Do we really know the neighborhood where we live, or that we cross for a weekend? This village has so much to say, as long as we listen to the story of its history and heritage, to the anecdotes and destinies of the men and women who have lived there and who continue to shape it. “The places and people around us tell amazing stories, but we don’t hear them. Using geolocated sound bubbles, Karacal creates interactions with what surrounds us, in order to reconnect us to our environment ”, explains Charlotte Durand, co-founder of this app born at the end of 2019. Audioguides and podcasts, two minutes on average, are notified to the user when he is near a vestige, a place, a monument of interest or a work of art.
> Advantages
• More than 400 audio content produced by more than 70 contributors, both individuals, students, guide-lecturers, journalists, as well as associations and organizations, such as the tourist offices of Val-d’Oise, Montpellier or Toulouse. Everyone is free to contribute to this sound library, however moderated by demanding ears.
• These audio capsules, mostly hexagonal, focus on local initiatives or themes, emphasize artisanal or architectural know-how, and tackle a variety of subjects, from street art to oenology, including sports and ecology: in Nogent-sur-Marne (Val-de-Marne), a 92-year-old artist and illustrator, little hand of Matisse and in love with Paul Eluard, shares her extraordinary life while a miller, at the heart de la Gâtine poitevine, evokes the restoration of the windmill where it is active. Unless you prefer the fine sandy Val-d’Oisienne beach of L’Isle-Adam, tea place to be between the wars, or a face-to-face with The Two Fridas, by Frida Kahlo, at the Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City.
• This travel companion, always on hand, is a discreet and space-saving guide, which can be planted in the middle of a sentence without appearing to be a boor. It is possible to keep your favorite podcasts, or to follow the activity of a guide, put in favorite in his personal space. You can also benefit from these sound circuits while staying at home.
> Disadvantages
• Once launched, the app, whose mascot is a fiery caracal (the feline), is sometimes as fearless as it is capricious. It starts right off to the visitor’s delight, but can also be crammed in the middle of a visit. Curtain! Imminent developments will ease these mood swings, we are told.
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