But there's no need to do this tour in the order from start to finish. Each stop gives information about a couple of the sites nearby (the clocktower on the island, the lock & dam, the Rock Island Line railroad -- even a stop on Main Street), but it weaves no larger narrative from stop to stop.
I appreciate that you can spontaniously take the tour with your cell phone when you see the signs on-site, but that you can ALSO download MP3s of the tour stops before you go and listen on your iPod. As more and more organizations turn to cell phone tours, the smart ones are posting the audio on-line as well. It's strange that the MP3s in this case are still just telephone-quality audio, but the content is just voice reading a script, so fidelity isn't critical to the experience.
I listened to a few of the stops on this tour and was impressed with the breadth of information -- from history to architecture to the environment. Stop #1, for example, talks about the history of iconic clock tower on Arsenal Island, but also includes information about an eco-friendly parking lot nearby. The tour stops are heavy on superlatives (the first..., the biggest..., the most...) and statistics without always putting them in context. It also often fails to take advantage of the fact that it knows exactly where its listeners are standing. There isn't much "look at this...", "you'll notice that...," or "now turn around to see...". These kinds of devices are really engaging to users and are a unique advantage placecasting has over broadcasting.
I appreciate that you can spontaniously take the tour with your cell phone when you see the signs on-site, but that you can ALSO download MP3s of the tour stops before you go and listen on your iPod. As more and more organizations turn to cell phone tours, the smart ones are posting the audio on-line as well. It's strange that the MP3s in this case are still just telephone-quality audio, but the content is just voice reading a script, so fidelity isn't critical to the experience.
I listened to a few of the stops on this tour and was impressed with the breadth of information -- from history to architecture to the environment. Stop #1, for example, talks about the history of iconic clock tower on Arsenal Island, but also includes information about an eco-friendly parking lot nearby. The tour stops are heavy on superlatives (the first..., the biggest..., the most...) and statistics without always putting them in context. It also often fails to take advantage of the fact that it knows exactly where its listeners are standing. There isn't much "look at this...", "you'll notice that...," or "now turn around to see...". These kinds of devices are really engaging to users and are a unique advantage placecasting has over broadcasting.
I spend a fair amount of time in Iowa, and I look forward to getting to the Quad cities to enjoy this good tour on-site.
Link to the Quad Cities Riverway Audio tour
Link to the Quad Cities Riverway Audio tour
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