OtherWorld - the next generation news experiment pilots in Manchester
by Startacus Admin
We have talked about how beacons - specifically iBeacons - can work for museum guides, advertising, home automation, and much more in our article about Internet of Things startups, and again as part of retail innovations to keep an eye on.
Now, OtherWorld - an initiative from startup Like No Other - is testing out a combination of new and old uses for beacons in Manchester city centre. Relevance is the key for OtherWorld, as what better way to engage people than to talk to them about things around them - things they can immediately relate to?
Using Google Eddystone beacons, OtherWorld creates a network of news, history, event notifications, and more, all beamed to a passerby’s phone as they journey through the relevant area. Be notified of an event just round the corner, learn the history of the old building you’re passing, be notified of a security alert or police roadblock nearby - and all of these things will remove themselves from your phone as soon as you leave the relevant area. All the user needs is to have Google Chrome on their phone and Bluetooth enabled.
This Manchester pilot started on 25 July and will run until the end of the year, available in 10 areas of the city centre. For this test, OtherWorld secured content partners such as the NHS, Greater Manchester Police, the city Council, Visit Manchester, People’s History Museum, and the owner of a large number of UK newspapers, Trinity Mirror. All of this was made possible by a grant from Google’s Digital News Initiative.
Other than perhaps the idea of having battery-draining Bluetooth switched on at all times, we can see little reason that this initiative wouldn’t work. It is a simple and engaging way to get people interested in and keep them to date with local news and goings on. We can see it quickly catching on all over the world. Take a watch of their short promo video below...
OtherWorld Manchester
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Published on: 30th July 2017
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