Self - analysis for Narrowcasting

Having spent an afternoon watching the travellers and being a new traveller in Holland myself...what are my perceptions of new opporunities for narrow casting? This little diagram shows a my journey from my house to the train station...

The time that occurs before leaving the house is interesting, because this time consists of many different things, depending of course on what kind of traveller you are, who you are travelling with and where you are going.

For some it this time is chance to turn drawers inside out scrambling to find your ticket...

For others this is time to double check and go through the journey in their minds to ensure everything is organised and in it's place.

Both scenarios are a little extreme, somewhere in the middle is where you would find me :)

Indeed, the most important thing is getting the right message across at the right place and time.

Time is also interesting when you look at how your mood is effected by the time of day. For instance, rush hour is an anxious and stressfull time, full of irritable workers itching to get home.

The morning may mean grumpiness at the thought of a day of work, or if you are lucky excitement at the thought of the day ahead...

Perhaps, the narrowcasting could address these moods and the emotions that go with them. The day of the week is also important, we all know what message we'd like to see on a train on a busy monday morning...

Little thoughts I had

When you go on a journey you are familiar with, you have landmarks in your head that you recognise and they reassure you that you are indeed going the right way and perhaps indicate how many more miles you have left till you reach your destination.

Could the narrowcasting tell us landmarks to look out for on a new journey? This could also be fun for children to do and keep them amused during the journey.

I noticed that current narrowcasting in train stations in Holland are mostly in Dutch. As a foreign traveller this reminds me that I am very much outside my comfort zone and in an unfamiliar area, which can often highten anxiety. A way round this would be to use universal symbols and imagery.

“There are hundreds of languages in the world, but a smile speaks them all.”