Discussion: URL-provided at start, to the O' Map PDF
in: Orienteering; News
May 30, 2014 5:36 PM
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In addition to the regular courses, we have an extra short course available (~Yellow level) - that is only available as a .pdf on your favorite internet-connected device.
Last 2 characters of the (short) URL are provided after the competitor start-punches.
How new is this?
Last 2 characters of the (short) URL are provided after the competitor start-punches.
How new is this?
May 30, 2014 6:55 PM
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Pretty neat.
Something sort of related: http://www.iorienteering.com/ . Permanent course guys might try this...
Something sort of related: http://www.iorienteering.com/ . Permanent course guys might try this...
May 30, 2014 7:06 PM
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I suggest using a QR code to give the URL to the user - or at least providing the option.
May 30, 2014 8:09 PM
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This is a great idea, especially to use this as a "bonus" course so that traditionalists don't have to choose one way or the other.
I'm not aware of other orienteering clubs having done this at an event, but there a few orienteering-ish apps out there like Erik linked, which are more geared for non-events (like perma-courses). As far as technology and perma-courses go, I thinkwhere the bears will eat you the Canmore Nordic Centre does something novel.
For 'Hood Hunts (a grassroots urban score-o), we offer 3 ways to play:
1) PYOM (print your own map, from a PDF on the website)
2) Open the PDF on your smart device
3) Download a georeferenced map on your smart device using the Maplets app
While it's not new that people are orienteering using PDF's on devices, it is new that you're providing the map link on the clock.
I'll second Ian's suggestion of also using a QR code. Although, in my experience, it won't get used very often. (Probably because "QR Codes are Dead")
I represent CascadeOC at the monthly RoadRunner Sports Adventure Runs, and that includes hosting a checkpoint on an orienteering map. There are several ways of getting that map, none of which are on paper:
1) Snap a photo of the map poster we have at our booth at event HQ
2) Visit the map on our Facebook page
3) Scan the QR code at our booth, which directs you to our map online
Very few people use the QR code method. They either don't have a QR code reader, or if they do, they use it so infrequently that they've forgotten how to use it.
I've also been including QR codes on 'Hood Hunt maps. My thought would be that someone who shows up at the event and forgets to bring a paper map can easily get the link from someone who has a paper map. Also, when participants get stopped by curious passersby, they could show them a QR code.
Again, having the QR codes doesn't seem to be a big plus, but they are really easy to set up, so I'll keep doing it until something better comes along.
I'm not aware of other orienteering clubs having done this at an event, but there a few orienteering-ish apps out there like Erik linked, which are more geared for non-events (like perma-courses). As far as technology and perma-courses go, I think
For 'Hood Hunts (a grassroots urban score-o), we offer 3 ways to play:
1) PYOM (print your own map, from a PDF on the website)
2) Open the PDF on your smart device
3) Download a georeferenced map on your smart device using the Maplets app
While it's not new that people are orienteering using PDF's on devices, it is new that you're providing the map link on the clock.
I'll second Ian's suggestion of also using a QR code. Although, in my experience, it won't get used very often. (Probably because "QR Codes are Dead")
I represent CascadeOC at the monthly RoadRunner Sports Adventure Runs, and that includes hosting a checkpoint on an orienteering map. There are several ways of getting that map, none of which are on paper:
1) Snap a photo of the map poster we have at our booth at event HQ
2) Visit the map on our Facebook page
3) Scan the QR code at our booth, which directs you to our map online
Very few people use the QR code method. They either don't have a QR code reader, or if they do, they use it so infrequently that they've forgotten how to use it.
I've also been including QR codes on 'Hood Hunt maps. My thought would be that someone who shows up at the event and forgets to bring a paper map can easily get the link from someone who has a paper map. Also, when participants get stopped by curious passersby, they could show them a QR code.
Again, having the QR codes doesn't seem to be a big plus, but they are really easy to set up, so I'll keep doing it until something better comes along.
May 31, 2014 2:04 AM
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I much prefer a 30 cent printed map to running around with a several hundred dollar smart device in my hand. The cost of a fall on concrete or into a puddle is not worth the exposure.
Yes people love their smart devices. I love mine. But besides the risk to the device, I am still much quicker with a traditional paper map than I could be trying to scroll or zoom and waiting for the device to respond because of a weak or slow connection.
I think it's great that we try new things and this will certainly attract some new people to orienteering. But give me the alternative of a traditional map.
Yes people love their smart devices. I love mine. But besides the risk to the device, I am still much quicker with a traditional paper map than I could be trying to scroll or zoom and waiting for the device to respond because of a weak or slow connection.
I think it's great that we try new things and this will certainly attract some new people to orienteering. But give me the alternative of a traditional map.
May 31, 2014 2:49 AM
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I agree with Mike 100%! Would much rather have a paper map, for all the reasons he listed. If I didn't fall on or drop my phone, I might intentionally smash it out of frustration. ;-)
Jun 1, 2014 5:47 PM
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I agree with Mike and Brooke (and who doesn't?) that orienteering with paper is quicker and better than using a PDF on a smaller, heavier, device. However, I think that this bonus event should be electronic only. It's a bonus event on top of a regular event, which means if you're reallyreallyreally pro paper, you can just run all of the regular courses before you run out of things to run.
Having an exclusive electronic course does two things: 1) it offers something specifically for people who do everything on their devices and can't be bothered with paper anything (maps, books, tickets, paper cash), and 2) it also can provide a new twist to traditionalist orienteers and bring them more in line with how hundreds of millions of people navigate these days. More people are interacting with maps now than any time in human history, and it's certainly not on paper. Another bonus for the traditionalists: you can zoom in, so no more need for magnifying glasses, squinting at 1:15000 maps, and complaining about print quality.
Two quick anecdotes. As I mentioned above, I offer 3 ways to play at 'Hood Hunts. Most of them are just attended by "regulars" who also do some orienteering and Street Scrambling, so just about everyone plays with paper maps. However, in 2013, there were two of them that were decidedly different. One was organized here in Seattle for my employer's network of new college hires and interns. Lots of young people, and significantly more people using devices. The other was in Wichita for the general public, which doesn't have any orienteering. The demographic was more varied, but again, significantly more device usage.
The other anecdote is from the adventure runs at the local running store, which is in a Seattle neighborhood that's very popular with young adults. They email out course maps at the start of the race, and pretty much everyone runs around with devices to navigate to the checkpoints.
If we want to expose orienteering to a lot more people, it's easier to modify our game to their platform, than it is to entice them with anachronistic paper maps (bring the game to them, instead of bringing them to our game).
Orienteering needs to adapt to technology in the long-term, and this PDF maps are a great, easy way to do it. It'd be even better if we could offer GPS-enabled, georeferenced orienteering maps on these devices. Let's be honest, orienteering is intimidating, so offering "training wheels" wouldn't be such a bad idea. Sure, it'd be a sell out to true orienteering, and yes, Simone and Thierry with paper would still beat track stars with iPhones. But 99.9% of our potential market isn't Simone and Thierry. Heck, 99.9% isn't Mike, Brooke, or me, either.
A few specific responses:
waiting for the device to respond because of a weak or slow connection
Once you download the PDF, a weak/slow connection is irrelevant. What is relevant would be accidentally deleting the file, dead batteries, and broken devices. Also, for events without network access, you can create a local network and have maps available there.
If I didn't fall on or drop my phone
There are some pretty beefy cases out there! However, I can see this becoming an issue at the competitive level, but as I mentioned before, I think the motive behind this is to get more first-timers out on courses, who won't be as inclined to go full tilt out there. At some point, if they are committed, they'll realize that it's faster and more efficient with paper. I'm not advocating that we change the sport at the top, I'm just suggesting that we could be doing better at making our sport more accessible to everyone.
Having an exclusive electronic course does two things: 1) it offers something specifically for people who do everything on their devices and can't be bothered with paper anything (maps, books, tickets, paper cash), and 2) it also can provide a new twist to traditionalist orienteers and bring them more in line with how hundreds of millions of people navigate these days. More people are interacting with maps now than any time in human history, and it's certainly not on paper. Another bonus for the traditionalists: you can zoom in, so no more need for magnifying glasses, squinting at 1:15000 maps, and complaining about print quality.
Two quick anecdotes. As I mentioned above, I offer 3 ways to play at 'Hood Hunts. Most of them are just attended by "regulars" who also do some orienteering and Street Scrambling, so just about everyone plays with paper maps. However, in 2013, there were two of them that were decidedly different. One was organized here in Seattle for my employer's network of new college hires and interns. Lots of young people, and significantly more people using devices. The other was in Wichita for the general public, which doesn't have any orienteering. The demographic was more varied, but again, significantly more device usage.
The other anecdote is from the adventure runs at the local running store, which is in a Seattle neighborhood that's very popular with young adults. They email out course maps at the start of the race, and pretty much everyone runs around with devices to navigate to the checkpoints.
If we want to expose orienteering to a lot more people, it's easier to modify our game to their platform, than it is to entice them with anachronistic paper maps (bring the game to them, instead of bringing them to our game).
Orienteering needs to adapt to technology in the long-term, and this PDF maps are a great, easy way to do it. It'd be even better if we could offer GPS-enabled, georeferenced orienteering maps on these devices. Let's be honest, orienteering is intimidating, so offering "training wheels" wouldn't be such a bad idea. Sure, it'd be a sell out to true orienteering, and yes, Simone and Thierry with paper would still beat track stars with iPhones. But 99.9% of our potential market isn't Simone and Thierry. Heck, 99.9% isn't Mike, Brooke, or me, either.
A few specific responses:
waiting for the device to respond because of a weak or slow connection
Once you download the PDF, a weak/slow connection is irrelevant. What is relevant would be accidentally deleting the file, dead batteries, and broken devices. Also, for events without network access, you can create a local network and have maps available there.
If I didn't fall on or drop my phone
There are some pretty beefy cases out there! However, I can see this becoming an issue at the competitive level, but as I mentioned before, I think the motive behind this is to get more first-timers out on courses, who won't be as inclined to go full tilt out there. At some point, if they are committed, they'll realize that it's faster and more efficient with paper. I'm not advocating that we change the sport at the top, I'm just suggesting that we could be doing better at making our sport more accessible to everyone.
Jun 3, 2014 1:24 AM
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A Boy Scout did his Eagle project by creating three permanent courses at Vasona Lake County Park in Los Gatos, CA. A map to one of the courses is printed on a metal sign at three places in the park, with a QR code linked to the PDF of the map. See
http://baoc.org/wiki/Maps/Permanent_Courses
at the bottom of the page.
http://baoc.org/wiki/Maps/Permanent_Courses
at the bottom of the page.
Jun 3, 2014 2:18 AM
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I see battery life as the biggest problem for now. My phone would be fine for a short event like this, but for an 8 hour urban score-o or something, the battery wouldn't hold up the whole time under heavy use. Probably not even the extended battery. I suppose you could carry a few power sticks or a solar charger...
Jun 3, 2014 3:40 AM
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I see battery life as the biggest problem for now.
A few years ago, during the cell phone scavenger hunt craze (in which some orienteers actually won a new car), there was one here in Seattle promoted by Verizon, where 100 teams used HTC Windows Phones provided by the event organizers.
Problem was, they didn't have enough spare batteries, and the event was longer than the juice needed to be constantly using these devices during the race. I staffed a checkpoint at a coffee shop, and we had a few spare phones on hand, and just about every team coming in wanted to swap batteries with what we had. We'd take in the used batteries, snap them in our phones and charge them until the next team came in. Other checkpoints were doing the same thing.
As a publicity stunt, it failed pretty miserably.
A few years ago, during the cell phone scavenger hunt craze (in which some orienteers actually won a new car), there was one here in Seattle promoted by Verizon, where 100 teams used HTC Windows Phones provided by the event organizers.
Problem was, they didn't have enough spare batteries, and the event was longer than the juice needed to be constantly using these devices during the race. I staffed a checkpoint at a coffee shop, and we had a few spare phones on hand, and just about every team coming in wanted to swap batteries with what we had. We'd take in the used batteries, snap them in our phones and charge them until the next team came in. Other checkpoints were doing the same thing.
As a publicity stunt, it failed pretty miserably.
This discussion thread is closed.