Today Northern Ireland Tourist board launched a ground breaking new app. In the words of Jim Bowen 'keep out of the red and stay safe in bed!'
Please take into account that almost 94% of all apps either fail ie fall at the first hurdle or struggle to make back even the development money -it is good to see that NITB have 'rolled out the barrel' to give us something ,safe and practical and the kinda thing that any tourist is goin to be downloading the minute that smart phone 'finds network'.
I had an idea, I spent 2 days to find out how to submit it and x3 days working on it. Let's call that a week (40 hrs) and let's say I am worth £25 per hour =a waste of time.
The press conference clearly stated that preference would be given to innovative ideas, nothing too edgy wouldn't be turned down. Be daring be -bold! Please note that NITB even forgot to provide any free cakes or pastries.
I had an idea -perhaps I could share it with you. It also cost very little and seemed bold, fun and different:
Northern Ireland: My Sport -My Place
My Sport -My Place is an interactive tour based around all that is good in Northern Ireland Sport. Perhaps most importantly it allows the user to find out -where it all began? My Sport -My Place gives detailed GPS locations of not only Northern Irelands most popular sporting venues but also a down to earth look at the place where George Best honed his magic, Alex Higgins potted his first black and where GMAC and Rory got into the swing of things.
In each individual case My Sport : My Place will provide a detailed story of how our sporting greats took their first steps, played their first International or were spotted and escalated to the top echelons of their sport.
Using the very latest interactive technologies My Sport : My Place will tell stories of over two dozen prodigious Sporting talents both old and new. Stories that have been told a thousand times and stories that have never been heard. Using photos, maps, audio, real live interviews, twitter feeds and archive footage. Sports to be covered:
Football
Motor Cycling
Rugby
GAA
Ice Hockey
Golf
Athletics
Horse Racing
Boxing
Hurling
Cricket
George Best
Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins
Rory McIlroy
David Humphries
A.P. McCoy
Mark Allen
Johnny Evans
Dame Mary Peters
Graeme McDowell
David Healey
Joey Dunlop
Eddie Irvine
Denis Taylor
Jack Kyle
Wayne McCullough
Gerry Armstrong
David Healey
Martin O'Neill
Mickey Harte
Robert Dunlop
Martin O'Neill
Willie John McBride
Barry McGuigan
Pat Jennings
Stephen Ferris
Mike Gibson
Fred Daly
Jimmy Warnock
Events
Olympics
World Cup
Espana 82
Northern Ireland 1 Engand 0
Grand National
Twitter Feeds
Stephen Ferris
Tommy Bowe
Paddy Wallace
Graeme McDowell
Rory McIlroy
Video
Each player's place may be accompanied by a short video (max120 secs). The video could be archive material e.g. the player playing in a match early in their career. It could perhaps be the 'promo video' for a particular location e.g. Belfast Odyssey or -best of all- a recorded interview of the sports star's recollections of a particular place and the match or incident that inspired them to greater things.
Audio
Each player's place may be accompanied by an appropriate audio track (max 180 secs). The audio track may be radio commentary of an early performance. It may be a previously recorded interview obviously with a story relating to their place or -best of all- a newly recorded 'trip down memory lane' again relating to their choosen 'place' and why that particular place.
Text
If neither video nor audio is available then the story will simply be displayed in text format with the full story being displayed in an appropriate format for the particular application. By adding the full story in simple text format it will be possible for the 'user' to read the full story as to why that particular 'place' holds such a strong place in their thoughts.
Twitter Feed
If a twitter feed is available for either a particular player e.g. '@rorymcilroy' or '@stephenferris6” or indeed twitter feeds may be added representing perhaps a particular organisation e.g. 'The George Best Foundation' or indeed a location e.g. 'Ravenhill'
Photos
Good photography will form an important component of the application. Photos will clearly show the 'place' in a positive light. Where possible it would be fascinating to include historical photos of a particular place or event. As photographs (appropriately sized) should not take up huge amounts of the applications size. The intention would be to include no more than 12 images for a particular place.
Winning Potential
The My Sport : My Place is a beautifully simple idea. The application is perfect for both driving tourism and indeed increasing both 'stay' and spend e.g. a visitor coming to NI to find out about let's say George Best will easily be to discover links to all of NI's sporting greats. It is more than likely that the same folk who idolise the 'Belfast Boy' will almost certainly have a love the 'the Hurricane' and perhaps extend their stay to research another sports star or take in a local match.
Perhaps Northern Ireland's No1 sports attraction is to discover the 'grass roots' of perhaps the most powerful double act in World sports that of Rory and GMAC.
The application will function well as -a digital location map intising you to visit more and more sporting locations and occasions. The real selling point of this application is the 'Story' value. It is important to not think of the application as a location based service, but to think of this app in terms of 'Story'. A user based -anywhere in the world will easily be able to download this application and enjoy a truly engaging story as to how 'Little Northern Ireland' has time after time nurtured the World's greatest and indeed best known Sporting stars.
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