Welcome to the blog of Group 4 in The Science of Online Social Networks!

As our introductory post we would like to explain how the first few weeks of the course have shaped and produced an intriguing project idea, and the future steps we plan to take to develop it further. We would also like to introduce our ‘company name’, based on the internet culture and lecture topic of the 90 – 9 – 1 percent rule (Hargettatai and Walejko, 2008):

We are ‘The One Percent’.

The purpose of this blog is to have a professional digital narrative of our project, which includes all of the choices and decisions that we have made, and the outcomes these have produced to our idea. Consequently this is a great resource for the members of the group who can access data and information quickly and easily. It is also a great tool for understanding our project – it allows the reader to follow the process of our project at each and every stage. Not only does this include all of our research, designs and engineering development: it also shows you the aspects that rarely cross over into fortfolios. For example, the problems that we faced throughout, a sense of the group dynamic and productivity, and the human discussions that were present in meetings throughout.

Over the previous few weeks we have been brainstorming thoughts, producing innovative ideas and addressing the existing weaknesses of social networking websites and App’s. These include the expectations vs reality of online privacy (Gilbert et al., 2011), a limited number of app features per project (Gavalas, 2011), and language barriers for a an increasingly global technological trend (Godwin-Jones, 2011). Our ideas covered a wide spectrum of potential projects: ranging from sites for improved group project management for university students, a site for arranging meetings using personal preferences of local areas, charity fundraising combined with crowdsourcing, to the scraping and storing of  personal data across platforms to create an ‘online memorial’ for those who have deceased.

Despite many promising propositions, we have selected our final project idea which takes the form of an app designed for safer travel. This was done by creating an analysis matrix, which compared each idea to a number of criteria, which included the marking criteria of the project and what we personally felt the idea must incorporate in order to be innovative and successful. You can find the analysis matrix here. But what use is an idea without any in depth background research?

The next week was spent researching a number of aspects regarding the app, which included:

• Identifying a set list of features it was going to have based on a market evaluation of similar travel apps. The features we have selected, although a majority of which already exist, do not feature in one single app for easier use (Gavalas, 2011). Fully researching and designing how they may work and interact with one another is therefore extremely important for the production of an app which is original in the safety market by having multiple features.
• Our target audience, a vital consideration for much of the design-work. Both surrounding literature and market evaluation suggests that there is not an age group most likely to travel, and so our app must be user-friendly and easy to use for a wide range of ages. This represents vital market information from which we may learn a lot, and in turn tailor our own application for greater success. For example, through this we may identify a target audience for safety applications, and in response we may incorporate this audience into our own project projections.
• Economic and social factors that require consideration, for example should we charge money for our app? This may be vital market research as knowing the economic background of the market may dictate whether the public perceives charging to feel safer as morally viable or not. This would ensure that our pricing choice coincides with the trends in the market we aim to be a part of.
• Identifying potential datasets we could use for certain features, for example the use of governmental open data crime statistics to generate a ‘safest’ route for a traveller. This again represents vital background knowledge which will contribute to a smoother running application. In addition to this, it may further help determine the pricing of our app as open sets may keep set-up costs low, allowing us to reduce app cost should we feel this ties in with our market analysis.

This research has produced an initial framework for our app, and a themed name which is ‘TravelSafe’:

TravelSafe is a mobile application for anyone travelling anywhere in the world, whether at home or abroad. The application will consist of a safest route generator, which generates three safe routes from point to point, as well as a safety rating of areas within a given city which are both generated using open data and crime statistics. It will also provide travel information, such as bus and train times, locations and maps as well as weather information including severe weather updates and safety tips compiled from embassies, the World Health Organisation and social media and news feeds. Other functions will be the ability for the user to input information such as their travel insurance, flight details and important numbers, such as a lost credit card and incorporation of translation functionality. Finally, there will be a resource pack available to download which will provide a summary of the information and can be accessed offline to avoid roaming costs. The app features will be developed and researched later in the portfolio. You can skip to determining app feature research, expert opinions regarding features, and specific feature posts beginning with the Safest Route Generator onwards.

In the upcoming weeks we have a planned out a number of stages that will develop our project further, these take the form of:

• Designing interface and graphics of the app
• Demonstrating examples of code that are linked to certain features of the app
• Examples of the datasets that will be used to produce personalised information within the app
• Platform considerations

This post represents that coherent Structure and Story are present in the portfolio which uses the entry and tags mechanism of the blog system. It tells the story of the project by explaining individual roles clearly, explaining why these were decided, and what outcome they will produce later on in the project.

In addition this post represents Innovation and Creativity by demonstrating ideas that are original and beyond the expected thinking for this assignment – this is clear by the niche product design that is commercially viable in its target market.

This post also represents Contextual Considerations that take the form of background research, social and economic considerations, technological considerations, and most importantly using the research learnt to shape the development and outcome of the product.  

This post lays the foundations for strong design and engineering steps later on in the project. 

References
Gavalas, D., & Economou, D. (2011). Development platforms for mobile applications: Status and trends. Software, IEEE, 28(1), 77-86.

Gilbert, P., Chun, B. G., Cox, L. P., & Jung, J. (2011, June). Vision: automated security validation of mobile apps at app markets. In Proceedings of the second international workshop on Mobile cloud computing and services (pp. 21-26). ACM.

Godwin-Jones, R. (2011). Emerging technologies: Mobile apps for language learning. Language Learning & Technology, 15(2), 2-11.

Hargittai, E., & Walejko, G. (2008). The participation divide: content creation and sharing in the digital age 1. Information, Community and Society, 11(2), 239-256.