February 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 39

C O V E R S T O RY

net access. The growth of mobile
means unprecedented opportunities
for gathering patron data, engaging
the public, and enhancing revenue.
% The Explosion of Public Data
for Geographic Information
Systems (GIS): With public national and local data set map
" overlays " becoming abundant
and user experiences improving,
GIS is coming of age. With the
new availability of public data
sets come powerful new tools for
improving public health, serving
the underserved, acquiring land,
and documenting impact.
% Energy
Leadership
through

Park agencies...are seeing the primacy of data and the
movement away from proprietary systems on many
different fronts.
Building Automation. Traditionally, energy-saving technologies
have been à la carte products centering on individual systems and
pieces of equipment. Building automation centralizes technologies
and conserves energy by connecting equipment to Internet-based
software. The new automation
systems also promise nearly unlimited add-ons as an agency's
goals and needs evolve.

STRIVE TO ENGAGE
A new, NRPA-exclusive mobile-based platform is coming soon to
engage community members.
Strive is a mobile-based platform designed to utilize
Web 2.0 technology in order to build a stronger,
healthier community through activities and
programs:
9Community members are able
to view programs, register, and
notify and share events with
friends, along with staying
updated on schedules and
locations through a mobile and
Web interface.
9Interface allows for sharing of
geo-locations, " check-ins, " and tracking of events in which community members are participating.
9Integrates with existing registration and event systems.
9Created to be ﬂexible, the Strive platform is a universal
communicator and data integrator.
Over the next few months, Strive will be working with park and
recreation agencies interested in becoming " Strive enabled. " If
you are interested in participating in this FREE member beneﬁt or
learning more, please contact customerservice@nrpa.org.

Parks & Recreation

| FEBRUARY 2013 | WWW.NRPA.ORG

Smartphones
Surge Ahead
Smartphones are at once the most
ubiquitous and the most intimate of
devices. According to the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life project, 83 percent of U.S.
adults now own a mobile phone of
some kind-and 43 percent own
smartphones. (Among 18- to 29-yearolds, the percentage rises to 66 percent.) The prevalence of smartphones
has led to a cultural shift-a growing
expectation that in the " in-between "
moments of their lives, individuals
will have ready access to games, social
media, shopping, entertainment, education, and time-sensitive messages.
Established park software vendors
like Active Network and Vermont Systems have steadily released mobile-enabled features that build upon existing
registration databases to reach patrons
with smartphones. The model goes
something like this: Registration data
enables smartphone " reach, " which in
turn leads to more data-and also to
increasingly detailed profiles of individual patrons over time.
According to the Mobile Marketing
Association, an organization encouraging self-regulation and standards in
the industry, one of the greatest challenges mobile marketers face is building trust in this uniquely personal medium. Yet, in most communities, local
park agencies already enjoy high levels
of trust from their customers, Choton
Basu, creator of the soon-to-launch
Strive community engagement platform, observes. Local parks are poised
as few " brands " are to use cross-chan-

February 2013 - Parks & Recreation

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