U of M Social Computing Coursework

Details

We wanted to help people find other people with similar interests to do things that they like together, essentially helping people find buddies. We envisioned our tool to be used by people who are new to a city, or their current friends have different interests, or they want to do things last minute without needing to plan far in advance.

Our critical making exercise shows that the people using our app are open (made of soft flexible foam) to taking risks (dice) in meeting others to do fun stuff that require others (seesaw), unlike the stiff person (styrofoam) looking in.

We conducted comparative/competitive analysis of these options:

• Facebook
• Meetup
• Hangify
• YPlan
• Hooked

Although comp analysis gave us insight into how people are doing it now, the most important discovery we found was through our in-depth interviews. It was that people tend to follow these steps when they plan events:

1. First, they discuss with those within their network who would most likely be interested.
2. Once they find one or more people to commit to a time and place, they then extend the invite to others. Rarely is it the case that someone will create an event and extend it to a large group without knowing in advance that some people can make it.

Ultimately, one person can make all the difference in order to kick off an event. If no one else can make it, at least you know that the initial committed people will be there regardless, making planning events less scary.

Why is our app better than meetup and facebook?

• Meetup: you pay to create events, setup an event and wait for people to rsvp and show up (SCARY!)
• Facebook: publish to all your friends or the entire world! (ALSO SCARY!)

Our solution, Who's On Board?, allows you to send chat messages to people in your locality with similar interests and start a conversation. From that conversation, you can create events with the people you are chatting with and extend it to others with similar interests. It's a low effort solution to help you find your buddies and it boosts your confidence to extend your invites to others.

Below are some details on how our solution addressed 4 dimensions of social computing:

Visibility

• Require picture of person and first name is public
• Ability to schedule events as public or private
• Number of people going or interested

Persistence

• Past events available
• Ability to connect with people after an event
• Ability to share pictures or video after an event
• Badges and reputation (newbies, # events organized, # events attended)

Spreadability

• Ability to share through social media

Searchability

• Ability to search for events that fit your interests