Hot Dang Interactive Media

01/02/2017

Sometimes, you just have to let go.

I'm announcing that effectively immediately, I'll be taking down the the Know Your Zone apps that I developed last year in response to inactivity on the City's part.

While the city does now have an app that works "good enough," it's that "good enough" part that really bothers me. Functionally, it's pretty good; but from a usability standpoint, it's absolutely atrocious. It saddens me that city employees and stakeholders felt that their app was "good enough," that there was obviously no usability or design study done, and that this is just "the way they do things" downtown. Such is the case with thee other apps -- paid fee apps developed by a third party.

While spending effort and money on things such as usability studies and a tight design isn't exactly the answer, improving the tender process to get a better product at a better price should be done, so that firms such as myself, or TiltedCompass (authors of another KnowYourZone app that looks just gorgeous!) can offer to build these city services from the perspective of the user.

What's next? I have the information available to not only provide snow zone and insect management zone details to citizens, but the ability to display lane closures, report and track online 311 requests, garbage day, police news briefs, and neighborhood information including the location and hours of libraries, pools, community centres, and municipal offices. I'll probably take a good look at how this can all fit together, and may even throw in some Winnipeg Transit data, including soliciting the city to open the API for peggo card balances.

So, while a "zero-click" know your zone app will be gone, please consider staying tune for what happens next. To the over 18,000 citizens who believed in a better way to get this information, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. And to the hundreds of citizens who called me on my person cell phone to get help, it was my pleasure, and I should bill the city for this service, but I won't because it was an absolute delight connecting with you. Plus, you are the proof that the City needs to try harder.

Always in your service,
James Robert Perih

12/10/2016

Not as large a sample size; 452 notifications sent out for zones E, H, K, O and S, who's parking ban has started this morning at 7am.

The Know Your Zone App attempts to make the City Of Winnipeg Citizen's Information Service more accessible to where people need their information -- on the go.

12/10/2016

Another 710 notifications sent out to parkers in zones B, G, J, L, N, R, and V, who have an overnight parking ban 7pm tonight through to 7am tomorrow. KNOW YOUR ZONE.

The Know Your Zone App attempts to make the City Of Winnipeg Citizen's Information Service more accessible to where people need their information -- on the go.

12/09/2016

Remote notifications send out for Snow Zones A, F, I, M, P, Q, T and U. Over 600!! Sending more tomorrow and during the weekend. Winnipeg's Know Your Zone App by James Perih

11/28/2016

Thoughts on starting a Hot Dang Interactive Media Patreon account, and using it to fund development of world-class Apps (Web/Mobile) for: Non-profits, Charity, and Small Business / Startups in pre-revenue phase? To whom would I distribute that kind of news?

We want to do something meaningful, but also do something sustainable.

11/26/2016

Want to engage with your existing and potential customers over SMS? We make this easy and affordable. Order pizza over SMS? Easy! Manage appointments over SMS? Easy! Contact us today and let's describe your dream system!

11/20/2016

Similar to online conversion, but much more streamlined and affordable is the sign-up form. We can build a custom sign up or registration form in as little as a day, and you'll have precious data you can utilize and make decisions on as quickly as it comes in. Contact us today and streamline your sign ups!

11/19/2016

Leads!! Starting at $99 for a lead capture system built to your requirements, collect email addresses from visitors who actually WANT more info about your product or service. More intimate communication leads to more validated sales. Need a website to capture these leads? We can do that too! Contact us today.

11/05/2016

Made a CoreLocation convenience library to provide the basis for a bunch of upcoming projects.

But the library is free to use and modify https://github.com/hotdang-ca/locationbearing

10/25/2016

All in a half-day's work. new app waiting for Apple approval.

10/24/2016

So, the City of Winnipeg has finally launched their app, which is really the culmination of their existing web infrastructure, adding favourites and mobile notifications. What does this mean for you:
• if you have an older device, no support yet
• if you have an android device like a Samsung or Google Pixel, no support yet
• it's going to be slow
• theirs require always-on internet. Mine remembers the last Zone you checked
• theirs give you just the snow zone, and street info. Mine also does collection day, councillor contact, and insect management zone.

But, the positives:
• when the city changes the way their infrastructure works, their app will/should just work. Mine may need updating
• if you want a push notification, they MIGHT work (hasn't been proven yet). I'm still working on mine.

Here's their app. Try it. See what you think. Ask yourself how much it cost the cut in tax payer money.

City Of Winnipeg - Know Your Zone by City of Winnipeg