Bringing back the fun and adventure of the journey. Link at the bottom of the article.
Map Apps aren’t Maps
Finding my destination is too easy. Anytime I want to go anywhere, there are only two possibilities. Either I already know how to get there, or I use a map app. In no case am I likely to get lost or take a suboptimal route, and without those, there is no adventure in the journey. I’m simply following a fixed set of directions, either the ones I have memorized or the ones from my phone.
This is mainly because map apps aren’t maps. With actual paper maps, you study the map. You locate yourself. You locate your own destination. You devise your own path with road names and landmarks, and inevitably, you get a little lost.
With map apps, however, you do none of this. The app tells you where you are, where to go, and exactly how to get there. Every set of stairs, every bus number, every lane change, it’s all right there on the “map” on your phone. Sure, this method gets you to your destination, but it makes the journey harder to enjoy. Even if you’re going somewhere new, the “map” will tell you whether or not it’s open, where to enter, what the place is like. New places can’t surprise you, not really.
The Case for Inefficiency
I understand there is a place and time for arriving promptly to your destination with perfect knowledge of where to go and what to do, but that shouldn’t have to be every time. If you’re going somewhere for fun, why not make the journey fun too? Take new routes, explore new places, be adventurous!
Easier said than done. With almost no way to be lost, finding something new or unexpected during your journey isn’t common. When it does happen, it’s a treat, but that’s rare, and it shouldn’t be. There needs to be a way to navigate to new (or even old) places that makes the journey exciting while still getting you to your destination.
Introducing the Locator
Inspired by the fake gadgets from Hollywood spy/heist movies, I brought one to life. This Locator looks like a compass, but rather than pointing north, it points to your destination. It even tells you how far you are. These are the only two features. If you actually want to get to your destination, you need to figure out how.
In theory, a locator device should easily get you straight to your destination, right? I mean, it’s pointing right at it. Unfortunately, while the Locator points right at your destination, roads and paths do not. While using the Locator, you have to contend with wide buildings, indirect roads, and difficult topography, all getting in your way. Simply going where the arrow points doesn’t work.
And, once you’re at your destination, you need to figure out exactly what that is. Is it the shop over here? Maybe this spot here? In the process of figuring out where to go, you might find more places to explore along the way.
Sharing the Adventure
The adventures you have on journeys, big or small, are the ones worth sharing. Decipher a Locator with an accomplice, and watch as they pull you in directions you might have never considered. Or just give someone else a solo challenge by sending them a Locator and asking them to meet at the destination.
All you need to do is use the Locator Creator to make a new Locator with a new destination, and copy-paste the link into your phone’s browser. Once it’s up and running, it’ll take you wherever you want to go. The only question left is, where to next?