avatars while all sitting in their own homes.

Gone are the days where making Mickey Mouse walk a whistle at the same time would take a week's work of painstaking work and a few bottles of Jack Daniel's worth of frustration.

Live animation is here and it's changing the news game.

Ironically we trust news anchors more when they are cartoons than we do when a real person tries to convince us that what they are blabbing on about is the truth.

Read more: Quarantine Is a Weirdly Good Time for Animation - Wired

See, it's not all doom and gloom out there. Shift your mindset and see the future - stop watching that CNN nonsense.