bergamo 2013-2014 lectures. 6. our devices: desktop and mobile

Our devices are both desktop and mobile. Desktop computers, smartphones, tablets, multimedia

UniBg 44111 2013-2014 .:. IT for Tourism ManagersLecture #6. Wednesday, December 10, 2013

Roberto Peretta

Università degli Studi di BergamoArea didattica di Lingue e Letterature straniereProgettazione e gestione dei sistemi turistici /Planning and Management of Tourism SystemsCentro Studi per il Turismo e l'Interpretazione del Territorio (CeSTIT)

What are we talking about?Desktop and mobile, multimedia

1. Desktop… 2. … vs. Mobility3. Adaptive vs. Responsive4. Multimedia, Flash, html55. Formats, applications, CMSs

UniBg 44111 2013-2014 .:. IT for Tourism Managers .:. Roberto Peretta .:. #6 2

Mobile phones are also called cellular phone or cellphones, because they communicate through a radio network based on cells.(Cells are land areas served by at least one fixed-location transceiver belonging to a network.)Cellphones, like computers, mayalso use Wi-Fi connections.Paradoxically, you can place amobile call without passing throughyour telecom if you use a VoIPor Voice over Internet Protocol(Skype is a typical case) on awi-fi connected device.

Desktop and mobile, multimediaMobility


Talking about tourism and mobility, let’s see now whether tourist needs are expressed and addressed via a desktop computeror through a mobile device, i.e. on-the-move.We’ll see that mobile touristshave different needs.

Desktop and mobile, multimediaDifferent needs?


Before leaving

On a desktop computer1. Information search2. Fore-seeing3. Customization4. Information comparison5. Purchase of products6. Purchase of personal services

From home

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Desktop and mobile, multimedia


1. Information search on tourist destinations on tours or routes on accommodation on airlines on railways on car rental on packaged tours

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Information search

UniBg 44111 2013-2014 .:. IT for Tourism Managers .:. Roberto Peretta .:. #6


through pictures through videos through presentations through virtual reality

2. Fore-seeing

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Fore-seeing



segmentation down to the single tourist privacy – as we will see – is gradually disappearing…

3. Customization

Customization



User Generated Content (UGC) Photo sharing Video sharing Are they reliable?

4. Information comparison

Information comparison



from Travel Providers through OnLine Travel Agents (OTA) directly from destinations from specialized publishers

5. Purchase of products

Purchase of products



local guides guided tours local courses (cuisine, arts & crafts etc.)

6. Purchase of personal services

Purchase of personal services



Now, let's take into considerationwhich tourist needs are expressedby on-the-move users.

On-the-move



Through a mobile device1. Local information2. Advice3. Geographical Position4. Information on public transport5. Reassurance6. Communication

While travelling

While travelling



1. Local information “What can I do?” “Will that venue still be open?” “What is this building?”

Local information



2. Advice “Any good place to have a meal?” “Any free toilets in the area?” “Any affordable activities?”

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Advice



3. Geographical Positioning “Where am I?” “Which way to the main square?” “Which way to my hotel?”

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Geographical Positioning



4. Information on public transport “Which bus shall I take?

And where from?” “Shall I purchase tickets

in advance?” “It's late... Will the bus

still be running?”

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Public transport



5. Reassurance “Is it going to rain?” “Will I find a parking place

for my car? Where? And how much will they charge me?”

“Is this a dangerous area?”

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Reassurance



6. Communication “I need to make a phone call!” “I need to send a short message!” “I wish I could visit that

webpage...”

Communication



Adaptive vs. Responsive



Webpages can be written in order to be visible through mobile devices – i.e. with reduced monitor size.According to Wikipedia, “Responsive Web design (RWD) is a Web design approach aimed at crafting sites to provide an optimal viewing experience across a wide range of devices (from mobile phones to desktop computer monitors.““Adaptive websites are designed to adapt to different User requirements.”BTW, tablets are more or lesslike desktop…

Pictures

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Either desktop or mobile, pictures are increasingly becoming the fastest way, and perhaps the most effective, to communicate in today’s digital world.

As Susan Sontag wrote as backas 1977 in her On Photography,

“Photography has becomeone of the principal devicesfor experiencing something,for giving an appearance of participation.”

Easy pictures

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The number of pictures taken has enormously increased since mobile phones have incorporated a camera.Due to digital techonological optimization, taking pictures has become incredibily easy,as problems like shutter speed,exposure and depth of field areautomatically solved (or at leastsimplified) by digital technologies.

Starting from Flick’r, which wasintroduced in 2004, sharing pictureshas become a popular behaviour.Pictures are mass produced andshared. Still – as underlinedby Sontag – they are a perfect toolto communicate experience.

Moving images

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Moving images – such as animations, videos or proper films – can be even more effective than still pictures.The problem with moving images is that their production process is by far more difficult than for photography.Sharing a personal video through, say, YouTube,created in 2005 and bought byGoogle in 2006, is obviously easy,but the quality level which issocially required is much higherthan for still pictures.

Let’s talk a look at a softwareinterface to process a video…

Adobe Premiere

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Moving images require not only shooting but also editing, andtitles, soundtrack and voice comment may be needed, too.

Flash, html 5

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Generally speaking, applications to create and manage animations are relatively difficult to learn.The de facto standard to create and manage animations on the Web has historically been Adobe Flash.Adobe Flash has always been a proprietary software.But in recent years an open sourceenvironment has emerged – thanksalso to the current fight betweenAdobe and Apple.This open source animations formatis part of the html5 language.

(This, by the way, is why iPhones oriPad do display animations, butdo not display Flash animations…)

Formats, applications

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This lecture has mentioned two applications, by Adobe (Premiere for videos, and Flash for animations)simply because your lecturer happens to use some mainstream Adobe products.But formats and applications do abound in the multimedia production world.For instance, your lecturer shoots videos through a small HD Sony video camera, based on a m2ts format.In order to be seen on an old Windows XP operating system like the one I’m using right now, my videos must be converted to a more familiar format, e.g. the mainstream Windows wmv.In short, formats and applications in the multimedia production world are a jungle…… though social networks tend to come to terms with this jungle, and now accept a variety of different multimedia formats.

CMSs

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To manage dynamic multimedia websites, specialized applications and platforms are available.Your lecturer has long adopted an old and reliable application like Adobe Dreamweaver,but now good and scalable open source CMSs are also available, like Drupal, Joomla or WordPress.What’s a CMS?It’s a Content Management System.

(As far as tourist destinations areconcerned, we’ve seen thatDestination Management Systems,or DMSs, are also available,though they are not simply digital...)

bergamo 2013-2014 lectures. 6. our devices: desktop and mobile

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