Widget Brainstorming List

Just some widget ideas off the top of my head.

Media Room Video player Video recorder Sound recorder Equisite Corpse (collaborative multi-media)	Game Room    Hangman Crosswords Word Jumble Memory Game (word matching)
Class Room Schedule a class TutorList ClassList TutorClassList ClassCalendar CalendarClass Attend a class Text chat One-on-one video Whiteboard NoteTaker TestTaker ClassCreator (tutor only) TestCreator (tutor only) MyClasses	Study Room Question/answer forum w/ up/down voting on answers Grammar explorer – English, Chinese Dictionary – English-to-Chinese, Chinese-to-English Translation – English-to-Chinese, Chinese-to-English Thesaurus- English, Chinese Study group – text chat, video conference Wiki (tied into NoteTaker widget?)
Home Room Personal wall – weblog, notes, pictures “Great Wall” – friend’s weblogs Bookmarks RSS feeds Journal Calendar Map Photo viewer Email client Groups Events Fan of… Marketplace For Sale Housing Jobs Other Free Stuff Item Wanted Housing Wanted Looking for Work Other Wanted

Individual posts about a particular widget will indicate the widget’s home screen, which indicates the room or rooms the widget can appear in.

Widgets with more than one home screen or a home screen of “None” means that the widget can appear in more than one room. The widget’s available function set might change depending on the room it is in.

The Best Networks Are Worknets

I read an interesting article in the Harvard Business Review back in February 2007  called “The HBR List: Breakthrough Ideas for 2007” that had a section about social networks. It’s not available online for free but I took notes on several ideas that interested me You might find the section on social networks interesting and applicable to the MAF design process.

#17 – Best networks are really worknets

Networks best for 5 basic tasks

• Scan horizon for events & patterns
• Help solve problems
• Can innovate for its own benefit
• Used to exert influence
• Can efficiently allocate resources

Diverse functions require diverse forms

• Define work you want network to perform – scan, solve, innovate, influence, allocate, or other.
• Identify talent network needs.
• Engineer the exchange – balance economic, informational, and emotional rewards for participants.

• Fair transaction for host & members.
• Balance can vary among different types of members

• Design an appealing experience – physical/virtual environment that supports exchanges.
• Assemble the technology.

• Exploit leading-edge technology but not for its own sake.

Examples

• Facebook (link)
  • Enables students to form relationships & maintain circle of friends.
  • Target audience – students only (as of 02/07).
  • Rewards
    • Economic – none
    • Informational – “Who’s Who” and “What’s Happening” awareness
    • Emotional – new and deeper friendships
  • Simple interface based on the “wall” and the news feed
  • Web-based with no new functionality required
• Vocalpoint (link)
  • Create consumer awareness of and demand for new products
  • Target audience – women with kids
  • Rewards
    • Economic – product samples and discounts
    • Informational – insight into new products
    • Emotional – pride of being “in the know;” respect from having one’s voice heard
  • Clean, bright design and chatty content
  • Technology
    • Email distribution
    • Web-based surveys and chat
    • Live “Coffee Talk” meetings

Room Tabs

Home Room	Game Room	Media Room
Class Room	Study Room

My American Friend is a social networking site designed to facilitate the ESL experience between student and teacher, organized around individual learning activities grouped into customizable “rooms” for easy navigtion.

• Home Room
• Game Room
• Media Room
• Class Room
• Study Room

(click individual images to enlarge).