Preliminary Exposition

What is the core need/problem/task?

Professors, researchers and businessmen continuously attend conferences, seminars or expositions related to their work field. The task of selecting the best conference to go is not an easy question. There are many variables that might be important and that are hard to see in one place. Without clear information people can miss great opportunities.

Usually, people try to have a better use of their time while they are out of their offices. That’s why combining several events during the same trip is always valuable.

This application wants to help this people to better select which conferences are the most valuable, have a better view of other events in the same timeframe and location, and finally decide the best plan for their trips.

What already exists to address it?

1. Disaggregated information, as usual
1. Events and Associations websites.
2. Lodging websites (Ex. Hotels.com, Expedia.com, etc).
3. City’s tourism related websites.
4. Travel books and maps
   
   
2. Not live information
1. Events websites have dead-links to hotels for accommodation
2. Not current information about the city events
   
   
3. Not location/map related aggregated information
   1. The information that exists, ussually exists in text displays instead of a map display, that can be easier for a global view of the location.
      
      
      
      

What new strategy are you taking and why is it appropriate?

1. Interactive focus on content: Timeframe and Location
1. Is normal that there is not only one conference in the same town at almost the same time. The objective here is to aggregate the information for close dates and locations.
   Examples: Other conferences, tourist events at the same timeframe (holidays, parades, events)
2. Live information
1. Current accommodation status (Ex. Hotels)
2. Current deadlines (for papers, registration etc. )
3. Comments, Ratings (peer participation)
3. Layering of information
1. All information can be layered for better understanding

What specific functionality?

1. Time focus navigation
2. Location focus navigation
3. Possible to Save outcome: Save your potential itinerary
4. Peers content: ratings, comments

Interaction pattern

The user may start submiting a specific conference, a desired timeframe or a location.

Then the application will search for the related information and will display it on a list and on a google map applet.

Then the user will start to interact with the application and save its selections.

Show a mockup

How will you make it?

Content:
- Define content and information structrue and taxonomies

Data:
- Manual gathering from conferences, associations, cities websites, etc.
- Define Database structure
- Insert data into Database

Technology:
- Google Maps API
- PHP/MySQL Backend

Focus of implementation

For the focus of this project this application will not include every conference and every city in the US. The focus will be Television, Broadband and related conferences in 1 or 2 cities in the US.

Sergio Goldenberg
Jan 23, 2005