39 million people in the US now own a voice-activated smart speaker, according to research from NPR and Edison Research. Users can ask for breaking news, new restaurants, place their dinner orders, and listen to today's hits by simply saying what they're looking for and not having to lift a finger.
As the travel technology industry continues to roll out new innovations, consumers will turn to voice-activated devices to handle every aspect of their lives, including booking travel. The question is, how accurate and efficient can a smart-speaking device be when looking to plan, book, and relieve our wanderlust?
To further explain, I would love to connect you with mobile technology expert Michael Nuciforo, who is also Vice President of Mobile Strategy at CheapOair. Michael is a veteran in the travel technology industry, and is able to discuss the current trend of voice activated technology vs mobile and desktop technology when it comes to travel.
Topics he can discuss include, but are not limited to:
How voice-activated smart speakers can affect your ability to book travel, and why consumers will have a tricky time becoming mainstream in the short-to-medium term
How our brains have been trained to input a search query into engines like Google or Amazon to receive instantaneous results
How speaking to a voice activated technology system can actually be more time consuming when trying to complete a task
How consumers can utilize mobile and desktop technology to save time and money while booking travel
Michael's bio is below for your reference. I would be happy to connect you with him via phone or send over some questions via email as well.
Do you have any interest?
Best,
Lauren
Michael Nuciforo, Vice President of Mobile Strategy
Michael joined Fareportal in 2017 as the Vice President of Mobile Strategy. He is a global mobile thought leader and his prior experience includes foudning his own successful company also also leading the mobile departments at two of the UK's largest banks.
Prior to joining Fareportal, Michael was the co-founder and CEO of Parkhound – the Airbnb of parking. Founded in Australia, the company grew rapidly by disrupting the traditional car parking industry through an innovative mobile focused peer-to-peer business model. The company won numerous awards, rejected three investment offers on Shark Tank, and was subsequently acquired in 2017.
Prior to setting up his own business, Michael lived in London for five years and was Head of Mobile at Lloyds, the UK's largest bank. During his time at the company he oversaw a number of strategic developments that resulted in a huge adoption spike for the channel. Before joining Lloyds, Michael was Head of Mobile at RBS and was responsible for rolling out a new suite of applications for iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Windows.
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We are just a few weeks away from our women's event called, Actually, I Can. Saturday, April 14, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at The Park City Hospital, Blair Education Center.
It's a day focused on emotional and physical wellness for women and girls ages 14 and up. Come learn how to live more consciously and take charge of your thoughts, feelings,and emotions so you actually can live the life you want.
General Registration: $75
Fearless (Early registration before March 15): $65
Girl Power (Girls ages 14-18): $50
BFF (Registration for two!): $125
Bring your Crew (Buy a table): $500
Pricing includes breakfast and lunch
Ogden Arts Festival Accepting Applications For Art Vendors
Deadline to apply is April 2, 2018
OGDEN, UT (March 25, 2018) –The Ogden Arts Festival is looking for local and regional artists to participate in the 2018 festival to be held on June 9th and 10th. The Ogden Arts Festival is an interactive experience at the outdoor Municipal Gardens and Amphitheater located in Ogden’s historic downtown district. Managed by Nurture the Creative Mind and held as a fundraiser for the organization, the event is complete with artist booths, music, theater, kid’s activities, skateboard competition, urban arts area, and artisan food vendors.
Fine Arts and extremely creative, unique and high quality products will be accepted. For those interested, a complete list of media categories including, painting, photography, wood working, sculpture and more, along with a direct link to our application can be found here: https://www.zapplication.org/event-info.php?ID=6492.
“The festival is a great way to kick-off the summer surrounded by friends and family” says Amir Jackson, founder of Nurture the Creative Mind, and Director of the Ogden Arts Festival. “We’re excited to grow and implement new ideas. 2018 will bring more community partnerships, a focus on theatrical performances, and 2 days of live graffiti painting.”
Over the years the festival has drawn in creative talent from across the state of Utah as well as Nevada, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana and California. Since 2004 it’s been a natural addition to a community with active art galleries, monthly first Friday Gallery Strolls, and a thriving downtown.
For more information please see links below:
https://www.facebook.com/ogdenartsfestival/
https://nurturethecreativemind.org/
About Ogden Arts Festival: Established in 2004, the Ogden Arts Festival is produced as a quality event to cultivate community-wide engagement for appreciation of arts and cultural to residents and visitors of the Northern Utah area. Managed by Nurture the Creative Mind a 501c(3) nonprofit that empowers and establishes self-value in youth through creativity, while developing marketable skills.
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BIG SOMETHING
Announces New Album
The Otherside
Out April 20th, 2018
Previously featured on Relix, Glide Magazine,
Jambase, and more
Raleigh, NC - March 13, 2018 - Six piece powerhouse Big Something is thrilled to announce they will release their new album The Otherside on April 20th, 2018. The Otherside, the band's 5th full-length studio album, is a follow up to 2017's Tumbleweed, Big Something's most critically acclaimed release to date. Fans can check out the first single, "Sundown Nomad," here. The band will celebrate the release with a 2 night performance at Greenfield Lake Amphitheater in Wilmington, NC during their event The Big What? Wilmington on April 27 & 28. For more information, please visit: www.bigsomething.com.
On the new album, vocalist Nick MacDaniels shared: "We wanted to pay homage to the original concept of "an album" with this release where sitting down and listening to the whole thing is an experience - 20 minutes per side with a break between. Side A complements Side B. This is the first time we've setup an album to fit perfectly on a vinyl record like that."
"This album is special. It felt like we were capturing an important moment together as a band and as brothers." adds drummer Ben Vinograd. "The weight and responsibility to put out a record we were proud of shifted into something much deeper, a way to pay tribute to our friend and lyricist Paul. We wanted to embrace and honor the final words and stories he contributed to our cause."
A 6 piece powerhouse with a sound that is both unique and timeless, Big Something fuses elements of rock, pop, funk, and improvisation to take listeners on a journey through a myriad of musical styles. It's no secret why this group has quickly become one of the most exciting new bands to emerge from the Southeast. Soaring guitars, E.W.I. (electronic wind instrument), synths, horns and alluring vocal hooks rise to the top of their infectious collection of songs and represent a sound that has caught the ears of such revered stalwarts as Umphrey's McGee, Moon Taxi, Galactic, moe., Robert Randolph, and even The B52s, who have all tapped Big Something as direct support.
The Otherside was recorded at Echo Mountain Studios in Asheville, NC with the help of Grammy-nominated producer and Carolina Music Awards Lifetime Achievement recipient - John Custer (Corrosion of Conformity) who has produced all 5 of the bands albums.
On The Otherside, Big Something continues to build upon the post-apocalyptic peyote trip imagery from Tumbleweed, concluding the story of a nomad who has made it to the other side of his journey wandering through the night towards a desert sunrise. The album also showcases a different musical side of the band with a heavier, more focused and soulful collection of 8 songs including "Smoke Signal" - a track that was written for the studio and has never been performed live.
The project is dedicated to the memory of the bands late lyricist and friend Paul Interdonato who tragically passed away on Dec 3, 2017 - the same day the band was setting up in the studio to record. Now each song carries a certain weight as the album features several of the last lyrical compositions that Paul ever wrote for Big Something. It is a thoughtful and poignant musical journey paying tribute to a lifelong friend with a brilliant imagination.
Big Something is Nick MacDaniels (vocals, guitar), Casey Cranford (sax, EWI), Jesse Hensley (lead guitar), Ben Vinograd (drums), Doug Marshall (bass), Josh Kagel (keys, trumpet), and Rhett Huffman (keys).
For more information, please visit:
Website: www.bigsomething.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/theBIGsomething
Twitter: www.twitter.com/BigSomething
Instagram: www.instagram.com/bigsomethingofficial
Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/thebigsomething
Bandcamp: www.bigsomething.bandcamp.com
Spotify: http://spoti.fi/1sGotIg
The Otherside Tracklisting:
1. Sundown Nomad
2. Wildfire
3. The Cave
4. The Otherside
5. Smoke Signal
6. Cosmic Dust
7. Plug
8. Hole
Upcoming Tour Dates:
3/17 - Roanoke, VA @ Martin's Downtown
3/23 - Telluride, CO @ Sheridan Opera House
3/24 - Telluride, CO @ Sheridan Opera House
3/27 - Durango, CO @ The Animas City Theatre
3/28 - Frisco, CO @ The Barkley Ballroom
3/29 - Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater
3/31- Teton Village, WY @ Village Commons
4/3 - Bozeman, MT, @ The Eagles Ballroom
4/4 - Missoula, MT @ Top Hat Lounge
4/5 - Sandpoint, ID @ The Hive
4/6 - Sandpoint, ID @ The Hive
4/7 - Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern
4/10 - Boise, ID @ Neurolux
4/11 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Elevate
4/13 - Steamboat Springs, CO @ Schmiggity's
4/14 - Fort Collins, CO @ Hodi's Half Note
4/18 - Montgomery, AL @ Capri Theatre
4/19-21 - Live Oak, FL @ The Wanee Festival
4/27 - Wilmington, NC @ The Big What? Wilmington
4/28 - Wilmington, NC @ The Big What? Wilmington
5/5 - North Charleston, SC @ Trondossa Music & Arts Festival
5/25-27 - Chillicothe, IL @ Summer Camp Music Festival
5/31-6/2 - Minden, WV @ Mountain Music Festival
6/21-24 - Rothbury, MI @ Electric Forest Festival
6/28-7/1 - Rothbury, MI @ Electric Forest Festival
6/29 - Boston, MA @ House of Blues w/Umphrey's McGee
7/14-15 - Telluride, CO @ The Ride Festival
7/19-22 - Scranton, PA @ The Peach Festival
8/16 - Pittsboro, NC @ The Big What?
8/17 - Pittsboro, NC @ The Big What?
8/18 - Pittsboro, NC @ The Big What?
8/25 - Arrington, VA @ Lockn' Festival
