Flash Iphone app development for cs5

cs5 has just been released and there is a new package that makes creating native iphone apps even easier. Unfortunately i've only just discovered this, but i am going to re-sketch my current solution in this and see if i can get it to run on my iphone, video it and if so, use this as a real-life demonstration.

Site Breakdown: DeviantArt

Focus: Artists (digital and photography)

Members: 11 million


Users connect to eachother by commenting on their work (mainly photos)

no. users: 11million (info from wikipedia)


setup: community focused (primarily grouping and sharing common interest and information with strangers/new friends' rather than one-to-one connections with contacts that you already know)

Customisation: Can change colours/layout/content on their personal pages

Interaction: Join groups, discuss forum-style, comment on admired work, get advice in forums, find out about relevant events, polls, community news

Live feed: New content uploaded to website (by administrators), list of top photos, journals, videos, recent contributors and top contributors, most popular communities, individuals

Aliases: Yes, most members create their own screen name

Ads: Highly targeted, small and doesn't disrupt the design of the site.

Issues: I wanted to test if the images on the site are downloadable, and most are which is a copyright problem (they could make it more difficult to plagiarise). Also, when i opened up the download page norton came up with a huge alert saying that the site as unsafe.

I am interested in the interface difference between PC browser and mobile editions of sites, and how that this will affect the design....

Site breakdown: Buzznet

Focus:

Pop Culture i.e Celeb News; Music; The media; Photo, Video and Journal sharing

There is also the option to create polls, and share content and information with other users.

no. users: 10million (info from wikipedia)


setup: community focused (primarily grouping and sharing common interest and information with strangers/new friends' rather than one-to-one connections with contacts that you already know)

Customisation: Can change colours/layout/content on their personal pages

Interaction: Join groups, discuss forum-style, make friends with similar minded individuals, share events and media i.e. photographs etc

Live feed: New content uploaded to website (by administrators), list of top photos, journals, videos, recent contributors and top contributors, most popular communities, individuals

Aliases: Yes, most members create their own screen name

Case Study of My Free Implants

http://myfreeimplants.com/

I found this site quite disturbing and was really intrigued by it after watching a documentary of virgin called '100 men own my breasts'.

It is effectively 'cyber-begging' and there are lots of copycat sites springing up.

Basically, women go onto the site and create a profile. They then post pictures of themselves and ask then male members of the site to 'sponsor' them. The men have to purchase 'credits' to message the ladies to request custom outfits or to simply talk to them (at $1.20 per message i'd imagine that REALLY these add up!).

The women are prohibited from meeting men outside of the site (probably to protect the owners from responsibility if there are any problems. ironically they say that they just 'warn' people who violate the rules and only ban people in extreme cases). What i found most disgusting is that the women who do porn shots get their boob job faster, and men can say 'i'll sponsor you X amount of money if you dress up like a nurse' or whatever. The site is free for female members, but hugely expensive for men. The majority of the male users seem to be of the 'shut-in' profile i.e. no other female contact aside from the site, and from what it seemed, theyre guys with normal jobs i.e. not hugely rich and their interest in the site is detrimental to their financial health.

For more information, go here: http://myfreeimplants.com/how_it_works.asp

The strange thing about this site is that all the individual women are connected to the men, but the men aren't connected to eachother and neither are the women. One girl interviewed did say that she's met a couple of like-minded girls, but it seems ver limited i.e. she knows only 5 or 6 female members whilst in contact with hundreds of men.


I drew this quick diagram to show how the users are connected.

There is a catch though: If you stop being involved in the site before you reach your goal, you forfeit the money earnt and it goes to the founders (the men don't get refunds although they can transfer them t other women). Also, if the women never reach their pre-determined goal (i think its something like 5 grand for a UK boobjob or 3 grand for an overseas one), they can't take that amount and put it with their own money to buy a boob job. The site is highly exploitative: Selling porn to men under the guise of helping women get free boob jobs, and then the women have no choice what to do with their unsrupulously earned cash except to get bigger breasts. The site is technically social networking, but solely with the opposite sex and you communicate with 1. live instant messaging 2. live video conferencing 3. private messaging held in a hosted email account

Communication of presence: Outline of methods currently implemented

I don't use social networking sites as much as the average person, so i decided to do some research into the methods that they use to connect people. There's such a huge amount that i am limiting myself to the most popular, and selecting various niche interest groups.

Commonalities

1. Creating a profile: Adding photographs, Description etc.
2. Require a regular internet connection
3. Ability to leave messages for connected users and unconnected users
4. Connections: Seperation of people you know from strangers, able to easily connect to friends
5. Privacy settings (barrier to some/all information). This creates a sense of 'them' and 'us' with virtual social groups and contacts
6. Search function: ability to find people by different filters i.e. name, location
7. Life feed: You can see what activity is happening on the site. Some are user based i.e. noting what contacts have done; some are updates of new users; some are event and interest updates etc.
8. Targeted advertising (majority of sites don't charge for subcription so they rely on advertising revenue). Social networking sites are a gold mine as it allows for the placement of highly specialised ads to an advertisers target audience.
9. Your profile page (to easily access friends, your photos, make changes, contact people etc)

Differences:

Interface
1. 'Home page' - Some sites show you the live feed of other users actions at login, some take you straight to your 'profile/page'
2. Real/Alias: Some sites require the users to use real information and connect to real friends with their real name i.e. facebook and Classmates.com. Others can use aliases i.e. 'becca11480' on http://www.blackplanet.com/ which in a way encourages the 'fakeness' where you can make yourself whoever you want to be.
3. Where the social networking part is the secondary function of a site i.e. etsy (where users are there mainly to sell their goods, but can network and share ideas, the main part is the shop homepage, and lower down you can get to 'favourite sellers' etc


Overview of users

Tools:
-Live feed: Ability to filter recent updates by category not always there
-Forums (special interest/general interest). Some have pre-set boards, some allow users to create their own. The forum option is mostly available on interest focused social networking sites.
-Instant messaging (some have posting to your profile board, or private messing to an inbox hosted by the social network, or even real time messaging rivalling MSN)
-Video messaging and conferencing
-Blogging: Keeping other users updated. Some have the option to subscribe to updates i.e. twitter, some don't
-Layout customisation : i.e. changing colours, layout, adding things to your page i.e. music
-Block members
-Privacy settings: Option to disclose direct contact channels (i.e. posting your email address in public isn't allowed on http://myfreeimplants.com/ and you're not allowed to contact members outside of the site, whereas on other sites you can show any info you like). Also there is the choice to make your profile public/private which isnt available on a lot of sites.
-Geographical map of contacts
-Media: Some sites have a focus on media and allow you to easily share/see/discover music/videos
-Events: same as media, plus the option to post events
-Sale channels: some sites allow the purchase of things like music by independent artists, or garage sales and swap shops

Purpose

1. Dating http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_online_dating_websites
2. Hobbies/Special joint interest i.e. photography, fashion i.e. lookbook.nu
3. 'Missed connections'
4. Situation/Jobs i.e. http://www.militaryspot.net/

Whilst having a look, many sites are situated around on feature that they do very well, and other functions expand out of this. Asides from facebook, most sites sell themselves bycreating interest based communities i.e. dating, finding old friends, sharing music, selling music, art etc.

Lesson writeup

Mapping/Diagrams (studio)
Looking at various social activities and observing them. From this you create maps, diagrams, actions, actors, enablers and interventions for the space. This is a screenshot of group discussed areas of interest.

http://www.siobhanmckenzie.co.uk/
















Textual breakdown of wordpress, and identifying the parallels to a real life equivalent if te technology for it didn't exist...











Comparing wordpress and twitter side by side...




















An example of my notes on the mapping/diagram studio practise

wordpress storyboard screenshot

this storyboard was created to show an example of a real life process that wordpress simulates

i chose vanity publishing as an example

SixDegrees and a little on the history of social networks

-I found out about this on page 109 of 'Taken out of context' paper by Danah Boyd
-The first recognised social network site 1997-2001

I am curious as to why it ended up not working after 4 years and why other sites are successful. Myspace was extremely popular a few years back but it has now been overtaken by facebook. I wonder what it would take for a new site to become the forerunner or if facebook will continue its' success.
The concept of an online community was subsequently implemented by livejournal and cyworld among others.
This idea has been taken on by online matchmaking services such as match.com which would probably create a better sense of realism and community
It seems that where a site makes a mistake i.e. subcription fees, removing profiles for being against their ideal, a new site takes over and capitalises on this greatly. This competition probably forces a lot of change and the development and testing of lots of new ideas
From the Danah essay, it seems that originally social networks were aimed at older audiences, but as the tools available changed, the audience did too.

-Definition on wikipedia of SixDegrees.com:

SixDegrees.com was a social network service website that lasted from 1997 to 2001 and was based on the Web of Contacts model of social networking. It was named after the six degrees of separation concept and allowed users to list friends, family members and acquaintances both on the site and externally; external contacts were invited to join the site. Users could send messages and post bulletin board items to people in their first, second, and third degrees, and see their connection to any other user on the site. It was one of the first manifestations of a social networking websites in the format now seen today. Six Degrees was followed by more successful social networking sites based on the "Social-circles network model" such as Friendster, MySpace, LinkedIn, XING and Facebook.

People who confirmed a relationship with an existing user but did not go on to register with the site continued to receive occasional email updates and solicitations.

MacroView (later renamed to SixDegrees), the company that developed the site, was founded by CEO Andrew Weinreich and was based in New York City. At its height, SixDegrees had around 100 employees, and the site had around 1,000,000 fully-registered members. The site was bought by YouthStream Media Networks in 2000 for US$125 million.

Ideation 3.b. Uni Radio

Find three systems that allow for the capture and broadcast of people by people for people

b. university radio stations

-Not for profit

-Anyone can participate

-Small audiences and reach only a small geographical location before the signal is lost

-Reaches mainly a niche audience

-web broadcasting

DANAH BOYD paper

Taken Out of Context
American Teen Sociality in Networked Publics

I decided to read this paper as i thought it would have some relevance and provide not only some insight into creating an innovative tool at the end of the project, but also a relevant, useful and desired one. I will do some audience research of my own once i have specified who i am aiming at, but for now i want to look into existing studies

Her study focuses at the teen audience and took two and a half years.

The first interesting thing i noticed was an example of con text of use on p.1. where she describes a 16 year old female subject and implies that her use of Myspace was partly or largely fuelled by strict rules at home restricting her from engaging with other people in person. Also, i found it interesting the difference outlined between the way this girl and her boyfriend acted when they broke up: the girl simply deleted him but the guy abused the tool by using it to slag her off!

'I found that teen participation in social network sites is driven by their desire to
socialize with peers. Their participation online is rarely divorced from offline peer
culture; teens craft digital self-expressions for known audiences and they socialize
almost exclusively with people they know.'

-no stranger interaction

p.4. 'In crafting a profile, teens must manage a level of explicit selfpresentation
before invisible audiences that is unheard of in unmediated social
situations. The publicly articulated nature of marking social relations can prompt
new struggles over status and result in heightened social drama, but as teens learn to manage these processes, they develop strategies for maintaining face in a social
situation driven by different rules.'

-creating an online representation of yourself and managing the stresses/demands o the environment

-being visible creates pressure. this is due to the knowledge that a large volume of people have access to your information.

—'identity, peer sociality, and power relations.' p.5

SocialGo

http://www.socialgo.com/

is a tool that allows you to set up a social network of your own. there are different levels of subsription but the free version still allows you to set network settings, login details, membership, and edit a few pages.

i have set up my own one here:

http://safewayhome.socialgo.com/ with an idea that i came up with from a previous project. this new website would increase interactivity and you can see who else has subsribed/is online so it creates a sense of community and a sense of 'presence'.

if anyone wants to set up a login on my website, the password is "bacid", but you can view my site without subscribing. you can restrict pages based on membership levels, which is quite interesting as it creates a sense of 'them' and 'us'.

you can also create your own site easily by following this link: http://safewayhome.socialgo.com/sign_up.html The site took me under 15 minutes to set up so it's very quick and easy

Creates your own site could take blogging to a new level, and its a great tool for self-promotion and expression. the whole interactivity and different tools of communication (messaging, sharing photos) could make it more stimulating for members.

Ideation 3.a. Videoblogging

3. Find 3 systems that allow for the capture and broadcast of people by people for people.

a. Video Blogging/Podcasting



















-Originally when investigating the two, i looked upon them both as essentially the same thing but there are slight differences tht i can see...

Videoblogging: Predominantly amateur, Sporadic, Not necessarily scripted, Download based (access it at any time)
Podcasting: Regular, Topics scripted/laid out beforehand to some extent to remain interesting, live feeds (although you can download them)

With both of these systems, they are free to access (vast majority). I have come across some criticism of video blogging, and certain surprise that it hasn't 'taken off' in the way that many people thought. However, looking at the popularity of youtube and the huge amount of what are essentially personal video 'blogs' or 'people having a complete rant about obscure things', i'd say it definately has taken off.

The crit i found is here:
http://thefuturebuzz.com/2009/09/08/video-blogging/

Examples of podcasting sites:
http://www.podhoster.com/index.php
http://www.podbean.com/start-video-blog?sourceid=goog_022s

Examples of video blogging site: http://googlevideo.blogspot.com/

I've noticed that the sites themselves seem to crossover in definition of podcasting and video blogging. Videoblogging can be used in conjunction with regular blogging: you can insert videos into your regular blog with most major blog hosters. With podcasting it seems that if you podcast, it is supplemented by very little text (like a header or links).

COMMUNITY UTILISATION:
http://www.chef2video.com/
http://activecooks.ning.com/about








These two websites are made from part-user generated content where users can upload ther own cooking videos or view videos from professionals and other users. They currently don't have huge memberships but i think it is a nice way to broadcast yourself to people with a similar interest, and make yourself 'seen'. Both sites have live updates which show the most recent videos when you access it, so you're contantly aware of other people using it. Taking this one step further, geographically mapping the location of people to show where they are when they're cooking and how long they were cooking for, and to be able to search by location/most recent would be more immersive and you'd be more aware of a mass presence. Perhaps even having small snapshots of the podcasts as they are happening on the map would be really interesting!

Screenshot of notes 14 jan 2010

Ideation PART 1 & 2

1. Find 3 locations or points of connection where the physical PRESENCE of other people is captured or digitized.

-CCTV; i.e. shops, banks, public spaces























http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23412867-tens-of-thousands-of-cctv-cameras-yet-80-of-crime-unsolved.do
This article states the irony of having such a powerful tool as a 10,000+ strong CCTV system in london yet the ineffectiveness of the system causing it to fail in aiding crime solution as much as they could. It seems that despite the fars of us being continuously watched, the watchers don't seem to see as much as we think!

-Inputting a personal 'signature' to ultilise technology:
i.e. a bank card in a cash machine, oyster card on the tube, thumbprint scanners to access areas.
This information is later collated and can be reviewed and utilised by people monitoring trends.


















Surveys: Census and national statistics. The composition of a population is analysed.


2. Find 3 locations or points of connection where the digital PRESENCE of other people is broadcast or made physical from digital form.
Podcasting/Videoblogging
Big Screen: Sporting events
Social networking sites: Twitter, Facebook, Myspace

Lesson 1 writeup

Design communicating presence

-Logging activity whenever you come into contact with something and reproducing/broadcasting it
-AudioBoo, Latitude
-Socially networked communication. Online impression of a person differing from their real presence?
-Social suicide-killing facebook and other social applications. Now blocked by facebook supposedly!
Danah Boyd; young adult use of social networks. Papers. Researcher. Ethical stances
Clay Shirky- ‘here comes everybody’. Society, industry etc.
Objectives
Exploring ideas for social networks
-Photography, audio/video recording using outside input guided by a ‘filter’. Sending out questionnaires, retrieving data.
-Installation
-Purpose?
-Tracking: oyster, credit card, nectar
-3d printer
-drawing/time/visualisation
List automated systems that respond to a physical presence
TV, Compliance,
Critical Mass-use digital network
BBC BIG SCREEN project#
Idea cards are on the wiki
Screen outside Barclays in central
3. Not for profit or corporate gain. Completely free to use and participate in.

Meet space

13 jan. 1.30. train station

The use of latitude to ‘ping’ geographical locations could be integrated into a social networking system to create the sense of virtual presence. Where a user is able to link their actions to their location, it increases the potential of the receivers’ experience. Not only can textual and audiovisual material be shown, but rather than a description of the users location, they can be visualised on a map.

Context of use and creating a new system rather than converging the old is very important as although the brief calls for putting multiple systems into use to create meaning, using the old may create something which essentially already exists.

Means of investigation:
Video-blogging, podcasting, commercial broadcasting.

Podcasting is a simple system of creating an online presence through video and audio. Podcasting is a continuous stream of videos, that can be used to gain an insight into an aspect of a person, their views or more importantly their expertise. Rather than isolated videos on a blog, podcasting suggests regular and traceable online activity.

-continuous capture and broadcasting of CCTV systems and the monitoring of them
Occasionally footage is captured but not monitored and used for archival purposes in case something actually happens
In shops and other locations, the footage is monitored and occasionally displayed to the cutomers on large screens so that they know that they are being monitored. I am not entirely sure if this type of footage is indeed monitored as well as displayed but it’s quite likely
Face recognition could also be implemented and perhaps it helps monitor the traffic-sales ratio

For fun: Hidden camera tv shows

Initial thoughts

After taking a sneaky peek at the brief online ahead of the lesson, social networking tools spring to mind, primarily facebook. Every day there more possibilities for connectivity springing up, and with the development of smartphones 24/7 access is available where there is an internet connection. I currently feel that the need for almost continuous desire for connectivity is in a way fuelled by the nosiness and exhibitionalist sides of human nature-we want to keep an eye on friends and also show off. I have an iphone and i've turned off push messaging but i can't help pulling up the mailbox and requesting information fairly often despite feeling slightly disgusted with myself!

With tools like facebook you get a physical impression of the person as any textual data is backed up by photos and videos anda continuous stream of little updates when they do absolutely anything.

But firstly i need to think about what constitutes presence before trying to capture it.

We have 5 senses:
Touch
Sight
Sound
Taste
Smell

How can these be represented/reproduced?

Is it possible to synthetically reproduce taste, touch, and smell?
Is description enough to reproduce these feelings?

Will synthetically recreating the effect a person/people have on their environment create a sense of their presence?

Taste
-Virtual reality
http://synthetic.ning.com/profiles/blogs/touch-taste-smell-virtual
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn4006-virtual-reality-conquers-sense-of-taste.html

The second link is much more interesting, providing details on how the sense of taste could be reproduced

-whils reading it i had an idea: creating a thin device that fits over the tongue that would send impulses to various parts of the tongue in exactly the right order to recreate the taste. It would be crazy cool but everyones tongues are different so wouldn't work!

I will look into virtual reproduction of the other senses at a later date but perhaps this is being a bit too detailed erly on, and maybe recording interaction first would be the best start.