Page 139 - AC/E Digital Culture Annual Report 2016

2.8. Other technologies: responsive websites, QR codes (re ection), Big Data and VRWe will not be commenting on websites in a separate section in this edition of the Annual Report for a very simple reason. When we asked what is meant by ‘new technologies’, we had in mind those that can provide cultural managers with opportunities. Are websites a new technology? Web technology – or rather all the most essential technologies involved (software and codes, hardware and network cables, the Internet) – has been around for more than a couple of decades. More importantly: it is widely used in its most basic forms.In a more sociocultural sense, web technology is something familiar and no longer revolutionary. Every day, the vast majority of us browse dozens of websites in search of information, to read the news, to make purchases or download les, and to socialise (chat with friends, share links with other contacts...). If we examine the world of the Web in greater depth, it is evident that it is constantly changing. Those at, static websites of the 1990s or the beginning of the last decade are a far cry from the hundreds of technical, creative and communicative possibilities we enjoy today.Nowadays nearly all festivals have a website. Their temporary or seasonal nature requires them to develop as e ective as possible communication mechanisms to keep audiences informed of the upcoming edition and its activities.We may take website to mean a space, however basic, where all the essential information about a festival can be found – dates and location, activities, times and guests, mission (what itis), collaborators or sponsors, and how to getin contact. There are simple websites designed using free platforms such as Wordpress.com and free templates and highly sophisticated and interactive websites created by teams of webdesigners and developers, especially for projects that are more complex or involve a large amount of information.Currently, according to INE80 statistics for 2014, 76% of the population aged between 16 and 74 used the Internet fairly regularly, and that year mobile Internet access (through devices such as smartphones or tablets) was two points higher than xed Internet access (desktop computers).Worldwide81 there are now more than three billion users, meaning that nearly 50% of the world’s population have some kind of Internet connection. According to ComScore, towards the end of 2013 this trend was also re ected on a global scale,82 with a di erence of more than 10% between mobile and xed Internet access. And by the beginning of 2015,83 the percentage of people who use only mobile Internet services had surpassed that of those who use desktop Internet almost exclusively.This implies many things. First and foremost, it points to a present and immediate future where mobile Internet access will continue to rise.84 Therefore, websites and digital spaces must be adapted accordingly.Mobile Internet access entails many di erent screen formats – screens smaller than those of a laptop or those in our o ce, but also others that are larger, such as those of so-called Smart TVs – all of which coexist in the same environment. It also means that there are various Internet speeds which are constantly modi ed, and qualities.Whereas with desktop Internet computersare connected by a secure bre optic cableor a stable Wi-Fi system, at a more or less constant speed, with mobile Internet accessthe connection speed increases or diminishes depending on how near or far the device is from the antennae that emit the signals, the spectrum quality (if they are sent in 2G technology, it will be 56 kilobytes per second at the least, as slow as 1990s Internet with modems, or 4G technology,AC/E DIGITAL CULTURE ANNUAL REPORT 2016139Focus: Use of New Digital Technologies at Cultural Festivals