The future is now
Frits Polman • oct 21 ,2021
As you know by now, I’m a fan of ‘less is more’. It’s all about simplicity. But that’s enough about that! Or actually... maybe there’s a bit more to say.
People visit places for the art, the architecture, or simply for the experience. And when they do, they usually don’t want to stare at a small screen, wear a claustrophobic headset, or be distracted by an ever-pinging smartphone. After all, what could be more fun than talking to your family, relatives, or friends about what you’re seeing and experiencing?
450 million
Since 2009, we’ve been enthusiastically – and successfully! – promoting our Podcatcher to cultural institutions all over the world. We’ve already shared more than 450 million stories, and that number is growing every day. Never change a winning team, you might say. Keep doing what you’re doing. Nevertheless, we’ve come up with a successor.
The next level
Over the past year, with COVID-19 restrictions limiting what we could do, we’ve been focusing our attention on the ‘inside’ of Guide-ID. During my chats with our product owner Thomas and COO Johan (then still global manager), it became increasingly clear that it was time for us to take our product to the next level.
We thought: wouldn’t it be awesome if we created a device that enables our customers to serve all their visitors? A device that could also be fully integrated into the exhibition? And was just as simple as our current Podcatcher? There’s no doubt it’d be awesome, but it’s not something that happens overnight. That’s why I’d like to keep you updated on the development of our new audio guide over the next weeks and months.
450 million
Since 2009, we’ve been enthusiastically – and successfully! – promoting our Podcatcher to cultural institutions all over the world. We’ve already shared more than 450 million stories, and that number is growing every day. Never change a winning team, you might say. Keep doing what you’re doing. Nevertheless, we’ve come up with a successor.
The next level
Over the past year, with COVID-19 restrictions limiting what we could do, we’ve been focusing our attention on the ‘inside’ of Guide-ID. During my chats with our product owner Thomas and COO Johan (then still global manager), it became increasingly clear that it was time for us to take our product to the next level.
We thought: wouldn’t it be awesome if we created a device that enables our customers to serve all their visitors? A device that could also be fully integrated into the exhibition? And was just as simple as our current Podcatcher? There’s no doubt it’d be awesome, but it’s not something that happens overnight. That’s why I’d like to keep you updated on the development of our new audio guide over the next weeks and months.
Multifunctional
For years now, exhibition designers and interactive designers have been asking us whether the Podcatcher could also be used as a remote control for games or to ‘control’ a room. They also wondered whether visitors could listen to a story together, or whether you could listen hands-free without being cut off from the outside world.
From ‘no’ to ‘yes, absolutely’
Sadly, we used to have to say no all the time. We felt we were letting our customers and ourselves down. However, we’ll soon be able to say: ‘Yes! Absolutely!’ That’s thanks to the new Podcatchers’ wide range of sensors: it can be used as your personal remote control during your museum visit. And that’s not all...
Interactivity as it should be
Museums will soon be able to track all new Podcatchers throughout a building, so that the storytelling starts automatically as soon as a visitor enters a room. Even cooler still is that the room itself knows that a visitor has entered, and can respond to that. This is interactivity as it should be.
For years now, exhibition designers and interactive designers have been asking us whether the Podcatcher could also be used as a remote control for games or to ‘control’ a room. They also wondered whether visitors could listen to a story together, or whether you could listen hands-free without being cut off from the outside world.
From ‘no’ to ‘yes, absolutely’
Sadly, we used to have to say no all the time. We felt we were letting our customers and ourselves down. However, we’ll soon be able to say: ‘Yes! Absolutely!’ That’s thanks to the new Podcatchers’ wide range of sensors: it can be used as your personal remote control during your museum visit. And that’s not all...
Interactivity as it should be
Museums will soon be able to track all new Podcatchers throughout a building, so that the storytelling starts automatically as soon as a visitor enters a room. Even cooler still is that the room itself knows that a visitor has entered, and can respond to that. This is interactivity as it should be.
The Podcatcher as an identification tool
Every visitor who has a Podcatcher is assigned a unique number they can use to log on to an interactive console and obtain more information or play a game. Using the Podcatcher as an identification tool means no more fussing about with separate passes, rings, or other gadgets. Instead, you’ve got one single device that tells your visitors all the stories and is also fully integrated into the exhibition. How cool is that?
Want to know more?
If you think this is cool and want to know more about it, please message Thomas, Johan, or myself. We’ll explain everything with our usual dose of enthusiasm! There’s still lots of news about school groups, tourist buses, and families, as well as more updates on our software developments. But I’ll save all that for next time.
The sky is not the limit, it's the beginning.
Every visitor who has a Podcatcher is assigned a unique number they can use to log on to an interactive console and obtain more information or play a game. Using the Podcatcher as an identification tool means no more fussing about with separate passes, rings, or other gadgets. Instead, you’ve got one single device that tells your visitors all the stories and is also fully integrated into the exhibition. How cool is that?
Want to know more?
If you think this is cool and want to know more about it, please message Thomas, Johan, or myself. We’ll explain everything with our usual dose of enthusiasm! There’s still lots of news about school groups, tourist buses, and families, as well as more updates on our software developments. But I’ll save all that for next time.
The sky is not the limit, it's the beginning.
List of Services
-
Business success means getting up more than you fall down. The Netherlands is yet again covered in a blanket of snow. Cue chaos in the media and on the streets. The national weather agency issues the highest weather alert code, and everyone’s on their guard. Nobody wants to slip. But I take a slightly different view: I know how much there is to learn from slipping up – figuratively. Although the time between falling and getting back on your feet can be quite painful, these are the moments that provide the most valuable lessons.Business success means getting up more than you fall down.
-
Building inclusive visitor experiences, where to start? At Guide-ID it’s in our DNA to help our clients tell their stories. Audio guides can open up your museum and make it accessible to all, in ways that you may not yet have considered. Here, we’d like to share with you how we can help you become more inclusive, using the options our audio guides have to offer. Let’s start by sharing the first step towards ‘all-inclusive’ storytelling. When creating an audio guide, start by asking yourself these three easy questions: who, what, where?Building inclusive visitor experiences, where to start?
-
Enrich your content with a diversity of perspectives. Connect to your audience by 'speaking their language' in audio tour content. I believe that museums are the mirrors of our society. This is because the collections they display and stories they tell appeal to a diverse audience. When I embarked on my career in the museum sector over 20 years ago, educational services were a hot topic. Museums had begun organizing guided tours and workshops for schools and groups, and placed labels and texts for individual visitors (although these were still often written in technical jargon). This was the point at which museums became even more accessible – you no longer had to be an art expert to understand what an exhibition was about.Enrich your content with a diversity of perspectives. Connect to your audience by 'speaking their language' in audio tour content.
-
The In Flanders Fields Museum comes back to life It certainly felt good to see a sign reading ‘FULLY BOOKED’ outside a museum. The In Flanders Fields Museum (IFFM), like many other Belgian museums, sold out during the Easter holidays. The weather and the Belgian travel ban undoubtedly made a difference. Museums, including the IFFM, remarked that many visitors were people who would not normally visit museums.The In Flanders Fields Museum comes back to life
-
Customer-driven development - How we use co-creation to optimize our products. At Guide-ID, we’re passionate about technology and culture. Combine these two to create the perfect job. Since 2009, our creative team’s passion – and increasing customer collaboration – has driven constant improvements to the Podcatcher platform.Customer-driven development - How we use co-creation to optimize our products.
-
On your marks, get set, go! Yes! We finally seem to have turned the corner. Museums can reopen their doors in increasing numbers of countries. Visitors can barely wait to visit museums once more, and Guide-ID is ready to share stories with them once more. During the pandemic, we worked to make our entire platform easier to use for existing and new customers. In this blog, I will explain why we are truly worthy of the title ‘world’s easiest audio guide’.On your marks, get set, go!