A Day at the Festival (a mobile map experience)
by Youarehere, posted October 27, 2015
River of bobbing heads flows out ahead of me, stretching at least two blocks and spilling into the side streets. There's a hint of of barbeque in the air. I came here today to shop a little, sample the local fare, and maybe discover something new. And, I have a friend Ken who writes and sells history books, and he's supposed to be here today. I'm just about to wade into the flow, when I notice a sign posted on a pole that says 'YouAreHere'. I'm curious, so I scan the QR code, and ta-da, a map of the event appears on my phone. I tap 'Directions', then 'Destination'; a long list of vendors appears, along with a 'Search' box. I type K..E..N.., and there he is; I tap 'Ken' and it shows me on the map exactly where he is located, and draws me a path from here to there. I go back to Directions, and I see the step-by-step. Not bad. I slowly make my way through the crowd, and see a few interesting things along the way. Then, I arrive at Ken's booth. "You found me." he says, a bit surprised. Me: "Actually, it wasn't too hard." We chat for a bit, but he's busy; business is good. Me: "I'm thinking of grabbing lunch." Ken: "Ever been to Taco Mondo? They make a mean empinada." Me: "Sounds good. Is there a rest room?" Ken: "Yeah, it's over there somewhere." Me: "Ok, Ken, maybe I'll check back with you before the day is over." So, I look in the general direction that Ken indicated, but I don't see the rest rooms. I go back to the map, start with 'Ken', tap 'Destination', and search for R..E..S, and there it is. I tap 'Rest Rooms' and ta-da, I see exactly where the rest rooms are. I'm starting to get the hang of this. I go back to 'Directions', 'Destination' to look into lunch. I tap 'Categories', then scroll down to 'Food'. Wow, quite a selection. And there's Taco Mondo (tap). The line on the map shows me that Taco Mondo is on the other side of the festival, so I decide to hit the rest room first, then wander over to the food. I put the phone away, and look for a little adventure. Over lunch, I scroll through the 'Categories'; I find several things I might like to check out. I also see quite a few jewelers; my wife likes jewelry. She's not here, but I know she'll ask me later. After an enjoyable afternoon, and a successful outing (due, in part, to the mobile map), I use the drive home to reflect on the events of the day. Just last month I attended a fair similar to this one over in Jersey. Then, a few days later, I ran into a friend, who, it turns out, had been there too. "Did you see the retro toy booth? " he asked. "This guy had all the stuff we used to play with when we were kids. I bought a pimple ball." Me: "I thought they didn't make them anymore." Him: "Well, he had them." Me: "You got a name?" Him: "Uhmmm...Retro Toys....Vintage Toys...Toys of Old...something like that...if I think of it I'll text you." Now I'm thinking if I had a map of that event on my phone (or if he did), we could easily identify that toy vendor. Back home, my wife debriefs me over dinner. "You know those beaded baubles you like? The ones we saw on vacation?", I ask her. "Well, I saw a woman there who was actually making them." Her: "Did you buy me one?" Me: "Well...no, I didn't know what style or color...you should pick it out." Her: "Did you get her name?" Me: "Umm...hold on...(tap, tap, tap...Categories...Jewelry)...yes, The Beaded Lady." Her: "Well that's good, but it's too late now." Me: "No, wait...(tap, tap, tap)...look, she has an Etsy site." Her: "Hmmm...I'm wondering how well you would have done today without that map." |
