Assignment 2: Divergent Design ​

Basics ​

App name: Pulse

Intended audience: Adults who have an interest in consuming, learning from, and sharing various forms of modern media.

Value: This application will allow users to compile and share media that currently interests them including articles, podcasts, books, TV, and more– specifically designed to inspire interactivity and discussion around them. Existing social media apps focus on sharing user-generated media, while this app empowers users to collect and share exciting content from a variety of sources with groups of like-minded peers.

Features ​

Essentials

1. Users can post a caption/title and embed external media
2. Users can post media collections that contain multiple pieces of content
3. Follow users to view their posts and profile
4. Tags to publicly label topic and content type of a post
5. Ability to post threaded comments
6. User profile contains post history, public media collections, and public comments
7. Bookmarks to save others’ posts
8. Likes available on posts to gather content reach and insights

Novelties

1. Ability to create follower circles
2. The option to change content visibility among different social circles (eg. personal, professional, family) and add individual viewers for individual posts
3. Customized feeds based on different tags and networks
4. Integration with other media sites to easily share content directly from that site
5. Collaborate with friends to create shared collections and posts
6. Private analytics option to hide likes and/or views
7. Interactive options to include polls, quizzes, or surveys
8. Option to post and edit AI-generated summaries of articles
9. Options to embed fundraisers on a feed

VSD Analysis ​

1. Stakeholders

• Direct stakeholders, the app users, publish and view posts but could be hindered by paywalls if they want to access content externally
• Indirect users, the original creators, benefit from increased exposure and engagement from being featured, but might have concerns about copyrights or licensing
• Response: add an option both to warn the user that the content is behind a paywall before sharing, and also to display a helpful warning on the post

2. Time

• Over time, a large network could lead to information overload
• The ability to group posts by topic might lend itself to large communities being polarized surrounding religious, cultural, or political topics
• Response: limit discoverability by hiding followers; only provide option to follow users by searching username or contact information

3. Values

• Expression is a core value of the app; users should be able to produce meaningful contributions and see their impact
• Because users are drawing content from external sources, they may feel constricted
• Add features to include user input such as displaying notable quotes, highlights, annotations, etc. to incorporate user thoughts and ideas

4. Values

• While the value of social impact is implicit in the app’s design by sharing information with a network of close friends, family, and other relationships, broader social impact for good could be further explored
• Action-oriented posts could be incorporated and emphasized using a countdown or other call to action (fundraising progress bar, volunteering signup, etc.)

5. Pervasiveness

• Widespread, unmoderated use of the app could lead to unintended consequences or content that is contentious or even illegal
• This app could implement source checking where users are not allowed to post from known disreputable or illegal sources

Identifying Concepts ​

1. Post
   Purpose: Collections of posts make up a feed for users to browse.
   OP: A user can share posts containing captions, embedded media, and tags to appear in their followers' feeds.

2. User
   Purpose: Represents individuals who use the app, create content, and build a network.
   OP: Users sign up, create profiles, connect with others, share posts, and engage with content within the app.

3. Follower circles
   Purpose: Users can follow or be followed by other users to manage social circles and allow users to keep tabs on and update other users.
   OP: Followers can make posts visible to specific groups if the chosen content is more relevant to them.

4. Collaborative collections
   Purpose: Enables users to create and manage shared collections of media with their connections.
   OP: Users can collaborate with friends or colleagues to curate collections based on shared interests, projects, or goals.

5. Saves
   Purpose: To provide users with the ability to save posts created by others for later reference, bookmarking interesting content.
   OP: Users can save posts to a personalized content library, enabling users to curate posts that have resonated with them.

6. Comments
   Purpose: Facilitate discussion and interaction on posts.
   OP: Users may post threaded comments on posts, engaging in conversations with the post creator and other users.

7. Likes
   Purpose: Indicate user appreciation or disapproval of posts. OP: Users can publicly like an individual post, allowing creators and others to gauge content reception.

Dependence Diagram ​

UI Sketch ​

Collaborators ​

Jolene Zhang