twitch report

8/14/2019 Twitch Report

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Directed Study 2 William Kennedy Brian Rogers Daniel Beere

0726885 0869414 0867241

Technical Merit

Development

Following various brainstorming sessions of our digital media based concept, the feasibility of this

idea had to be evaluated and the goals which we wanted to achieve were also considered. Topics to

think about ranged from the usability of the website, its functionality, aesthetics and technical issues

of Twitch.ie. Each topic was significant to the overall concept and had to be dealt with during the

development process. A number of paper prototypes were produced. These gave an idea of possible

layouts required good interaction design as the interface was to be simplified to allow ease of use

and usability. This paper prototype was introduced to people in order to gain feedback on both the

layout and the concept of the website. From this, it was possible to create another prototype which

is usable in an internet browser. This allowed us to continue working on the look and design of the

website and then begin on the technical area of it which would be centred on HTML, CSS, PHP and

MySQL.

MySQL was the chosen t echnology to help provide the website with a database. MySQL is a

database management system (Widenius, B. Axmark, D. MySQL AB. 2002 [4]), that is open source,

which means it can be downloaded from the internet for free and be used and/or modified by the

use r. To add, access and process data stored in a computer database, you need a database

management system such as MySQL Server (Widenius, B. Axmark, D. MySQL AB. 2002 [4]). This

database will allow in data from Twitter feeds and hold and maintain this data so it can be accessed

and searched for by users. The database contains areas for band, venue, location, date,


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time and a comment and users may also search by these keywords. Varchar, date, time and

long-text character data types were employed which allow information in from the user from

Twitter. As well as using Twitter API, coding was necessary to insert data into a database, select data

from a database and extract data from a specified field in order to gain a technical working

prototype of the website to be developed into a fully functional model later on.

Commercial Potential

We believe a commercial opportunity does exist for this concept as due to the large number of

events that take place both locally and nationally week in and week out, there are many potential

openings. Almost everyone in Ireland and other regions of the World have or do attend events or

other such gatherings of their own accord. Especially in more recent times, we have seen an increase

in concert and event goers. New technologies and other innovations allow such organizations to take

place and give people a chance to experience these. Twitch.ie has the capacity to reach a large

audience through working with and creating a relationship with Twitter and its users. Although there

are there are numerous event guides on the Internet, we believe that Twitch.ie does have a sense of

uniqueness in both its design and way of function. Twitch.ie has the ability to cooperate with event

organizations, promotions, and other sectors involved in the process of event scheduling. Companies

associated with planning, advertising and ticket sales for events are also potential groups to work

with in this type of market. On a more individual level, Twitter users and event goes are key users of

Twitch.ie. The website allows users to both generate and discover content on the website which is

major benefit of the website and its technology. Such content can be upcoming events and

information surrounding these events such as where, when and other comments which are relevant.

A number of specific commercial possibilites are currently available to us:

Include advertisements within the search results, relevant to the users search.

Allow promoters to pay for a higher position within our results.


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Charge for an iPhone or Google Android Application which is specifically optimised for Twitch.

Offer online tickets vendors a link in the events page.

Going forward we would like to investigate these possibilities in terms of possible earnings, user

experience and efficiency of the site. The latter two being by far the most important at the moment.

Users & Scenarios

Different user types can fit into our digital media based concept. The use of Twitch.ie may vary

depending on the type of user and its context of use. These different user types may use the website

differently to each other but the information being shared is familiar to both. Different users and

scenarios were developed to test the role of Twitch.ie and the need it may fulfil.

Scenario 1 User A writes a message (Tweet) on Twitter. This message or Tweet is sent from Twitter

to the website (provided the appropriate hash-tag and format is used) and stored in a database

which is then accessible and available to be published on the website. Example: Mick ORourke is a

musician who is playing his first performance, in The Stables in the University of Limerick. He wishes

to inform people of this so he Tweets on Twitter #Twitch, Mick ORourke, The Stables UL, Limerick,

10pm, My First Gig! with Twitch being the name of the website. This message is the sent to the

websites database where it can be accessed and published by those who are searching for related

events.

Scenario 2 User B wanders on to the website in order to search for events in a certain area. The

user finds an event that is of interest to them and can then access additional information relating to

that event. Example: Michelle is a University of Limerick student who is staying in Limerick with her

friends for a weekend. They plan to go out but are unfamiliar with events in Limerick during

weekends. They then go on to the Twitch website and search by Location and Date to view what

particular events are happening, and discover that a band named Later Daze is performing in Bakers

Place, Limerick on Friday the 26th of February at 10pm.


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Considering the large number of celebrities and/or Web celebrities who are attracted to using

Twitter, these may be another possible group of people who could become users of the Twitch

website. A performance or show of theirs can easily be promoted and inform supporters and

followers of such future events and information surrounding these events. The information provided

to our website is easily accessible by

users and can benefit the two parties, as

a higher number of people attending the

event (due to the adequate information

provided) can contribute to a good

quality experience for the event goer

which in turn can benefit the performer

or act both financially and

psychologically.

Participating in events and other such

performances can be good for ones state

and lifestyle. The sense of being involved

creates an upbeat manner and happiness

for many people and can also act as a way of escapism. To relieve the strain and anxiety of both

work and other life troubles, socialising and attending social events can be quite helpful to unwind

and distress. Being part of something which is exclusive and engaging in the social scene can elevate

the confidence of individuals and in turn benefit other areas of their lifestyle and living patterns.


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Project Plan

As our grouped was formed, we each conjured up our own ideas for a digital media based concept.

These ideas were then documented, researched and improved. We each discussed and

constructively criticised each ones idea and offered our own opinions and thoughts after

brainstorming. These proposals ranged from leisure, recreation, travel, business and household &

domestic. After further presentation and research of each of our designs, we came together to settle

on a specific concept to develop our research and development upon. We decided on Twitch

because we felt it was the most likely project that we could feasibly see to completion. We all have

an interest in music, and Twitch was initially conceived as a gig guide for local music, however after

analysing the abilities of Twitter as a basis for our application, we decided that we could cover any

type of event, anywhere in the world.

Twitch.ie, a social event organisation website was the concept idea to be concentrated on over the

course of the semester. All materials relating to web design, user groups, usability and the need or

role that the idea will fulfil were planned for. A schedule was needed to be drawn up in order to

ensure that all of the projects goals were achieved and catered for. As there was limited time

allocated for the project, it was vital to use this time efficiently. We drew up a schedule based on our

predictions for building a working prototype and allocated responsibilities for each area of the

development: Research, Design and Coding. Weekly group meetings and individual research were

necessary and details of any findings by each group member were reported. We presented our work

to each other and continued to develop concepts as we went. Each member was given responsibility

in the project and appropriate work contribution was expected. Presentations of the groups

progress and development which took place weekly were such deadlines that ensured adequate

advancement of our concept. Following, the deadlines set by the group and by each member,

significant goals of the project could also be achieved realistically. The project intends to carry out


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brainstorming, prototyping and other methodologies. It is important to understand the websites

users and draw up requirements that need to be accomplished. From here, prototyping can take

place followed by an evaluation of the projects development. An evaluation of the projects plan can

also be carried out if needed to review the projects aims and deliverables.

Research

Relevant knowledge and research was vital to the background of our website idea and gave us much

information during the process of developing our concept. It was essential to investigate relevant

facts concerning issues that may relate to our idea. Each of us found ourselves, discovering new

information and developing new skills while working on the project. Not only were we investigating

technical information such as HTML, PHP and MySQL, but we also gained experience and data with

issues surrounding interaction, usability and other matters concerning sociology and people. As our

website (Twitch) operates with Twitter, we felt as a group that it was important to understand

Twitter and its users more in depth. Research was then undertaken through using the website to

become more familiar with its features and studying articles and journals relating to Twitter and

other relevant matters.

Twitter

Twitter is a popular micro-blogging website where users are able to share information of their

actions, views and other issues which may be of interest. From research carried out on Twitter

during a two month period from the beginning of April to the end May 2007 (Java, A. Finin, T. Song,

X. Tseng, B. 2007 [1]), a distinct rise in the number of users and posts by users was discovered. The

Twitter website is becoming increasingly popular with users worldwide with most users in North

America, Europe and Asia, particularly Japan. Although this social network is worldwide and

diversified, individuals have many similar intentions for joining such a community as some act as

information providers, others are merely looking for new and interesting information (Java, A. Finin,


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T. Song, X. Tseng, B. 2007 [1]). Twitter users can also send messages to their Twitter account through

Instant Messaging, SMS, web interfaces and other applications that use the Twitter API, which gives

users greater access to sharing information. F or example, Twitter messages can be received by

users as a text message on their cell phone, (Krishnamurthy, B. Gill, P. Arlitt, M. 2008 [3]) as well as

sending messages from their cell phone to their Twitter account. As regards the source interface

used to p ost messages by users, nearly 60% come from Web which includes the twitter.com Web

site and unregistered applications that use the API (Krishnamurthy, B. Gill, P. Arlitt, M. 2008 [3]).

Following this, Instant Messages and SMS are also widely used as a source of updating ones Twitter

account. Finally, other applications that have been created by both users and professionals using the

Twitter API also contribute to content on the network. The wide range of ways to update ones

Twitter account can give our website an advantage as users are not restricted to one method of

inputting data to our database. This can give users greater flexibility to broadcast information of any

social events which they may wish to share on both Twitter and our website design. According to

research, about 13% of all the posts in the collection contain some URL in them (Java, A. Finin, T.

Song, X. Tseng, B. 2007 [1]). This may be some link to information or other interesting matters,

whereas if the appropriate hash-tag and format is used such suitable information can be inserted

directly into the database of the website which can then be easily accessed by other later.

Daily life to current events, news stories, and other interests (Java, A. Finin, T. Song, X. Tseng, B.

2007 [1]) are considered to be the most popular discussed updates and topics by users while users

also play different roles on the network such as information sources, information seekers and others

who act as Friends or use Twitter as a way to maintain relationships with different people. As

updates are confined to a 140 character limit, users can post quick and concise statements. By

encouraging shorte r posts, it lowers users requirement of time and thought investment (Java, A.

Finin, T. Song, X. Tseng, B. 2007 [1]) and yet still satisfies users desires of interacting in online social

networks through a speedy form of communication. However, due to the small character limit a

URL shortening service like TinyURL is frequently used to make this feature feasible (Java, A. Finin,


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T. Song, X. Tseng, B. 2007 [1]). So, trying to post links or URLs of events or information of such events

may be a problem because of the character limit. Our website may be a solution to such a setback,

as users should be comfortable to post information of an event within the 140 character limit using

familiar everyday chatter, guided by the correct format, which can then be fed to and stored within

a database and be viewed by others who search the Twitch website.

Web Application Design and Layout In setting out to design the Twitch interface, we decided that it would be worth our while

investigating and researching some best practice approach to interface design for web applications.

We found the book "TOG on Interface" by Bruce Tognazzini [2] and the websites for UXMagazine.com

[5] and Useit.com [6] (home of usability pioneer Jakob Nielson) to be particularly helpful in deciding on

the layout of the site, and the interactions available to the user.

An article by Theresa Neil which appeared on UXMagazine.com provided us with some very efficient

guidelines from which to proceed:

"

Make It Direct

Keep It Lightweight

Stay in the Page

Provide Invitations

Use Transitions

React Immediately"

(Neil, 2010 [5])

We decided that these were excellent foundations for any web application, and aimed from the start

to meet these guidelines.


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In the same article, Neil mentions a number of application structures for Web Applications:

Information, Process and Creation. After reviewing our development to that point and ascertaining

our users goals, we recognized our concept as an Information retrieval based architecture and went

forward in making our design as efficient as possible for these users. Neil also provided a number of

possible screen layouts for web applications and their best use scenarios, for our own search results

we went with a design very close to what she describes as the "Refine Dataset" (Neil, 2010 [5])

In his 2009 presentation "Designing for Interesting Notions" (Scott, 2009 [7]), Bill Scott posited that

"In Page Actions" and "Contextual Tools" (such as mouse-overs, dragging and dropping, and active

elements such as calls to action and voting) are crucial to the user experience and reduce both the

mental and physical effort required to interact with a device or website. In keeping with this, we

aimed to include as many of these active elements as would be natural without overcrowding the

interface within our site. In particular we felt it was important to keep the user within a consistent

environent while using Twitch. In the words of Bruce Tognazzini: "Keep the system's behavior

consistent ... Interpret user behavior consistently."

Creativity

The concept we decided to concentrate on and develop was a website which would be a new form

of social event organisation. This website would use user generated data from Twitter to create a

real-time snap shot of local and national events. The website which is to be called Twitch.ie is to be

navigable by Band, Venue, Location, Date and Time. A Comment can also be added to each event if

desired by the user. Twitch.ie is to be both totally generated and instantly updateable by its users.

The website is broadly accessible as any phone with SMS capability can contribute to content on

Twitter through Tweets which then can be directed to our website concept. Although other websites

may serve a similar service, we believe that our concept has a sense of uniqueness due to its

technology and relationship with Twitter. The relationship between Twitch and Twitter allows our


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site to be constantly up to date, not only with content from our 'logged in' users, but any user who

uses our hashtag. These users can be on platforms as diverse as SMS phones, smartphones,

netbooks, internet enabled devices and home computers. The constantly changing and updating

nature of Twitter allows us to create images over time of popular events, places and times. This data

can then be appropriated by the users in the planning of their own future events. Other websites

that are based on event organisation may provide information only to its user. However, with

Twitch.ie, all the content that is available for the user is produced in someway by another user. This

can give users a sense of freedom when it comes to providing and sharing information on the

internet and give the website a form of interactivity between the system and its user. The use of the

hash-tag feature on Twitter and implementing it within our system can allow users to be efficient

and effective when sharing such information on the Twitter network. Twitch.ie can also serve a

possible large and diverse group of people as users are not restricted to information of events in any

main region. The website allows information for events in any area in any region to be shared by its

users because the concept of the website does not wish to confine its users to one particular space

or group of locations. Considering the relationship between the two websites, posts about certain

events may create a sense of hype or buzz on both platforms. This can benefit the use of each

website as well as the sense of belonging or exclusivity an individual may acquire if he or she is going

to such an event. The large number of people using Twitter benefits the Twitch website as it also has

the capability to attract a large user group. The ability to interact and share information with

numerous amounts of people gives our concept huge potential for success and as the growth of

Twitter is still on the rise, many can benefit from the creativity of Twitch.ie.

Designing Web Applications

In designing the Twitch user interface we are adding to a vast library, not only of Twitter based web

applications, but of web based applications in general. Some of these sites (such as Google Docs) are

successful because they emulate existing user expectations but transfer it to the web for mobility


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and security of data. Others (such as Last.fm) have been successful because they allow users to

appropriate previously closed systems (in this case radio) for themselves. Still others (such as the

now ubiquitous Farmville) have been successful because of the addictive factor of accumulation of

points, especially in a social network where one can show off these points. The success of these

styles of Web Applications (and others) must be taken into account as we move forward with the

Twitch project.

Below I have listed some of the main design features of the Twitch site as it currently exists, how

these features compare to successful web applications and what recommendations I could make to

improve our design.

Directness

The first thing that a user should notice when visiting Twitch is a directness of interface. The only

content visible on the homepage is a Logo, Two Tabs, a Search Bar and Search Button. In many ways,

this mimics one of the most iconic and usable web designs of all time, Google. The sky blue

colouring, as well as the bird theme, serve to echo the design elements on the Twitter homepage

and tie the two sites together at a thematic level. After discussing and brainstorming some of the

elements which have made the design of Twitter successful, we came up with the notion of the

Flock as an expansion of the basic Tweet idea, while we came up with the name Twitch as we

felt it gave a sense of alertness, excitement and readiness which we felt tied well into the theme of a

constantly updating and evolving Event database.

These elements, as well as the initial design fundamentals such as colour and theme were decided

upon early in the process and have proven to be iteratively consistent due to their simplicity. I feel

they serve to draw the users eye to the central and most important element of the site, the Search

Bar. Twitch is after all, at its most basic, simply an aggregator for the twitter feed which utilizes our

hashtag and therefore the ease by which a user can search must remain the key feature for the site

to succeed.


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However, the current search bar could be improved by more explicitly defining which terms a user

can search bar, for example Search by Location, Name, Date or Time:. This simple clarification

would significantly reduce the likelihood of returning errors or redundant data based on unclear or

undefined search parameters.

Non Traditional Layout

It was decided early in the process that we didnt want a traditional list based res ults page, as we

all felt that this is the least aesthetically pleasing option, particularly when dealing with a visual

medium such as live events. We decided that a calendar based grid style would be both visually

pleasing, functional and very familiar to even basic users (who would surely be familiar at the very

least with a physical calendar).

Likewise the homepage (which was mostly

designed via paper prototyping) was laid out, not

based on comparing other sites, but rather on

usability and consistency of aesthetic and theme.

Therefore the homepage, while ostensibly

comparable to the Google homepage (which we

actually only noticed later), is still individual in its

message and functionality.

In terms of improvement, the layout of the search results (which is currently only based

chronologically) could be improved by a filter which would allow the user to sort either

Alphabetically, by Date or by Location (all of which would be filtered in part by chronology, due to us

not wanting old and redundant results appearing before more relevant ones.

Reactivity


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The existing framework of the site is written in html and php and styled entirely in css. At the time of

this report the system can search a specially made database returning the results in the above

mentioned calendar style. Each tile of the calendar is clickable and brings the user to a page

containing further details of that event. This page contains a retweet button, which brings the user

to their twitter account where a link to the event is automatically filled in. Followers of the user can

then see the link and follow it to twitch.ie where they can learn about the event.

We are exploring the processes involved in implementing an automated database that is capable of

gathering tweets that concern events from selected locations. This will involve familiarising

ourselves with new disciplines of programming in the field of web development. Once this next

considerable step is behind us, we will be very close to creating a unique, enjoyable and

commercially viable product.

References

Java, A. Finin, T. Song, X. Tseng, B. (2007). Why We Twitter: Understanding Microblogging Usage and

Communities. [1]

Tognazzini, B (1992). TOG on Interface . Boston: Addison-Wesley Longman Publishing Co. [2]

Krishnamurthy, B. Gill, P. Arlitt, M. (2008). A Few Chirps About Twitter. [3]

Widenius, B. Axmark, D. MySQL AB. (2002). MySQL reference manual: documentation from the

source. [4]

Neil, T. (2010). Rich Internet Application Screen Design. Available: http://uxmag.com/design/rich-

internet-application-screen-design. Last accessed 10 March 2010. [5]


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Nielson, J. (Unknown Date). Why This Site Has Almost No Graphics. Available:

http://www.useit.com/about/nographics.html. Last accessed 10 March 2010. [6]

Bill Scott. (2009). Designing for Interesting Moments. Available:http://www.slideshare.net/billwscott/designing-interesting-moments. Last accessed 10 March 2010.[7]

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