Tipspot: City Events Guide and Recommendation Engine

Business Overview

• Multi-channel, multi-device application providing continuous access to a complete overview of events such as music performances, exhibitions, parties etc. in Amsterdam, Utrecht, The Hague, Rotterdam and more cities coming soon
• Personalized overviews based on your social network and interests
• "Tip" your favourite events and see where your friends are going
   

Business Challenge

• Addressing Relevance, Completeness and Availability (anywhere, anytime)
• Require a minimum of user investment and editorial intervention
• Intelligently learn the user's preferences, strengthening the "personal brand"
• Stimulate high adoption: provide a site that is a pleasure to use
• Seamlessly integrate other platforms like mobile phones and the iPhone
• Integrate a maximum number of content providers as fast as possible
   

Solution Components

• A website with a rich interface
• An API for mobile applications
• Event import module to integrate with information providers
• Web administrator tool
• A pluggable relevance engine which creates sophisticated recommendations based on learning of user's tastes
   

Technology Components

• 100% Enterprise Open Source technologies
• Front end: Wicket, Restlets, Freemarker
• Middleware: Spring, Hibernate, Compass, Jamon
• Application Server: Tomcat 6/Jetty, Postgres 8.3, Apache 2, Ubuntu Linux, Monit
• Hosting and storage: private host and Amazon
   

Business Benefits

• Effective advertising platform due to highly personalization and social networking component
• Low operating costs due to automated administrations tasks
• Ready for massive adoption and cross-border expansion through built-in scalable architecture
• Award winner in the Vodafone Mobile Clicks competition at PICNIC 2008

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