Neşe - A Social Network

BUILDING A SOCIAL NETWORK

THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEŞE PROCESS BOOK GROUP 3

WILL O’DONNELL NESE GUNDUZ YASHODHAN BHIDE JEFF BROWN

Design Innovation Development and Marketing Strategies-IDUS-720-OL | Winter 2017

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TABLE OF CONTENTS ŝŝ Introduction ŝŝ Network Analysis ŝŝ Network Design Development ŝŝ Defining Network Users ŝŝ Competitor Research & Analysis ŝŝ Business Model Generation ŝŝ Defining Your Users’ Needs ŝŝ Prototyping & Brand Development

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INTRODUCTION

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TEAM

DMGT 720 afforded our group the opportunity to create the application called Nese. Jeff Brown, Nese Gunduz, Will O’Donnel, and Yash Bihoden were part of the design team working on this social network.

YASH BIHODEN

NESE GUNDUZ

WILL O’DONNEL

JEFF BROWN

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INITIAL DESIGN OPPORTUNITY

After an initial network analysis of the top social networks we brought several ideas to the table including festivals, study groups, and connecting families living long distances. We settled on the long distance connection idea.

Our concepts began to coalesce as we started pulling together the pieces that would eventually be our social network. Initially our network would have best in class audio and video, local business threads, corporate sponsorships, increased security, privacy features, and advertisements.

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IDENTIFYING A BUSINESS MODEL

Through the refinement of our network and the exploration of possible business models, we crafted the ABC…Q Pitch. We decided to follow the model and show the iterations and their evolution. We took a step back and really analyzed our social network, its place among competitors, and what it had become. We were concerned that our app had gotten too complicated.

We decided to pivot and go back to the drawing board to get to the core of what our users and their data were telling us. We decided to call it “Nese” the Turkish word for joy and the namesake of our teammate.

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THE FINAL PRODUCT

Nese became a digital personal assistant using a proprietary algorithm to find the whitespace in schedules and suggesting a connection to loved ones. The app could be marketed to the casual user and to enterprise increasing the potential for revenue.

BRAND

The interface and functionality is clean and simple for the user. Our logo design fits neatly among the icons of the brandscape, while still maintaining its individuality. The functionality relies on tethering to other applications to make the connections. Nese searches for triangulation in the schedules of your connections and reminds you to connect.

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COURSE PROJECT OVERVIEW GANTT CHART

WEEK

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

DATE

Jan 4-10

Jan 11-17

Jan 18-24

Jan 25-31

Feb 1-7

Feb 8-14

Feb 15-21

Feb 22-28

Mar 1-7

Mar 8-14

Network Analysis Network Design Development Defining Network Users Competitor Research & Analysis Business Model Generation Defining Your Users’ Needs Prototyping & Brand Development Prototyping & Brand Development Process Book

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PART 1

NETWORK ANALYSIS ŝŝ Begin developing a mock-up of the network site, including pertinent details, flow, components, images, wireframe of site, and basic function prototype ŝŝ Define their network’s brand and how their business model strengthens the brand ŝŝ Create a five-minute presentation that captures their initial thought process for their network and maps the future plans for progress.

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COURSE PROJECT PART 1

NETWORK ANALYSIS LEARNING OUTCOME

After completing this part of the project, students will be able to: ŝŝ Use contextual design inquiry to discover opportunities in which a social-media company could be established ŝŝ Conduct contextual and competitor analyses of existing social networks ŝŝ Analyze current market leaders’ business models for successes and need states, defining specific strategies ŝŝ Outline the project schedule as a group with a Gantt chart.

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INTRODUCTION We researched the titans of social media to identify trends, triangulation, and white space for our network to gain a foothold. Social networks are the current pinnacle of human communication. They are a revolutionary phase in human interaction, and deserve to be in the conversation with the ultimate disruptive innovation, Gutenberg’s movable type. The companies we collected data from were Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Whatsapp, and Snapchat these are considered the titans of the industry with the most users and revenue.

There are a few areas of opportunity based on the research; the need for privacy and happiness is a universal concern, most networks have not scratched the surface of real monetization, sites like Facebook have “Zagged� by disrupting themselves (Messenger) or absorbing their competition (buying Instagram and Whatsapp). They were able to achieve this by paying attention and listening to all of their users.

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INFLUENCING FACTORS The prime directives are connecting humans to other humans, letting them feel safe in the cyber company of like-minded folks, and developing a huge data pool of their behaviors (likes and dislikes).

That type of data is something corporations covet.

The information generated by users of social media has an incredibly high potential for monetization when marketed properly.

Our group, after studying these factors have brainstormed some pretty interesting concepts.

INITIAL IDEAS

ŝŝ Link like-minded parents so they can ensure the safety of their college-age students abroad, ŝŝ Some help students studying similar subjects educate each other while finding kinship, ŝŝ Some seek to create the most ideal version of yourself developing a regimen of lofty and achievable goals. ŝŝ And even a binge watching social network that connects people watching whole seasons in a week together based on the show and episode.

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DETAILED FINDINGS USER

The users are key to the development and selection of a network. The titans that we study are very tuned into their users and are constantly using their feedback to innovate. Our network will revolve around user innovation. Now that Facebook and Twitter have really grown to become the norm and begin adding new bells and whistles look for a simple upstart to invade the white spaces and cause some trouble.

MEMBERSHIP

So many networks struggle with charging for services rendered. The larger more successful Social Networks do not. The fact that they are free and remain committed to their users attracts loyalty to their brand. The lesson learned here is that we should probably make our network free or have a free option like Spotify.

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TRENDS/TRIANGULATION Several themes and trends arose in the research Some of the negative trends we need to openly address and avoid are: ŝŝ Network IT security concerns, ŝŝ Easily customizable privacy settings, ŝŝ Validation issues (addicted to number of friends/ likes), and ŝŝ Cyber bullying.

Some of the positive trends and ultimately opportunities for us are: ŝŝ Bringing people together so they can share in community and feel like they are valued and belong, ŝŝ Collecting rich data from the user through monitoring their likes and behaviors online and then using it to further innovate. ŝŝ Real-time sharing information/news spurs faster action and ensures we stay near the pulse of what is happening in the world at any given moment.

The Collective community brain is far stronger than the individual mind. Asking a question to a large Social Media Network will elicit a Clifford Geertzlike “Thick Description”.

We feel a deeper understanding of the market now that we’ve done some quantitative and qualitative research.

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COURSE PROJECT OVERVIEW GANTT CHART

WEEK

1

DATE

Jan 4-10

2

3

4

Jan 11-17 Jan 18-24 Jan 25-31

5

6

Feb 1-7

Feb 8-14

7

8

Feb 15-21 Feb 22-28

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10

Mar 1-7

Mar 8-14

Network Analysis Network Design Development Defining Network Users Competitor Research & Analysis Business Model Generation Defining Your Users’ Needs Prototyping & Brand Development Prototyping & Brand Development Process Book

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APPENDIX

CONTEXTUAL DESIGN INQUIRY: We used the following tools to conduct competitor and contextual analyses of existing social networks: ŝŝ Working Wall ŝŝ 2x2 Analyses or Axis Charts ŝŝ Segment Matrices ŝŝ SWOT Analyses ŝŝ Different-and-Good Charts

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SOCIAL NETWORK 2X2 ANALYSIS

NET WORTH ($60 BILLION)

ŝŝ Instagram

ŝŝ Facebook

$50 Billion Net Worth

$51.8 Billion Net Worth

500 Million Users

1.79 Billion Users

# OF USERS (100 MILLION)

# OF USERS (2 BILLION)

ŝŝ LinkedIn $26.2 Billion Net Worth

ŝŝ Twitter

467 Million Users

$22 Billion Net Worth

ŝŝ Snapchat

317 Million Users

$20 Billion Net Worth 150 Million Users

ŝŝ Whatsapp $8 Billion Net Worth 1 Billion Users

Sources: Statista, Forbes, TechCrunch

NET WORTH ($1 BILLION)

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SEGMENT MATRIX LINKEDIN | LINKEDIN.COM

Objective

Members

Lessons

What is their network value?

What categories do they fall into?

What can they teach us for our network?

ŝŝ Helping people get employed or find employees. ŝŝ Connecting people with similar interests and goals. ŝŝ Connecting world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful.

ŝŝ The world’s largest professional network on the internet. ŝŝ More than 467 million members in over 200 countries and territories. ŝŝ More than 40 million students and college graduates. ŝŝ Professionals signing up at the rate of more than two per second.

ŝŝ Building credibility. ŝŝ Connect with a purpose ŝŝ You need to build value while connecting, for the potential customer show interest. ŝŝ That networking and keeping in touch with former classmates, colleagues is beneficial.

Approach

Homepage

Collaboration opportunities

How do they create value?

What is the entry point to their network?

Where or how do we overlap?

ŝŝ Diversified business model with revenues coming from talent solutions, marketing solutions and premium subscription products.

ŝŝ ŝŝ ŝŝ ŝŝ ŝŝ ŝŝ ŝŝ ŝŝ

ŝŝ Just like LinkedIn, we are also connecting people to make them more productive, successful and happy!

Jobs you might be interested in.

People in your network with new connections.

People you might know.

Popular courses you might be interested in.

Ads you might be interested in.

See how many people viewed you.

Understand how your status updates are doing.

Learn who found you, how you rank across your connections. ŝŝ Make quick updates and edits to your profile.

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SWOT ANALYSIS FOR FACEBOOK Strengths

Weaknesses

ŝŝ Largest Social Network Platform with over 1.79 Billion users and it is also the largest platform for marketing a business online. ŝŝ Adequate security/privacy where you can connect with like-minded people and share ideas and build community.

ŝŝ Business model is to survive off of the revenue for web advertising and though they still make quite a bit there are still no major long term commitments from Fortune 500 companies to make FB a primary allocation for advertising funding.

ŝŝ a place where you can reconnect with friends and family from your past. Up until about 2005 it was nearly impossible to stay connected to family and friends after you moved away.

ŝŝ There is some worry over FB’s conversion rate on advertiser clicks. If FB doesn’t monitor this decline in add conversion and adjust their prices they will lose a majority of the revenue from smaller businesses.

ŝŝ Purchased companies like Instagram, Whatsapp, Oculus, and creating its own disruptive innovation with Messenger.

ŝŝ FB has somewhat rested on its laurels the previous 3 years focusing more on revenue streams and stock options and not keeping their eye on what made them great, listening to and delivering for the user.

Opportunities

Threats

ŝŝ If FB stays the course the afore-mentioned long term marketing and advertising revenue will follow. It is projected that the digital market will experience a nearly 30% increase in 2017. FB’s advertising revenue stream had a sizeable jump from last quarter going from 59% to 73%.

ŝŝ FB’s security may falter as new functionalities are added. Spam, phishing, and cyber-attacks are becoming more prevalent. The EU has also expressed concerns over privacy issues.

ŝŝ Facebook protected itself from disruption from buying its closest threats Instagram and whatsapp and creating their own disruptive innovation, Messenger were shrewd Jobs like moves that ensured a little longer at the top.

ŝŝ FB’s aging users will eventually shift the once sought after demographic to the elderly side which could detract advertisers.

ŝŝ There are a number of add blocking apps, Like FB AdBlock that could continue to slow FB’s only revenue stream.

ŝŝ Adding new video functionality like Facebook-Live gave some competition to Youtube and Vine.

Sources: Marketing Week, Media Life Magazine, www.marketingteacher.com, www.studymarketing.org,

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SWOT ANALYSIS FOR WHATSAPP Strengths

Weaknesses

ŝŝ Whatsapp biggest feature is FREE mobile texting using wifi so it doesn’t count against data and text totals.

ŝŝ Because a data cloud is involved users are leery about their information and conversations being exposed. The app saves files by default.

ŝŝ The fact that it is free from advertising is very enticing to the user

ŝŝ You are tethered to a wifi network for it to work.

ŝŝ Under the user friendly category this app is also bug free and runs as smoothly as a mobile ios texting platform but available on multiple operating Systems. ŝŝ It automatically accesses your contacts and shows you who is already on Whatsapp.

Opportunities

Threats

ŝŝ Right now a basic messenger service but there are so many opportunities to develop further functionality and applications.

ŝŝ Crash messages can be sent forcing you to delete your thread.

ŝŝ International business especially sales benefit from this form of communication and Whatsapp is available in Mainland China even though Facebook is blocked there. ŝŝ You can share statuses, video, photos, locations, and more.

Sources: Quora, www.mbaskool.com, www.makeuseof.com

ŝŝ There are similar apps that could develop a better user interface/ experience and easily disrupt Whatsapp ŝŝ Because the app works in multiple countries it is susceptible to regulation, though it has avoided it to date. ŝŝ Spying, Malware, and other security issues are major threats to user safety.

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SWOT ANALYSIS FOR INSTAGRAM Strengths

Weaknesses

ŝŝ Photos and videos can be posted on multiple platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and many more.

ŝŝ Issue of privacy.

ŝŝ 300+ million active users.

ŝŝ Lot of competition.

ŝŝ Enhances the strength of its parent company, Facebook.

ŝŝ Application download is weak.

ŝŝ Highly educated and trained employees.

ŝŝ Only Android or iPhone users can use this application.

ŝŝ Added with filters, used to make photos unique and events stylized.

ŝŝ Limited capacity for likes and comments.

ŝŝ Direct messaging or Instagram direct. Send messages directly and engage in direct conversations.

ŝŝ Need to follow to view content.

Opportunities

Threats

ŝŝ Continuing advancement of smartphones.

ŝŝ Scope for bad PR.

ŝŝ Target upcoming generations.

ŝŝ Poor photos.

ŝŝ Expand the hashtag system.

ŝŝ Photo rights and usage issues.

ŝŝ Instagram specific photo campaigns.

ŝŝ Can easily bore stakeholders.

ŝŝ Form of media relations.

ŝŝ Large competition.

ŝŝ Mobile ads on Instagram.

ŝŝ Difficult to manage in large organizations.

Sources: LinkedIn, eyeflow.com, freeswotanalysis.com

ŝŝ Low quality pictures and videos.

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SWOT ANALYSIS FOR LINKEDIN Strengths

Weaknesses

ŝŝ A very strong professional social network.

ŝŝ Needs to perform new measures to improve its user engagement levels.

ŝŝ Powerful user base – more than 225 million users all over the world.

170.4 monthly users and 22nd most viewed website all over the world.

ŝŝ Highly dependent on online recruitment. Mostly viewed as a career portal and not a social media network.

ŝŝ Powerful Platform to promote your brand. ŝŝ Helps you highlight your professionalism and a very trusted professional site for all professionals who seek career growth. ŝŝ Its revenue model, recruitment portal, used for hiring purpose, earns the company more revenue than its competitors, Monster or CareerBuilder.

Opportunities

Threats

ŝŝ Innovative initiative can help the company to progress further.

ŝŝ Competitors like Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Tumblr and Pinterest etc. that are already very popular. What if they introduce a new platform that can compete directly with LinkedIn?

ŝŝ Improve its advertising. A lot of room and potential for improvement there.

ŝŝ If Google, Facebook or Monster offer better professional offerings!

Sources: Marketing Week, Media Life Magazine, www.marketingteacher.com, www.studymarketing.org,

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SWOT ANALYSIS FOR TWITTER Strengths

Weaknesses

ŝŝ Gets tons of publicity.

ŝŝ Down quite often.

ŝŝ Almost no competition in microblogging.

ŝŝ API calls limited.

ŝŝ Simple, powerful, free and no ads.

ŝŝ Low retention rate.

ŝŝ Strong brand name already.

ŝŝ Unequal distribution of tweets.

ŝŝ Provides authentication for other applications. ŝŝ Developers create hundreds of applications around its API. ŝŝ Businesses love it. ŝŝ Real Time, Searchable, RSS Enabled. ŝŝ Ultimate link discovering and sharing tool.

Opportunities

Threats

ŝŝ Can become a dominant search engine.

ŝŝ Too much publicity may burn it out.

ŝŝ Becoming the biggest social media-marketing tool.

ŝŝ Getting dangerously spammy.

ŝŝ Develop a Twitter connect tool to make every site social.

ŝŝ No solid revenue model.

ŝŝ May become a dominant way for businesses to communicate with their customers.

ŝŝ May have trouble with unauthorized accounts on behalf of celebrities. ŝŝ Paid Twitter streams may hurt the brand image. ŝŝ Adoption by Google! ŝŝ Competition from Facebook!

Sources: Marketing Week, Media Life Magazine, www.marketingteacher.com, www.studymarketing.org,

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DIFFERENT / GOOD CHART : INSTAGRAM 1. Good but not different

2. Good and different

ŝŝ You can follow friends and like photos and videos.

ŝŝ The images and videoscan be captured from the appand shared quickly.

ŝŝ You can comment on the posts of your friends.

ŝŝ Filters can be used to improve the artistic quality of the photos.

ŝŝ You can share pictures and videos.

GOOD

ŝŝ User-friendly design, appeals to designers.

3. Not good and not different

4. Different but not good

ŝŝ Evidence of cyber-bullying and body shaming.

ŝŝ The privacy feature cannot be used on individual posts.

ŝŝ Some users develop an unhealthy addiction of checking likes too much.

ŝŝ Other users can spam your comments section if your profile is public.

ŝŝ Instagram’s video and story modes are copying Snapchat and Vine’s model.

ŝŝ For branding you must be visually strong, if not content gets pushed down in the feed.

Sources: LinkedIn, Vogue, sproutsocial.com

DIFFERENT

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PART 2

NETWORK DESIGN DEVELOPMENT LEARNING OUTCOME

After completing this part of the project, students will be able to: ŝŝ Identify three potential concepts for a social network ŝŝ Define user groups for social-networking concepts ŝŝ Select a general concept for a social network for which a creative brief can be formed ŝŝ Form a design strategy, which outlines the creation of a network in the form of a creative brief.

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THREE POSSIBLE SOCIAL NETWORKS In the last unit we identified some of the most popular, largest social media giants of our time.

We decided to focus our research on Facebook, LinkedIn, Whatapp, Instagram, and twitter. As we explored design opportunities for a new social network offering we were inspired by these key insights from our initial research:

RESEARCH

Negative trends to avoid: ŝŝ Network IT security concerns, ŝŝ Easily customizable privacy settings, ŝŝ Validation issues (addicted to number of friends/ likes) Positive trends to exploit: STUDY GROUP NETWORK

FESTIVAL NETWORK

FAMILY CONNECTION NETWORK

ŝŝ Bringing people together so they can share in community and feel like they are valued and belong, ŝŝ Collecting rich data from the user through monitoring their likes and behaviors online and then using it to further innovate. ŝŝ Real-time sharing information/news spurs faster action and ensures we stay near the pulse of what is happening in the world at any given moment.

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Periscope and Youtube

S

W

O

T

visual learners and recording sharing lectures

Periscope is a haven for predators and youtube is not in a social context

The ability to go live or record and share interviews and video on subject matter

So many video options how will ours stand out.

LinkedIn Facebook

Great for connecting and starting groups based on subjects

LinkedIn could be so much more sharing ideas.

Facebook there is too much other "noise" that distracts you.

Google +/Drive /Docs

perfect for taking realtime editable notes and sharing docs

doesn't quite bring it all together like a facebook social site. more like tools.

Cramster

closest to my idea online collective for study help by topic

Quora and Google

Diigo and Pinterest

Feedly and Google Alerts

google most vast collection of info.

Quora Quesitons can be answered and content experts curate

a place to curate a helpful linklist and book mark and take notes

these two are the best way to keep up to date on a subject by getting alerts.

Finding the right balance of social and info is something these two don't quite master

these are incredibly inciteful tools to combine with the social aspect

with too much functionality it can get a little muddy

messing with google is not good.

Consider partnering

doesn't foster a community or really get more social than sharing ideas on subject matter

Combining this and quora idea with strong social/video option could be great!

One and done is sometimes appealing in the Q and A game.

Buy in to stay with the conversation

quora is very close but connections are supericial and finite. Google is enormous and gives too much

getting to the right content more quickly in a non frustrating way is where we can win here

not becoming the next ask jeeves with a clunky os

links go bad info changes doesn't update you on new info less interaction

again having their functionality with video/socia/colla b tools for the win!

finding a creative way to do this

google: some not helpful.

Feedly follows website and not topic

Being able to annotate and bookmark useful content and all shared

Going up against google is dangerous

STUDY GROUP SOCIAL NETWORK Everyone wants to be sure what they are studying the right thing, so they seek content experts and valid resources.

The study group network, is a social network promoting a culture of collaboration and intellectual growth. The concept is set up by mirroring ancient tribal structure. Elders are the leaders of these groups and disseminate the knowledge to their tribe or users.

Our social network will have elements of several proven formulas displayed in a very unique structure. As long as the user is adding to the conversation by questioning, answering, or liking/ sharing information they are allowed to stay in the tribe. Constantly evolving the shared knowledge on a particular subject. ŝŝ The study group network uses group think to work to find deep rich answers to questions on any topic. ŝŝ 2.It promotes content experts and the most liked and shared content so the best info is at the users fingertips ŝŝ 3. The Studygroup network uses tools like google docs, drive, and alerts to help students share answers and relevant content in realtime.

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STUDY GROUP SOCIAL NETWORK USER GROUPS

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

ŝŝ Demographics: Ages 14-18

ŝŝ Demographics: Ages 18-24

ŝŝ Primary Occupation: Being a student, extracurricular activities, some low-level parttime jobs.

ŝŝ Primary Occupation: being a student, some have part time jobs

ŝŝ Current Communication Methods: Text messages, Social: Facebook/Snap/ Instagram, Calling, email. ŝŝ Existing Networks: Periscope, Youtube, Google Hangouts, Drive, Docs, Facebook, Pinterest, Cramster ŝŝ Future Communication Needs: Taking/sharing notes and lectures in realtime. Safe option that isn’t anonymous so it won’t be a haven for bullying.

ŝŝ Current Communication Methods: Text, Calling, Facebook/Snap/or Instagram email. ŝŝ Existing Networks: Periscope, Youtube, Google Hangouts, Drive, Docs, Twitter, Pinterest, Diigo, Feedly

GRADUATE STUDENTS

FULL TIME PROFESSIONALS

ŝŝ Demographics: Ages 24 and up

ŝŝ Demographics: Ages 24 and up

ŝŝ Primary Occupation: being a student, some have part time jobs, low to middle management.

ŝŝ Primary Occupation: Full time working, sometimes part time UG or Grad student, and sometimes a parent as well.

ŝŝ Current Communication Methods: Text, Call, email, Social: Facebook/LinkedIn/ Instagram.

ŝŝ Current Communication Methods: Text, email, calling, Social: LinkedIn/ Facebook/ Twitter.

ŝŝ Existing Networks: Graduate Junction, Gradshare, Twitter, LinkedIn, Academia.edu

ŝŝ Existing Networks: LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, Youtube, Lynda.com, Google+, doc, drive

ŝŝ Future Communication Needs: Collaboration is key so tools ŝŝ Future Communication Needs: like Google+ are very useful for Access to content experts note taking, content sharing, and networking is a priority. and video conferencing.

Seeing what others at or above their level have professedly published is most helpful.

ŝŝ Future Communication Needs: Networking is most important.

Professional development is key to them. Need an option that is time efficient.

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THE FESTIVALS AND CELEBRATIONS SOCIAL NETWORK A social network for international people to encourage cross cultural harmony and celebrate with their new adopted communities. Our network will connect businesses, locals, and tourists and invite them to connect and celebrate life and feel fantastic together! There will be dancing, food, movies, the user gets notified about the celebration happening in their area and are invited into a private group where they can make connections prior to coming to the event. So even if they are in a different place they can already know a few people prior to attending the festivities.

ŝŝ The network will inform locals, Tourists, and Immigrants of festivals coming to the area and connect them prior to the event so they can socialize and make friends and know some people prior to attending. ŝŝ The app will feature enhanced safety features and a simple scheduling system so they won’t miss out on the fun! ŝŝ This app will bring people together in a new place to celebrate culture and life.

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FESTIVAL SOCIAL NETWORK USER GROUPS

STUDENTS

TOURISTS

IMMIGRANTS

ŝŝ Demographics: Mainly China, India, Saudi Arabia, and S. Korea

ŝŝ Demographics: Mainly Mexico, Canada, UK, and Japan

ŝŝ Primary Occupation: Being a student, extracurricular activities, some low-level parttime jobs.

ŝŝ Primary Occupation: Could be working in any industry (non profit/for profit), unemployed, retired.

ŝŝ Current Communication Methods: Text messages, Social: Facebook/Snap/ Instagram, Calling, email. ŝŝ Existing Networks: Periscope, Youtube, Google Hangouts, Drive, Docs, Facebook, Pinterest, Cramster

ŝŝ Current Communication Methods: Wifi Messaging, Mostly email, and social media ŝŝ Existing Networks: Facebook, while travelling in another Whatsapp, Instagram country, some calling ŝŝ Future Communication Needs: ŝŝ Existing Networks: Facebook, Fun and distraction from Whatsapp, Twitter, and stress.

Instagram.

ŝŝ Future Communication Needs: Fun and distraction from stress.

ŝŝ Future Communication Needs: Feeling like a local in a foreign country.

LOCAL BUSINESSES

ŝŝ Demographics: School College and University Students

ŝŝ Demographics: Mainly India, China, and Mexico

ŝŝ Primary Occupation: Working Class, Entry Level, Managers, Directors.

ŝŝ Primary Occupation: Event Planners, Security, Caterers, Restaurants, Entertainment.

ŝŝ Current Communication Methods: Wifi Messaging, cell phones, email, video chats, Social Media.

ŝŝ Current Communication Methods: Phone, Email, Social Media ŝŝ Existing Networks: LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, Youtube, Facebook ŝŝ Future Communication Needs: To connect with new potential customers by participating in the celebrations and showcasing their business to the party goers.

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COMPETITORS 2X2 ANALYSIS

FAMILY CONNECTION SOCIAL NETWORK

SIMPLE

ŝŝ Phone ŝŝ Texting

ŝŝ Email

ŝŝ WhatsApp ŝŝ Skype

ŝŝ Instagram

ŝŝ OpenTable

ŝŝ Facetime ŝŝ Tinder

ŝŝ Postmates

ŝŝ Bumble

ŝŝ Yelp ŝŝ Waze ŝŝ Google + NETWORK

ŝŝ Foursquare

ŝŝ Uber ŝŝ Lyft

ŝŝ Google Hangouts

DIRECT CONNECTION

Meduim complexity & moderate ability to access a network of people

ŝŝ LinkedIn

ŝŝ WhatsApp ŝŝ Facebook ŝŝ Social Networks based on Location Information ŝŝ Long-Distance Communication Social Networks

COMPLEX

COMPETITORS 2X2 ANALYSIS

PRIVATE

ŝŝ Connects parents so that they can support each other in a stressful time

ŝŝ Facetime ŝŝ Postmates

ŝŝ Google + ŝŝ Waze

ŝŝ Phone

ŝŝ Keeps families in a long distance relationship on a communication schedule

ŝŝ Uber

ŝŝ Skype

ŝŝ Lyft

ŝŝ Google Hangouts ŝŝ Email ŝŝ Instagram

ŝŝ Bumble ŝŝ Tinder

NETWORK

ŝŝ Texting

ŝŝ WhatsApp

ŝŝ LinkedIn ŝŝ Foursquare

Every parent since the beginning of time has worried about their child after they leave the nest for a job or school. It is a universal pain point that exists within every culture in the human race. We have developed a social network that brings families together. First it creates a support system for parents of children who are working or studying far from home to connect. Second it keeps families in a long distance relationship communicating and informed, and thirdly it allows for the guardians to ensure their children are safe, fed, secure, and happy. With features like similar to Skype, Whatsapp, Angie’s List, and Yelp parents can share information and experiences with other parents so their children can get the most out of their experience.

DIRECT CONNECTION

ŝŝ Works as a quick and effective way to share news in extreme situations

Ability to maintain privacy but still connect with a network of people

ŝŝ Yelp ŝŝ Facebook ŝŝ Social Networks based on Location Information ŝŝ Long-Distance Communication Social Networks

ŝŝ OpenTable PUBLIC

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FAMILY CONNECTION SOCIAL NETWORK USER GROUPS

PARENTS

ŝŝ Demographics: Parents who have kids at college age or older ŝŝ Primary Occupation: Could be working in any industry (non profit/for profit), unemployed, retired. ŝŝ Current Communication Methods: Email, Skype, Facetime, Viber, Text, iMessage, Whatsapp, Phone ŝŝ Existing Networks: Email, Skype, Facetime, Viber, Text, iMessage, Whatsapp, Phone. ŝŝ Future Communication Needs: Communication through VR, Connecting parents with children living away from home.

CHILDREN

ŝŝ Demographics: College Students, Young professionals working away from home, boarding school Students ŝŝ Primary Occupation: Academic/education, non profit, for profit, private, public. ŝŝ Current Communication Methods: Email, Skype, Facetime, Viber, Text, iMessage, Whatsapp, Phone ŝŝ Existing Networks: Email, Skype, Facetime, Viber, Text, iMessage, Whatsapp, Phone. ŝŝ Future Communication Needs: Communication through VR, Connecting people living away from home.

COLLEGES

ŝŝ Demographics: Recruitment Staff, Alumni relations, departments, Majors ŝŝ Primary Occupation: Academic/education, non profit, for profit, private, public. ŝŝ Current Communication Methods and Existing Networks: Newsletters, Online Forums, Message Boards, 1:1 Emails, Face:Face meetings, career fairs, email blasts, website, direct mail, press release, advertising, branding. ŝŝ Future Communication Needs: Crisis communication, schedule changes, weather alerts, whats happening on campus, job placement assistance.

BUSINESSES

ŝŝ Demographics: Small local businesses, local services, medium businesses, chain businesses ŝŝ Primary Occupation: Food, retail, Mechanic, banking, entertainment, travel. ŝŝ Current Communication Methods: Advertising, word of mouth, fliers, coupons, promotion ŝŝ Existing Networks: Student discount offers, Deals with institutions, word of mouth, sponsored events, catering, Facebook, website, and email subscription lists. ŝŝ Future Communication Needs: Quality assurance to new customers, recommendations 32

CREATIVE BRIEF CHOSEN NETWORK

FAMILY CONNECTION NETWORK LONG DISTANCE COMMUNICATION + LOCATION BASED INFORMATION

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OUR SELECTION THE FAMILY CONNECTION NETWORK

Each of us agreed that while we really liked our individual ideas there was room for some of their concepts to live in the idea that Nese came up with; the Family Connection Social Network. Everyone is either a somebody’s parent, somebody’s child, or both. Our network tackles a universal pain point for families struggling to maintain a long distance relationship. It also touches on parents seeking fellowship and support from other parents during a very stressful time in their lives.

Also some of the trends in the research from Unit 1 and 2 made perfect sense to go this way; ŝŝ strong security and privacy since the app will work internationally, ŝŝ people connecting with like-minded people to share ideas, information, feel connected and belong, ŝŝ collecting rich user data for constant innovation through data collected by monitoring behaviors online, ŝŝ real-time sharing of information that can spur faster action and ensures that everyone stays well informed on the ever changing news landscape.

Jeff and I are parents and Nese and Yash are children living far from home so there is a great deal of buy in for all of us to collaborate on this project.

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CREATIVE BRIEF BACKGROUND SUMMARY:

Everyone is either someone’s child, someone’s parent, or both. Since the dawn of civilization parents have had concern for their children, especially when they first leave the nest to go out on their own. They have worries about their children keeping their culture, health, safety, food, travel, money, and most importantly happiness.

NETWORK GOALS:

NETWORK OVERVIEW:

ŝŝ To become the ultimate source for parents to meet other parents who have students living far from home.

This is a social networking app helps keep families connected by putting parents of children living in the same area together. Our app also helps to keep families in touch with each other. Some of the primary functionality is that it creates a channel for communication for the parents to connect and share info on certain topics like travel, food, culture, safety, money, and happiness.

ŝŝ To develop a support system for parents who have anxiety about their ong distance relationship with their children. ŝŝ To use collective opinions and information to help guide students who are away from home for the first time. ŝŝ To have major thread topics sponsored by relevant advertisers and to auction those rights annually like Google auctions search terms. ŝŝ Creating an alternative to International Long Distance Calling.

There is a communication schedule that reminds families to gather for facetime and family calls and video chats so that they stay connected. Parents are encouraged to communicate with each other to share knowledge and help their children enjoy some of the comforts of home.

There will be a like, share, and trending function so users can quickly see what the most popular topics are in each of the main threads.

There will also be an element of Angie’s list/Yelp so parents can review and inform the community and their children about making wise choices with businesses and services.

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VALUE PROPOSITION FOR

OUR SOCIAL NETWORK

students and parents who find themselves in a long distance relationship due to school, and desire to connect to each other’s needs and context and better relate. allows parents and students to connect to each other directly as well as connecting them both to a network of other users

WHO

have a similar geographic separation. Allowing users to privately share insights and knowledge with the community and make personal connection if they desire.

UNLIKE

competing social networks which offer a complex or cluttered experience and create privacy concerns

WE PROVIDE

a simple experience and interface to allow users to connect with their loved ones. The network protects users privacy but uses contextual data and location based data to connect them to other users or user information related to their specific needs or questions.

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AUDIENCE: MOTHERS, FATHERS, AND GUARDIANS OF STUDENTS STUDYING ABROAD.

Ages 40 and up Pretty much anyone who would like to connect with like-minded parents to form a support network online but also help facilitate a somewhat normal lifestyle for their child while they are away from home. Our first impressions were that this is a fit for International families but it could also gain a foothold domestically with the “helicopter parent� crowd.

SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF THE WORRIED PARENTS AND GAURDIANS

Ages 18 and up Believe it or not after a child moves away for college or work they shed the angst of their teenage years and begin to miss and appreciate their parents.

With this app that appreciation and new found communication can be fostered and grow exponentially. This app in time could be a way to combat symptoms of loneliness and depression in families.

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COMPETITORS: The usual suspects starting with Facebook are viewed as the competitors for the market. We hope that we can gain a foothold by offering better security and privacy settings, taking the features global like Whatsapp, and helping to support and inform our users like Yelp and Angie’s list. ŝŝ Whatsapp ŝŝ Skype ŝŝ Facebook ŝŝ Google Hangout ŝŝ Facetime ŝŝ Postmates ŝŝ Foursquare ŝŝ Open table ŝŝ Viber ŝŝ Voxer ŝŝ Bumble ŝŝ Yelp ŝŝ Angie’s List ŝŝ Wechat ŝŝ and more.

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CHALLENGES:

OPPORTUNITIES:

ŝŝ Generating enough capital for startup.

ŝŝ Extremely relatable and very close to everyone’s pain points and happiness. All a parent wants is for their child to be safe and happy.

ŝŝ Marketing internationally can be tricky with different restrictions in each region of the world. ŝŝ Monetization will have to be generated from ads, subscriptions, and sponsorship of threads. ŝŝ Hard to find competitors that do exactly what this network does so there is an issue with attaining proprietary patents before our idea is copied. ŝŝ Marketing the app to both Parents and their children could prove difficult. ŝŝ We have to differentiate or “zag” from titans like Facebook and find a foothold to get some of their market share.

https://www.gooverseas.com/blog/common-fears-and-solutions-parents-study-abroad-students

ŝŝ This app will have functionalities to set up a communication schedule for families to remain in touch. ŝŝ It can connect seamlessly to Whatsapp and Skype like services to keep communication lines open despite the physical distance. ŝŝ Parents will connect with other parents to help develop a network of support and info sharing for each other as well as for their children. ŝŝ Creating a collection of trending and validated content for the benefit of all parent members and their children.

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SWOT ANALYSIS FOR FAMILY CONNECTION NETWORK Strengths

Weaknesses

ŝŝ Provides a network of support for parents with their children living away from home.

ŝŝ Because of the network for parents meeting other parents as well as staying in touch with their loved ones it runs the risk of not being cool to younger generation.

ŝŝ It’s a place to share information on basic needs like safety, food, culture, room and board, and psychological well-being. ŝŝ It will help long-distance family stay organized and connected.

ŝŝ It will have to employ a really beefed up security because it will be functional in multiple countries with multiple communication restrictions ŝŝ May need to partner with major social media outlets or applications like WhatsApp, Facebook, Skype to gain a user base.

Opportunities

Threats

ŝŝ The concept could relate to a great number of people who have family that live far away or not so far away.

ŝŝ Similar to Facebook so we have to find a way to differentiate through functionality and usability in.

ŝŝ Offering beefed up security better than that of a Facebook, WhatsApp, Skype or perhaps entice a few users away from their commitment to those apps.

ŝŝ We don’t want the app to be used just by parents and guardians we want equal participation with the children as well. So how do we do that?

ŝŝ A simple easily navigable interface and functionality will be enticing to both young and old. If we can take away some of the market from a Titan like Facebook and prove our value they may try to acquire us for a hefty sum like they did with Instagram and WhatsApp

ŝŝ The concept is very new and unique which is good but we need to find a user base where the Application can take hold ŝŝ Because this idea is so unique we probably need to attain proprietary Patents to ensure we are not copied.

ŝŝ There are multiple revenue streams like subscription, targeted advertising, and content sponsorship options that could make the app profitable and sustainable.

Sources listed here

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PART 3

DEFINING NETWORK USERS LEARNING OUTCOME

After completing this part of the project, students will be able to: ŝŝ Create user surveys and conduct user interviews to gather user-group information ŝŝ Create personas within user groups ŝŝ Identify an audience through the creation of user profiles ŝŝ Document and share user analyses, insights, conclusions, and marketing strategies of a network.

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INTRODUCTION Our group decided to focus on the Student Parent idea for our Social Network. We extensively researched our four user groups: parents, students/children living abroad, college professionals, and local businesses. We then took the research and affinitized it on our working wall, noticed the trends in the qualitative data, and set to work crafting 8 personas.

Our personas were representative of the majority of our interviewees. Then we created empathy maps for each user group based off of the data and pain points for these groups.

We then collectively discussed our findings, and crafted this week’s assignment.

FINDINGS Our findings pointed us to several trends for each user group. ŝŝ Students are interested in a quality audio visual experience where they can have a meaningful connection with their families and they also want to effectively schedule their communication. ŝŝ Parents need a support system, an easier interface, and a place where they can go to share information on businesses and services relevant to their situation. ŝŝ Colleges are quite interested in our user data and collaborating with us to keep students and parents informed. ŝŝ Businesses affirmed their need for a network like ours to connect to a new clientele base and constantly innovate their customer experiences..

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FAMILY CONNECTION SOCIAL NETWORK USER GROUPS

INTERVIEW AND SURVEY PLAN OVERVIEW

STUDENT/CHILD

PARENTS

COLLEGES

BUSINESSES

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

As a group we brainstormed essential questions. From the collaborative teamwork we created a list of 5-10 questions per user group to go out and conduct interviews with and distribute surveys. Once armed with the questions we were vigorously collecting data from our 4 user groups. We affinitized information from our interviews on our working wall and used the information to craft our 8 personas.

We interviewed individuals from each of our user groups with the exception of the business grounp whom we used a questionnaire to minimize their time commitment.

What is the experience of adult children in long distance family communication?

What is the experience of parents in long distance family communication?

How might colleges and local businesses benefit in the context of family communication?

How might we design a social network that is desirable for users and improves the experience while producing enough revenue to sustain operations?

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FAMILY COMMUNICATION NETWORK RESEARCH MATRIX WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW?

WHY DO I NEED TO KNOW THIS?

TYPE OF DATA

DATA SOURCE

RESEARCH METHODS

WHO DO I CONTACT FOR ACCESS? TIMELINE

What is the experience of adult children in long distance family communication?

Pain points, preferences, What tools are people already using. What needs are not being met

To identify design opportunities, find a unique offering, gain insight about desires

qualitative

Students

Interviews

students

1/20 - 1/26

What is the experience of parents in long distance family communication?

Pain points, preferences, What tools are people already using. What needs are not being met

To identify design opportunities, find a unique offering, gain insight about desires

qualitative

Parents

Interviews

Parents

1/20 - 1/26

How might colleges and local businesses benefit in the context of family communication?

Unmet needs, interest To identify potential in social networking, funding sources communication needs, advertising preferences and needs

qualitative/ quantitative

university admissions office? / local business owners and managers

interviews, survey

college staff, business owner/ manager

1/20 - 1/26

How might we design a social network that is desirable for users and improves the experience

The potential for helping the users, early adopters, and sustainable revenue

We have to design a network that first helps the user, is built off of their feedback,

qualitative/ quantitative

Feedback Interviews/ trends from Surveys Users, Colleges, and Businesses

Students/ Parents/College Staff/Businesses

1/20 - 1/26

while producing enough revenue to sustain operations?

stream.

and has a sustainable revenue stream that is not cumbersome to the user.

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STUDENT/CHILD USER GROUP RESEARCH

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STUDENT/CHILD USER GROUP ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT

Children/students living abroad have an overwhelming dissatisfaction with the quality of the video and audio connection of the networks and apps they use for communicating with their parents. Another trend saw scheduling times for communication as a real struggle. Our data shows that parents have difficulty using modern technology and would need a simple interface. Students agreed that they would like to have the opportunity to make connections with people from their hometowns and gave valid reasons why. A few also mentioned the importance of learning the new culture that they are joining. Several of the responses referred to closeness or intimacy severely lacking with current social media offerings. Several mention logistical difficulties like rides to the airport as a pain points.

RESEARCH CONCLUSION

In summary the student/children user group has really given us a direction to go in. By focusing on alleviating their pain points of logistics, poor audio visual quality, lack of closeness/intimacy, scheduling communication, simplifying the many networks used for communication, and helping with transitioning into a new culture we can provide real value for the student/children user group. These students need support and our network can help them.

POTENTIAL MARKETING STRATEGIES AND OPPORTUNITIES

ŝŝ Put together the highest quality network for online calls and video chat. ŝŝ Helping with acclimatization and logistics for the student when first arriving in a culture. ŝŝ Creating a universally pleasing interface that it’s clean and easy for parents to understand. ŝŝ A simple interface that accesses the functionality of Facebook, Whatsapp, and the most oft used networks could be just what our users need. ŝŝ Debating the opportunity for revenue. Premium renewable membership (no ads) and a free opportunity with limited targeted ads for students and youth.

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USER GROUP: STUDENT/CHILD

NESRIN YILMAZ STUDENT GOALS AND MOTIVATIONS

ŝŝ Demographics: Ages 17-27 ŝŝ Primary Occupation: Being a student, extracurricular activities, some low-level part-time jobs. ŝŝ Current Communication Methods: Text messages, Social: Facebook/Snap/ Instagram, Calling, email. Safe option that isn’t anonymous so it won’t be a haven for bullying.

AGE: OCCUPATION: SCHOOL YEAR: LOCATION: PARENTS LOCATION:

25 STUDENT GRAD SCHOOL SAVANNAH, GA ISTANBUL, TURKEY

DESCRIPTION

Nesrin studied Sociology for her undergrad and now she is in Design School.

She is a people-oriented person, she likes spending her free time from classes mainly catching up with friends and family. Nesrin is an advanced internet user, she has accounts in several social networks such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, LinkedIn etc. though she identifies herself most with Instagram. She also likes to think she knows her way around computers, even though she just recently started to use her computer more actively.

Nesrin spends her breaks and holidays traveling. One thing she wants to improve about herself is to be able to better manage her time and schedule.

She also gets tired of checking her facebook messenger, imessage, instagram in-box, whatsapp messages (all the different groups), facetime and skype calls all the time! She wishes there was one medium that could either merge or take over all of them. It would make her life so much easier!

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USER GROUP: STUDENT/CHILD

MING PINYIN STUDENT / CODER GOALS AND MOTIVATIONS

ŝŝ Demographics: Ages 17-27 ŝŝ Primary Occupation: Being a student, extracurricular activities, some low-level part-time jobs. ŝŝ Current Communication Methods: Text messages, Social: Facebook/Snap/ Instagram, Calling, email. Safe option that isn’t anonymous so it won’t be a haven for bullying.

AGE: OCCUPATION: SCHOOL YEAR:

23 STUDENT SENIOR

LOCATION:

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN

PARENTS LOCATION:

HONG KONG, CHINA

DESCRIPTION

Ming is getting his BS degree in computer engineering at Purdue University.

He does coding to make a little extra money in his free times. He is from Hong Kong, China. Ming likes following rules and defines himself to be task-oriented.

He has a fast-paced nature and a long attention span; he can work for hours without taking a break.

Ming created a Facebook account once he moved to the States but is not a fan of the user interface. An app he uses to communicate with his friends and family back home is WeChat. He likes the feature where you can pay with the app without using credit cards too. Ming wishes his parents were better at using their tech devices, he gets really tired from explaining them how to make things work. If only there was an app they could use without bothering him with the most simple questions!

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STUDENT/CHILD GROUP EMPATHY MAP NESRIN YILMAZ ŝŝ Nesrin is worried she might not get a job in USA. ŝŝ She worries about not performing high in her classes. ŝŝ She aspires to be a good designer and a leader.

THINK & FEEL?

ŝŝ Her spotify playlist

ŝŝ Oak trees covered with Spanish mosses

ŝŝ Her friends, family, professors

ŝŝ Old Victorian houses

ŝŝ Loud A/C and fridge working in her old apartment.

HEAR?

SEE?

ŝŝ Interfaces of all social networks she uses ŝŝ Her friends and family online

ŝŝ Microwave, utensil sounds when she is eating.

SAY & DO?

ŝŝ Websites she visits daily like FastCo ŝŝ Her friends and professors in Savannah

ŝŝ Nesrin seems to be friendly and people-oriented. ŝŝ She is usually well-dressed. ŝŝ Popular amongst her classmates ŝŝ Not very patient.

PAIN

GAIN

ŝŝ Time Management and arranging her schedule

ŝŝ She wants to get a good job in the US.

ŝŝ Living in a timezone 8 hours different from her hometown

ŝŝ To achieve that she wants to be more organized, disciplined and get away from distractions.

ŝŝ Too many social accounts, not being able to check all of them all the time therefore missing out ŝŝ Poor video and audio quality in her calls with home.

ŝŝ She wants to limit the time she spends on many different social networks.

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PARENT USER GROUP RESEARCH

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PARENT USER GROUP ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT

This group unanimously has a need for this application to improve their lives. Through connecting with other parents they can find support and community. Using the network to stay in touch with their children is a benefit especially if we can deliver highquality audio and visual opportunities for calls. Their pain points primarily revolve around the inability to physically be there to help or comfort their children. Another pain point for parents is time zones, scheduling, and the infrequency of communication. Parents also need a way to get in touch quickly and to gain reassurance in emergency situations both in the US and abroad. Another piece of the puzzle is privacy concerns. We heard that echoed a little with the students but more so with the parents.

RESEARCH CONCLUSION

Parents are the group that stands the most to gain from the functionality of our site. We will provide a network of like-minded people so that the parents can be a support system for each other. We will improve their communication with their children by providing a network that is easy to use, with the best-inindustry audio and video capabilities, an emergency contact option, a number of scheduling features to help produce a normal communication schedule. Lastly we will offer a series of threads on services and topics of concern that parents can provide feedback (similar to a Yelp interface) on local businesses and services.

POTENTIAL MARKETING STRATEGIES AND OPPORTUNITIES

ŝŝ Our network will be a support system for parents with anxiety over their children studying/living abroad. ŝŝ Connect parents of students who live together in the same city. ŝŝ Clean, clear, and easy to make audio and video calls. ŝŝ Threads where parents can share info about services and their primary concerns for their children in the areas. Topics like travel, banking, food, health, safety and more. ŝŝ Easy to use interface that can manage multiple social networks and platforms like Facebook, Whatsapp, and others. ŝŝ Ramped up security and privacy settings will also be a must. ŝŝ Discussing the potential of offering a premium membership to parents to eliminate ads or a free version that only offers a few that are targeted. ŝŝ Quick effective emergency communication.

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USER GROUP: PARENTS

ALI YILMAZ RETIRED ENGINEER / NESRIN’S FATHER GOALS AND MOTIVATIONS

ŝŝ Demographics: Ages 35-65 ŝŝ Primary Occupation: Could be working in any industry (non profit/for profit), unemployed, retired. ŝŝ Current Communication Methods: Email, Skype, Facetime, Viber, Text, iMessage, Whatsapp, Phone DESCRIPTION AGE: OCCUPATION: LOCATION: CHILDRENS’ LOCATION:

60 ENGINEER ISTANBUL, TURKEY SAVANNAH, GA

Ali enjoys following technological innovations. He is usually the one to try new apps before people even start hearing about them. His daughter Nesrin first learned about Twitter and LinkedIn from him. Due to his age, he likes calling himself an above average technology user but not an expert; he thinks he might be a little outdated.

Ali thinks technological improvements for a touch and feel based communication for long-distance relationships are out there, so he wonders why they are not in application still. He gets worried when he cannot reach Nesrin, so if there was a social network that would connect parents in similar situations and kids living in the same location, he would definitely use it, at least in case of an emergency. His wife meets up with Nesrin’s friends’ parents who also have kids living in the US which they think is good to learn more about US lifestyles. He tried to communicate with Nesrin’s Turkish friend’s (who also lives in Savannah) father but never heard from him.

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USER GROUP: PARENTS

BRIDGITTE ABBOT CONNECTICUT HOUSEWIFE / MICHAEL’S MOTHER GOALS AND MOTIVATIONS

ŝŝ Demographics: Ages 35-65 ŝŝ Primary Occupation: Could be working in any industry (non profit/for profit), unemployed, retired. ŝŝ Current Communication Methods: Email, Skype, Facetime, Viber, Text, iMessage, Whatsapp, Phone DESCRIPTION AGE: OCCUPATION: LOCATION: CHILDRENS’ LOCATION:

57 HOUSEWIFE CONNECTICUT, NY SEATTLE, WA

Bridgitte lives in Connecticut with her husband Tom. Most of her children live rather close to her in NYC but her son Michael went to study in Seattle and Bridgitte cannot really understand why. Bridgitte likes having her family close by, she enjoys seeing her grandchildren every weekend.

She is a beginner user of technology but she has an iPhone because she could not resist her children’s pressure anymore. And now she is thankful she has an iPhone because its feature ‘FaceTime’ is very easy and simple to use. Thanks to that, Michael is only one click away from her!

Bridgitte does not know many people living in Seattle, her circle of people are mostly settled in Connecticut. Though she is certain that there must be people like her in Seattle. Only if there was a way for her to connect with them! Maybe there is, again she would not know because she is not so big on technology.

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PARENT GROUP EMPATHY MAP ALI YILMAZ ŝŝ Ali worries about her daughter’s health conditions who is living away from home ŝŝ He is worried about his kids’ future ŝŝ Ali spends his time following news and reading THINK & FEEL?

ŝŝ Sound of the sea he jogs near every morning

ŝŝ Apartments and trees ŝŝ The sea, seagulls

ŝŝ Construction noises from his street

HEAR?

ŝŝ His wife and children’s voices

SEE?

ŝŝ Newspapers, pages of the books he reads ŝŝ The TV channels he watches

ŝŝ Birds chirping in his balcony ŝŝ News he watches every evening

SAY & DO?

ŝŝ His wife, daughter ŝŝ His daughters image while Skyping

ŝŝ Ali is admired by the people around her because he is independent and does not sacrifice from his values and thoughts ŝŝ He is a little too stubborn ŝŝ Dresses casually but still stylish thanks to his wife PAIN

GAIN

ŝŝ His country’s conditions

ŝŝ Ali wants his family to all be in the same place

ŝŝ His daughter staying in the US ŝŝ Ali gets frustrated when he cannot reach Nesrin

ŝŝ Success means sticking to your values and not sacrificing from them according to Ali

ŝŝ Ali faces financial obstacles due to not working anymore

ŝŝ Ali wants a better way to communicate with Nesrin

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COLLEGE USER GROUP RESEARCH

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USER GROUP: COLLEGE

RINA PAYNE YOUNG PROFESSIONAL / ARTIST GOALS AND MOTIVATIONS

ŝŝ Demographics: Ages 30-60 ŝŝ Primary Occupation: Working for non profit/for profit/private/public universities and colleges. ŝŝ Current Communication Methods: Newsletters, Online Forums, Message Boards, 1:1 Emails, Face:Face meetings, career fairs, email blasts, website, direct mail, press release, advertising, branding.

AGE:

34

OCCUPATION:

ADMISSION PROFESSIONAL

LOCATION:

SAVANNAH, GA

DESCRIPTION

Rina is a great leader in the admission department of a private Art and Design College. She loves her work and associates herself with what she does also because she is an artist too! She is interested in the behaviors of parents and students and wishes more international student were aware of the fact the International Student Services Organization (ISSO) is there to help them.

Rina observed in the years she’s spent in ISSO that some students prefer just getting help and information from more senior students who are from their hometowns. “Whichever way works for them!” she says.

Rina loves diversity and working with students from different cultures. She is interested in trying different methods and techniques that might help to connect students with others from their home region.

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USER GROUP: COLLEGE

PHILIP SMITH INTERNATIONAL STUDENT SERVICES ORGANIZATION PROFESSIONAL GOALS AND MOTIVATIONS

ŝŝ Demographics: Ages 30-60 ŝŝ Primary Occupation: Working for non profit/for profit/private/public universities and colleges. ŝŝ Current Communication Methods: Newsletters, Online Forums, Message Boards, 1:1 Emails, Face:Face meetings, career fairs, email blasts, website, direct mail, press release, advertising, branding.

AGE: OCCUPATION:

LOCATION:

57 ADMISSION PROFESSIONAL ATLANTA, GA

DESCRIPTION

Phillip is a higher education professional working in ISSO the International Student Services Organization. He cares a lot for the students he is working with. He recently attended a protest against ‘Muslim Ban’ at Atlanta Harstfield airport to show his support for his students.

Philip understands the problems students face when first moving into the country; like how to get to campus from airport, how to arrange their housing, open a bank account, problems they face not having a social security number etc. “Once they overcome those issues, their problems are more cultural” he says. Philip thinks in their initial adaptation process when they are facing more logistic issues, consulting to people they can understand better is a good method. After they overcome their basic problems, it is better for international students to interact with different cultures to adapt to their environment.

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COLLEGE GROUP EMPATHY MAP PHILIP SMITH ŝŝ Philip worries about the problems his international students face ŝŝ He is worried about his kids future ŝŝ He aspires to be a role model for his students and kids THINK & FEEL?

ŝŝ Radio channel he listens to everyday driving to work

ŝŝ Tall buildings and green parks ŝŝ The office he works in

ŝŝ Different accents of his students

HEAR?

ŝŝ His wife and children’s voices

SEE?

ŝŝ His wife and kids ŝŝ His international students

ŝŝ Birds chirping in his garden ŝŝ News he watches every evening

SAY & DO?

ŝŝ Interiors of his car, the church he goes to ŝŝ Interface of his phone

ŝŝ Well-dressed for his work ŝŝ Admired by his colleagues and respected by his students ŝŝ Patient and passionate towards his job

PAIN

GAIN

ŝŝ His country’s attitude towards immigrants

ŝŝ Raise successful children with high moral values

ŝŝ Traffic during rush hours from his workplace to house

ŝŝ Help his students successfully adapt to their new environments

ŝŝ Problems of his students who consult him

ŝŝ Maintain a pleasant and happy family life

ŝŝ Raising his kids in a pleasant environment

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BUSINESS USER GROUP RESEARCH

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BUSINESS USER GROUP ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT

This user groups interaction with the network will be slightly different than the students and parents. The primary demographic that interviewed businesses are trying to court is college age students. 80% of the reviewed are using some sort of social media in their add campaigns. Businesses could use our network to promote their businesses and find new a new customer base. One of the main issues businesses face is improving and providing the best service for their customers. Through the thread feature they can see what parents and students are saying about their services.

They can then use this data to improve their customer experience and satisfaction.

RESEARCH CONCLUSION

Businesses would be a lucrative partner in this social network.

With our model they could advertise to targeted audiences, increase customer bases, and have a valuable resource for critique so they can improve their own customer experiences. They rely heavily on social media marketing and our network would be an enticing alternative to the traditional web ads that are available.

POTENTIAL MARKETING STRATEGIES AND OPPORTUNITIES

ŝŝ Provide Yelp/Angies List like feedback creates transparency, free positive marketing for the business, and value for the customer. ŝŝ Critique provides growth opportunity and opens them up to new market segments. ŝŝ Advertising with targeted businesses who would benefit from feedback and data from a set of potential customers. ŝŝ Businesses offer discounts and use the purchasing functionality like in wechat to handle transactions and we will take a small percentage for a finders fee. ŝŝ Auction off sponsorship of the particular threads like Google auctions off search terms creating another revenue stream.

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USER GROUP: BUSINESS

BERNARD JONES JAMAICAN SOUL FOOD RESTAURANT OWNER GOALS AND MOTIVATIONS

ŝŝ Demographics: Ages 30-65 ŝŝ Primary Occupation: Food, retail, Mechanic, banking, entertainment, travel. ŝŝ Current Communication Methods / Existing Networks: Advertising, word of mouth, fliers, coupons, promotion, Student discount offers, Deals with institutions, word of mouth, sponsored events, catering, Facebook, website, and email subscription lists.

AGE: OCCUPATION: LOCATION:

55 RESTAURANT OWNER SAVANNAH, GA

DESCRIPTION

Bernard owns a Jamaican soul food restaurant in Savannah. He learned to cook better than any other kid in his block in Jamaica when he was younger, thanks to his grandmother! He decided to follow his passion and do the one thing he can do better than anyone else.

Bernard does not like spending the money he earned so hard, he is for minimal financial investments. But he would pay for advertisements because he thinks it is a direct way to attract customers to his business. He also likes being involved in the events in the area, or making his own events in the restaurant. He believes diversity is good for any business and he likes sharing his culture with people from all around the world! He likes connecting with his customers and he believes in the power of word of mouth and social media.

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USER GROUP: BUSINESS

HALEY WILLIAMS YOGA INSTRUCTOR / DIRECTOR / CREATOR GOALS AND MOTIVATIONS

ŝŝ Demographics: Ages 30-65 ŝŝ Primary Occupation: Food, retail, Mechanic, banking, entertainment, travel. ŝŝ Current Communication Methods / Existing Networks: Advertising, word of mouth, fliers, coupons, promotion, Student discount offers, Deals with institutions, word of mouth, sponsored events, catering, Facebook, website, and email subscription lists.

AGE: OCCUPATION:

LOCATION:

32 DIRECTOR OF A YOGA CENTER SAVANNAH, GA

DESCRIPTION

Haley is a lover of all things creative! She had yoga training for 7 years and came to the realization that she wants to share her love of this practice with community. She believes yoga to be a lifestyle rather than a way of exercising or meditating.

Haley uses Instagram and Facebook actively, both for her personal life and to attract more people to their Yoga Center. She loves that social media allows them to speak directly to their students in an informal way on a daily basis. It also helps the business to expand its reach organically to new and different audiences. Haley likes direct connection when it comes to her business.

She wants people to be able to register for yoga classes directly with their sign-in and she wants to put up a discussion board to ideate together with the customers.

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BUSINESS GROUP EMPATHY MAP HALEY WILLIAMS ŝŝ Haley aspires to be a healthy and happy role model for people around her ŝŝ Haley does not have many concerns, she is pretty happy with the life she is leading THINK & FEEL?

ŝŝ Meditation podcasts

ŝŝ Oak trees covered with Spanish mosses

ŝŝ Breathing techniques ŝŝ Her boss talking about wanting to attract more students

ŝŝ Old Victorian houses HEAR?

SEE?

ŝŝ Interiors of the Yoga studio she works for ŝŝ Interface of her phone

ŝŝ Small talk with students that come to the Yoga Studio

SAY & DO?

ŝŝ Interface of social networks she uses ŝŝ Forsyth Park

ŝŝ Casually dressed, mostly in activewear ŝŝ Haley is friendly, fun and relatable ŝŝ Calm and patient

PAIN

GAIN

ŝŝ Haley really likes her life, her only fear is of natural disasters or losing someone she loves.

ŝŝ Haley wants to give back to the community she is getting so much from ŝŝ She measures her success in life on how happy she is ŝŝ She wants more diversity in her Yoga studio

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PART 4

COMPETITOR RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS LEARNING OUTCOME

After completing this part of the project, students will be able to: ŝŝ Use business model generation techniques to build business model canvases (i.e., nine building blocks) for two existing social networks (competitors) ŝŝ Analyze current businesses to uncover their business models’ strengths and weaknesses ŝŝ Evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the chosen business models.

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FREEMIUM MODEL

INTRODUCTION Our group decided to go with three business models instead of two because we have such diverse functionality. We wanted to learn from the very best that offer the three main functions that we are exploring. Our team decided to investigate Skype, Yelp, and Facebook.

AD-BASED MODEL

We chose Skype because we learned in our interviews and secondary research that it is one of the most common communication methods worldwide for long-distance families. It has several of the functionalities we hope to feature and we are interested in learning more about their freemium model.

Yelp was selected because of the location-based rating system. We are interested in using that in threads so families can comment and rate different businesses and services. Yelp’s local ad-based revenue model was also intriguing to us.

MULTI-SIDED PLATFORM MODEL

Facebook was unavoidable for us because almost 80% of our user demographic uses it.

It is the largest social network and has all of the communication features we are trying to utilize under one roof. We are also interested in learning from their ad-based revenue model and partnerships.

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SUMMARY OF FINDINGS The three types of business models have similarities and differences which we will explore in greater depth later on. ŝŝ Facebook is a multi sided business platform that brings like minded people together and relies on primarily on revenue from advertising. They are the largest user base in all of social media and one of the largest in communication vehicles period. ŝŝ Yelp is an Multi Sided Platform Model with advertising revenues. It has different value propositions for its different customers. Yelp does have some elements of the Open Business Model in that it allows users to share their opinions and be the main content generators. They rely on revenue from advertising from local businesses and with larger brands. ŝŝ Skype is a freemium model that connects people to people and businesses to businesses. It offers its services for free and relies on revenue generated by subscriptions, credits, hardware and software.

All three businesses are accessed through the web or through mobile platforms like android and ios. All are sharing some form of information. The marked differences are in the design of their business models, how they generate their revenue, and their potential for sustainability.

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DETAILED FINDINGS

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Key Partners ŝŝ ŝŝ ŝŝ ŝŝ ŝŝ

Telecom Companies Hardware Manufacturers Payment Providers Distribution Partners Mobile Phone Platforms

Key Activities ŝŝ Software Development ŝŝ Customer Service

Key Resources ŝŝ Developers ŝŝ Software/IT Infrastructure ŝŝ Brand Resources

Cost Structure ŝŝ ŝŝ ŝŝ ŝŝ ŝŝ

Software Development Customer Service and complaint management Marketing Partner fees Telecommunication charges (Skype out)

Value Propositions ŝŝ Free Internet and Video Calling ŝŝ Cheap calls (Skype out) ŝŝ Video Conference ŝŝ Conference Calls ŝŝ Licensing for Hardware/ Software

Customer Relationships ŝŝ ŝŝ ŝŝ ŝŝ ŝŝ

Payment of Skype Credits Personalized self service Skype Software downloads Skype Subscriptions Automated but Personalized Relationship with users

Customer Segments ŝŝ Global internet users who want to make a call via the internet ŝŝ Skype out users ŝŝ Companies that want to make cheap international calls ŝŝ Hardware Manufacturers

Channels ŝŝ Skype Apps ŝŝ Skype Manager ŝŝ Skype Hardware

Revenue Streams

ŝŝ Basic services - free! ŝŝ Skype Credits and subscriptions ŝŝ Skype Hardware

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SKYPE BUSINESS MODEL SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths

Weaknesses

ŝŝ Current best option for free video, audio calls

ŝŝ Limited Market growth

ŝŝ Great Branding and Marketing

ŝŝ Diluted/Damaged Brand

ŝŝ Microsoft is the Parent company $$$

ŝŝ Even though its the best quality call video...its still not great

ŝŝ Over 600 million loyal users

ŝŝ Malicious links - Skype URL

ŝŝ Simple to use

ŝŝ Slow internet connection

ŝŝ Major community of interest

ŝŝ Attackers spying third party calls

ŝŝ Free audio/video conference

ŝŝ Used mainly by early adopters

ŝŝ Great quality service

Opportunities

Threats

ŝŝ Technology development is some of the best with Microsoft backing

ŝŝ VOIP is restricted/regulated heavily in some countries

ŝŝ Expansion abroad

ŝŝ Products and services are growing older (need to innovate)

ŝŝ Room to innovate products and services to pivot away from the weakening model

ŝŝ Quality of calls is reliant on the internet in host countries

ŝŝ Growing mobile platform

ŝŝ Companies offering international calls

ŝŝ Mobility and fixed mobile union

ŝŝ Difficulty developing non - telephony

ŝŝ The next generation peer to peer technology

ŝŝ Many imitators competing

ŝŝ Encryption System

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Key Partners ŝŝ Facebook ŝŝ Microsoft: Bing ŝŝ Mobile Phone Platforms

Key Activities ŝŝ User Reviews ŝŝ Software development ŝŝ IT infrastructure

Key Resources ŝŝ Brand ŝŝ Software ŝŝ IT infrastructure

Cost Structure

ŝŝ Staff ŝŝ IT Infrastructure

Value Propositions ŝŝ Text, voice and video ŝŝ Share experiences with the people that matter to you, wherever they are ŝŝ Augmented Reality/ Gamification ŝŝ Honest reviews from customers ŝŝ Find trustworthy and avoid bad businesses ŝŝ Help companies you love and avoid bad businesses ŝŝ Advertising for Larger Companies ŝŝ Local Advertising ŝŝ User Generated Content

Customer Relationships ŝŝ Free Customer Profiles ŝŝ Honest reviews from customers ŝŝ Business Profiles ŝŝ Automated but Personalized Relationship with users

Customer Segments ŝŝ ŝŝ ŝŝ ŝŝ

Public readers Reviewers Local Businesses Larger Companies

Channels ŝŝ Digitally through the web ŝŝ Through mobile application

Revenue Streams

ŝŝ Selling Advertising to local businesses ŝŝ Larger Brand Advertising ŝŝ Customers buying credits

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YELP BUSINESS MODEL SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths

Weaknesses

ŝŝ Over 100 Million Users

ŝŝ Review filter sometimes catches real reviews when looking for fake

ŝŝ User Generated Content

ŝŝ Revenue Stream isn’t strong

ŝŝ Low Operations Cost

ŝŝ Small local businesses do not have large budgets for advertising

ŝŝ Local Reviews in any market

ŝŝ Competing with the likes of Facebook and Google for advertising

ŝŝ Rating system for users encourages quality content

ŝŝ Low investment in Research and Development

ŝŝ Built for mobile platforms

ŝŝ Do not have a great foothold in the international market

ŝŝ Monetizing through advertising

Opportunities

Threats

ŝŝ Traded on the New York Stock Exchange

ŝŝ Law Suites continue to be an issue

ŝŝ Access is allowed through ios and other mobile platforms

ŝŝ Privacy Concerns

ŝŝ Small Business is a new market that could yet yield large dividends

ŝŝ Google and Facebook can undercut on advertising rates

ŝŝ More Social Networking integration is in the works

ŝŝ Government Regulations

ŝŝ New features like AR and Gamification

ŝŝ Intense competition and no Patents

ŝŝ Potential expansion overseas

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Key Partners ŝŝ Content Providers News Channels : BuzzFeed, BBC, NYTimes, NatGeo, Guardian, NBC Gaming Companies: Zynga, Bandai Namco, Konami, Taito, King ŝŝ Content Distributors ŝŝ Marketing Partners: Adobe, Oracle Social, SAP ŝŝ Mobile Phone Platforms

Key Activities ŝŝ Digital Platform and IT support ŝŝ Data Center Operations Team ŝŝ Customer Service

Key Resources ŝŝ ŝŝ ŝŝ ŝŝ

Platform developers Technology Infrastructure User Data Software & Network Engineers ŝŝ Brand Resources: logos, images, product names, screenshots

Cost Structure ŝŝ ŝŝ ŝŝ ŝŝ ŝŝ

Data Center Operations Marketing and Sales Platform Support Research and Development General and Administrative

Value Propositions

Customer Relationships

ŝŝ USERS Stay connected with friends and family, to discover what’s going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them. ŝŝ ADVERTISERS Build presences, create awareness, drive discovery, generate leads, boost sales, earn loyalty.

ŝŝ Direct Network referrals ŝŝ Indirect Network referrals ŝŝ Automated but Personalized Relationship with users ŝŝ Scalable

Customer Segments ŝŝ Users ŝŝ Advertisers & Marketers ŝŝ Businesses

Channels ŝŝ ŝŝ ŝŝ ŝŝ ŝŝ ŝŝ ŝŝ

The Internet Mobile Apps.

Facebook.com/Ads Facebook.com Developer Tools API 3rd party games and apps

Revenue Streams ŝŝ ŝŝ ŝŝ ŝŝ

Advertising Promoted content Owns Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram, Oculus Investors, Venture Capitalists: Mark Z., Accel Partners, Dustin Moskovitz...

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FACEBOOK BUSINESS MODEL SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths

Weaknesses

ŝŝ World’s largest social network

ŝŝ Questionable conversion rate (purchase ratio after an ad is clicked)

ŝŝ Constantly profitable on a GAAP basis

ŝŝ Questionable growth rate (can they keep growing?)

ŝŝ Has a lot of partners

ŝŝ Weak CTR for ads

ŝŝ Integration with websites and applications

ŝŝ Lack of Website customization

ŝŝ Almost 2 billion users and access to their data

ŝŝ Weak protection of User’s information ŝŝ Exploitation of User’s information.

Opportunities

Threats

ŝŝ Owning WhatsApp, Messenger, Oculus, Instagram

ŝŝ Privacy issues

ŝŝ Open Facebook marketplace

ŝŝ AdBlock extensions

ŝŝ 360° video and VR

ŝŝ Business model could be stronger

ŝŝ Video platform

ŝŝ Identity thefts

ŝŝ Open Facebook marketplace

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ANALYSIS WHAT ARE THE FUNDAMENTAL SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES?

There are many similarities between the businesses we selected. Here are a few that stood out. Instead of just displaying this data as a bulleted list we decided to show how it would look on a business model canvas for all three so you can see how they work together. We thought this would be a good way for us to start to see what our business model should look like.

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BUSINESS MODEL SIMILARITIES Key Partners ŝŝ All have many partners. ŝŝ All are supported by iPhone and android, therefore partners with those.

Key Activities ŝŝ All three site services/ customer service as a key activity so that customers can move forward and continue using the products. ŝŝ All have a strong IT/ Software development department.

Value Propositions ŝŝ All three are a means of communication that have a free element. ŝŝ Facebook and Yelp allow for users to comment and validate content. ŝŝ Skype and Facebook both offer a calling and video chatting function.

Key Resources ŝŝ All three businesses cite IT infrastructure and Software development as one of their key resources. ŝŝ Facebook and Yelp’s user data is also a similarity and a sought after commodity.

Cost Structure

ŝŝ Each has considerable costs tied up in paying for operations, software development, and IT infrastructure.

Customer Relationships ŝŝ Personalized relationship with direct users though in very different levels ŝŝ Facebook>Yelp>Skype

Channels ŝŝ All of the networks are accessed through the web and through mobile devices. ŝŝ Their channel is the internet.

Customer Segments ŝŝ The users trying to communicate in one form or another with people or businesses. ŝŝ All three companies also have a customer segment that is a business of some sort. Whether it is advertising or using the provided services (Skype). ŝŝ Skype and Facebook’s Customer Segments are also similar because they are primarily communication vehicles.

Revenue Streams

ŝŝ Yelp and Facebook rely heavily on advertising to generate revenue. ŝŝ The structure of their operations allows them to comment and validate/like content so there is an attraction for businesses to utilize them for targeted advertising.

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BUSINESS MODEL DIFFERENCES Key Partners ŝŝ Facebook partners with many companies from many industries for many features that they have. ŝŝ Skype’s main partners are in telecommunication and tech field ŝŝ Yelp’s main partners are Facebook and Microsoft Bing

Key Activities ŝŝ Yelp: user reviews and they rely heavily on user generated content. ŝŝ Facebook: more developers, Software, and IT infrastructure ŝŝ Skype: Hardware production.

Key Resources ŝŝ Skype focuses on their brand as a key resource. ŝŝ Facebook has over a billion users.

Cost Structure

Value Propositions ŝŝ Yelp is not a means of communication like the other two networks ŝŝ Yelp’s content is meant to inform a community of users through user generated content. ŝŝ Skype is different from Facebook because it is only trying to handle communication between users or businesses. ŝŝ Facebook has so many functionalities that it differs from Yelp and Skype in that it is trying to be everything for everyone.

ŝŝ Yelp seems to have the least cost structure because their content is produced for free. ŝŝ Skype seems to have a lot and is also sacrificing some revenue to partnerships

Customer Relationships ŝŝ Personalized relationship with direct users though in very different levels ŝŝ Facebook>Yelp>Skype

Customer Segments ŝŝ Yelp works closely with local businesses for advertising revenue ŝŝ Skype works with business partners and provides services instead of ad space

Channels ŝŝ Skype has a company liaison to work with their business user accounts.

Revenue Streams

ŝŝ Yelp targets local businesses as well as larger brands for ad revenue. ŝŝ Skype is very different in that they provide a service and draw their revenue from credits, subscriptions, and hardware.

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SWOT COMPARISON ANALYSIS INSIGHTS AND SYNTHESIS

After considering each business on it’s own and evaluating them through our SWOT analysis, we created an affinity map of all the positive and negative attributes and took note of themes and design opportunities might arise.

OPPORTUNITIES:

STRENGTHS:

ŝŝ New revenue sources could come from the three company’s effective innovation and inevitable pivoting from older models to more profitable ones.

ŝŝ One of the major strengths is the robust user bases facebook is over a billion and both Yelp and Skype have numbers in the 100’s of millions range.

ŝŝ The mobile audience is growing exponentially thus creating more potential for new audiences and users to engage the services.

ŝŝ There are diverse reasons that the companies are profitable like low operations costs, effective branding and marketing, Microsoft as a parent company, and free value being offered to users.

ŝŝ Each company is poised to expand globally as they work on potential strategies that will unlock countries like China. ŝŝ New media innovations like VR, AR, and 360 video are definite results of the companies paying attention to their users needs and pain points and staying ahead of their industries.

ŝŝ All three are built for web and mobile platforms making their functionality convenient for users. ŝŝ They all effectively utilize their users information for innovation. ŝŝ They have a simple user experience that opens their platforms to a much wider user base.

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WHICH MODEL IS THE STRONGEST? Facebook is the winner and still champion. Really there is nothing like the massive behemoth with over 1 billion users. They were very smart in the initial conception phases by looking at humans on a very basic and raw level. They asked what do our users want. The basic need for humans to connect (and stay connected) to other humans was the basis for the initial hook of Facebook. As it has grown it evolved using user data and information, not as a salable good, but as the gasoline for their constant evolution and innovation. When they were challenged as being old and outdated they made a slight pivot to either compete with would be disruptors or simply buy them out. Much like Osterwalder’s take on Xerox, sometimes it takes a successful “pivot” to move to a more manageable model for success. Xerox had machines that were way too expensive for companies to buy so they pivoted and leased them and then charged a penny for every copy over 2,000 copies every month.

What happened was that companies like the tech so much they made 2,000 copies a day and Xerox grew to be a behemoth of industry. If either of these models can figure out the. Facebook didn’t have an early lesson and pivot like Xerox, they grew so rapidly that it was hard for them to keep up but they managed and Zuckerberg had an incredible knack for timing and staying one step ahead.

LEAST POTENTIAL FOR LONG TERM SUCCESS?

Yelp is already on a steep decline. Its initial model for creating user generated content and limiting operations costs has hurt its brand. It took a $22 Million dollar hit in 2015 and they are currently in search of a new CFO because of it. The company has experienced some recent PR troubles from not catching and filtering out fake and or hateful reviews for businesses. They are also getting a bad rap on sites like Glassdoor from their employees who are leaving because their talents are under-appreciated financially. The concept for Yelp is strong and its why we were attracted because this is a way for our parents to validate local businesses and services that help them take care of their students from afar.

WHAT COULD THE WEAKEST MODEL DO TO BOLSTER ITS DESIGN?

At this rate Yelp needs to pivot because they are hemorrhaging cash. The real value of their business is in the user generated content and the unique ability to check . They need to reinvest in those users and listen to them to innovate further. Yelp needs fresh blood and can get it by targeting a new untapped market. International functionality is the wave of the future. They plan to include augmented reality in some of their future innovations but I don’t feel that is enough.

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CONSIDERATIONS FOR OUR BUSINESS MODEL Our business model can learn a lot about what to do and what not to do from Yelp, Facebook, and Skype.

Our group chose those models because each has functionality we want.

We want to keep people connected and informed while still touting a simple interface like Facebook.

We want to have quality communication that is simple to use like Skype.

We can have our users do some of the legwork while also buying into what we are trying to do like Yelp.

We definitely need to be open to multiple and perhaps nontraditional revenue streams.

Skype can teach us the way they’ve prioritized their spending and focus.

Privacy was also a trend we must focus on if we wish to thrive we must earn the trust of our user.

Skype is dedicated to constant development of software, hardware, and engaging new technologies like VR and more.

Very few social networks have tapped into the international market. If we can do that through targeting a universal need or feeling (Parent’s love and concern for their children) we too can benefit from drawing from rapidly scaling our user base.

Their freemium model draws people in and engages them with free options. Later they act financially through nonconventional means (software, credits, and subscriptions).

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“HOW MIGHT WE” STATEMENTS? How might we take advantage of opportunities in international expansion?

How might we grow a massive user base like our competitors? Or partner to piggyback off of their existing user base?

How might we be like Skype and have a unique strength of doing one thing really well and creating a simple user experience? (It should be delivering crystal clear audio and video service).

How might we engage other resources like colleges since the advertising model is becoming less effective?

How might we gain an advantage over our competitors in the areas of privacy and security?

How might we benefit from the customer concerns over our competitors’ security and privacy shortcomings?

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PART 5

BUSINESS MODEL GENERATION LEARNING OUTCOME

After completing this part of the project, students will be able to: ŝŝ Use ZAG’s “17-Step Process” to answer questions about their network ŝŝ Define the nine building blocks to create a large-scale business model ŝŝ Evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of a large-scale business model for their network ŝŝ Create an ABC … Q business presentation to pitch their business model to potential clients and investors.

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INTRODUCTION Original value proposition: FOR

OUR SOCIAL NETWORK

students and parents who find themselves in a long distance relationship due to school, and desire to connect to each other’s needs and context and better relate. allows parents and students to connect to each other directly as well as connecting them both to a network of other users

WHO

have a similar geographic separation. Allowing users to privately share insights and knowledge with the community and make personal connection if they desire.

UNLIKE

competing social networks which offer a complex or cluttered experience and create privacy concerns

WE PROVIDE

a simple experience and interface to allow users to connect with their loved ones. The network protects users privacy but uses contextual data and location based data to connect them to other users or user information related to their specific needs or questions.

In our original research of social networks we explored a spread of some of the most successful and mass accepted social networks out there.

Through our initial exploration we found some white space in the area of family connections and decided to explore creating a network to serve that audience.

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PROPOSAL

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PROPOSAL OVERVIEW THE PROBLEM:

In human nature there exists a need to stay connected to those who mean the most to us. The forces that work against this need are distance and time. Our social network seeks to help individuals overcome these hurdles to achieve their communication goals.

WHAT IS YOUR NETWORK’S NAME AND WHAT DOES IT DO?

Our product is called Nese, which is the Turkish word for joy. It helps families, friends, and enterprise organize and achieve their communication goals.

WHO ARE THE USERS AND HOW WILL THIS BENEFIT THEM.

The users are families and close friends who live apart as well as businesses and colleges.

The users will achieve their communication goals and make the most of their time.

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PROPOSED BUSINESS MODEL A:

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A MODEL A OVERVIEW Our first model is a network that focuses on serving parents and students with a new channel to connect with each other and location based networking to find other users in similar situations.

Based on our research findings we learned that users want more reliability in their calls/connection and are interested in more security. They also value the ability to connect with others who are in a similar circumstance so we have native audio/ video/chat functionality.

Colleges would value insight into student and parent needs. So we provide college staff accounts to access network data and information about the challenges that their students are facing.

For revenue, college accounts would be for a fee in exchange for data about constituent needs and activity. Parents accounts are also for a small fee and students are free.

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A

TYPE

STRENGTH

WEAKNESS

The type of business model is a Multi Sided Platform Model because we serve our customer segments in different ways.

The strength of the model is that it answers a need that most of our respondents asked for; creating clear high quality video and audio connections, increased security, and a way to stay informed and connected.

The revenue source is advertising and subscription.

Major cost challenge to provide audio and video calls and develop the technology or we would have to license the technology from a competitor. Also the revenue source is not as strong as we would like.

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PROPOSED BUSINESS MODEL B:

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B MODEL B OVERVIEW In this iteration we’ve added a feature, User generated conversation “threads.” A location based feature serving customer segments in different ways. Local businesses can have listings describing offerings and services.

This allows students to find and review businesses in their local area. Parents might have thread based on the school that their children attend, allowing parents to connect to each other and support each other.

We dropped the clear calls/chats feature as it makes more financial sense to link to partners for that functionality. This saves significant cost.

We decided that in addition to fee revenue we would also auction off sponsorship of the business review threads to local and major brands. For example users searching for travel related local businesses would use the “Delta Travel Thread.”

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B

TYPE

STRENGTH

WEAKNESS

The type of business model was still an MSP due to all the different functionality.

This network builds on the strength of option A and added the feature of “threads� so users could review and share their experiences with local services and businesses. Another strength is the addition of another revenue stream.

The main weaknesses of this network iteration is that it no longer offers a crystal clear calling and video feature. Another issue is that though we have more revenue sources in this model it is not very robust.

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PROPOSED BUSINESS MODEL C:

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C MODEL C OVERVIEW For Option C we add a communication scheduling feature to Option B. One of the main pain points that we found in our interviews with parents and students is the difficulty in aligning schedules in order to communicate. This was especially prevalent for international parents and students.

Offering this feature will help differentiate our product.

Potential future revenue streams include a money transfer feature like Whatsapp, event scheduling, and more.

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C

TYPE

STRENGTH

WEAKNESS

The type of business model had not changed, it was still a multi sided platform.

An added strength of this network was the scheduling feature. This really seemed to solve a common problem from our respondents’ qualitative data pain points of not having the time and reminders to connect.

Remains a complicated business model with high overhead to support many features and customer segments the network seems to have an identity crisis.

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PROPOSED BUSINESS MODEL Q:

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Q REFRAMING Alexander Osterwalder mentions in his book and in several presentations online, that the business model can get too complicated and fail. One of the challenges we’ve had with the previous models is that they hit a critical mass, growing far too complicated. Too many activities and features and customers with very different needs. So we paired it down to the one feature that solves an issue that none of our competitors have addressed – helping people to find that rare moment to connect.

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Q Hey, now might be a good time to call your Dad.

Can’t.

Ok!

MEET NESE. Nese, is your personal connection finding assistant.

Nese pays attention to what’s on your calendar as well as when you tend to be available to make connections with your friends and family. If your family is using Nese, she can find the times when you are both available and let you know. Unlike most calendar syncing tools, Nese is not concerned with the content of your schedule, she finds the moments when you and the person you want to talk to are both available and lets you know with a simple push notification. With one tap you are connected.

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Q

OVERVIEW

Hey, now might be a good time to call your mom.

Can’t.

Ok!

Nese is fully encrypted with best in class security and privacy features and keeps your information safe, because we don’t read it. By only focusing on the white spaces when you are available, your personal plans are kept personal. Nese also notices times you might be available that aren’t in your calendar. Like the 20 minute drive to work, or when you happen to be awake at 3am. With our algorithms running in the background you can find the perfect time to connect. It has, a simple clean interface, and connects to the functionality of other applications like your phone or facebook messenger.

Best of all Nese is free for students. Regular users can find moments of connection for a small monthly fee. And enterprise subscribers can use the tool throughout their business allowing remote workers in different timezones more easily find times to meet.

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Q

TYPE

This network uses a freemium model because it offers the base product for free to users and then adds additional features for a fee to standard and enterprise users.

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Q

STRENGTH

WEAKNESS

The strength of our network is in its simplicity. By focusing on one feature and leaving the mode of connection up to the user we vastly reduce our costs. It accomplishes our original goals of keeping students and parents together in a regular communication schedule and addresses a major issue in international communication, timezones. Offering best in class security and privacy addresses growing concerns that we uncovered in our research, While it wasn’t part of our original audience this tool has potential to help enterprise users accomplish their communication goals as well.

Freemium strategy to students to grow a user base quickly and attract parent or other non-student customers.

Technology and algorithm development costs. Need to make a high investment in the design and development to create a memorable user experience.

High cost to develop or license the security features we require.

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HOW WILL WE DIFFERENTIATE ZAG “17 STEP PROCESS”

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THE 17-STEP PROCESS

1

2

3

4

WHO ARE YOU?

WHAT DO YOU DO?

WHAT’S YOUR VISION?

WHAT WAVE ARE YOU RIDING?

We are daughters, sons, mothers, brothers, and friends who want to stay connected to our family and friends and we want you to as well.

Provide a private and secure connection with your closest friends and family and we find the moments when the stars align and you can connect.

Help people cut through the busyness of life and have more of those serendipitous moments when you and your sister (on the other side of the country/ world) are both available.

People want to stay connected but it’s hard.

Extreme busyness.

Concerns about privacy.

Make a call to say hello.

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5

6

7

8

9

WHO SHARES THE BRANDSCAPE?

WHAT MAKES YOU THE “ONLY”?

WHAT SHOULD YOU ADD OR SUBTRACT?

WHO LOVES YOU?

WHO’S THE ENEMY?

We are the only secure service that actively lets you know when you and the person you want to talk to are both available.

- security concerns

Families, friends, and coworkers who have a hard time keeping in touch.

Facebook Upto Calendar apps

- ads - too many connections

Time zones - and schedules

- calendar/ schedule interface + automatic notification based interface + goals for connections you want to make

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10

11

12

13

14

WHAT DO THEY CALL YOU?

HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN YOURSELF?

HOW DO YOU SPREAD THE WORD?

HOW DO PEOPLE ENGAGE WITH YOU?

WHAT DO THEY EXPERIENCE?

Nese.

The personal connection assistant.

Advertise on social media sites

Through our app and notification interface.

Simple and minimal interaction that connects you as quickly as possible.

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15

16

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HOW DO YOU EARN THEIR LOYALTY?

HOW DO YOU EXTEND YOUR SUCCESS?

HOW DO YOU PROTECT YOUR PORTFOLIO?

Protecting their privacy, connect them with the right person at the right time.

A company like Facebook acquires us or we expand functionality to include controlled calls and video through our own channels thus adding additional revenue streams.

Acquire patents for the technology and intellectual property. Continue to innovate and have a department working on the next wave while the first wave is taking off.

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FACEBOOK BUSINESS MODEL SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths

Weaknesses

ŝŝ Model keeps user data private and secure

ŝŝ Possible high hurdle for setup

ŝŝ Connection sweet spots (Both parties get notified when available).

ŝŝ Time zone and schedule clashes.

ŝŝ Integrated platform for businesses, students, families, communities, etc. to connect.

ŝŝ One trick pony - better do an amazing job.

Opportunities ŝŝ Introduction of automatic notification based interface. ŝŝ Goal settings for connections with specific people. ŝŝ Increasing number of smartphone users.

ŝŝ Building a user-base may take time

Threats ŝŝ Third party copy cats ŝŝ Low user adoption rate ŝŝ Earning user trust

ŝŝ International audience

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PART 6

DEFINING YOUR USERS’ NEEDS LEARNING OUTCOME

After completing this part of the project, students will be able to: ŝŝ Create empathy maps to gain a better understanding of the customer’s insights ŝŝ Define the needs of each user group and its respective users ŝŝ Begin to define the components of the social network that will meet the needs of the user.

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Meet Nese.

INTRODUCTION

Hey, now might be a good time to call your Dad.

Can’t.

From our ABC..Q pitch we actually pivoted from our initial complex network model to a more simple streamlined one that still held true to our original goals. Our app, Nese, is a digital personal assistant that helps users achieve their communication goals.

It uses Calendar data, gps, user history and habit analysis, and synced communication services to suggest perfect scenarios for connection. Our app boasts extremely effective security that totally encrypts the data from our users. An algorithm works behind-the-scenes pouring over the data from calendars, gps, and users behaviors to suggest mutually beneficial times to connect. Nese tethers other communication methods like Facebook, Messenger, Skype, and phone so that our users can easily swipe the push notification on their device and they are connected.

Ok!

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SUMMARY OF FINDINGS There were several insights we were able to achieve from our explorations ŝŝ Students can use the app to stay in touch with parents and friends. ŝŝ Parents will use the app to remain connected to their children. It will replace all the different apps they have to navigate. ŝŝ The reassurance that comes from knowing that there are no humans looking and analyzing your calendar. ŝŝ Nese can help corporations act quickly on opportunities that present themselves in real-time. ŝŝ Surprise and delight are important ŝŝ We need to make our app un-obtrusive. Not annoying. ŝŝ Word of mouth will be important for our growth strategy ŝŝ We will advertise in the places where people are trying to connect. (social media, remote work blogs) ŝŝ From the Storyboards we were able to get a better understanding of how the users feel through drawing out realistic scenarios. ŝŝ Engaging a large number of early adopters will be a combination of ease of use and instant gratification.

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METHODS TO EVALUATE USER NEEDS The techniques we decided on were: ŝŝ Empathy maps of our key user groups to understand their emotional landscape ŝŝ The 5E experience map to envision how our users experience our offering ENTICE ENTER ENGAGE EXIT EXTEND

ŝŝ Visual business model canvas to help improve the comprehension of our business model ŝŝ Story boards to explore what the real world interaction with our app might look like We chose these methods because it allowed for different types of insight from our user groups and we also were able to look at several user scenarios for our business models. We were, in essence, able to step into the shoes of our users and really try to see how they interact with our product.

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EMPATHY MAP EXPLORATION

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STUDENT/CHILD EMPATHY MAP INSIGHTS

ŝŝ They are interested in instant gratification. ŝŝ Students/Children really have concern about their parents inability to operate technology and will appreciate the simple interface of Nese. ŝŝ Students/Children will use the app to stay connected to their friends from home as well.

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PARENT EMPATHY MAP INSIGHTS

ŝŝ Parents are longing for a strand of the good old days where their little one wasn’t only physically closer but needed them more. ŝŝ Parents like the comfort of knowing that they are not intruding on their children while they try to find their identity in the world. ŝŝ They really appreciate something that helps them mitigate the distance and Nese is a simple easy to use interface.

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COLLEGE EMPATHY MAP INSIGHTS

ŝŝ Colleges use the app to arrange meetings and communication with students. ŝŝ Colleges experience major pain points from scheduling. Some hire logistics coordinators who specialize in scheduling appointments. ŝŝ College employees like RIna want to help the most students in the amount of time they have during the day and Nese allows them to schedule their time and communication effectively.

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BUSINESS EMPATHY MAP INSIGHTS

ŝŝ Corporate employees use Nese to find collaborators at the speed of change. ŝŝ For corporate employees: Nese has the availability and calendar syncing functions for companies with offices in distant locations to work efficiently together.

Scheduling their communication and not missing opportunities. ŝŝ The same way Nese works for the private sector it can also work for the corporate world. Applying the functionality to business makes perfect sense since one of their main pain points is effective scheduling and timing.

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5E EXPERIENCE MAP EXPLORATION ENTICE ENTER ENGAGE EXIT EXTEND

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5E EXPERIENCE MAP INSIGHTS

ŝŝ Advertise on social media services where people are already going to try and connect like facebook and twitter. ŝŝ Word of mouth and users inviting their friends and family could be a powerful growth strategy. We will need to delight customers and meet their real needs for people to do this. ŝŝ Growth in business will probably happen organically through users who uses Nese in their personal life. How can we “up-sale” them to apply it at their business? ŝŝ Nese will work best with lots of individual user data.

Goals, communication preferences, schedule, habits, - it may be overwhelming to ask for this we’ll need to design an on-boarding system that impresses users initially and learns and improves over time. ŝŝ Might be able to reclaim or avoid loss of users if we communicate the value we’re adding to their life well.

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VISUAL BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS

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VISUAL BUSINESS CANVAS INSIGHTS

ŝŝ Organic growth due to users inviting their friends will be an important growth channel. Meeting real customer need once the become a user is critical - “The sale” is just the beginning. ŝŝ Design of the user interface will be a critical activity. We need to utilize a user centered approach to identify and innovate as we develop features ŝŝ Matching the interface design with the development of sophisticated algorithms and automated data analysis will be a major initial cost to create the service we envision.

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SCENARIO STORY BOARD EXPLORATION

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STUDENT/CHILD STORY BOARD A young female student who is very busy. She works hard in class and at her job at the coffee shop.

She bikes all over the city and then spends her nights working on homework until very late. She gets exasperated with a grade she received and experiences a moment of frustration. Nese dings and our heroine sees that “now would be a good time to talk to her mom.” She curls up in a chair and they connect and she vows to not give up after hearing a needed voice from home.

INSIGHTS

ŝŝ Students/Children out in the world on their own are distracted, stressed, and trying to figure it out. They need a familiar voice to encourage and soothe them in these times. ŝŝ Students Children sometimes get distracted and don’t intentionally want to hurt their loved ones by failing to connect. Nese gently reminds them when it is time to reach out.

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PARENT STORY BOARD A father asleep on the other side of the world. He has a dream about a time when his little girl was young and they were playing in the snow. He wakes and a Nese push suggests a call to his daughter who is available. They connect and reminisce about that day in the snow and the hug that they hope to share again soon.

INSIGHTS

ŝŝ Parents have worried about their children since the dawn of time. They also are genetically predisposed to not care about anything more than their offspring. ŝŝ This application allows for seamless timing and opportunity to bring loved ones closer together.

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COLLEGE STORY BOARD A fine artist working on one of his paintings when a Nese Push notification comes through suggesting he should meet with a College Rep and show off his new portfolio. He connects with Nese and then heads to a Starbucks where he not only gets his portfolio reviewed but also decides to start his application right there following the 1 on 1 meeting.

INSIGHTS

ŝŝ The corporate business world is all about connection and communication. Whole corporations could use Nese to connect and do business at the speed of life. ŝŝ The scheduling implications would solve many pain points executives face on a regular basis trying to get video conferencing and group calls off the ground.

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BUSINESS STORY BOARD A tale of two offices. The New York Office pulls the daily numbers and our Senior Executive notices an abnormality in the Asian markets. He quickly checks his Nese contacts and sees that Ni Zheng and Ethan Chu are working late in the Hong Kong Office. They collaborate over video conference, that they opened through the Nese app, and are the first to capitalize on the abnormality. Profit margins soar!

INSIGHTS

ŝŝ Colleges can really use this innovation to again make the most of their time especially while incurring travel costs. ŝŝ Colleges can use the scheduling feature to connect with more students in less time.

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APP FEATURE INSIGHTS

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WHAT ARE THE KEY FEATURES WE WANT TO DESIGN INTO OUR PRODUCT? Based on the explorations that we have presented we have identified a few potential areas to prototype features for our service. ŝŝ The algorithm for calendar synergy to solve the user problem of connecting with people in different timezones and schedules. ŝŝ Enhanced security and privacy of user information is critical to earn and keep the trust of users and prevent unwanted interruptions. ŝŝ Conversational interaction interface to enhance the relational aspect of our service ŝŝ Push notifications, reminders, emails, make Nese the only app that pro-actively helps you connect. ŝŝ Our platform will need to progressively learn about each customer to better recognize and facilitate their connection goals. ŝŝ The mobile device app is the primary point of contact with our user and critical for our success ŝŝ We also want to incorporate use of the gps and motion in that algorithm so it can recognize when our user is taking a walk, or driving a car, awake late at night etc. ŝŝ Another feature we would like for it to have is the ability to access (link-out) multiple communication platforms making it easy to connect with each user’s preferred modes.

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PART 7

PROTOTYPING AND BRAND DEVELOPMENT LEARNING OUTCOME

After completing this part of the project, students will be able to: ŝŝ Begin developing a mock-up of the network site, including pertinent details, flow, components, images, wireframe of site, and basic function prototype ŝŝ Define their network’s brand and how their business model strengthens the brand ŝŝ Create a five-minute presentation that captures their initial thought process for their network and maps the future plans for progress.

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INTERACTION PROTOTYPES

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INTERACTION PROTOTYPES

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INTERACTION FLOWCHART

Add/see which contacts are already Nese Members

sign up with basic info

Parent Scenario

Nese automatically reads the daughter's calendar and notices that her father has not been connected to her in a few days

notices heartrate on Dad's fit bit has him waking up well before alarm.

Notices Daughter is just finishing up with class and is walking home at a leisurely pace. ETA 10 minutes

sends push notification to Dad, "Hannah is available would you like to connect?"

Set communication goals: Speak to Daughter 3-4 times a week via phone call

Dad swipes on the ok and it accesses his phone and calls

Hannah receives a call from Dad and realizes they haven't connected in a day or two.

Hannah has a nice conversatin for 15 minutes with her father about the time they played in the snow in Denmark.

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INTERACTION FLOWCHART

sign up with workfphone/Em ail/Calendar info and allow access to apps

Business Scenario

Mr. Lee arrives at the offices of Mcorp and notices an abnormality in the Asian Markets

Ethan Chu and Ni Zheng are working in late in the office

Whole company is already using Nese so just select potential collborators

He selects available contacts from his corporation by city and notices Ethan Chu and Ni Zheng are still working in the Hong Kong officel

Set communication goals and frequency: Meet with Boss once a week via Skypeand your Project team once a day via Adobe Connect

He connects via Skype with his team

Ethan notices that Mr. Lee has asked him to join a video conference with Ni Zheng and him

The team connects and acts quickly to capitalize on the anomally

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INTERACTION FLOWCHART

sign up with basic info and allow access to calendar and apps

Child Scenario

Nese notices, elevated heartrate, fatigue, and fit bit says she's taken 20K steps today. She has been stationary and searching the internet for topics for her class

Add/see which contacts are already Nese Members

Nese sends a connection suggestion to the Daughter and she swipes right to hear her Mom's voice

Set communication goals and frequency: Speak to Mom once a day via phone call

Child's Phone connects with Mom.

Mother consoles daughter and encourages her to persevere. both have a good cry.

Nese notices Mom is home in Caracas, awake and available to Chat

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INTERACTION FLOWCHART

Link Nese to the prospect Database.

College Scenario

Zach checks his Nese to see who is available to connect during his worktrip to Dallas and spots Austin a talented young artist

Austin is a potential grad student at home working on his paintings. He had attended a college fair and opted in for Nese notifications from SCAD

Add/see which contacts are already Nese Members and ask if they'd like to join through RFI.

Zach Swipes right on Austin's button and they are connected.

Set communication goal, frequency, and location: Have coffee with Dallas prospects once twice per day

Zach invites Austin to meet him at a Starbucks for a portfolio critique and q and a session

The two meet at Starbucks and have a great one on one. Austin decides to commit to the application.

Austin receives a call from his rep Zach inviting him to meet face to face for portfolio review and q and a session

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SKETCHING

calming color

Speech bubble clearly communicates our core value

Red contrast color for alerts and navigation

simple color pallet keeps interface clean and welcoming

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LOGO REFINEMENT

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LOGO AND COLOR FINALIZATION

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LOGO CONTEXTUAL COMPARISON

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APP SCREEN MOCK UPS

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BRAND PHRASES Taglines This is a great time to talk!

Your personal connection assistant The joy of connection A reason to smile.

Your WiFi for happiness.

Your assistance hotspot.

Everyone needs a smile.

The clock of joy.

Time is precious.

The good assistant.

For You! Connect with Joy. Spread the love.

Convenient Communication.

Designed for joy.

The timely happiness.

Multiply the smile.

Spread the joy.

Live stress free.

Adds value to your time.

Stress free life!

Time - Wise!

Love your schedules.

We manage your time.

Your personal manager.

Your connection sweetspot.

Truelines We make the impossible connections easy for you.

Creating serendipity

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PART 8

NETWORK SALES PITCH LEARNING OUTCOME

After completing this part of the project, students will be able to: ŝŝ create a three-to five-minute video commercial or pitch presentation of the business model that emphasizes the model brand.

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NETWORK PITCH PITCH Our pitch video starts with Nese noticing that Anna a young college student is out for a walk. Her dad is available to talk and receives a push from Nese and calls his daughter. The pitch uses animations of calendars, users, pain points, and describes the app and its basic functions as well as potential revenue streams and return on investment.

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TAGLINE AND TRUELINE An important part of our part of our pith was to communicate our brand. Our tagline and trueline help to clearly communicate core value to our users.

Also our visual brand eludes to the friendly nature of our brand. Simplicity both in the visual branding and the ease of use of the app is another important part of the brand.

WE demonstrated through our introduction vignette how Nese proactively helps the father and daughter to connect on the phone. This ease with minimal interface is a key component of the brand.

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CONCLUSION

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CONCLUSION PAIN POINTS FROM OUR RESEARCH

Humans have a natural need to connect a crucial pain point is not knowing when is the best time to connect. A close second to this pain point is the concern over privacy and security especially when it pertains to social networks. Nese answers these two questions by finding the synchronicity in calendars and having an algorithm read the pertinent data to keep your personal info private.

When given permission the algorithm can access more data provided by other applications (in addition to the calendar) and then suggesting connections at the most opportune times.

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FINDING THE WHITE SPACE

From our initial prototype and concepts we’ve evolved dramatically. After analyzing our research we identified that existing social networks offered many of the features we were initially interested in but we did identify some white space in the problem of finding the right time to connect.

We made the very hard decision to sacrifice our preliminary iteration so that our app could become an elegant solution to the pain points that we triangulated from our user data. We differentiated from our competition through the usability of our app and its unique security features. Our algorithm works in the background finding the right times for connection and prompting the user to get in touch in their preferred method.

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OUR BUSINESS MODEL

The facet of Nese that will intrigue investors is its scalability. It on its most simple level is a freemium business model that allows college students to join for no charge. Parents and casual users pay a reasonable fee for a basic connection. The real revenue stream will come from the usability for enterprises. Entire staff rosters can be added to Nese on a corporate account and also add databases of their clients. Having the ability to find out when clients and organizations are available is an incredibly lucrative data point for an organization. Helping them to save time and money.

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SUMMARY

In summation Nese is the communication scheduling solution created for the casual and corporate user. It is unique and helps humans achieve their communication goals personally and professionally. Thank you for learning about our project and thanks to Professor Fish for her guidance this quarter.

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WORKING WALL

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NETWORK ANALYSIS

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NETWORK ANALYSIS

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NETWORK ANALYSIS

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NETWORK ANALYSIS

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NETWORK ANALYSIS

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NETWORK DESIGN DEVELOPMENT Family Connection Network SWOT Analysis Possible 2x2s axis Privacy - public ease of use - difficult number of people - 1:1 - many complexity - simple network - direct connection free - $$$$

2x2 Charts Simplicity

Facetime

texting

Postmates

S

Linked-in

texting Open Table

Instagram

Facetime

Uber

Waze

Facebook

Tinder Skype

Postmates

Whatsapp Google Hangouts

Instagram Email

Waze

network

Bumble

Instagram

Google+ Uber Google hangout

1:1

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204380

Facetime

http://www.macworld.com/article/2863332/videochatting-with-family-how-to-use-facetime-skype-orgoogle-hangouts-to-keep-in-touch.html

Tinder

network

O

Helps you highlight your professionalism and a very trusted professional site for all professionals who seek career growth

Mostly viewed as a career portal and not a social media network.

Improve its advertising. people are starting to share content job recruiters generate revenue

Market leader connections already established mass usage

Advertising is taking over very complicated too many connections

Ad revenue is increasing recently acquired top competition new video and VR

Lyft

Skype

Bumble

Yelp

Foursquare

W

T

S

Phone

Google+

Email Whatsapp

Location-Based Information

Long-Distance Communication Between Family Members

Privacy Phone

Whatsapp

If Google, Facebook or Monster offer better professional offerings!

aging user base - losing cool factor security concerns spam / fake news / cyber attacks ad blocking

can post to other platforms direct messaging in app highly educated staff

Very easy and intuitive high security high quality - gets better as tech advances years of momentum uses phone numbers

privacy concerns tethered to wifi or data plan

privacy concerns lots of low quality content android and iPhone only limited capacity for comments and likes need to follow users to see content

only iOS & Mac devices accounts can be confusing no group feature video calls can be intrusive

currently basic -> new features available on mainland china international business use can share media

Crash messages lots of competition risk of regulation spying, malware, security threats

smart phones keep getting better hashtag system mobile ads media relations

photo rights and usage issues bore stakeholders lots of competition (photo apps) difficult for businesses to manage

huge existing user base - could expand functionality quickly to beat out competition

competition has much more functionality competition is actively improving their offerings (Facebook messenger)

Postmates

Tinder

Texting

Phone Open Table Facebook

Email

Facebook

Complexity

Waze widely available 81% of cell phone owners text smart phones make it very easy available on non-smart phones already established easy to and simple great for quick communication asynchronous

Too simple? limited content no video no voice little posibility for additional features tied to phone number must have contact info

Potentially better ways to do group texts

Uber best suited for 1:1 synchronous event need a signal must have contact information

services providers can make unique offerings familiar

users less aware of the difference from apps newer users have different perspective of a "phone"

Almost universal text communication 1:1 and 1:many conversation can send media secure reliable

Almost universal text communication 1:1 and 1:many conversation can send media reliable delivery must have email address email addresses are prone to dissemination spam, cyber attacks users have many accounts

Is there a place for long form messaging that is more connected to a network and shareable suitable for more complex info that needs to be saved and organized

cluttered environments significant security issues information overload

Value Proposition

Local Businesses

Demographics

Parents who have kids at college age or older

Demographics

college students young professionals working away from home

Demographics

recruitment staff alumni relation departments / schools majors

Demographics

Occupation/ industry

Could be working in any industry (non-profit / for profit etc.)

Unemployed Retired

Occupation/ industry

Academic / education nonprofit for profit private public

Occupation/ industry

Academic / education nonprofit for profit private public

Occupation/ industry

Current communication methods

Email Skype, Facetime, Viber..

Text, iMessage, Whatsapp Phone

Current communication methods

Future communication / networking needs

Communication through VR Connecting parents with children living away from home

Future communication / networking needs

Email Skype Facetime Viber Text iMessage Whatsapp Phone

Communication through VR Connecting people living away from home

Current communication methods

Existing network strategies & Industry standards for information sharing

Future communication / networking needs

Email Direct mail recruiting reps to highshcools video

newsletters online forums message boards 1:1 emails face : face meetings career fairs email blast website direct mail press release advertising branding

unknown crisis communication schedule changes weather alerts job placement assistance

Uber releases competition; UberEats

Collaborative consumption, party-game with the new Apple TV app.

Competition from Bumble, a more female-frienly app

Real-time traffic updates and other road data.

Uses live maps.

Location services always on Notifies route changes last minute (dangerous in traffic)

Waze Carpool Bluetooth beacons to avoid tunnel blackouts.

Cop-tracker is a threat to officials and national security

GPS

Almost universal audio communication 1:1 conversation can do group calling hands and eyes free high audio quality reliable

Public

User Groups

Email Skype, Facetime, Viber..

Text, iMessage, Whatsapp Phone

Partnerships with retail stores; e.g. American Apparel

Bugs in the app Confusion if its an app for dating or hook-ups

Google+

WeChat

Existing network strategies & Industry standards for information sharing

Wrong orders Misleading Takes long to deliver

Good for meeting new people in the area Fun

With data rates decreasing may become obsolete

Google Hangouts

Yelp

Email Skype Facetime Viber Text iMessage Whatsapp Phone

Allows small businesses to compete for speedy delivery of consumer goods with larger companies like Amazon.

Confusion with the seperation of apps Not becoming a cultural institution or a trend between teens.

Increasing competition from other potential avenues for recommendations (Facebok)

Open Table

Voxer

Foursquare

Existing network strategies & Industry standards for information sharing

Acquired SeatMe, the startup that set out to battle OpenTable in the restaurant reservation space.

Full of options Intuitive design for features Good social connections Loyal users

Bumble

http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/09/19/ additional-demographic-analysis/

Colleges

Not so easy to use app / website Unreliable reviews

Yelp

T

Skype

linked-in

Children

Seperating into two apps: Swarm - more like a game, Foursquare - more like a city guide.

Partnering with Uber, Opentable

DATING

Lyft

linked-in

Parents

O

Always on location services Not fulfilling promises (deals and discounts) Late to update closed businesses.

Fun and engaging Reliable reviews

FOOD free texting over wifi ad free user friendly, available and mobile auto contact access

Viber

Direct connection

W

Foursquare

Current communication methods

Existing network strategies & Industry standards for information sharing

Future communication / networking needs

small local businesses local services medium business chain businesses food retail mechanic banking entertainment travel Advertising word of mouth fliers coupons promotion student discount offers deals with institutions word of mouth sponsor events catering facebook website email subscription lists

quality assurance to new customers recommendations

For description of the consumer, customer, user Who description of activities, intent, needs, or wants (Our) description of the offering, product, or design concept We do this by ‌ the key operational feature, or innovation Unlike competitors or alternatives to the proposed concept (Our) how the concept is different and better [2]

Convinient

Security issues Too high surge pricing

Has a lot of information on their users, can use these for alternative apps.

Increased competition Uber drivers, employees or contractors?

Lyft

Sources: TechCrunch, CrunchBase, Forbes, Mashable, Medium, FastCo, BusinessInsider, iTunes App Reviews

Value Proposition Version 1

Value Proposition Version 2

For family members who find themselves in a long distance relationship who have a strong need to connect to each other's context.

For students and parents who find themselves in a long distance relationship due to school, and desire to connect to each other's needs and context and better relate.

Our social network allows family members to connect with loved ones and others who have a similar geographic separation allowing them to share insights and knowledge with the community.

Our social network allows parents and students to connect to each other directly as well as connecting them both to a network of other users

Unlike competing social networks which offer a complex or cluttered experience and create privacy concerns Our network provides a simple experience and interface to allow users to connect with their loved ones. The network protects users privacy but uses contextual data and location based data to connect them to other users or information related to their specific needs.

Who have a similar geographic separation. Allowing users to privately share insights and knowledge with the community and make personal connection if they desire.

Unlike competing social networks which offer a complex or cluttered experience and create privacy concerns We provide a simple experience and interface to allow users to connect with their loved ones. The network protects users privacy but uses contextual data and location based data to connect them to other users or user information related to their specific needs or questions.

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NETWORK DESIGN DEVELOPMENT NETWORK ANALYSIS - WHITESPACE

Possible 2x2s axis Privacy - public ease of use - difficult number of people - 1:1 - many complexity - simple network - direct connection free - $$$$

2x2 Charts Simplicity

Privacy Facetime

Phone texting

Postmates Phone

Google+

Email

texting Whatsapp

Open Table

Instagram

Facetime

Uber

Waze

Tinder Skype

Postmates

Lyft

Skype

Bumble Google Hangouts

Yelp Email Waze

network

Foursquare

Uber Google hangout

Bumble

Instagram

Google+

1:1

Tinder

network

Whatsapp

Direct connection

Lyft

linked-in

linked-in

Foursquare

Yelp

Open Table Facebook

Facebook

Complexity

Public

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NETWORK DESIGN DEVELOPMENT FAMILY CONNECTION NETWORK

User Groups Parents

Children

Local Businesses

Colleges

Demographics

Parents who have kids at college age or older

Demographics

college students young professionals working away from home

Demographics

recruitment staff alumni relation departments / schools majors

Demographics

Occupation/ industry

Could be working in any industry (non-profit / for profit etc.)

Unemployed Retired

Occupation/ industry

Academic / education nonprofit for profit private public

Occupation/ industry

Academic / education nonprofit for profit private public

Occupation/ industry

Current communication methods

Email Skype, Facetime, Viber..

Text, iMessage, Whatsapp Phone

Current communication methods

Existing network strategies & Industry standards for information sharing

Future communication / networking needs

Email Skype Facetime Viber Text iMessage Whatsapp Phone

Communication through VR Connecting parents with children living away from home

Existing network strategies & Industry standards for information sharing

Future communication / networking needs

Email Skype, Facetime, Viber..

Text, iMessage, Whatsapp Phone

Email Skype Facetime Viber Text iMessage Whatsapp Phone

Communication through VR Connecting people living away from home

Current communication methods

Existing network strategies & Industry standards for information sharing

Future communication / networking needs

Email Direct mail recruiting reps to highshcools video

newsletters online forums message boards 1:1 emails face : face meetings career fairs email blast website direct mail press release advertising branding

unknown crisis communication schedule changes weather alerts job placement assistance

Current communication methods

Existing network strategies & Industry standards for information sharing

Future communication / networking needs

small local businesses local services medium business chain businesses food retail mechanic banking entertainment travel Advertising word of mouth fliers coupons promotion student discount offers deals with institutions word of mouth sponsor events catering facebook website email subscription lists

quality assurance to new customers recommendations

159

NETWORK DESIGN DEVELOPMENT FAMILY CONNECTION NETWORK

SWOT Analysis Location-Based Information

Long-Distance Communication Between Family Members S

Linked-in

Facebook

Whatsapp

Instagram

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204380

Facetime

http://www.macworld.com/article/2863332/videochatting-with-family-how-to-use-facetime-skype-orgoogle-hangouts-to-keep-in-touch.html

W

O

Helps you highlight your professionalism and a very trusted professional site for all professionals who seek career growth

Mostly viewed as a career portal and not a social media network.

Improve its advertising. people are starting to share content job recruiters generate revenue

Market leader connections already established mass usage

Advertising is taking over very complicated too many connections

Ad revenue is increasing recently acquired top competition new video and VR

T

S

If Google, Facebook or Monster offer better professional offerings!

aging user base - losing cool factor security concerns spam / fake news / cyber attacks ad blocking

W

O

Always on location services Not fulfilling promises (deals and discounts) Late to update closed businesses.

Seperating into two apps: Swarm - more like a game, Foursquare - more like a city guide.

Partnering with Uber, Opentable

Not so easy to use app / website Unreliable reviews

Acquired SeatMe, the startup that set out to battle OpenTable in the restaurant reservation space.

Allows small businesses to compete for speedy delivery of consumer goods with larger companies like Amazon.

Wrong orders Misleading Takes long to deliver

Partnerships with retail stores; e.g. American Apparel

Uber releases competition; UberEats

Good for meeting new people in the area Fun

Bugs in the app Confusion if its an app for dating or hook-ups

Collaborative consumption, party-game with the new Apple TV app.

Competition from Bumble, a more female-frienly app

Real-time traffic updates and other road data.

Uses live maps.

Location services always on Notifies route changes last minute (dangerous in traffic)

Waze Carpool Bluetooth beacons to avoid tunnel blackouts.

Cop-tracker is a threat to officials and national security

Foursquare

Fun and engaging Reliable reviews

Yelp

Full of options Intuitive design for features Good social connections Loyal users

T

Confusion with the seperation of apps Not becoming a cultural institution or a trend between teens.

Increasing competition from other potential avenues for recommendations (Facebok)

FOOD free texting over wifi ad free user friendly, available and mobile auto contact access

can post to other platforms direct messaging in app highly educated staff

Very easy and intuitive high security high quality - gets better as tech advances years of momentum uses phone numbers

privacy concerns tethered to wifi or data plan

privacy concerns lots of low quality content android and iPhone only limited capacity for comments and likes need to follow users to see content

only iOS & Mac devices accounts can be confusing no group feature video calls can be intrusive

currently basic -> new features available on mainland china international business use can share media

Crash messages lots of competition risk of regulation spying, malware, security threats

smart phones keep getting better hashtag system mobile ads media relations

photo rights and usage issues bore stakeholders lots of competition (photo apps) difficult for businesses to manage

huge existing user base - could expand functionality quickly to beat out competition

competition has much more functionality competition is actively improving their offerings (Facebook messenger)

Open Table Postmates

Tinder

Viber DATING

Bumble Skype

Voxer

http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/09/19/ additional-demographic-analysis/

Texting

Waze widely available 81% of cell phone owners text smart phones make it very easy available on non-smart phones already established easy to and simple great for quick communication asynchronous

Too simple? limited content no video no voice little posibility for additional features tied to phone number must have contact info

Potentially better ways to do group texts

With data rates decreasing may become obsolete

Google+ GPS

Google Hangouts Phone

Email

WeChat

Uber Almost universal audio communication 1:1 conversation can do group calling hands and eyes free high audio quality reliable

best suited for 1:1 synchronous event need a signal must have contact information

services providers can make unique offerings familiar

users less aware of the difference from apps newer users have different perspective of a "phone"

Almost universal text communication 1:1 and 1:many conversation can send media secure reliable

Almost universal text communication 1:1 and 1:many conversation can send media reliable delivery must have email address email addresses are prone to dissemination spam, cyber attacks users have many accounts

Is there a place for long form messaging that is more connected to a network and shareable suitable for more complex info that needs to be saved and organized

cluttered environments significant security issues information overload

Convinient

Security issues Too high surge pricing

Has a lot of information on their users, can use these for alternative apps.

Increased competition Uber drivers, employees or contractors?

Lyft

Sources: TechCrunch, CrunchBase, Forbes, Mashable, Medium, FastCo, BusinessInsider, iTunes App Reviews

160

NETWORK DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

Value Proposition For description of the consumer, customer, user Who description of activities, intent, needs, or wants (Our) description of the offering, product, or design concept We do this by ‌ the key operational feature, or innovation Unlike competitors or alternatives to the proposed concept (Our) how the concept is different and better [2]

Value Proposition Version 1

Value Proposition Version 2

For family members who find themselves in a long distance relationship who have a strong need to connect to each other's context.

For students and parents who find themselves in a long distance relationship due to school, and desire to connect to each other's needs and context and better relate.

Our social network allows family members to connect with loved ones and others who have a similar geographic separation allowing them to share insights and knowledge with the community.

Our social network allows parents and students to connect to each other directly as well as connecting them both to a network of other users

Unlike competing social networks which offer a complex or cluttered experience and create privacy concerns Our network provides a simple experience and interface to allow users to connect with their loved ones. The network protects users privacy but uses contextual data and location based data to connect them to other users or information related to their specific needs.

Who have a similar geographic separation. Allowing users to privately share insights and knowledge with the community and make personal connection if they desire.

Unlike competing social networks which offer a complex or cluttered experience and create privacy concerns We provide a simple experience and interface to allow users to connect with their loved ones. The network protects users privacy but uses contextual data and location based data to connect them to other users or user information related to their specific needs or questions.

161

NETWORK DESIGN DEVELOPMENT STUDY GROUP NETWORK

Study Group Network Study Group Network User Groups

Study Group Network SWOT Analysis

S Periscope and Youtube

LinkedIn Facebook

visual learners and recording sharing lectures

Periscope is a haven for predators and youtube is not in a social context

Great for connecting and starting groups based on subjects

LinkedIn could be so much more sharing ideas.

Facebook there is too much other "noise" that distracts you.

Google +/Drive /Docs

perfect for taking realtime editable notes and sharing docs

Cramster

closest to my idea online collective for study help by topic

Quora and Google

Diigo and Pinterest

Feedly and Google Alerts

W

google most vast collection of info.

Quora Quesitons can be answered and content experts curate

a place to curate a helpful linklist and book mark and take notes

these two are the best way to keep up to date on a subject by getting alerts.

doesn't quite bring it all together like a facebook social site. more like tools.

O The ability to go live or record and share interviews and video on subject matter

Finding the right balance of social and info is something these two don't quite master

these are incredibly inciteful tools to combine with the social aspect

T So many video options how will ours stand out.

with too much functionality it can get a little muddy

Will O'Donnell

Online study tribe fill out the profile and ask a question You are invited to a tribe based on the subject of the question

You have access to content at varying levels

activity keeps you in the tribe

messing with google is not good.

Consider partnering

doesn't foster a community or really get more social than sharing ideas on subject matter

Combining this and quora idea with strong social/video option could be great!

One and done is sometimes appealing in the Q and A game.

Buy in to stay with the conversation

quora is very close but connections are supericial and finite. Google is enormous and gives too much

getting to the right content more quickly in a non frustrating way is where we can win here

not becoming the next ask jeeves with a clunky os

links go bad info changes doesn't update you on new info less interaction

again having their functionality with video/socia/colla b tools for the win!

finding a creative way to do this

google: some not helpful.

Feedly follows website and not topic

Being able to annotate and bookmark useful content and all shared

Going up against google is dangerous

gamification

Revenue

How it ties to research research showed a need for finding reputable resources

simple entry point and design like instagram

different modalities allow for different levels of engagement

research pointed to needing to meet like minded people as a trend Free is basic functionality lots of sites like facebook are free for the basic features

User 1

User 2

User 3

User 4

High school students age 14-17

Undergrad College students age 18-24

Graduate/Phd college students age 24 and up

FT professio nals age 24 and up

searching for quick and easy collab with peers

searching for reputable content and peers studying same thing

Searching for deeper understanding and more access to content experts.

Hungry for like minded peers

looking for other professionals with industry info and potentially to be an elder and mentor those who are students

about 70/30 FT student to FT worker.

Internships, management and directorial level jobs

100% full time employed professionala nd life long learners

20.5 million in colleges

3 million in post bacc programs

123.57 million full time employed workers

com prefs: Text, Call, social media, email

Com prefs: Text, Cell, email, Social Media:

Text, email, cellphone call, Social Media

occupation is being a student FT and some PT work Premium gives you more access to the content experts and ability to interact

Answering, answering, and pinning

When activity stops after a week you leave the tribe like FB friend/friend activity

you can rise in the ranks all the way up to the elder council

research showed liking and sharing was a way of validating user contribution

1. subscription: Free to $500 annually 2. Ads: targeted toward users in threads pertaining to subject matter.

3. Auctioning Sponsorship of larger thread.

15 million in public schools com prefs: Text, Social Media, Call, Email

Curently using: Periscope to record/share lectures, Google Hangouts/Drive/Docs to share content and take real time notes, Facebook study groups, Pinterest to create a visual link list for content.

Cramster to find study groups based on topics.

Innovation space: -Taking/sharing notes and lectures in realtime, -Safe option that isn’t anonymous so it won’t be a haven for bullying -Gamification is a fun way to encourage sustained activity

Occupation FT Student and several PT jobs, Internships

Periscope for recording sharing lectures/videos, Google Hangouts/Drive/Docs, Twitter to collect topical information in one location, Voicethread for sharing video content with visual learners, Diigo like twitter bookmarking webpages and allows for highlighting and anotating, Feedly to receive updates on the content you are studying,

-Collaboration is key so tools like Google+ are very useful for note taking, content sharing, and video conferencing.

-Used to quick searching for key terms through Hastags -Likes to receive notification when new information becomes available on a topic they are following.

Graduate Junction and Gradshare are social networks specifically for grads, Twitter for curating link lists, LinkedIn and FB Branchout to network professionally, Academia.edu to see thousands of professionally published papers, “EMES PhD Student Network: based in Europe the student network is a great place for PhD students to meet others.”

Access to content experts and networking is a priority.

Seeing what others at or above their level have professedly published is most helpful.

Great need to find and collaborate with people taking the same/similar classes to ensure they are on the right track.

Linked In for networking, Twitter or Pinterest for link curation, Youtube for quick learning Demos, Google+

Networking is most important.

Professional development is key to them.

Need an option that is time efficient.

162

NETWORK DESIGN DEVELOPMENT Study Group Network User Groups

Will O'Donnell

Online study tribe fill out the profile and ask a question You are invited to a tribe based on the subject of the question

You have access to content at varying levels

activity keeps you in the tribe

gamification

Revenue

How it ties to research research showed a need for finding reputable resources

simple entry point and design like instagram

different modalities allow for different levels of engagement

research pointed to needing to meet like minded people as a trend Free is basic functionality lots of sites like facebook are free for the basic features

User 1

User 2

User 3

User 4

High school students age 14-17

Undergrad College students age 18-24

Graduate/Phd college students age 24 and up

FT professio nals age 24 and up

searching for quick and easy collab with peers

searching for reputable content and peers studying same thing

Searching for deeper understanding and more access to content experts.

Hungry for like minded peers

looking for other professionals with industry info and potentially to be an elder and mentor those who are students

about 70/30 FT student to FT worker.

Internships, management and directorial level jobs

100% full time employed professionala nd life long learners

20.5 million in colleges

3 million in post bacc programs

123.57 million full time employed workers

com prefs: Text, Call, social media, email

Com prefs: Text, Cell, email, Social Media:

Text, email, cellphone call, Social Media

occupation is being a student FT and some PT work Premium gives you more access to the content experts and ability to interact

Answering, answering, and pinning

When activity stops after a week you leave the tribe like FB friend/friend activity

you can rise in the ranks all the way up to the elder council

research showed liking and sharing was a way of validating user contribution

1. subscription: Free to $500 annually 2. Ads: targeted toward users in threads pertaining to subject matter.

3. Auctioning Sponsorship of larger thread.

15 million in public schools com prefs: Text, Social Media, Call, Email

Curently using: Periscope to record/share lectures, Google Hangouts/Drive/Docs to share content and take real time notes, Facebook study groups, Pinterest to create a visual link list for content.

Cramster to find study groups based on topics.

Innovation space: -Taking/sharing notes and lectures in realtime, -Safe option that isn’t anonymous so it won’t be a haven for bullying -Gamification is a fun way to encourage sustained activity

Occupation FT Student and several PT jobs, Internships

Periscope for recording sharing lectures/videos, Google Hangouts/Drive/Docs, Twitter to collect topical information in one location, Voicethread for sharing video content with visual learners, Diigo like twitter bookmarking webpages and allows for highlighting and anotating, Feedly to receive updates on the content you are studying,

-Collaboration is key so tools like Google+ are very useful for note taking, content sharing, and video conferencing.

-Used to quick searching for key terms through Hastags -Likes to receive notification when new information becomes available on a topic they are following.

Graduate Junction and Gradshare are social networks specifically for grads, Twitter for curating link lists, LinkedIn and FB Branchout to network professionally, Academia.edu to see thousands of professionally published papers, “EMES PhD Student Network: based in Europe the student network is a great place for PhD students to meet others.”

Access to content experts and networking is a priority.

Seeing what others at or above their level have professedly published is most helpful.

Great need to find and collaborate with people taking the same/similar classes to ensure they are on the right track.

Linked In for networking, Twitter or Pinterest for link curation, Youtube for quick learning Demos, Google+

Networking is most important.

Professional development is key to them.

Need an option that is time efficient.

163

NETWORK DESIGN DEVELOPMENT Study Group Network SWOT Analysis STUDY GROUP NETWORK

S

W

O

T

visual learners and recording sharing lectures

Periscope is a haven for predators and youtube is not in a social context

The ability to go live or record and share interviews and video on subject matter

So many video options how will ours stand out.

LinkedIn Facebook

Great for connecting and starting groups based on subjects

LinkedIn could be so much more sharing ideas.

Facebook there is too much other "noise" that distracts you.

Finding the right balance of social and info is something these two don't quite master

with too much functionality it can get a little muddy

Google +/Drive /Docs

perfect for taking realtime editable notes and sharing docs

doesn't quite bring it all together like a facebook social site. more like tools.

Cramster

closest to my idea online collective for study help by topic

Periscope and Youtube

Quora and Google

Diigo and Pinterest

Feedly and Google Alerts

google most vast collection of info.

Quora Quesitons can be answered and content experts curate

a place to curate a helpful linklist and book mark and take notes

these two are the best way to keep up to date on a subject by getting alerts.

these are incredibly inciteful tools to combine with the social aspect

messing with google is not good.

Consider partnering

doesn't foster a community or really get more social than sharing ideas on subject matter

Combining this and quora idea with strong social/video option could be great!

One and done is sometimes appealing in the Q and A game.

Buy in to stay with the conversation

quora is very close but connections are supericial and finite. Google is enormous and gives too much

getting to the right content more quickly in a non frustrating way is where we can win here

not becoming the next ask jeeves with a clunky os

links go bad info changes doesn't update you on new info less interaction

again having their functionality with video/socia/colla b tools for the win!

finding a creative way to do this

google: some not helpful.

Feedly follows website and not topic

Being able to annotate and bookmark useful content and all shared

Going up against google is dangerous

164

NETWORK DESIGN DEVELOPMENT Festival Network

Competitor Analysis

Users get notified about the event

Purpose

Diwali example:

Encourage people to get together and have a great time!

The festival provides events and attractions like:

Indian Movies

People are encouraged to come mainly because of delicious food

Encourage people to share their amazing culture with other cultures!

Dancing

Indian Music

Also because of the people from their own culture!

Encourage people to celebrate life and have a mind blowing time!

Delicious Indian food!

Facebook and Instagram

Share thoughts and ideas online.

People could get together if they wish.

Its usually about yourself

pretty much the same experience everytime you visit.

Helps businesses through likes, shares, followers, etc.

Doesn't necessarily help the small local businesses.

Helps people explore through images, videos and conversations.

Rock O'Fest

Share thoughts online and offline.

Provoke people to get together and have a great time

Its about celebrating with a big global family!

Creates a new experience for users every time! So many new wonderful people to meet every time!

directly benefitting local businesses

generates employment for locals

helping people directly explore culture through real life experiences

local grocery stores

event planners and managers, caterers and bouncers.

Through food, music, movies, dancing, and real life conversations.

Through food, music, movies and conversations.

What we learnt from the research in Unit 1 helps us improve and create a more fantastic experience for users!

local restaurants

User Groups

Rock O'Fest Value Proposition For Internationals (Mainly Students, Tourists, Immigrants) who want to celebrate life!

Our social network encourages Internationals to get together and share their amazing culture with the locals and have a great time together as a big global family!

Unlike other competing social networks which offer a very limited scope to celebrate like a pro!

Our network will give the users a fantastic experience of getting together and celebrating their mind blowing cultures, thus benefiting local businesses and creating employment.

Students

Demographics

Occupation/ industry

Current communication methods

Existing network strategies & Industry standards for information sharing

Future communication / networking needs

Immigrants

Tourists

Mainly China, India, Saudi Arabia and S. Korea

School, College and University students, mainly beneficial to those who migrate alone.

Mostly social networks (many dont talk to their parents on phone for 6 months or so), mainly Facebook or Instagram.

Chats, Image and Video Sharing, Group chats and Events, etc.

Need for real and awesome fun in life because most of them are stressed most of the time!

Demographics

Occupation/ industry

Mainly Mexico, Canada, UK and Japan

We are mainly targeting long term tourists.

Demographics

Current communication methods

Existing network strategies & Industry standards for information sharing

Existing network strategies & Industry standards for information sharing

Feel like a local in a foreign country!!!

Super fantastic feeling!

Mainly India, China, Mexico and Canada

Occupation/ industry

Current communication methods

Future communication / networking needs

Local Businesses

Future communication / networking needs

Demographics

Occupation/ industry

Event Planners, Security, Caterers, Restaurants

Current communication methods

Existing network strategies & Industry standards for information sharing

Need for real and awesome fun in life because most of them are stressed most of the time!

Future communication / networking needs

165

NETWORK DESIGN DEVELOPMENT FESTIVAL NETWORK

User Groups Students

Demographics

Occupation/ industry

Current communication methods

Existing network strategies & Industry standards for information sharing

Future communication / networking needs

Immigrants

Tourists

Mainly China, India, Saudi Arabia and S. Korea

School, College and University students, mainly beneficial to those who migrate alone.

Mostly social networks (many dont talk to their parents on phone for 6 months or so), mainly Facebook or Instagram.

Chats, Image and Video Sharing, Group chats and Events, etc.

Need for real and awesome fun in life because most of them are stressed most of the time!

Demographics

Occupation/ industry

Mainly Mexico, Canada, UK and Japan

We are mainly targeting long term tourists.

Demographics

Current communication methods

Existing network strategies & Industry standards for information sharing

Existing network strategies & Industry standards for information sharing

Feel like a local in a foreign country!!!

Super fantastic feeling!

Mainly India, China, Mexico and Canada

Occupation/ industry

Current communication methods

Future communication / networking needs

Local Businesses

Future communication / networking needs

Demographics

Occupation/ industry

Event Planners, Security, Caterers, Restaurants

Current communication methods

Existing network strategies & Industry standards for information sharing

Need for real and awesome fun in life because most of them are stressed most of the time!

Future communication / networking needs

166

NETWORK DESIGN DEVELOPMENT FESTIVAL NETWORK

Competitor Analysis

Facebook and Instagram

Share thoughts and ideas online.

People could get together if they wish.

Its usually about yourself

pretty much the same experience everytime you visit.

Helps businesses through likes, shares, followers, etc.

Doesn't necessarily help the small local businesses.

Helps people explore through images, videos and conversations.

Rock O'Fest

Share thoughts online and offline.

Provoke people to get together and have a great time

Its about celebrating with a big global family!

Creates a new experience for users every time! So many new wonderful people to meet every time!

directly benefitting local businesses

generates employment for locals

helping people directly explore culture through real life experiences

local grocery stores

event planners and managers, caterers and bouncers.

Through food, music, movies, dancing, and real life conversations.

Through food, music, movies and conversations.

What we learnt from the research in Unit 1 helps us improve and create a more fantastic experience for users!

local restaurants

167

DEFINING NETWORK USERS Student/Child Interview Data Female, 25 On campus, from Istanbul

Male, 24 Military parents in Japan/San Francisco

Above average expertise with technology

Which Social networks do you use?

Instagram

facebook

I am also an app enthusiast

if i like it i keep it, if not i delete them

Pain points of social media and tech for communication

I have a family group on Whatsapp

Poor connection "it's huge"

What are the issues you face with social networks?

don't want to Skype if I know I'm going to have trouble explaining myself over and over again due to the connection problems.

What problems do you face when you communicate with parents

problem I have with my parents: not as quick with technology

Biggest challenge to your families long distance relationship

they don't understand how it works

every time we skype, i wait for them to go online for around 10 minutes.

What would improve the experience of communication

[improve communicat ion experience]

VR technologies

What issues have you faced when moving/living in a new place?

Loneliness is the hardest part for me

Typical long distance family problems

time difference

Would you like to connect with people around you, from your hometown?

I most definitely would!

not so many Turkish people here.. two of the best friends I've had here were

what would be the benefits?

Information sharing on where to eat for instance since you would have similar taste and share the same cuisine.

Advice on booking plane tickets, since you're flying to the same location

Would you use a social network that would connect you to people around you from your hometown??

yes, but I wouldn't want every Turkish person to be able to contact me directly.

Facetime

no dating sites

Instagram

[Whatsapp] we talk through there everyday

Poor connection is a major issue

skype

WhatsApp

[Timing] differs mostly due to my schedule

often we Facetime or Skype

[timing] But at least once a week

Facetime is the easiest, but only my sister has an iPhone

Poor connection It is also deterrent

my parents use androids

Facetime if my sister is around, if not we Skype

improved tremendously if connection was good and visual quality was HD

connecting with our loved ones in 3D.

touch improvements Like the kiss communicator

connections that allow you to feel and touch

Facebook

Twitter

I want to be introduced to Turkish people who are like me.

Knowing the schedules of both sides are also important.

sometimes I just need to speak Turkish, maybe just because I can express myself better.

Linkedin

Gmail

Facebook

Snapchat

Twitter

talk to my parents typically every other day, sometimes every three day

I call once a week on Sunday.

2hrs. facetime in the studio and the family has a group chat

Tumblr

Instagram

Instagram

Snapchat

usually call but if not I will use Facebook

this app could help people move from site to site .

FB can message them in a group chat

Whatsapp/ Facetime: phone calls once in 3 days

Whatsapp: texts with family everyday

Facetime: video calls 1-2 times a week

Facebook: bored with the design of user interfaces

fluidity and consistency so parents understand icons easily

Parents never check their apps, they only check once an hr.

They feel they should check only when wake up and right before bed.

Facetime doesnt have multiple people joining in.

7 family members all over the world.

interactive games during video chat

skype like interface to share pictures and message while chatting

nd up talking to one friend through 4 different apps at the same time

finding a time we are both free to talk

finding time to see each other in person

distortion during video calls

usually call randomly

takes a lot of planning for us to all be together in one place

I don’t really know what is going on my brother’s life unless my parents tell me.

it would depend on which ‘home town’ this was

Never really had a home town but would like to keep in touch with friends

advice on banking familiar to similar banking routines etc.

freshman that are homesick

Linked in and Gmail Daily

it could be interesting if you could then create a profile so that you can also find people with similar interests from your hometown!

am always looking for people to drive back to Indianapolis with

hard to keep up with what all of us are doing when we each talk separately

Instagram

Snapchat

once or twice every week

new respon sibilities

discomfort in flights

mostly through facetime or whatsapp calls

going away from home

getting used to new people

Facebook

Ello Clear interface good sound/servi ce

mother once a day whatsapp

Twitter linkedin

Instagram

Girlfriend through Wechat once a day

whatsapp fairly clear,

pretty good

majoring in game design

digital tutor

Facebook

Hitch

Asana

WeChat, once a week

Poor connection.

Poor Audio.

addictive

FOMO: Fear of missing out

they are pretty good

Hard to make a personal connection

Signal sometimes cuts out

sometimes goes with Google hangouts

voice, video quality

Make it more personal

hologram popping out of the screen

He is the hardest person to get in contact with

Facetime

What to do in an emergency

first family vacation in 3 years

great to keep in contact with friends from your past but it is also important to focus on building new relationships and figuring out where you fit in your new location.

Skype

more informatio nal less intimate

not focusing on the camera during video calls

some type of reminder if you have not responded to your parents text after so many hours.

Adapting to each of these locations definitely took me time

I know what time she drives to work, and how long her drive is.

Therefore my best bet to talk to her is during that hour for me, because she leaves work late and that's not a great time for me for instance.

I use it to connect to people in my field

Snapchat

Facebook

Male, 24 China

high but not optimal

Highly Experienced

Tumblr sometimes

t is the only social network my parents both have

Male, 24 Columbia

Male, 22 Parents live in Columbia

fairly good, keeps up with newcoming apps

parents arent techies so imessage and facetime email.

They can't figure out downloading attachements

moved 19 times.Family lived in Japan so time difference and not checking were problems

move to the West Coast - that way i can talk to Istanbul both in the morning and at night. Right now, I can only talk to them in the morning

Male, 25 Parents live in India

high level of understandi ng when it comes to technology.

on a scale of 1-10 I'm a 7

How tech savvy are you?

What medium do you use?

Why?

Female, 21 parents live Split between Indianapolis, IN and Puerto Rico

Less glitch=Like Real

forced to schedule

i prefer face:face meetings

Yes. Not loosing the connection to home

YES!

Would like for them to record memories so he doesn't miss out

Would like something similar to go pro to record memories

haven't really had any issues.Com munication is better

intimacy is missing

Scheduling

Timing

Need Face to face

not really

Ok but always willing to learn more

WeChat

also you can use your credit cards through the app

Line

Facebook

Whatsapp

Twitter

Call once a week

Group chat w/ Line once a day

Doesn't like people to know when he reads message

Compulsory to reply or it will hurt the relationship

cultural differences

holograms

Making an appointment to communicate

Transport

No.Doesn't need another Facebook

Yes

Prefer new culture

n/a

they would help me a lot

No. you need to explore your new environment and get to know the culture

Yes

Weibl (Chinese Twitter)

WeChat, 3-4 times a week

video calls through WeChat, once in 2 weeks

Instagram

good video quality

time difference

Wifi in airports

renting cars and public trans

likes trying and testing new softwares

Facebook

Twitter

Line with wife everyday

not hearing voicenotes clearly

Instagram

Reddit

it has many features that FB does not have

missing important information from Line groups when muting them

voice and video quality

schedules

reminder for your video call appointment

Getting a notification of appt 5-10 minutes before

well versed with new trends in technology

too many groups and notifications through Line

WeChat does not notify calls sometimes so i cannot reach them

finding wifi when i first moved to the country, cause i didnt have an american SIM

Mental Distance

Didn't understand question

Flights/ tickets

Bad Wifi

uncomf ortable

too many diff groups on line.

but connecting with home would be alright too

getting to express yourself in a native language

Yes but not annoying people :-)

Facebook

FB because its too complicated

Setting up rides

cannot become close friends with other nationalities

I feel like a stranger when I'm back home

meaningful connections

Instagram

Scheduling issues and connectivity

VR

Male, 33 Taiwan

expert

Timezone conflicts

confusing interfaces

like snapchat for families

Male, 28 China

Connection

I feel like a stranger when I'm back home

Big Family Parents stressed because they feel helpless

its free

Male, 26 Thailand

Yes

easier to communicate with

Yes: want space and speed for uploads/tran sfers

I prefer face:face

Yes

Share the same culture.Ever ything is just natural

Yes with better privacy, easy interface, or customize able interface

168

DEFINING NETWORK USERS

Student Group themes Which social networks?

How and how often communication with family?

Age Range: 21-33

Pain Points

everyone uses FB

for video calls Facetime or Skype is more common

Line, WeChat, WhatsApp are used to connect too (mostly for group chatting)

almost everyone complains from Poor connection

almost everyone uses IG

most people text with families everyday

video calls are less frequently done, but still once a week on average

too many different social networks

Parents not so tech savvy

169

DEFINING NETWORK USERS Parent Interview Data Parent 1 Mom

Parent 2 Dad

Parent 3 Mom

Tell me about a time when long distance communication worked really well for you?

Talking to my daughter studying abroad, when she is available

right now, talking with my daughter.

works very well for me

What level of expertise would you say you have with technology?

Intermedi ate, a little below average

I follow technology, I'm good at using it.

not expert at technology, but I am good at it.

Do you use any social networks?

Instagram

skype

Skype once in 3-4 days

whatsapp always

I'm thankful that we have these networks today

skype sometimes, we face disconnecti ons

How often do you communicate with your children living away? What do you use for communication?

Why do you prefer that network?

What are the typical issues that you face with social networks?

What do you see as the biggest challenge - long distance, relations

Not being able to touch.

What are the problems you face

I dont really face any problems.

What would improve the experience of communication?

Whatsapp calls are not synchronized. I hear her reply after a few seconds

Have you faced any issues when your children travelled?

Would you mind sharing a few?

I haven't, they don't keep me in suspense.

What are some things that worry you hat is one thing you wish you could do for your child living away from home?

whatsapp

Skype because it has video

phone Whatsapp is always ready to use, reachable, practical.

texting

texting

Instagram

skype

As much as possible

Skype once a week perhaps

Whatsapp always

Poor internet connection

no wi-fi availability

battery draining

whatsapp

phone

LinkedIn

Facebook

everyday through, calls, chats and group messages.

mostly only voice issues

I talk to my sons who are studying in USA

whatsapp

Facebook Messenger - excellent voice quality

on’t use the video calling feature too much

Viber Facebook Messenger - if the other person is busy, you can immediately send a voice message

some networks do take ages to connect

gmail Messenger is very convenient, easy to use

signal gets lost often

I mostly use Facebook and WhatsApp because my sons use those apps a lot

great reception

I get friend suggestions out of the blue on Facebook. It is a threat to my privacy. It feels like someone is spying on me.

Since we are in touch every day, I don’t see too much of a challenge

The distance :) Not being able to reach her sometimes

I would like Skype to be 3D

Also we keep track of their flights with some apps. We know the second they land.

I wish i could see her in 3D

i think with today's technology that is possible

Missing them is the most important one

But we are able to track them so it's good

Their health conditions

Her health conditions.

deliver her my homecooked meals

Sending her whatever she needs.

What are the typical problems involved in a long distance relationship?

problems decreased by %80 with all these new communication methods

Though it is challenging that we cannot reach her in a troubled situation (like when she got hit by a car while biking)

Would you like to connect with people in similar situations

Sometimes, i connected with my daughters friends' (who also live in the US) parents and it was good for me.

Getting knowledge from them

If i cannot reach my daughter for instance, it would be nice to know someone else there who can check on her.

Smell and touch feels

option for my preference.

Meaning, when I am talking via messenger - phone calls cut off the current call

FB & WhatsApp I could keep in touch with them all through their travel time even without the SIM

“Are they eating well and on time?” make their favorite food

Internet disconn ection

other person being unreachable

Yes

To get in touch in case of a problem or emergency

sometimes I don’t get notified if I am getting a call on Messenger or WhatsApp.

“Are they getting enough sleep?”

“Are they taking care of their health?”

sit next to them and cheer them and encourage them

Yes. I would love to do that.

we can understand each other very well.

We parents will be having similar issues.

We could plan to travel together,

manage better and have help each other.

We could actually make a nice support group.

170

DEFINING NETWORK USERS

Parent group themes Privacy concerns (triangulation with secondary research)

schedulin g/initiating communic ation

I get friend suggestions out of the blue on Facebook. It is a threat to my privacy. It feels like someone is spying on me.

WhatsApp is very popular with parents

I mostly use Facebook and WhatsApp because my sons use those apps a lot

Poor internet connection

Though it is challenging that we cannot reach her in a troubled situation (like when she got hit by a car while biking)

Whatsapp calls are not synchronized. I hear her reply after a few seconds

other person being unreachable

some networks do take ages to connect

sometimes I don’t get notified if I am getting a call on Messenger or WhatsApp.

Internet disconn ection

[worry] if i cannot reach them when I call

signal gets lost often

no wi-fi availability

battery draining

mostly only voice issues

Interesting that the children influence what the parents use.

whatsapp

Instagram

skype

phone

texting

whatsapp

Instagram

skype

phone

texting

Facebook

LinkedIn

Viber

gmail

whatsapp

skype sometimes, we face disconnecti ons

Parents seem interested in connecting with people in similar situations

Support group

Yes

Emergency

Already doing it

We could actually make a nice support group.

To get in touch in case of a problem or emergency

Sometimes, i connected with my daughters friends' (who also live in the US) parents and it was good for me.

Getting knowledge from them

If i cannot reach my daughter for instance, it would be nice to know someone else there who can check on her.

manage better and have help each other.

We could plan to travel together,

Frequent communication convenience is important for high usage

Whatsapp is always ready to use, reachable, practical.

whatsapp always

Video is used less often but regularly

Skype once in 3-4 days

Skype once a week perhaps

Whatsapp always

Skype because it has video

Facebook Messenger - excellent voice quality

Facebook Messenger - excellent voice quality

Messenger is very convenient, easy to use

don’t use the video calling feature too much

We parents will be having similar issues.

we can understand each other very well.

171

DEFINING NETWORK USERS College staff Interview Data exec director of international admission

How does your university help families living abroad stay connected to their children?

What do you wish international parents living abroad knew prior to sending their children to study at your institution?

Would your institution be interested in data on the trends and behaviors of international students and parents?

What would admission/your department do with that data do with that data?

What are the common problems faced by international students upon their arrival to a new country?

Skype Sessions,Cellpho ne Companies, Free Wifi for Whatsapp, Kakao, and Facebook

We are here to take care of you.

ESL, Culture Immersion, Advising, ISSO, Counseling,tutori ng, ect.

Yes, sorted by territory as culture plays a very important role.

creating solutions for challenges worries for students/parent s

culture shock, language barrier, and adjusting to being independent ($$)

Director of ISSO

International Student Services Office (ISSO)

Director of ISSO Savannah

Facebook, and other social media outlets

students whose families live abroad are supported by our International Student Services Office (ISSO

ISSO can assist students with phone calls, or faxes back home

ISSO, help students scan and email documents per their request

isso, help students find and understand campus mailroom post or shipping resources

communicate the expectation of one facet of U.S. culture and law

U.S. privacy laws (FERPA) prevent student advisers from sharing information about academic, student conduct and financial records

ISSO can also route and relay important messages to students that may be received from abroad

Absolutely! interested in data on trends and behaviors

[DATA] would help me to better understand the diverse backgrounds and cultures of the students whom I advise

we take their safety and higher education incredibly seriously from arrival through post completion work authorization

Absolutely.

[DATA] would allow me to serve them better

refine our quarterly orientation programming

In the beginning the problems are logistical

logistical problems: how to get to campus from the airport

Later, problems may be more linked to culture shock

culture shock: how to adapt to U.S. values related to freedom of expression,

culture shock: cultural mores regarding time

hard to generalize about this

personal matter which will vary greatly according to the individual student and their family

others that have limited communicat ion

interact largely with same culture: tend to have more challenges adapting

interact largely with same culture: greater difficulty with English language

logistical problems: how to find housing

logistical problems: how to open a bank account

logistical problems: how to open accounts without a social security number

logistical problems: how to open accounts without a social security number

Finding their way around

meeting new friends

WhatsApp, the internet, etc. has GREATLY improved over the course of the past decade

land line phones in order to call home.

Those days are virtually over now.

assimilating to a new environment

culture shock: academic integrity issues.

How do you think communication between international students and their families can be improved?

through brochures and testimonials/tut orials from current students

What is the biggest problem for an international student adjusting to their new environments?

Teaching style of professor, independent thinking and research in classes and language barrier.

The most successful international students are those who have roommates, friendships and relationships with those of other cultures

Is it beneficial for them to know people from their hometowns and cultures in their new environment?

Yes –gives comfort and the previous set of students can already provide them with solutions that the current students face.

having a support network from others from the same culture can be a helpful resource.

This is absolutely paramount

we go out of our way to hire and train International Student Orientation (IOA) assistants that represent a broad spectrum of cultures

Does your college do anything to help foster that?

ISSO, student clubs,

ISSO organizes activities and events designed to celebrate the cultural diversity of our campus.

ISSO Newsletter

I always receive an email or two asking “hey, can I connect with

Do students ever ask about connecting with people from their hometowns or cultures in the admission process?

Do we put them in touch?

Yes Often, and admission connects current students with them prior to enrollment.

Yes, it is very common. for students to ask about connecting with people from their hometowns or cultures

Yes, SCAD Savannah boast several active cultural clubs

Does your school have any clubs that celebrate different cultures

ISSO, Korrean, Chinese, and Indian Student clubs.

Organically, there are also several culturally based student organizations such as the Indian Student Association, the Chinese Student Association, etc.

interact largely only with same culture: experience more severe culture shock

handful that are initially very homesick

172

DEFINING NETWORK USERS

College Group themes Colleges are interested in the Data

Common problems

How do you help them?

Pain Points

Opportunity

creating solutions for challenges worries for students/parent s

language issues

ISSO is here to help them!

Logistical Issues

Coordination through the site for airport rides, info sharing, emergency updates

Yes, sorted by territory as culture plays a very important role.

logistics

pairing with students form similar culture

not independent upon arrival

opportunities to mentor with a fellow countryman and learn the ropes

[DATA] would help me to better understand the diverse backgrounds and cultures of the students whom I advise

preparedness

Help with US culture immersion

language barriers

Links to ESL tutorials and translation options

refine our quarterly orientation programming

Culture shock

student clubs and organizati ons

Student Anxiety about new culture

Communic ating ISSO newsletter and events

Parent Anxiety

Feedback threads that the college can use to improve procedures

173

DEFINING NETWORK USERS

Business Interview Data Yoga Studio owner

Kreole Korner Restaurant

KwikTrip Deli Mart Convenience Store

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

1860yo

young and old

store is in a Black/African American neighborhood

Social media has helped us gather more clients of all ages and people just passing through Savannah.

Social media

Yoga Studio manager

Are students are important clientele?

Yes!

Clientele Demographics

Students

Young profess ionals

2040yo

Advertising

gorilla marketing (social media and posting flyers)

local arts & culture paper

most success comes from hanging flyers on college campuses

“Student Sundays�

rely very heavily on

Facebook

Instagram

being active on Facebook and Instagram is necessary to keep people excited and engaged

It makes getting the word out incredibly easy

business features

ability to directly sign up/register for classes

showcased the teachers and their bios/teaching history and certifications.

what makes social media attractive?

minimal financial investment

these tools are what people use to find suggestions/reco mmendations/jus t about anything

it allows us to speak directly to our students

informal way on a daily basis

events that have used strictly social media performed better than traditional advertising

able to teach and hopefully inspire

allows individuals to pass along our information easily

gives the potential student a better idea of what our business is about

if it would be a good fit for them

see immediately if our schedule works for them

Brings new and diverse customers.

A discussion board for ideas for workshops and events

a place to always have our schedule up

section for planned events/wor kshops

upcoming events that have to do with our business in the surrounding area

To promote soul food with an Island twist

user friendly and welcoming

Reaching out to almost everyone

Pamphlets

Pump N Go Convenience store

Since we have schools in our neighborhood, we get a lot of kids who buy stuff like candy, soda and chips.

Product attracts customers

Yes.

Facebook Page to advertise offers.

students are a big factor.

Family and friends visit them bringing tourism

not much marketing needed

accept SCAD Cards

neighborhood residents

Eventually would like to use social media to boost business

We have seen a 10% increase in our business, since we started our Facebook Page.

good cost on advertising

Diversity is always good for any business

can reach out to a big number of people in such a short time.

Broader mass reach

Gas prices

clean restrooms

Great pricing

Everyone is on social media and it helps attract customers

174

DEFINING NETWORK USERS

Business Group themes 100% agree that students are important to their business

80% Are currently using social media as a key advertising channel

Features Valued by businesses

Value of SM to business Connecting to customers

Expanding reach to new audience (organic)

High Value:Cost ratio

Direct connection

Easy access to key business information

minimal financial investment

ability to directly sign up/register for classes

showcased the teachers and their bios/teaching history and certifications.

good cost on advertising

A discussion board for ideas for workshops and events

gorilla marketing (social media and posting flyers)

Social media has helped us gather more clients of all ages and people just passing through Savannah.

allows individuals to pass along our information easily

these tools are what people use to find suggestions/reco mmendations/jus t about anything

Social media

Facebook Page to advertise offers.

We have seen a 10% increase in our business, since we started our Facebook Page.

Brings new and diverse customers.

events that have used strictly social media performed better than traditional advertising

It makes getting the word out incredibly easy

Diversity is always good for any business Family and friends visit them bringing tourism

a place to always have our schedule up

To promote soul food with an Island twist

upcoming events that have to do with our business in the surrounding area

Everyone is on social media and it helps attract customers

175

COMPETITOR RESEARCH & ANALYSIS

Student/Child Interview Data Female, 25 On campus, from Istanbul

Male, 24 Military parents in Japan/San Francisco

Above average expertise with technology

Which Social networks do you use?

Instagram

facebook

I am also an app enthusiast

if i like it i keep it, if not i delete them

Pain points of social media and tech for communication

I have a family group on Whatsapp

Poor connection "it's huge"

What are the issues you face with social networks?

don't want to Skype if I know I'm going to have trouble explaining myself over and over again due to the connection problems.

What problems do you face when you communicate with parents

problem I have with my parents: not as quick with technology

Biggest challenge to your families long distance relationship

they don't understand how it works

every time we skype, i wait for them to go online for around 10 minutes.

What would improve the experience of communication

[improve communicat ion experience]

VR technologies

What issues have you faced when moving/living in a new place?

Loneliness is the hardest part for me

Typical long distance family problems

time difference

Would you like to connect with people around you, from your hometown?

I most definitely would!

not so many Turkish people here.. two of the best friends I've had here were

what would be the benefits?

Information sharing on where to eat for instance since you would have similar taste and share the same cuisine.

Advice on booking plane tickets, since you're flying to the same location

Would you use a social network that would connect you to people around you from your hometown??

yes, but I wouldn't want every Turkish person to be able to contact me directly.

Facetime

no dating sites

Instagram

[Whatsapp] we talk through there everyday

Poor connection is a major issue

skype

WhatsApp

[Timing] differs mostly due to my schedule

often we Facetime or Skype

[timing] But at least once a week

Facetime is the easiest, but only my sister has an iPhone

Poor connection It is also deterrent

my parents use androids

Facetime if my sister is around, if not we Skype

improved tremendously if connection was good and visual quality was HD

connecting with our loved ones in 3D.

touch improvements Like the kiss communicator

connections that allow you to feel and touch

Facebook

Twitter

I want to be introduced to Turkish people who are like me.

Knowing the schedules of both sides are also important.

sometimes I just need to speak Turkish, maybe just because I can express myself better.

Linkedin

Gmail

Facebook

Snapchat

Twitter

talk to my parents typically every other day, sometimes every three day

I call once a week on Sunday.

2hrs. facetime in the studio and the family has a group chat

Tumblr

Instagram

Instagram

Snapchat

usually call but if not I will use Facebook

this app could help people move from site to site .

FB can message them in a group chat

Whatsapp/ Facetime: phone calls once in 3 days

Whatsapp: texts with family everyday

Facetime: video calls 1-2 times a week

Facebook: bored with the design of user interfaces

fluidity and consistency so parents understand icons easily

Parents never check their apps, they only check once an hr.

They feel they should check only when wake up and right before bed.

Facetime doesnt have multiple people joining in.

7 family members all over the world.

interactive games during video chat

skype like interface to share pictures and message while chatting

nd up talking to one friend through 4 different apps at the same time

finding a time we are both free to talk

finding time to see each other in person

distortion during video calls

usually call randomly

takes a lot of planning for us to all be together in one place

I don’t really know what is going on my brother’s life unless my parents tell me.

it would depend on which ‘home town’ this was

Never really had a home town but would like to keep in touch with friends

advice on banking familiar to similar banking routines etc.

freshman that are homesick

Linked in and Gmail Daily

it could be interesting if you could then create a profile so that you can also find people with similar interests from your hometown!

am always looking for people to drive back to Indianapolis with

hard to keep up with what all of us are doing when we each talk separately

Facebook

Instagram

Snapchat

Ello

once or twice every week

new respon sibilities

discomfort in flights

mostly through facetime or whatsapp calls

going away from home

getting used to new people

Clear interface good sound/servi ce

mother once a day whatsapp

Twitter linkedin

Instagram

Girlfriend through Wechat once a day

whatsapp fairly clear,

pretty good

majoring in game design

digital tutor

Facebook

Hitch

Asana

WeChat, once a week

its free

Poor connection.

Poor Audio.

addictive

FOMO: Fear of missing out

they are pretty good

Hard to make a personal connection

Signal sometimes cuts out

sometimes goes with Google hangouts

voice, video quality

Make it more personal

hologram popping out of the screen

He is the hardest person to get in contact with

Facetime

What to do in an emergency

first family vacation in 3 years

great to keep in contact with friends from your past but it is also important to focus on building new relationships and figuring out where you fit in your new location.

Skype

more informatio nal less intimate

not focusing on the camera during video calls

some type of reminder if you have not responded to your parents text after so many hours.

Adapting to each of these locations definitely took me time

I know what time she drives to work, and how long her drive is.

Therefore my best bet to talk to her is during that hour for me, because she leaves work late and that's not a great time for me for instance.

I use it to connect to people in my field

Snapchat

Facebook

Male, 24 China

high but not optimal

Highly Experienced

Tumblr sometimes

t is the only social network my parents both have

Male, 24 Columbia

Male, 22 Parents live in Columbia

fairly good, keeps up with newcoming apps

parents arent techies so imessage and facetime email.

They can't figure out downloading attachements

moved 19 times.Family lived in Japan so time difference and not checking were problems

move to the West Coast - that way i can talk to Istanbul both in the morning and at night. Right now, I can only talk to them in the morning

Male, 25 Parents live in India

high level of understandi ng when it comes to technology.

on a scale of 1-10 I'm a 7

How tech savvy are you?

What medium do you use?

Why?

Female, 21 parents live Split between Indianapolis, IN and Puerto Rico

Parents stressed because they feel helpless

Less glitch=Like Real

forced to schedule

i prefer face:face meetings

Yes. Not loosing the connection to home

YES!

Would like for them to record memories so he doesn't miss out

Would like something similar to go pro to record memories

haven't really had any issues.Com munication is better

intimacy is missing

Scheduling

Timing

Need Face to face

No.Doesn't need another Facebook

n/a

No. you need to explore your new environment and get to know the culture

not really

meaningful connections

Ok but always willing to learn more

WeChat

also you can use your credit cards through the app

Line

Facebook

Whatsapp

Twitter

Call once a week

Group chat w/ Line once a day

Doesn't like people to know when he reads message

Compulsory to reply or it will hurt the relationship

Instagram

cultural differences

holograms

Making an appointment to communicate

I feel like a stranger when I'm back home

Transport

Yes

Prefer new culture

they would help me a lot

Yes

WeChat, 3-4 times a week

video calls through WeChat, once in 2 weeks

time difference

Instagram

good video quality

Wifi in airports

renting cars and public trans

well versed with new trends in technology

likes trying and testing new softwares

Facebook

Twitter

Line with wife everyday

too many groups and notifications through Line

not hearing voicenotes clearly

Instagram

Reddit

it has many features that FB does not have

missing important information from Line groups when muting them

voice and video quality

schedules

reminder for your video call appointment

Getting a notification of appt 5-10 minutes before

finding wifi when i first moved to the country, cause i didnt have an american SIM

Mental Distance

Didn't understand question

Flights/ tickets

Bad Wifi

uncomf ortable

too many diff groups on line.

but connecting with home would be alright too

getting to express yourself in a native language

Yes but not annoying people :-)

Weibl (Chinese Twitter)

WeChat does not notify calls sometimes so i cannot reach them

Setting up rides

cannot become close friends with other nationalities

Facebook

FB because its too complicated

Scheduling issues and connectivity

VR

Male, 33 Taiwan

expert

Timezone conflicts

confusing interfaces

like snapchat for families

Male, 28 China

Connection

I feel like a stranger when I'm back home

Big Family

Male, 26 Thailand

Yes

easier to communicate with

Yes: want space and speed for uploads/tran sfers

I prefer face:face

Yes

Share the same culture.Ever ything is just natural

Yes with better privacy, easy interface, or customize able interface

176

COMPETITOR RESEARCH & ANALYSIS

Student Group themes Which social networks?

How and how often communication with family?

Age Range: 21-33

Pain Points

everyone uses FB

for video calls Facetime or Skype is more common

Line, WeChat, WhatsApp are used to connect too (mostly for group chatting)

almost everyone complains from Poor connection

almost everyone uses IG

most people text with families everyday

video calls are less frequently done, but still once a week on average

too many different social networks

Parents not so tech savvy

177

COMPETITOR RESEARCH & ANALYSIS Parent Interview Data Parent 1 Mom

Parent 2 Dad

Parent 3 Mom

Tell me about a time when long distance communication worked really well for you?

Talking to my daughter studying abroad, when she is available

right now, talking with my daughter.

works very well for me

What level of expertise would you say you have with technology?

Intermedi ate, a little below average

I follow technology, I'm good at using it.

not expert at technology, but I am good at it.

Do you use any social networks?

Instagram

skype

Skype once in 3-4 days

whatsapp always

I'm thankful that we have these networks today

skype sometimes, we face disconnecti ons

How often do you communicate with your children living away? What do you use for communication?

Why do you prefer that network?

What are the typical issues that you face with social networks?

What do you see as the biggest challenge - long distance, relations

Not being able to touch.

What are the problems you face

I dont really face any problems.

What would improve the experience of communication?

Whatsapp calls are not synchronized. I hear her reply after a few seconds

Have you faced any issues when your children travelled?

Would you mind sharing a few?

I haven't, they don't keep me in suspense.

What are some things that worry you hat is one thing you wish you could do for your child living away from home?

whatsapp

Skype because it has video

phone Whatsapp is always ready to use, reachable, practical.

texting

texting

Instagram

skype

As much as possible

Skype once a week perhaps

Whatsapp always

Poor internet connection

no wi-fi availability

battery draining

whatsapp

phone

LinkedIn

Facebook

everyday through, calls, chats and group messages.

mostly only voice issues

I talk to my sons who are studying in USA

whatsapp

Facebook Messenger - excellent voice quality

on’t use the video calling feature too much

Viber Facebook Messenger - if the other person is busy, you can immediately send a voice message

some networks do take ages to connect

gmail Messenger is very convenient, easy to use

signal gets lost often

I mostly use Facebook and WhatsApp because my sons use those apps a lot

great reception

I get friend suggestions out of the blue on Facebook. It is a threat to my privacy. It feels like someone is spying on me.

Since we are in touch every day, I don’t see too much of a challenge

The distance :) Not being able to reach her sometimes

I would like Skype to be 3D

Also we keep track of their flights with some apps. We know the second they land.

I wish i could see her in 3D

i think with today's technology that is possible

Missing them is the most important one

But we are able to track them so it's good

Their health conditions

Her health conditions.

deliver her my homecooked meals

Sending her whatever she needs.

What are the typical problems involved in a long distance relationship?

problems decreased by %80 with all these new communication methods

Though it is challenging that we cannot reach her in a troubled situation (like when she got hit by a car while biking)

Would you like to connect with people in similar situations

Sometimes, i connected with my daughters friends' (who also live in the US) parents and it was good for me.

Getting knowledge from them

If i cannot reach my daughter for instance, it would be nice to know someone else there who can check on her.

Smell and touch feels

option for my preference.

Meaning, when I am talking via messenger - phone calls cut off the current call

FB & WhatsApp I could keep in touch with them all through their travel time even without the SIM

“Are they eating well and on time?” make their favorite food

Internet disconn ection

other person being unreachable

Yes

To get in touch in case of a problem or emergency

sometimes I don’t get notified if I am getting a call on Messenger or WhatsApp.

“Are they getting enough sleep?”

“Are they taking care of their health?”

sit next to them and cheer them and encourage them

Yes. I would love to do that.

we can understand each other very well.

We parents will be having similar issues.

We could plan to travel together,

manage better and have help each other.

We could actually make a nice support group.

178

COMPETITOR RESEARCH & ANALYSIS

Parent group themes Privacy concerns (triangulation with secondary research)

schedulin g/initiating communic ation

I get friend suggestions out of the blue on Facebook. It is a threat to my privacy. It feels like someone is spying on me.

WhatsApp is very popular with parents

I mostly use Facebook and WhatsApp because my sons use those apps a lot

Poor internet connection

Though it is challenging that we cannot reach her in a troubled situation (like when she got hit by a car while biking)

Whatsapp calls are not synchronized. I hear her reply after a few seconds

other person being unreachable

some networks do take ages to connect

sometimes I don’t get notified if I am getting a call on Messenger or WhatsApp.

Internet disconn ection

[worry] if i cannot reach them when I call

signal gets lost often

no wi-fi availability

battery draining

mostly only voice issues

Interesting that the children influence what the parents use.

whatsapp

Instagram

skype

phone

texting

whatsapp

Instagram

skype

phone

texting

Facebook

LinkedIn

Viber

gmail

whatsapp

skype sometimes, we face disconnecti ons

Parents seem interested in connecting with people in similar situations

Support group

Yes

Emergency

Already doing it

We could actually make a nice support group.

To get in touch in case of a problem or emergency

Sometimes, i connected with my daughters friends' (who also live in the US) parents and it was good for me.

Getting knowledge from them

If i cannot reach my daughter for instance, it would be nice to know someone else there who can check on her.

manage better and have help each other.

We could plan to travel together,

Frequent communication convenience is important for high usage

Whatsapp is always ready to use, reachable, practical.

whatsapp always

Video is used less often but regularly

Skype once in 3-4 days

Skype once a week perhaps

Whatsapp always

Skype because it has video

Facebook Messenger - excellent voice quality

Facebook Messenger - excellent voice quality

Messenger is very convenient, easy to use

don’t use the video calling feature too much

We parents will be having similar issues.

we can understand each other very well.

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COMPETITOR RESEARCH & ANALYSIS College staff Interview Data exec director of international admission

How does your university help families living abroad stay connected to their children?

What do you wish international parents living abroad knew prior to sending their children to study at your institution?

Would your institution be interested in data on the trends and behaviors of international students and parents?

What would admission/your department do with that data do with that data?

What are the common problems faced by international students upon their arrival to a new country?

Skype Sessions,Cellpho ne Companies, Free Wifi for Whatsapp, Kakao, and Facebook

We are here to take care of you.

ESL, Culture Immersion, Advising, ISSO, Counseling,tutori ng, ect.

Yes, sorted by territory as culture plays a very important role.

creating solutions for challenges worries for students/parent s

culture shock, language barrier, and adjusting to being independent ($$)

Director of ISSO

International Student Services Office (ISSO)

Director of ISSO Savannah

Facebook, and other social media outlets

students whose families live abroad are supported by our International Student Services Office (ISSO

ISSO can assist students with phone calls, or faxes back home

ISSO, help students scan and email documents per their request

isso, help students find and understand campus mailroom post or shipping resources

communicate the expectation of one facet of U.S. culture and law

U.S. privacy laws (FERPA) prevent student advisers from sharing information about academic, student conduct and financial records

ISSO can also route and relay important messages to students that may be received from abroad

Absolutely! interested in data on trends and behaviors

[DATA] would help me to better understand the diverse backgrounds and cultures of the students whom I advise

we take their safety and higher education incredibly seriously from arrival through post completion work authorization

Absolutely.

[DATA] would allow me to serve them better

refine our quarterly orientation programming

In the beginning the problems are logistical

logistical problems: how to get to campus from the airport

Later, problems may be more linked to culture shock

culture shock: how to adapt to U.S. values related to freedom of expression,

culture shock: cultural mores regarding time

hard to generalize about this

personal matter which will vary greatly according to the individual student and their family

others that have limited communicat ion

interact largely with same culture: tend to have more challenges adapting

interact largely with same culture: greater difficulty with English language

logistical problems: how to find housing

logistical problems: how to open a bank account

logistical problems: how to open accounts without a social security number

logistical problems: how to open accounts without a social security number

Finding their way around

meeting new friends

WhatsApp, the internet, etc. has GREATLY improved over the course of the past decade

land line phones in order to call home.

Those days are virtually over now.

assimilating to a new environment

culture shock: academic integrity issues.

How do you think communication between international students and their families can be improved?

through brochures and testimonials/tut orials from current students

What is the biggest problem for an international student adjusting to their new environments?

Teaching style of professor, independent thinking and research in classes and language barrier.

The most successful international students are those who have roommates, friendships and relationships with those of other cultures

Is it beneficial for them to know people from their hometowns and cultures in their new environment?

Yes –gives comfort and the previous set of students can already provide them with solutions that the current students face.

having a support network from others from the same culture can be a helpful resource.

This is absolutely paramount

we go out of our way to hire and train International Student Orientation (IOA) assistants that represent a broad spectrum of cultures

Does your college do anything to help foster that?

ISSO, student clubs,

ISSO organizes activities and events designed to celebrate the cultural diversity of our campus.

ISSO Newsletter

I always receive an email or two asking “hey, can I connect with

Do students ever ask about connecting with people from their hometowns or cultures in the admission process?

Do we put them in touch?

Yes Often, and admission connects current students with them prior to enrollment.

Yes, it is very common. for students to ask about connecting with people from their hometowns or cultures

Yes, SCAD Savannah boast several active cultural clubs

Does your school have any clubs that celebrate different cultures

ISSO, Korrean, Chinese, and Indian Student clubs.

Organically, there are also several culturally based student organizations such as the Indian Student Association, the Chinese Student Association, etc.

interact largely only with same culture: experience more severe culture shock

handful that are initially very homesick

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COMPETITOR RESEARCH & ANALYSIS

College Group themes Colleges are interested in the Data

Common problems

How do you help them?

Pain Points

Opportunity

creating solutions for challenges worries for students/parent s

language issues

ISSO is here to help them!

Logistical Issues

Coordination through the site for airport rides, info sharing, emergency updates

logistics

pairing with students form similar culture

not independent upon arrival

opportunities to mentor with a fellow countryman and learn the ropes

[DATA] would help me to better understand the diverse backgrounds and cultures of the students whom I advise

preparedness

Help with US culture immersion

language barriers

Links to ESL tutorials and translation options

refine our quarterly orientation programming

Culture shock

student clubs and organizati ons

Student Anxiety about new culture

Communic ating ISSO newsletter and events

Parent Anxiety

Feedback threads that the college can use to improve procedures

Yes, sorted by territory as culture plays a very important role.

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DEFINING YOUR USERS’ NEEDS

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