Designing The System

So it's time to start the coding process - what do we do and where do we go? Well recently I have been playing with Ruby on Rails on a few home projects (Why? Who knows really - I read about and happy it's meant to make the coding process so I thought, "why not?") and thought it would be cool to try it on a full scale app. So it's a rails app working with RESTful routes (my first REST app).

We're gonna need a few tables within a database (mySQL sounds about as good as many for what we want) - one to look after the users information, one to look after business information and a couple for tagging and rating.

I suppose that I could also throw in some "site map-py / relationship diagrams" in here to show the flow of the web site... But they're in a sketch pad at the moment - so will scan them in later.

For now this is it - next post will be a progress update!

Bought http://mynewfavourite.biz

As the title suggests - we've just bought http://mynewfavourite.biz.

Production Phases

Phase One

Phase one consists of developing a barebones application which allows users to;

• Users have to be able to signup / login / logout
• Users have to be able to search for a business
• Users have to be able to rate and review a business

Phase Two

Phase two consists of creating all the administration features of the app.

• Administration of Users
• Administration of Businesses

More phases will come as we develop.

Presentation

Presentation day was yesterday :) and I seriously thought that we were going to be there for HOURS!!! Every 'group' were allocated 3 minutes but most went for at least 10.... Brendan and I were presenting at number 9, class started at 10 and I think we ended up presenting at around 12.30.

Our presentation went well - we made sure that we only went for the allocated 3 minutes and I'm sure that the the tutors and lecturer appreciated it.

Lorna got back to us with her feedback earlier today. She raised some good questions which are listed below.

• Have you figured out yet how to get past the critical mass issue?
• Are there any large social/commercial/community sites that you can use to plug your idea to get a good number of reviews happening?
• Perhaps the Brisbane group on Facebook?

We have thought of a couple of questions raised but we will have a bit more of a think about it before we announce.

Time Frame

Below is our proposed working schedule.

Weeks 6 - 8

Full blown production - trying to get a working model.

Weeks 8-10

Limited testing (anyone want in?). Working out bugs, adding new features et cetera.

Weeks 10 - 12

Add in finishing touches. Start developing a community. Start writing up all our documentation.

Obviously this plan is very ambitious - we've given ourselves 4 solid weeks of development (including user testing) so it is going to be full on to get it underway.

Just a note - for assignment we can't possibly make a fully fledged / working site. We are hoping to draw up a few 'phases' and decide on a phase to achieve by week 8.

Proposed Project Plan

Users

Who will be using the system?

• Anyone that uses any types of businesses and has an active interest in online social communities
• Ages from about 20 plus

Outcomes

What outcomes do we want to achieve?

• Develop a web app from start to finish
• Develop an understanding of online social communities
• Networking / Collaborating with real world people (creators of WeLoveLocal)

Output

The main output of the assignment is going to be: A business review website driven by a social community. The assignment can be broken down into the following...

Quality

Fun, Professional social network with commercial objectives

Expectation

Easy to use, fun, relevant / dynamic, dynamic community

External

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats

Work

Time

As of week 6, we have 6 weeks until the assignment is due.

Money / Resources

All we see ourselves needing is a domain name and some server space.

mynewfavourite.biz

yes, I know.. i should have given up by now, but I am doing something else on the project as well, as tim soon to follow post will prove. 

I thought of another possible domain name contender today:

mynewfavourite.biz

If you care about my internal struggle to choose a name; i will soon be posting a new poll (taking away the "what is the name of today" one.) allowing to vote for tim and i's favourite few...

See.. our studio project is already interactive before it even begins...

Tim to follow... 

Social Website Articles

Just some articles that I have come across about: why social websites fail. At its core - our idea will revolve around a social framework. It relies on users submitting ratings and or reviews so that other users can make an informed decision. Here are the articles...

• Psychology of Social Design
• Seven Reasons Why Web Apps Fail
• Seven More Reasons Why Web Apps Fail
• Ugliness, Social Design, and the MySpace Lesson
• The Del.icio.us Lesson
• How Does Strategy Effect Design?
• Common Pitfalls of Building Social Web Applications and How to Avoid Them

Yeah they're all from the same site - so it is only a one side argument BUT he raises some valid points so I thought it was worth sharing.

Further naming ideas...

Still searching for a decent name for the project. Have been asking everyone I see if they can think of anything, but to little avail. So I've jumped on the net again and started to thump out as many domains to see if there available.. I thought maybe we could play on the ".biz" suffix.. a little less popular than the .com, so chance we might be able to find something, but also can work as play on words.. heres some...

ineedagood.biz and .net etc..

whatsagood.biz and .com, .net etc...

findthatgood.biz and .com, .net etc..

these could also work with "decent" instead of good or something to similar meaning..

still trawling.. please help.. anyone???

Naming Our Applicaion

We're having some troubles naming our application (well we have had a few name that we like, but the url's are taken - and as we're looking to implement this app, we need a name that isn't taken) - any suggestions would be appreciated. Bellow is a list of names that we like (most are taken).

http://ineed.com, http://ineeda.com (already taken)

This would be ideal, because searching would look something like...

i need a [ text input field here: business type, eg coffee, mechanic ] in [ text input field here: location, eg Milton, Brisbane City ]

http://wordofmouth.com (taken)

This name is nice because it encompasses the idea behind the application - businesses get rated and used by word of mouth.

http://findmea.com (.com.au isn't taken)

This is similar to ineed but available... The one problem that we have with a .com.au domain is that we need to actually register a business with the same name - and we're not sure if that is something we want to do just yet. Again, searching would look like:

Find me a [ text input field here: business type, eg coffee, mechanic ] in [ text input field here: location, eg Milton, Brisbane City ]

Here is a continuation of that list, just about anything that we could come up with.

• http://getmea.com/
• http://ineedtofindthebest.com/
• http://helpmefindthebest.com/
• http://getthebetterof.com/
• http://whatyouafter.com/
• http://speakonespiece.com/
• http://nottomention.com/

Application Architecture

The following is a list (with definitions, examples and links) of web technologies that I think would be useful within our application.

Ruby On Rails

Ruby on Rails is an open source web framework that's optimized for programmer happiness and sustainable productivity. It lets you write beautiful code by favoring convention over configuration.

Why Ruby on Rails over PHP, ASP.net, Java etc etc?

Frameworks and languages are really just a personal preference - whatever you feel comfortable using. For my studio 4 assignment I learnt PHP and found that I really liked working with code - I really like making stuff work! I continued working with PHP for another couple of months and enjoyed it a lot (I think I only enjoyed it so much because I didn't know what else was out there...). Over the Xmas break I started hearing a lot about Ruby on Rails, 'sexy code' and AJAX - so I spent the majority of the holidays reading and learning as much as I could (admittedly not much). And during this time I found out that I could actually make web applications a hell of a lot quicker than I could in PHP. You don't have to write database connection and queries - RoR favors convention over configuration... There are some really helpful books on the language but not really (yet) a whole heap of documentation like PHP - so it has been a really steep learning curve for me but I have enjoyed it.

List of Rails links

• Ruby on Rails
• Hivelogic - The Narrative - Building Ruby, Rails, Subversion, Mongrel, and MySQL on Mac OS X
• My del.icio.us account - a lot of Rails related information
• Railscasts - Free Ruby on Rails Screencasts
• Screencasts | PeepCode Screencasts for Ruby on Rails Developers

Web Standards

Web standards is a general term for the formal standards and other technical specifications that define and describe aspects of the World Wide Web. In recent years, the term has been more frequently associated with the trend of endorsing a set of standardized best practices for building web sites, and a philosophy of web design and development that includes those methods. (Web standards - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

List of Web Standard links

• Jeffrey Zeldman
• Web standards - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Designing With Web Standards (2nd Edition)
• Bulletproof Web Design

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)

In web development, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a stylesheet language used to describe the presentation of a document written in a markup language. Its most common application is to style web pages written in HTML and XHTML, but the language can be applied to any kind of XML document, including SVG and XUL. (Cascading Style Sheets - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

• Cascading Style Sheets - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• CSS Zen Garden

Microformats

What are microformats? Designed for humans first and machines second, microformats are a set of simple, open data formats built upon existing and widely adopted standards. Instead of throwing away what works today, microformats intend to solve simpler problems first by adapting to current behaviors and usage patterns (e.g. XHTML, blogging). (Microformats.org)

Why Microformats?

Microformats are being strongly pushed in the design world at the moment and I have been wanting for a while to implement them but haven't had the chance... I also like the idea of being able to markup text in such a way that a user is able to click on it and it automatically gets added to iCal or Address Book (or Windows equivalents).

List of Microformat links

• Microformats.org
• Sitepoint: Microformats - Meaningful Markup
• Can your website be your api?
• Planet Microformats
• Highlight Microformats with CSS
• Microformat Icons
• 24 Ways: Styling hCards with CSS

What Else?

For the moment this is all that I can think of - Brendan will more than likely have something to add.

A Few Sites

Here are some sites that I have come across on the internets achieve a similar goal to what we wish to accomplish.

Cork'd

Cork'd is an online wine community created by Dan Cederholm and Dan Benjamin. Users are able to rate and share wines with their fellow wine enthusiasts.

WeLoveLocal

As has been previously mentioned - WeLoveLocal - is a site with the same idea in mind (as us) but has been implemented quite a bit differently from what we wish to do. The site is based in London.

So far that's what I have...

Some ideas...

1:19:15 AM coopisjerk@hotmail.com: Did you look at that web site I emailed you?
1:20:36 AM brendan_lidster@hotmail.com: yeah
1:20:53 AM brendan_lidster@hotmail.com: its kinda what im going for, but not really
1:21:18 AM coopisjerk@hotmail.com: I didn't have a good look around... What are you wanting it to do?
1:21:56 AM brendan_lidster@hotmail.com: the same principle
1:22:06 AM brendan_lidster@hotmail.com: but i think theirs is poorly implemented
1:22:16 AM brendan_lidster@hotmail.com: it requires businesses to add their listings
1:22:32 AM coopisjerk@hotmail.com: And then users vote / rate it?
1:30:36 AM brendan_lidster@hotmail.com: yeah
1:30:39 AM brendan_lidster@hotmail.com: im just having a look again now
1:30:44 AM coopisjerk@hotmail.com: Same.
1:31:02 AM coopisjerk@hotmail.com: I like the layout - colors kind of work, but don't really do it for me.
1:31:03 AM brendan_lidster@hotmail.com: see, i want the one we're doing to be entirely user driven
1:31:11 AM brendan_lidster@hotmail.com: not business
1:31:53 AM brendan_lidster@hotmail.com: i mean, if i search for "cafe" near "walthamstow" i get about 10 businesses, only 1 of which is viewed
1:32:02 AM brendan_lidster@hotmail.com: reviewed*
1:32:37 AM coopisjerk@hotmail.com: I agree that businesses shouldn't have the control - but how does a business get in the system? Like proper spelling, proper contact details, location etc?
1:33:13 AM brendan_lidster@hotmail.com: i want the user to say, have to add and review a business as part of becoming a member, rather than have the business add itself and then just hope that someone actually cares enough to review it later
1:33:48 AM brendan_lidster@hotmail.com: perhaps having the user add the business, but have the system search yellow pages for a matching listing first
1:34:22 AM brendan_lidster@hotmail.com: so say ask the user "business name' and then go did you mean "Bills Cafe" of "213 adelaide street"?
1:36:01 AM coopisjerk@hotmail.com: That's a good idea. I was just thinking that IF all the businesses in Brisbane were added (just say either through an owner inputting them, pulling them out of the Yellow Pages somehow or user submitted) the default search would be able to ONLY search the businesses that have been rated. Then in the results, have an 'advanced tab' that allows searching all businesses?
1:36:22 AM brendan_lidster@hotmail.com: yeah, that could work
1:36:46 AM brendan_lidster@hotmail.com: see, it just annoys me on that welovelocal site that its just another yellow pages 90% of the time
1:36:49 AM brendan_lidster@hotmail.com: oh i know
1:37:17 AM brendan_lidster@hotmail.com: you could also have your postcode stored as a user, so you can quicksearch kind of thing
1:37:21 AM brendan_lidster@hotmail.com: so you log in to your home page
1:37:22 AM coopisjerk@hotmail.com: I'm just trying to think of what might be easiest for the user. Because I know I wouldn't want to input all the businesses info for them. I'd like to be able to search them and review it.
1:37:31 AM coopisjerk@hotmail.com: That's awesome.
1:37:35 AM coopisjerk@hotmail.com: That would be really neat.
1:38:26 AM brendan_lidster@hotmail.com: and then you have a single search box ready to go... you hungry, so you type "sandwich" and it brings back all the rater sandwich bars in 4066 listed in order for rating...
1:38:59 AM coopisjerk@hotmail.com: I like it.
1:40:13 AM brendan_lidster@hotmail.com: oh oh oh!
1:40:18 AM brendan_lidster@hotmail.com: and..
1:40:20 AM coopisjerk@hotmail.com: I like the google map idea though, showing where the street and where on the street it is located. Because then the user doesn't have to go and look up that street (that the cafe they just searched).
1:41:29 AM coopisjerk@hotmail.com: Oh - an extension of the google map. You could have the users address on the map also, that way they know where they are and where the place they're going to is.
1:41:43 AM coopisjerk@hotmail.com: And you're oh oh oh! is ?
1:42:22 AM brendan_lidster@hotmail.com: to ensure we get ratings, if the user searches from within their login for a business type like "sandwich" and they click on the highest rated listings say "bills sandwich bar" it could somehow store that so that when they next log in it says "did you visit "bills sandwich bar" in the end? how would you rate it?"
1:42:48 AM coopisjerk@hotmail.com: Oh nice.
1:43:11 AM coopisjerk@hotmail.com: That's really nice, then they don't even need to search it. It's just there for them.
1:43:25 AM coopisjerk@hotmail.com: That's really good.
1:44:21 AM brendan_lidster@hotmail.com: yeah, and it also assists in ensuring we get as many opinions as possible on businesses.. cause with just 1 person rating it, its a good as nothing...
1:46:23 AM coopisjerk@hotmail.com: I agree fully.
1:49:45 AM coopisjerk@hotmail.com: Also, how were you thinking of rating business?
1:50:06 AM coopisjerk@hotmail.com: Just on a global scale? 1 -5, 1 - 10 (whatever).
1:50:12 AM brendan_lidster@hotmail.com: yeah
1:50:20 AM brendan_lidster@hotmail.com: like a star system
1:50:36 AM coopisjerk@hotmail.com: Or rate globally, or if it's a resturaunt on its service?
1:50:56 AM coopisjerk@hotmail.com: On the value for money.
1:52:14 AM coopisjerk@hotmail.com: I was thinking that a global start system for search results would work best, BUT also being able to review specific things for example service, meal presentation, waiting times etc etc.
1:52:25 AM brendan_lidster@hotmail.com: well.. i think both yeah
1:52:44 AM brendan_lidster@hotmail.com: giving the option to give detail, or quick review
1:54:09 AM coopisjerk@hotmail.com: Options I think will be the main 'feature'. I think the ability to rate it just globally and saying why will work really well, but for someone who REALLY enjoyed it or really hated it - them being able to express that in more depth would be good.
1:54:59 AM brendan_lidster@hotmail.com: and then having say quick reviews having half the weight on the average score would be a good way to ensure a balanced guide
1:55:30 AM brendan_lidster@hotmail.com: i think having the option to not even have to say why would be perfect
1:56:31 AM coopisjerk@hotmail.com: That would be ideal.. But I would like to know why they thought it was worth 5 stars. Or why it was worth 2.
1:57:11 AM brendan_lidster@hotmail.com: just "did you end up going to "x"? how was it?" and having the option to click a star... will encourage people to use it... but also have a mouse over for "tell us more.." so they can comment and rate on more detail...
1:57:59 AM coopisjerk@hotmail.com: I think that concept that you have been describing will work REALLY well.
1:59:59 AM brendan_lidster@hotmail.com: i think primarily people will want to use this service to get quick info out of it... not necessarily spend too much time blogging about all their encounters for that day... but yeah, likeyou said... if its a way more or less than average experience with a particular business, people will want the option to give lots of info, and i think that should have a much stronger bearing on what the overall rating that business gets
2:00:56 AM coopisjerk@hotmail.com: Sounds neato. I like it.

Hi,

And welcome to the Blog for Tim and Brendan's Studio 6 Project. We have decided to work together on this one again, due to the scale of the project we are intending to undertake.

As a background, our project is intended to be a website portal, designed to allow those visiting to rate their encounters with businesses in the real world. These ratings are then used to determine which are good, average and bad businesses, to allow other visitors using the site to decide on which businesses they want to use, emulating the "word of mouth" culture of the real world.

Through looking around, Tim has managed to find one example of a similar project currently on the net: http://www.welovelocal.com . This portal is set up for the london community, and utilises some of the functions we'd like to include, but many we'd rather wouldn't.

More to follow...