Here’s the link to our final presentation.
The assignment for this week is to propose a way to create “service envy” in the mobile applications developer space. How can we create service envy on the AT&T developer site?
Designing Interactions defines service envy as “enabl(ing) people to express who they are through the use of the services instead of ownership of things.” (p. 423) The service (or product) needs to both function in the intended way as well as confirm owners sense of value. Service envy turns a product into a lifestyle, a way to tell something about a person based on the products they use. Driving a Toyota Camry does not say much about a person; driving a Prius or a Hummer does.
DevCentral aims to be “your official resource for wireless development.” However, devCentral has evolved over several years through two mergers; their vision lacks breadth and the market is moving fast for them to keep up. Developers face challenges with fragmentation, merchandising, differentiation and bureaucracy. Apple and Verizon have emerged as clear competitors, with many others rising in the ranks. AT&T is currently redesigning devCentral to tackle these issues and more.
Rebranding is key. AT&T’s website is functional and simple but lacks character. It utilizes a fair amount of text but few images, with an annoying rotating feature. It’s not sleek like Apple’s site or flashy like Verizon’s:
There is nothing distinct or interesting about devCentral in comparison. While some may connect with Apple’s zen-like minimalism or Verizon’s in-your-face futurism, no developer will actively identify with such a milquetoast service as devCentral without significant redesign. Colors, branding and design guidelines are great, but I propose that devCentral flesh out the site with actual personality. What sort of people do they hope to attract? Perhaps personas would help in this step. What would these people want to see? In addition, the developer does not really appear on the site. While ostensibly devCentral’s information is directed at them, it does not speak with them on the personal level. AT&T needs to better engage developers on the individual level for devCentral to create service envy.
“Choose a task you consider relevant in the current Media Space, which can be improved.” We probably would have been given this assignment whether or not Scott had so enthusiastically expressed interest on Monday night in performing it outside of class as homework, but, regardless, my goal is to find Scott’s blog in the Media Space so that I can express my outrage by writing a mean and nasty comment. Read the rest of this entry »
Project Proposal
Team: Amy Rainey, Helen Pitlick, Suna Gurol
Background
The origin of our project came from an idea Amy had to use multimedia to document her grandmother’s history. This reminded Suna of an oral history project for high schoolers she knew about. After productive brainstorming, our group expanded the idea to create a web site that would help people create and find oral histories to use in student projects. This is an idea we’re all passionate about and interested in. Plus, this project encompasses several topics we cover in MCDM, including online storytelling, video, interaction design and media literacy.
Our Idea
Create a nonprofit educational website that helps people create and share multimedia history projects. Our mission is to help people document family history and stories. The site will offer resources for documenting stories and serve as an online community for these projects. Students will use the site to gain knowledge about how to create multimedia history projects and to share their projects online, as well as watch and learn from other projects. Read the rest of this entry »
This desk includes a built in computer screen. The dimensions of the desk are 3.5′ x 2′ x 2.5′
My apartment’s kitchen is poorly designed. Whoever conceived the layout didn’t have much to work with: the space is tiny. When we first moved in, I marveled at the spacious vintage cabinetry, since our previous apartment had even less kitchen space. The cabinets span two entire walls, running from the sink to the refrigerator. Their warm, smooth aged wood appeals to me on a visceral level: they remind me of something that one might find in a provincial kitchen in the 1950’s. I like that I can stockpile groceries when I find a good deal and that I can cram all my pots, pans and the ridiculous gadgets my mom keeps sending me (onion goggles, anyone?) into them. Read the rest of this entry »
As discussed in my previous post, The Mom Blogs is an example of a poorly-designed website. Our assignment was to re-design it using wireframes. Read the rest of this entry »
Our first assignment for Theories and Practices of Interactivity is to find two examples of design, one good and one bad. Read the rest of this entry »
Though reputation and influence are related, they are not the same thing. Reputation is what people think of you or your brand. Influence is how likely people are to do what you tell them to do. Reputation is measured on a scale of good to bad; influence is measured on the scales of low to high and positive and negative. While everyone wants others to think well of them, popular opinion is not important unless it drives results. Therefore, KD Payne’s claim that “…evaluating your reputation is largely a waste of time” (Payne, 2007) holds true; what people think about you is important, but it is more important to measure how that opinion turns into conversions.
The FTC plans to decide on whether or not to update their Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising before the end of the summer; learn how this will affect you at Truth in Blogging, my side-project (aka, final presentation for US Digital Media Law).
