Using skignz at Live Motor Sports Events

Summer is virtually here, the bad weather is going and the sun is shining, good times are getting planned and we are now officially into ‘British Summer Time’ 2014.

You will have your favourite hobbies, days out and events planned that you wish to do. Years from now you will have that great memory, maybe a song, and certainly pictures to remind you and take you back to a specific time and place during the summer of 2014.

Many of you will get these memories from attending Live Events, Motor Sports etc...

Let us set the scene...

You along with friends/family will set off for a live motorsport event this summer and you will arrive after (in most cases) a long journey in a car, van or coach. 

Skipping forward past finding a place to park in the middle of a field and getting yourself through the entrance into the event before grabbing a drink and go for a look around, find out what's going on and where?

You finally get your drinks and you then settle in, relax, in order to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the entertainment of the day.

Sound's perfect? This to most is the usual journey each of the millions of people will make this summer to attend the thrilling exciting live motor sport events on offer.

Now you have sat and enjoyed this show for a while and you fancy another drink or how about something to eat?

Where are the refreshment stands? In fact where are the toilets as you don't fancy making two trips! 

As with the majority of people, finding the refreshments and toilets is one thing! 

But finding your way back to where you originally were! Now that’s a whole new level of stress and hassle!

Going through your mind is no doubt a few or all of the following:

- How will you get back to where you where?

- How do you find your friend(s)? The proverbial 'needle in a haystack'!

Unless your friends are 9ft tall and everybody else is under 5ft tall, you are going to struggle! Add in the feeling you get after a couple of drinks and your orienteering skills are not the sharpest they have ever been! You feel a bit disorientated.

Is there a solution? Other than carrying around a massive sign or a flag saying 'I am here!'

What happens if everybody does the same thing, you are all right back to where you started, looking for a 'Needle in a Haystack' springs to mind.

The solution has arrived and does not require you to carry anything more than what you walk around with in your pocket every day - a smartphone or for events like this you may take a tablet with you.

Lets go back to the point where you're stood looking for the refreshments stand and toilets. Now open up your smartphone/tablet and click on the skignz App!

Now 'Pan' your phone around as if you were videoing the crowd!

As you do this and as if by magic, little 'virtual signs' will appear above the toilets and the refreshment stand. Pan further to see what is on next and to allow you to keep track of who you are watching, which car you are keeping an eye on? Use the pinch on your phone to zoom in and out on each skign, press the skign on your screen, a short press activates some relevant content, a longer press reveals how far away that actual skign is located!

How about getting yourself some vouchers or offers to the next live motor sports event, just click the image on the left hand side and you will be taken straight to the site where you can access these from and download them right to your phone.

So back to your little mission to get a drink and something to eat, visit the toilet while you are there.

You have used skignz to find each of these locations.

This type of skignz can been provided by the live motorsport event producers or their sponsors to help you find your way around the event and make your life easier, while enhancing the whole experience.

Now you have been to the toilet, bought your food and drink and you want to find your friends?

This is where skignz really becomes your best buddy!

Hold up the phone again and pan across the crowd and you will see 'skignz' above each of your friends heads! You will only see there’s because like with other social media channels you are only linked to people you know or want linked to you!

Now if they have a great big skignz above their head - is that not the easiest way to find them EVER? Theirs and your personal skignz will have a picture of you, your name and a little comment - like a 'tweet' or 'Facebook status update' on their skignz!

Not only can you find your friends, but also each one is personalised to them!

We at skignz though want to make finding ANYTHING! Easier...!

So we have included in the free to download App, the ability to 'drop a skignz or arrow' over your car or coach you travelled on (remember the thing you arrived in and parked in a sea of cars and coaches earlier - you will need that to get home!).

So now, not only do you know where you parked (ready for quick exit to beat the traffic), where the toilets, food, drinks and who's on next and at what time... download their vouchers/offers at a good price, right to your handset, even where the charging points are so your phone does not go dead!

How much of an improved live motorsport event experience is that?

Motor sport events, live events and even places such as festivals are the easiest place in the world to get lost & lose your friends!

You dont have to worry about getting lost, finding anywhere specific, losing your friends? skignz is not only helpful, insightful and interactive, is also great as a safety device.

Getting lost is a horrible feeling, losing your friends and wandering around aimlessly for hours is no fun, after all you came with your mates to have a good time - mostly together, because an experience shared, is so much more than one you experience on your own!

So why not download the skignz app if you are going to a motorsport event, festival event or any other live event? Even if the venue has not heard about skignz or got their event environment skignzed up!

Get your copy of skignz now:

www.skignz.com/download

You can do it yourselves between you and your friends! Even if you only use it to find each other when you get lost, find your original seat or car!

Surely thats gotta be worth 10 seconds of your time download a simple little app that could be the coolest thing on your phone this summer! It certainly will be for those people when they get lost and they will!

Enjoy this summer, enjoy the motorsports and other live events, but enjoy it more, knowing you have a little app on your phone that can help you navigate around a strange place, find your friends and find your transport home, because if you don't find that, you won't get to go to anymore events this summer!

Bring on the summer of 2014 - When you hear the new Calvin Harris song 'Summer' and you and your friends have all downloaded skignz to see what its like?

We are sure from now on you will remember the summer of 2014 as the 1st year that you used skignz!

Get your copy of skignz now:

www.skignz.com/download

Please also check out the rest of our blog, YouTube videos and social media sites using the links below.

www.skignz.com

www.facebook.com/discoverskignz

www.twitter.com/discoverskignz

www.youtube.com/skignz

Further Evolving the University Campus Experience

Over the previous 10 months we have been working with Teesside University to provide the skignz technology platform for the benefit of students, staff and visitors alike.

Due to the success of the platform, TU have been working with skignz since Freshers to find ways to build on the foundation that was in place. The focus was to find ways in which to maximise the potential of the skignz platform in as many areas of the University and its operations as possible.

Freshers Welcome Week

This proved to be quite a daunting task as it soon became apparent that skignz could actually benefit so many different areas of the University that it was agreed that focussing on a few key areas would be key to the ongoing success of skignz, whilst also allowing a period of educating the varying audiences for each key development.

We have covered various aspects of our progress with TU on previous blog posts, the opinions of the students, how it has helped them and improved their overall student experience. 

However not just at Teesside it has enhanced their experience in general of the town and now the can adventure to where they wish knowing they will be provided with skignz on all their exploring activities.

Freshers @ Teesside University SU

Now talking about exploring... 

We are focusing our main activities for launch at fresher’s week in September as there will be an influx of new students attending Teesside University, resulting in a increase in students and parent's wandering around an unfamiliar campus and the surrounding Middlesbrough Town Centre.

We have three key focus areas that we are currently developing. 

Key Focus One:- Open Day Introduction

In June Teesside University has one of their main open days for prospective/future students to attend and see if they would like to start their career at TU and if this is the right place for them. As this can be the first impression any prospective scholar has of TU, its essential that its not only the right impression but a lasting one.

Middlesbrough Central Library

 The prospective students will visit a number of campuses before making their final decision and even when their choice is made, results from their current academic institute may not allow them their first choice, second choice or even third in some cases. 

So being memorable for all the right reasons is vital!

skignz have been looking at what we can do to enhance the open day experience to further increase the chances that the impression created will help those to choose to come to TU.

When prospective students attend the open day there will be a skignz treasure hunt for them to take part in. This is to help them find their way around campus and get to see where everything is located and just what is available.

During this specific Treasure Hunt, prospective students will have focussed relevant content such as visit a shops, parks, bars, restaurants, museums, library, art gallery, halls of residence, cinema, live venues, even the estate agents should they not be successful in getting a place in Halls. 

Shopping on Linthorpe Road

It is essential to the decision making process that visitors to campus, don't only see what is on campus but also what the surrounding area is like and what it has to offer. 

This way the prospective students are not just going to a random area where they don’t have a clue where everything is, as that can be a very daunting experience! Going to University, especially away from home, is already daunting enough!

Key Focus Two:- Induction & Orientation

Now that the decision has been made and applications have been accepted, September soon comes around and students arrive on the University Campus ready for the next stage of their lives. Being in an unfamiliar place, with new people has its own challenges so if there is a way to reduce the stress, even a little less, will go a long way towards helping, speed up the settling in period and allow enjoyment to replace anxiety.

MIMA 

Simple support such as helping the new students navigate around campus and surround area in a safe yet simple way. Help them understand where all of the practical places they will need during their stay, such as doctors /dentist surgeries, supermarkets, banks, hair dressers/barbers, even cashpoints and the huge range of student support services available.

All of this is available through using the skignz technology and the app on their smartphone by placing 'virtual signs in the sky' above each of these locations so that new students will know where they are? If they do decide to come to Teesside (as it is a great place to study and live) then they will want to get their bearings and know where the important places are as soon as possible. 

TS One, Southfield Road

Cineworld, Middlesbrough

The new students can then find out where each one of these places are and then make their own decisions as to where they want to go. A huge benefit of skignz is this information is there ALL year round so its available as and when its required, regardless of location!

This Treasure Hunt will also have a physical aspect to it, in as much as, each location will provide you with a 'order to fulfil' this could be picking up a menu at a restaurant or getting the latest film leaflet from the cinema. 

Its not initially apparent but once the Treasure Hunt is completed each participant will have their own personalised 'Welcome Pack' relevant to them.

Key Focus Three:- Visiting Parents, Guardians, Family & Friends

As the two other key focus areas are student related, we felt that other key audiences visiting the University Campuses should not be ignored so we decided to look at ways to help other visitor groups. One particular group is the parents, guardians and families who also visit the campus for the open days and interview days.

The World Famous Transporter Bridge

As part of choosing a University to study at, prospective students consult not only their peers but a lot of influence is carried by the families especially parents and guardians. It is essential that parents/guardians know what the area is like too, where their loved ones are staying and familiarise themselves with it. 

In most cases the experience of 'losing a child' to University life is a proud moment it is also a very difficult one for the parents as their baby (in their eyes they still are) is off to a new place with unfamiliar surroundings, different people, environments and experiences.

One Life Medical Centre

Once a parent waves off their child to University, they will still be keen to know where they are going, where they are staying and what the area is like. 

Using skignz, parents can also download the app so they can access different content that is relevant to what they would like to know about the area. What is important for parents about this prospective University is not necessarily the same as what the students are looking to find out or what is important to each!

This approach not only allows the parents/guardians to get a feel of what the area is like but also understand where things are. This helps once their young fresher is at University and they speak on the phone, when they explain where they are, parents/guardians on the other end of the phone have a mental picture of where they are, what it looks like! This might not sound important, but to a parent this helps ease the nerves as it puts them at ease being able to envisage the place!

MIMA

In addition when it comes to visiting them, picking them up at the end of term etc... finding the way to their accommodation and knowing where to meet them is easier. Going one step further using the 'personal' aspect of skignz individuals can place their own skignz for free so anyone visiting them are able to see the skignz either above their housing or above themselves. 

Now people may think that these young people may not want you to use this, but it doesn’t have to be used as a tool to keep an eye on them at all times. That is not the case, its simply their to provide a visual identification for both parties to locate each other! The beauty of skignz is its very viral, so its not just restricted to University Campuses and their surrounding towns. 

Once Parents and Guardians have skignz on their smartphones then they can use it back home, on holiday, at work, with friends, pretty much anywhere on the planet they find themselves, anytime they want. Its excellent for use on your travels, for when you go places and even for general use such as when you need to locate a certain area, pre plan it before you go using skignz!

Further areas in which we are making skignz become seamless and ingrained in student life is that by September 2014 every member of staff, student and associate who have a Teesside University email address will automatically be pre-registered with a skignz account and loaded up with specific skignz templates personalised to them. 

skignz is simple, fun all from a App!

Each type of skignz for each person will be associated a certain colour to show the differentiate between students, staff and associates. 

For example: Students could have an orange outline, staff could be red and associates will have a purple trim. 

This will be so that each person is distinctive and it will be easier to associate who each person is with their different coloured trims. 
This can be defined each further to show which school of study they belong to?

In order to support the students with the actual downloading, use, account and other functionality we are developing a fun and interesting 'demo video' taking the user through a little journey, showcasing the features, benefits, the why and the how they can get the most from using skignz. 

We feel the sooner the users get to grips with skignz and how it helps them on campus they will begin to explore for themselves what else skignz can do, how it can help them in other areas of their lives and even invent new ways in which skignz can 
improve their lives!

TFM SoundWorks, Live Music & Events

As skignz is evolving with Teesside University, we are working together to provide the most up to date resource on 'everything skignz'.  

We aim to provide a central resource allowing anyone wanting to know further information on skignz, How to use it? what can it do? FAQ's, Help Videos, New and upcoming developments through to technical support function. 

The use of skignz at TU already has a lot of good stories, interesting content, ideas, information and updates on both skignz and TU's varying social media channels.

We want people to have fun and enjoy using skignz and we look forward to meeting all the new students and parents/guardians, family and friends in June and September for the open/interview days and ultimately the induction & orientation days, which start during freshers.

Please visit:

www.skignz.com

www.facebook.com/discoverskignz

www.twitter.com/discoverskignz

www.youtube.com/skignz

Using skignz at a height

You know, in my life I haven't done much travelling. As many families did when they were younger I never went on many vacations. I’m not too sure why that was, maybe as my family didn't like travelling, flying or even holidays themselves; I'm just not sure. 

However I did go to a few places as I started to grow up. They were short vacations for a day or two when I went with either school or college or now even friends, and they were very good times. 

1WTC & The Empire State Building, New York, US Empire State  / 
World Financial Centre, Shanghai, China 

A lot of my trips included sightseeing as it was partly education trips I went on, and although a lot of sightseeing was previously planned to do alongside having a good time, it never fully got carried out when we arrived to the destination. I will give you an example of one time.

 "I went on a vacation with secondary school when I was in year 10. We were going to Disneyland Paris. Now imagine being me and not having been on any vacations when I was younger, I was extremely excited about this trip. One of my first trips was to Disneyland Paris! It was for three days and two nights as I remember. Now I did not have a clue where I was going. I just followed the instructions of the teachers and listened to my friends as one or two of them had been there before. 

Disneyland Paris, France

This did not bother me too much on the way there as we went by Eurostar and that was an enjoyable journey. However, when we got there we had to find our hotel. That was a struggle. Where we were staying was a lot of different hotels in one place and they were all differently themed. We were looking for a cowboy themed one and it was extremely hard to find as there was so many and we spent quite a while looking for it. All we wanted to do was get unpacked and go explore for a while before catching up on some sleep. 

Once we had finally managed to find our room we settled in till the next day. For the two days we were there we had planned to go to a business event on one of the days and spend a day in the adventure park itself. Finding the business event was easy for us as we just got a bus directly there. However when it came to finding and getting to the adventure park that was a different story! Finding our way there took us a small while as we were unsure what bus to get and which direction to head in. Once we had figured that struggle out we arrived at the park, and it was huge! 

Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

There was so much to see and so many rides to go on. Now we were given a map but that was so hard to use. We spent a lot of the time looking where we needed to be heading and where we wanted to go. 

Many times we were going back over on ourselves which was no fun because we just wanted to go and see everything! Now we did see a majority of the sights and it was a really great time, however they could have done with something more easily to understand than a map of the place. Not everyone knows how to use them. 

I definitely want to go back and I will one day and even take my family members, but I will be sure to plan our trip ahead so that we know where we are going and don't waste too much time wandering about. However saying that it was one of the best vacations of my life still to this day! I can’t stop telling anyone who asks me just how good it is! I suggest you try it."

Royal Clock Tower, Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Now you're probably wondering why I am telling you about my own story. Well that is because at that time I needed something simple to help me navigate around an unfamiliar and strange place. 

As my journey involved travelling through unknown places (to me anyway) and even though I didn't have any idea where I was going, I now know that the group leaders I was with at the time, didn't either! 

Blind Navigation based upon traditional maps and plenty of hope, hope that we would eventually arrive at our chosen destination.

Burj-Khalifa, Dubai, UAE

I would like you to understand and put yourselves in my shoes. Even though you have probably already been in my shoes and will be most of the time when you go travelling because it is very hard to find your way about and go sight-seeing, you still require some different kind of help when you're sightseeing.

That’s when I now tell you about skignz. Just imagine if I had skignz when I went sightseeing in Paris, I would have been able to see what I wanted to without getting lost and wasting time. 

Now, I know most of you know about skignz but I guess a lot of you may not use it to your full potential as you may not fully understand it. skignz does have short videos on our YouTube Channel for you to take a look at and see how great it really is. skignz is your sightseeing essential tool. 

Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney, Australia

You should use this on every trip you go on, yet you don't need to carry anything more that what you normally take with you. Its tucked away on your smartphone for when and wherever you need it, in return it will provide you with relevant content at that point you require it without going searching for it, either physically or through a search engine on your device!

It will make your time much more relaxing and enjoyable. I will give you links at the end of this post so that you can go read and have a see for yourself so that you fully understand it.

Now it’s not just about going round on trips and sightseeing. There is some of the best and tallest buildings to go to in the world that provide great sightseeing experience. 

Just naming a few you will recognise: The Burj Khalifa – Dubai, The Canton Tower – China, The London Eye – London, The Jin Mao Tower – Shanghai, The Willis Tower – Chicago and The Eiffel Tower – Paris. Now when you get to the top of these they will provide some sort of equipment that will allow you to extend your whole viewing experience.

They just keep getting taller, but all provide a viewing area for the public!

However what they don't have and would be exceptionally useful is skignz. When you get to the top it would be useful to see where each place is and what it is. skignz can provide you with the knowing of the whereabouts each place is located and information on it while you are there. 

skignz elevates (pardon the pun) your sightseeing experience to another level making it more enjoyable as you are on this adventure. It allows you to interact on a more personal level with the place you are visiting.

Views from the Top of The EDF Energy London Eye, UK

Lets take The EDF Energy - London Eye for an example. 

The EDF Energy London Eye is a massive tourist attraction that takes you so high you can see a whole lot of London. 

When you are in your 'little pod' you are provided with a 'mini Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 device' which is a 360 guide, however due to 'screen glare' you cannot read the screen properly and they were pretty much ignored by all on board in favour of their smart phones and portable devices such as tablets, cameras etc...! If only they had skignz hey!

The fixed position tablet provides the user with multi lingual features of key information on landmarks that can be seen from The EDF Energy London Eye. Even though it gives you multi-dimensional views of the sights of the capital and 24 hours filming, you cannot interact with the device as you could with skignz. 

If you are not totally confused at this point, additionally provided (for an additional fee) is a paper guide as shown in the below image!

If you had skignz up there you could see where each place is and interact with information of that place. It would tell you how far away it is, directions to get there and give you information on the place, opening times and more, everything you would want to know about sights on your sightseeing experience.

Petronas Towers Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

skignz is all about giving a person the best experience on their travels no matter where you go and improving 
your sightseeing experience. 

Visiting some of the biggest and tallest towers in the world to do sightseeing you need the right equipment handy to use for when you get up there. 

After all it isn't just about taking photographs you want to get to know about each place for when you wish to visit there while you are on your travels. 

Using skignz at a height is a thing of the future. skignz will be part of the future and watching this space a lot of companies will be using skignz as it will improve everyone’s experience. No matter where you are or where you go, you can use skignz! It is always there with you as it is on your mobile device. You can take it wherever you wish. 

Marina Bay, Singapore

So if you need to get to the next place on your trip or to find out some information, just get your phone out and let skignz do the work for you! 

After all who wants to be searching around for ages on their trips looking where to go and trying to understand maps? 

They are not the easiest thing in the world to use and I am not ashamed to say, that to this day I do not fully understand how to read a map. 

skignz has provided me with a whole new experience for when I go on my 'getaways' with family and friends.

View across the Marina Bay from Sands Hotel 

We would like you to experience skignz at a height. So why not give it a go on your next adventure. Whether you are visiting one of the tallest towers in the world or even going on a sightseeing expedition just like I did when I went to Disneyland Paris. 

Like I said previously I could have done with having skignz around then and why no one invented it at the time is beyond me, however now it is available for you to use.

So please don't just download it and leave it there. You will most likely be going somewhere this summer, even if it is just for a local small vacation and to a place you haven't been before, skignz will assist you and make your overall experience an enjoyable time. 

I know myself that if I go away this year somewhere I will be using it to go sightseeing from a height, and I will be using skignz as it will provide me with all the information I need right there on my own mobile device.

Viewing platform at the Grand Canyon, Nevada, US

If you want to find out more information on skignz or wish to use it on your next sightseeing adventure at a height, then please use the links below to find out more. 

You can watch our videos or read up on our website or social media sites. 




If you need more help then please don't hesitate to contact us regarding any query you may have. Our contact details are available on the website.

www.skignz.com

www.facebook.com/discoverskignz

https://twitter.com/discoverskignz

www.youtube.com/skignz