We all know the saying that “there’s an app for everything”, and in today’s world, this couldn’t be more true. Apps are replacing some of the more traditional industries, such as PayPal taking the place of banks in some situations, iTunes taking over the place of CDs and records in music, and online news subscriptions have caused a massive drop in the news industry. However, one of the biggest and most burgeoning industries on the app world is the dating industry, with top apps such as Tinder not only getting hundreds of millions of downloads, but even working their way into our daily lives such as with the phrases “swipe left” and “swipe right” becoming commonplace phrases.
These apps have taken their foothold all over the world, and in Ottawa, it’s no different. In fact, the city itself has actually adopted this new movement to technology and has endorsed some apps that would provide a public service to its citizens Like other cities, they not only endorse apps created by people made for the city, but have taken it one step father and have even developed some themselves.
Granted, the city may not be the cutting edge of technology but to me, it’s worth quite a bit that they have taken the effort to embrace the new culture surrounding public services. Some of the apps provided do miniscule things, such as one on the Ottawa.ca website called “Bathroom Scout”, which does just what it sounds like; finds the nearest bathroom, while others are a little more general and widespread like the “JOINOttawa” app, published by the city itself, which helps people get more involved with the community by showing things to do while they’re there.
