With so many music venues, bars, and comedy clubs closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, consumers are trying out new ways to keep themselves entertained. Actor and standup comedian Damon Wayans Jr. might just have an option for the stuck-at-home audience.
Wayans and his business partner, Kris Jones, developed an app called Special Guest, which allowed users to book live, on-demand entertainment, but due to social distancing orders across the country, it has since pivoted to a virtual experience.
"Unfortunately, because you know, in our country's situation we can't meet in person, we can't have these interactions. But, me, Kris Jones, and the Special Guest team adapted to the situation and incorporated a virtual component," Wayans told Cheddar Wednesday. "So, now anyone anywhere can hire virtual entertainment on-demand."
Special Guest co-founder Kris Jones said that pivoting to virtual has allowed them to book diverse performers and acts, with some users even having used the app as a learning tool.
"We're booking a lot more performances with a variety of different entertainers," Jones said. "We had a young 15-year-old girl book a dance professional so that they would be able to practice over these next couple of weeks, so she could make her high school dance team."
Jones said before the pandemic, the service was only available in the U.S., but with the virtual component, it's greatly expanded its reach.
"Literally overnight, once we launched this new technology, it allowed our performers, the talent that is available for hire on the app, to be hired from anyone around the world," he said. "I think this idea of virtual creates a new entertainment experience."
The World Economic Forum says false and misleading information supercharged with cutting-edge artificial intelligence is the top immediate risk to the global economy.
CES 2024 starts this week in Las Vegas. It's set to feature swaths of the latest advances and gadgets across personal tech, transportation, health care, sustainability and more. Here's a list of the coolest announcements so far.
Astronauts will have to wait until next year before flying to the moon and another few years before landing on it. NASA on Tuesday announced the latest round of delays in its Artemis moon-landing program.
The Biden administration has enacted a new labor rule that aims to prevent the misclassification of workers as independent contractors. The labor department rule going into effect Tuesday replaces a scrapped Trump-era standard that lowered the bar for classifying employees as contractors
The KC-46 was to be the ideal candidate for a fixed-price development program. Instead, it has cost Boeing billions, and made industry wary of such deals.
Dave Long, CEO and Co-Founder of Orangetheory Fitness joins Cheddar to chat trends in the industry for 2024. He updates us on the company's plans to expand and what the state of the economy has meant for business.
One of the world's largest renewable energy developers will be getting hundreds of wind turbines from General Electric spinoff GE Vernova as part of a record equipment order and long-term service deal.
A moon landing attempt by a private US company appears doomed because of a fuel leak on the newly launched spacecraft. Astrobotic Technology managed to orient the lander toward the sun Monday so its solar panel could capture sunlight and charge its onboard battery.
