Finally, mainstream media has got the story it’s been waiting for so long. News that Prince William and Kate Middleton are — shock — engaged and that there will be a Royal wedding in Spring/Summer next year — has been spreading like wildfire across social media sites.
The news channels are going absolutely nuts. Tomorrow newspapers will be wall-to-wall William and Kate.
This going to be the story for the United Kingdom and for may other companies for at least 6 months.
I could sense the relief from many outlets. They’ve been working away on the backgrounder pieces in expectation of this moment for ages.
The last time we had a decent, huge Royal Wedding was back with Prince Charles and Princess Diana. If that was one of the world’s most-watched TV events, with billions tuning in live, what — then — will the marketplace deliver for this extravaganza?
More specifically, I’m wondering just what innovations in mobile and social interaction will present themselves in the coming months. The wedding is a fantastic showcase for all kinds of new technologies so I don’t think it will be long before we start to hear about (hopefully smart, useful) new offerings related to the event.
Will there be an official iPhone app?
Will you be able to watch live 3D-coverage on your iPhone 5?
Will o2 cover the Square Mile in 4G wireless services for the event to enable everyone in the vicinity with a compatible handset to view the proceedings in full HD to their handset?
Will Vodafone be offering a special live Prince William (TM) Coverage add-on? 😉 Perhaps that’s a little bit too far.
Any ideas on what kind of technology you’d like to see in use at the upcoming festivities?
Oh, and since it’s the future King marrying, does that mean we get to do street parties?
With the technical capabilities available from contractors to the Murdoch papers, I expect to see a Times/News of the World app that pushes transcripts of all the happy couple’s SMS & voicemail out to subscribers in real time.
> Will there be an official iPhone app?
Vomit.
And I say that as a royalist 🙂
> Any ideas on what kind of technology you’d like to see in use at the upcoming festivities?
Yes. SMS. Please. So even the ‘commoners’ (to use the BBC’s term for Kate Middleton) can get involved. You know – those commoners who can’t afford or don’t want iPhones (shock, horror, are they mad!?).
First truly funny comment I’ve seen on here for a long time.
Kudos Mr Travers!