So I stayed pretty much on track with my initial proposal and I created a mock road trip from New Jersey to Florida and mapped all of the NPS sites along the way. In total, there were 19 sites on the route that would add less than ~30 minutes (round trip) to the overall trip. For each of these sites, I sourced the audio and “see more” from the NPS website. While this was much easier than familiarizing myself with the ins and out of every site along the way, it is also presumably what would be done if this app were actually created and verbiage was to be drafted. Each site also lists how much time it would add to the trip, the site’s (non-apocalypse) hours, and any relevant fees. All of this information can be found on my google map!
I also created a mock one-page proposal to Waze that outlines the scope of this project, various NPS statistics, and the suggested contract for something like this. I may be a little under-qualified to actually pitch to Waze, but this would be a good starting point if I decide to take this project to the next steps. After Waze accepts this proposal and signs me on with a massive salary, the presumable next steps would be to pitch this project to NPS. This is where I really shine.
Waze currently has an initiative called Waze Local, which partners with local and franchise organizations to create targetted ads while you’re driving. I found a presentation that they used in the past and photoshopped it to mimic my presentation. This presentation includes screenshots of what I intent the interface to look like and it outlines the different features. And yes, it is very hip.
The map (with all verbiage, basic site info, and distance), Waze one-pager, and pitch presentation to NPS are the three deliverables I will complete for this project. As of now, I have all of mostly these done. I just need to compile them in one package and write the presentation notes for the NPS pitch.
Hi Luke, Very excited to see how this project has come together! It’s great to see all the work that you put into mapping out some example sites to work with, and to layout what the audio would work like. The slide deck you sent over to me, which we can also see an example of in your post here, is really slick. This looks like a really polished pitch deck. I also appreciate the work you put into researching how waze local and it’s effects. Altogether this is really impressive work! I do hope that you look into reaching out to Waze and NPS about the results of this. I think this is a really solid and interesting idea that could have potential to become something.
Hey Luke, I love seeing how this project has come together and agree entirely with Trevor that this has real potential as a conceivable partnership with both Waze and NPS.
In doing some research for my other papers, I came across information about some parks/site that *almost* became NPS sites but for one reason or another, didn’t make the cut. I’m wondering if there is space in your proposed project for sites of that nature. I realize that it would be a more difficult (and perhaps moot) pitch to NPS, since I’m not sure how it would benefit them, but I’m wondering if even having information “pop up” about the sites that almost-were (even if they aren’t options for visiting) would offer further context and interpretation to an already excellent model?
Thanks for the idea, Carmen! I had no idea that there is a whole group of “almost” NPS sites. I’m not sure how I would work that into this proposal, specifically, but the end product might not be limited to National parks, rather all historical sites that want to participate, kind of like Waze’s Local campaign.