We survived 2017. That’s no mean feat. So cheers, everybody, to moving on to 2018! While we celebrate a Happy New Year, here’s a quick recap of an assortment of innovative story formats we at The Quint experimented with in the past 365 days (yes, we worked on holidays too sometimes!). Scroll down and enjoy in case you missed them all year.
What a Turn On!
Earth Hour was coming. That day when everybody’s supposed to switch off their electronic appliances and light-guzzling lights for an hour, and reflect on the amount of energy we use. But very few go over to the ‘dark side’.
So we had a ‘light bulb’ moment – What if we could show how would Indian landmarks look, minus the bright lights? Data about power consumption added swaad anusaar, and tada! Here’s what we got:
Check out the full story: Interactive: Click to Turn Off The Lights & Celebrate Earth Day
This One’s a Masterstroke
Sachin Tendulkar’s movie release was just around the corner, and we had to pitch a high-scoring idea (all puns intended). How do you mix Sachin’s nostalgia (which the documentary movie was supposed to bring) with multimedia information about his career?
The challenge was to build this while maintaining a sporty, interactive flow to the experience. So, we designed an interactive book cricket game. The same-old rules, served with scores and scores of informational tidbits about Sachin’s innings.
The full story’s here: The Sachin Book Cricket Game: Flip, Score and Get Tendulkar Trivia
Going Over‘Board’
After tangled headphones, if anything else gets on teenagers’ nerves it must be unsolicited advice from family and friends. With the advent of WhatsApp, that nightmare is even closer and the notifications get frustratingly frequent around exams.
Around the time of Board exam results and college entrance exams, we designed a stress-buster for the students. The game was simple: you see an irritating message on the phone, tap on the screen to shatter it, and break away from the stress.
A Godsent Quiz on Consent
Consent is common sense, so obviously, not many people seem to get it (be it politicians or the average citizen). Here’s a quiz to get you thinking about how well you understand the concept of consent.
Take the full quiz here, and share your results with us: How Well Do You Understand the Concept of Consent
Patriotic Puzzle
Tumne desh ka namak khaya hai, but are you worth your salt when it comes to your IQ (Indian Quotient)? We developed a quiz to trace the Indian freedom movement. Every correct answer helps you move one step closer to Indian Independence Day, 1947.
Sounds easy right? Take the quiz.
What do you say? See how well you do: Navigating India to Light and Freedom
Khoob‘Surat’ Gujarat Election
All eyes were set on the netas. Will #ModiMagic work again or will Gujarat chant #RahulRocks? The answer was in the question. We got the reports, straight from the voices that mattered – the voices of people of Gujarat.
We modeled ‘Voices of Gujarat’ like a chat app with active conversations and expandable details. There were filters to choose the voices you would like to hear, and an option to add your own voices too!
Talk about being a conversation starter!
Catch the full story here: Voices of Gujarat
Talking Activism
Stalking is a disturbingly rampant offence, but the perpetrators largely go scot-free because it’s not taken seriously. Not any more. The Quint has started a campaign to make stalking a non-bailable offence. We’re engaging politicians, lawyers, social activists and people who’ve been stalked to talk about their experiences.
This has become an engaging platform for a free discussion, and we have made it more interactive with our Talking Stalking project. Once on the site, you can sign the petition, check the social media chatter about it, read testimonials and also share your own experiences.
It’s important and it’s here.
Head to the interactive microsite here: Talking Stalking: Voice Your Experiences of Harassment
Lingo Bingo
Mind your language. On Independence Day 2017, we wanted to celebrate the diversity of the nation by celebrating India’s various languages, and the stories behind them.
The one-page destination had factoids, photo-galleries, videos, text stories in all the languages our readers sent them in. It was a colourful reflection of our culture and diversity.
Ironically, we’re out of words for this immersive experience.
The full story: BOL: Love Your Bhasha
Out of the (Juke)box
Life is too short to search through the million of videos and find something just right for your mood. But The Quint’s smarter (of course), so we designed and developed an interactive jukebox with a selection of songs across different genres.
This is now an internal widget developed by The Quint Lab team (yes, kaafi coolness), and we do regular jukeboxes on the relevant artists. Just select the mood you’d like to play songs for, sit back and feel The Quint!
We just like to think out of the box, and jukebox!
Have a listen here: Jukebox: Because Just One Kishore Kumar Song Is Never Enough
Onam-azing
Onam is what dreams are made of. Festive food, celebratory songs and all that jazz. But we needed some food for thought on how to make Onam an interactive experience for the digital readers.
We made a chutney of the two best ingredients – food and songs – and coupled it with the concept of Navras or nine emotions of the festival.
And that’s how we served it: Choose an emotion from the drop-down menu, and you’re offered two food options. Select either of them, and there’s its recipe along with a relevant song to play while you cook.
Sounds like a plan right?
Get your belly rumbling here: Celebrate Onam With Us! There’s a Song & a Dish For Every Mood
Varanasi Wows
India celebrates a second Diwali in Benaras, which is said to be attended by the Gods themselves. This takes place on the ghats of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, and here’s an immersive experience of the same.
With anecdotes, rich photographs and descriptive videos, this one’s a compact package to bright up your day.
Check it out: God’s Own Festival
The list has been randomly ordered and not in order of coolness. Now, since we’ve done away with the nice disclaimer, why don’t you share which one you liked the most? Drop us a comment. Spread season’s greetings!
Happy New Year in 2018!
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