Grahamstown launches mobisite

Funded by US-based John S and James L Knight Foundation, it aims to use new media technologies to facilitate an enhanced two-way flow of information between the newspaper and the citizens of Grahamstown.

Grocott's Online, which has been going for a year, caters for those who prefer pixels to paper, but until now, locals with mobile phones have not had a comprehensive way of being informed about what is on the go in Grahamstown, host city of the National Arts Festival.

The average resident is not rich, does not have an expensive phone and is very conscious of how much they are spending on data. Therefore, the first version has been designed for the simplest of internet-enabled phones and the HTML has been 'minified' to reduce bandwidth consumption.

Services

It focuses on providing practical, immediately useable information directly related to the daily lives of people in the city and it is hoped that it will become the central aggregator of as much of the city's news and informational content, ultimately enabling citizens to make decisions that are more considered. The launch version consists of:

• Event listings: pulled in from the online events calendar and users can submit their own events directly from their phones. Every 2010 National Arts Festival event is included (20 June - 5 July).
• Business specials: What's currently on special (at registered businesses) at any given time in Grahamstown - and how much longer those specials are on for (or time until they start).
• News items: the latest and most popular stories pulled in from online
• Webcam snapshots: Users can see current views from a number of webcams across Grahamstown
• Movie screenings: What's coming up next at the local cinema.
• Radio shows: What's on now and coming up next on local radio stations.
• Weather conditions: Should you grab a jersey or a brolley or both?
• Tweets: Latest tweets from @grocotts, and latest tweets mentioning Grahamstown.
• SMS: Latest SMS received online (MMS support coming soon)
• Lift offers/requests: a simple matching service

Users can interact with the site by leaving 'chirps' on any item, submitting their own events and lift offers and easily sharing content with friends via email or WAP pushes.

Future offerings

There is also a desktop version, which now is simply the mobile version contained within a mobile phone graphic, with additional JavaScript and AJAX functionality to enhance the user experience by allowing easier inputs and no page reloads.

Future versions will have much more differentiation between what is served up to PCs and to mobile phones (both entry-level and 'smart'), will include geo-location functionality so users can see business or event locations on a map, or tag their social networking interactions or content submissions (text/photos/videos/audio) with their location and will have tighter integration with Facebook.

Later this year, it will become integrated with Nika, the newspaper's own in-house and open-source CMS, with the aim of becoming the central CMS for all its offerings - print edition, online, Now and soon-to-be-launched Instant Messaging offerings.

Go to ghtnow.co.za for the mobisite or online at www.grocotts.co.za