Guitarwaze - 2020 A Year in Review
This past year has been significant for the whole world. The world has been turned upside down and people's lives have changed in so many ways. Difficult challenges have been and are being faced. Within the uncertainty of it all, great things have happened as well. People have become creative and come up with alternative ways to run their businesses, structure their days, interact with people and more.
At Guitarwaze the past year has been the year of going public. Earlier in 2020 we didn't know what lay ahead for the world. But we knew we were ready. We began preparing for the big launch. And lo and behold, it became the year where everything moved online. What a year for an online guitar learning platform to launch.
People have been learning to consider remote learning options more than ever, re-creating their lives in ways they never thought possible. Even when we no longer face the threats of the covid pandemic, we believe, that people are able to creatively design their lives to suit their needs much more than before.
2020 at Guitarwaze
In the years leading up to 2020 it was all about developing the software, the guitar lesson curriculum and getting it all up and running. In early 2020 we were ready to start stepping outside and show it to the world. Our team of techies and musical experts expanded to include Marketing Management, Social Media Experts and Copy Writers. These people are not just great at what they do, but personally invested in the Guitarwaze project, themselves playing instruments and music being a big part of their lives, so their work in our team became more like second nature. And when work is passion then things tend to fall into place.
Music Community
In January and February we decided that one of our missions to spread the word was to promote the importance and magic, that music has to offer. As part of this mission, we began to create a community of music lovers of all kinds. Musicians, learners or simply those that consider music as an important part of their lives.
We became active on Social Media and began to gain a following. The Guitarwaze blog was to become a platform to share advice for learners, insight into scientific studies about music and tributes to amazing musicians, among other things.
In March, when the first lockdown hit much of the globe, Guitarwaze found so much more reason to be relevant. Not only was the world turning to online options for...well...everything, but the need for music became even more pressing. Mental health in our societies became a hot topic. Isolation, fear and general uncertainties were beginning to take their toll on the human psyche. We knew, music can help.
Featured Artist Fridays
About half way through the year we had been roaming the musical world of social media and found ourselves in a vast sea of undiscovered talent. We began inviting people to feature on our pages to further expand the community and also provide a platform for these artists. We had amazing feedback and it became popular among artists and also within our community. Our followers loved the Friday features, which is when we decided to double up and feature artists on Wednesdays as well.
Soft Launch
In Autumn our tech team finished the final touches. The first users were invited to test the platform and User Experience in exchange for their feedback. Based on what we learned from this group of people, we were able to optimise the User Interface of the Guitarwaze platform.
Throughout these processes, the website kept getting little design improvements as well, giving it a nice clean and user friendly look.
The Big Launch
On November 15th 2020 the platform officially launched. It was a big moment for us and it has not faded. We had our first subscribers coming in who were signing up to learn to play the guitar, Guitarwaze style!
So here we are, the revolutionary guitar learning platform is live. Anyone, anywhere in the world can learn from home. Many of us are in lockdown once again and we encourage you to consider music as your medicine, in whatever form that works! Tune up and tune in!