New App

There’s a lot going on in the world of arts and culture. Must-see exhibitions, the latest band’s intimate gig; clever poetry slams, virtuosic dance -  must-see exhibitions with a band, a poet and dancing. We’re spoilt for choice.

How do we navigate our way around this smorgasbord of culture? How to decide where to go, what to see and how to get there? We almost need a cultural compass….

So for the last few months, with the Future Bank grant awarded by Courvoisier to a collaboration between two of their Future 500 members,  we’ve been developing exactly that.  Culture Compass – along with this main online magazine -  is a new application for internet and mobile devices allowing users to fully engage and inter-act with the cultural landscape. And, here’s the good bit, to help create it.

How does it work?
You can access information on cultural events, and within a radius of your geographical location if you choose. Up pops a map with icons, pointing out the events, which will either be recommended by Culture Compass,  the Culture Spotters  ( more next)  or a branded festival, happening or event. You then click on an icon, all the event information is revealed, and the Culture Compass  then literally guides you there. For extra value, events recommended by Culture Compass will have exclusive content such as image galleries, reviews and features.

Who are the Culture Spotters?
You are. We’re inviting users not just to be bystanders to culture, but to participate in its creation. We call it crowd curation. We’re consistently asked to vote, comment,  chat or share. We’ve seen how popstars can be made through the crowd sending a text, online celebrities born in 140 characters, brands discovered by pressing share. Now, by sending in Culture Spots you can democratically participate in forming the cultural landscape.

Tell me more….
If you see an exhibition, know about an arts festival, are off to a friend’s gig or reckon you know where the best underground reading is taking place, you can quickly and easily send the information, from wherever you are, to Culture Compass, either on your mobile device or tablet via the app, or on your desktop, via the Culture Spot link on the main Culture Compass site. You can also email a spot, or send it on Twitter, using the hashtag #culturespot.

The ‘spot’ is then moderated ( to weed out any SPAM, duplicates and fact check ) and then the event becomes part of Culture Compass, and other users can find it.  These spots will collectively make up the cultural landscape – common themes found; threads discovered and trends uncovered.

It’s a compass and a ‘compass.’

If I submit lots of spots to the compass, what’s in it for me?
As an incentive to become a ‘Culture Spotter’  and be part of this exciting community you’ll be offered a number of things:

If your ‘spot’ is used on Culture Compass as part of the main site’s editorial your byline will appear, and you’ll get a contributor page with your biog details and links to your blog, Twitter, Facebook or site.
Culture Compass will operate a points system for spots, and when you achieve a number of points you’ll receive a widget to add to your facebook page/ blog/ website, enabling you to show off your cultural credentials.
You’ll be eligible for a prize for each points category.
Once you achieve a number of points you’ll have the option to become a moderator.

Culture Compass aims to become a dynamic, engaged community, revealing culture in all its forms to all, and by all.

We’re almost ready to launch Phase 1 of the Culture Compass app. It’s free, and currently available for iPhone and Android. Please check back or sign up to our newsletter to receive details of where to download it.

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