ProjectProposal-SiuPangChu
From CS160 User Interfaces Fa06
Project Proposal: Xanga to Go
Contents |
Background
Xanga.com is one of the world’s biggest blogging platforms, with around 27 million users!!!! The New York-based company launched in 1999 with a service that allowed users to share book and movie reviews. Since then, it has morphed into a full-blown blogging platform. As of May 3, 2006, Xanga has been rated as the 21st most popular English-language website, and the 42nd most popular website in the world.
In order to keeps its market share, the company has built a devoted community and it’s innovating rapidly, adding new features every few weeks.
Target User Group
There two major groups: Xanga.com and Xangans (xanga user). As xanga.com are "adding new features every few weeks", we can sell our design to xanga.com as one of their new features. The goal is to ask Xanga.com to put the dot paper as advertisement into newspaper, starbucks .... to provide the medum for the pen. And Xangans will be the buyers to the Anoto Pen.
Problem Description and Content
There are two major problems that currently Xangans will have:
1. Every upload must pass thought computer.
Thus, the user has been physically limited into the condition that writing have to be in font of computer. Many Xanga user are using the website as their journal. For a journal writing, timing is very important issue. They may lost the thought if didn't write it down. Increase the availability to save/ upload file is a very important issue.
Let say the user is a traveler, and he want to write a note on a new place he just visited and put on xanga to share. Current process is: 1. write on paper. 2. find a computer 3. type it again and post it. The complicated process will greatly reduce user's desire to wrtie xanga.
2. Current input format is too restricted
For the current input format, it is hard to connect pictures and words. There is no way for users to insert any simple picture between the words. And there is no drawing functions supported. So the user can not make their personal picture or background. Also, user can not put any hardwritings into the blog. For journal user, handwriting can give a more friendly feeling for both writer and reader. Since xanga has become a international web site, hardwriting input can pormote this web site to different language market.
Solution Sketch
Using Anoto Pen can solve the both problem in section 2. Using Anoto Pen can increase the mobility of writing xanga a lot, since the user don't need a computer any more. Once the user can find a dot -paper and Anoto Pen , he can write xanga blod. The user can choose upload to the internet immediately or save it. To upload the Blod, there two options 1. connect to internet throught the Anoto Pen 2. Send through a cell phone. Since user just use pen and paper as the medium, it will be much easily for them to draw picture and insert picture, handwriting. To provide the dot paper, we can ask xanga.com to put ads in newspaper , putting dot paper in starbucks , selling them in a low price.
a sample xanga form
