Onthisnight.org

The idea

Any night of the week near you are great musical events that you never hear of. There may be music at a local temple, a jazz band at a bar or even something at a larger venue that you don’t normally go to. Onthisnight will mash up local music listings with a Google Maps interface to bring you options you would never have seen in a normal listings service.

What social need does it address?

We live in a multicultural society but too often this means many separate silos. We don’t know what is happening around us and often stick to the same things. By making links with different groups and then feeding their information into an interface that lets people discover events they didn’t know they were looking for, we hope to encourage an attitude of playful openness to music from different cultures and thus break down cultural barriers between people living in the same locale.

What’s new about it?

Traditional listings services have edited out the element of serendipity. You choose a genre, then a day, then a gig. We want to uncover a map of where you live full of interesting musical surprises that you will be delighted to find but would never have set out to search for. Although there are some map/listings mash ups, no one has really addressed the issue of connecting with more diverse communities and musical styles.

What inspired you?

I run a music website flyglobalmusic.com and we wanted a way to create better listings. I also worked for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and have been passionate about bringing different audiences together in a way that too rarely happens. I formed the not-for profit organisation Onthisnight CIC to pursue the social agenda and apply for funding.

Idea submitted by Damian Rafferty

Damian is a social media consultant working partly with Amnesty International and partly with a mobile phone design group.