The WalkHighlands website is an award winning website which shows to web 2.0 technologies can be brought together to create a rural business. This video gives a good overview of how they started the site and the technologies they use to maintain the site.
Core to the website is the ability to add your experience of a walk, great way to find out what it's really like - this helps build a community around the site. The website also provides RSS feeds/Facebook and twitter links - good for building that community. You can see from the feeds that the site is kept active, it is so easy for websites to have lots of good intentions, but if information is not kept fresh and up-to-date people will lose interest.
They make money from the site by selling targeted advertising, to accommodation providers, cafes, guides and holidays etc.
They also use a variety of maps, find a walk on Google Earth and print out an OS map for when you do the walk.
This website shows the characteristics described in this article - a blend of business and passion. Other characteristics include consistency, reliability of experience, approachability and communication.
As well as providing a business for themselves the site, can help boost other local businesses through its cheap, targeted advertising.
A good use of integrated Web 2.0 technologies and associated with a good article. This examples shows how all the dynamic and interactive elements of Web 2.0 can be used to good effect and to generate additional business to those that are of highest quality.
ReplyDeleteShirley, this is a really good example of a useful website. I myself was involved in setting up several walking or tourist websites in a mountainous part of Bulgaria as part of a support program for the region, but they never seemed to really work as, after a while, no one took care of them. It's interesting how this website is operated - from what I read it's a small business, I wonder whether it gets support from the government or through grants?
ReplyDeleteNelly, I know that they got some set up grants, but don't know if they continue to get support.
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