Coronavirus has left a tremendous negative impact on lives, economies, and the world at large. To cope, many people are trying to do whatever they can to lead movements of positivity. Things like the friends, families, the roof above your head, the fact that you still might be able to receive and income and work, and the ability to have technology to the point where you can stay in contact with friends and family no matter where you are on any device are all reasons to be thankful.

Austin Perkins, an influential Youtuber with over 15,000 subscribers, has started a movement called #PositivityVirus. He has called on the community to send in responses of what people are collectively thankful for during these times of uncertainty. This movement has gained positive traction and has allowed people to bond over positivity. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcT3uBFfl4g

Spinnaker spoke to Austin Perkins about his online campaign and how he is using Youtube to grow his message of what he is thankful for in his times of quarantine.  

How Did You Get Started With Youtube

“I started Youtube when I was doing a program with the U.S and German government in 2015, 2016. I decided I wanted to do a vlog every single day. And I just kinda started making videos once a week and that’s how I kinda built my arsenal of skills.”

Tell me about your positivity virus campaign

“I’ve always been fascinated by like the mechanics behind what makes something go viral. I’ve always wanted to try and work on a project that has a totem by rally to it. COVID-19 and kinda all of the uncertainties and the sphere around that, it would be a good opportunity to leverage my international network to build a project that could spread something, you know, to keep people comfort or hope during this time. I want this video and idea of positivity to spread faster than, you know, the virus ever could.”

How did you get the idea for it?

“So I’ve been working on the early stages of other videos that have a similar format and I was kinda releasing them soon but given the circumstances of COVID-19 Crises I decided to adapt to global crowdsourcing to do something positive during the crises. It was kinda just a very reactive thing.”

What is something positive that you’ve found about isolation/social distancing?

“So I think to tie it back to this project. The first round of positivity virus has just been me reaching out to my friends and doing the coordination with that has come with it’s challenges. Through that I’ve actually been able to have a conversation with old friends that I haven’t talked to in years”

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