Ere I Go

When a user logs into the Internet, they have access to almost limitless amounts of information. Much of this information is about the physical world around us. A user can learn about species of plants and animals, virtually visit far away lands, or read about the history of places around the globe. Unfortunately, as soon as the user steps away from their computer and into the outside world, their access to this information is severed.

Consider the following two scenarios:

Mark and his family are in St. George, Utah. Mark is there on business, but they have the morning free. Mark reads in the morning paper about Snow Canyon located just a few miles from their hotel. The family piles into the van and drives the short distance, and soon find themselves driving through one of the most breathtaking canyons in Utah.

Mark picks up a tri-fold flier from the national park kiosk, but that piece of paper is all of the information he and his family carry with them. Google returns 161,000 hits for Snow Canyon. There are over 4,000 images. Mark and his family can enjoy the scenery, but when the kids ask how the canyon was formed, or why the rock is red, Mark can’t answer. He thinks he’ll look it up later, but the moment when the information would be most useful and relevant is past.

Now imagine a second scenario.

Before leaving the hotel, Mark checks a website called Wherigo. He does a search for Snow Canyon, and sees that there are 13 ‘cartridges’ in and around the canyon. Some cartridges contain text, others have audio or video files. All of this content is linked to a specific geographic location. With a few clicks Mark downloads the files to his GPS enabled Pocket PC. Four minutes later, he and his family are on their way.

This time Mark and his family has access to much more information. As he scans the list of cartridges he finds there is a guided tour from the Nation Park service detailing points of interest and trailheads. Another file is a walking tour of a dormant volcano, narrated by a local geologist. There is still another cartridge that is a treasure hunt game that covers the length of the park.

Instead of reading information at a desk, Mark has taken the information with him where it becomes useful and relevant. The end result is that Mark’s visit to the park is a richer, informative, and more memorable experience, because he has access to useful, georelevant material at the touch of a button.