For a number of years we have been using 360 still images and 360 video as part of news reporting.
Tim Cook, editor of the Harrogate Informer, said:
The story goes back to July 2016 following a visit to Bass & Bligh when Justin lent me a 360 camera to try.
I was a little sceptical, using the definition of sceptical of not knowing really what it did.
Ten minutes later I had taken my first 360 picture near the Cenotaph, an image that is maybe not my proudest work, has been viewed half a million times.
360 cameras capture a fully spherical image of everything around them. That can be a still image that can be used on Facebook or Google Maps or 360 video where the viewer can interact or look around the video. It’s termed immersive technology as it immerses you in an environment.
360 images onto Google Maps are an important part of any business or organisation. They are part of the process of how people evaluate a business, between a website, social pages, Google Maps and news items on them. They can gain a business thousands of image views and help people see somewhere in the e-world, before visiting for real.
An example of a 360 image
Tim Cook, editor of the Harrogate Informer, said:
The 360 project is about contributing to Harrogate, getting businesses more online and ultimately supporting improving trade.
We are offering 360 imagery to any local business, especially those that have been forced to close and may be shortly reopening.
I am a believer that local news should support local business.
For the techy-minded they are 8k images and will be linked up/ connected onto Google Maps to give a tour. They also wont have a logo on them.
It’s difficult to know the take-up of this, but I would particularly like to prioritise any new outdoor eating and drinking spaces.
If you would like to be involved email us news@harrogate-news.co.uk with “360 tour” in the title. All you need to do is make sure everything is looking as you would like it to, and then just get a date and time together.
