MeetMe
MeetMe is a project I did for my COGS 123 class. The class is about social media and computing. For this class, my group had to come up with an original social media concept, conduct research and surveys on our concept, and build two working prototypes.
MeetMe is a location-based social media app that helps facilitate planned and spontaneous in-person meetups, with an emphasis on centering interaction within a college campus. For example, if you want to play a pickup basketball game but all of your friends are busy, you can use MeetMe to quickly find people in your area.
from MeetMe’s final portfolio site
from MeetMe’s first prototype
from MeetMe’s second prototype
My Contributions
My Contributions
LEADERSHIP
For this project, I formed my own group with people I have worked with before instead of joining one. I was responsible for keeping everyone in touch, facilitating discussions, scheduling meetings, planning the project, division of labor, organizing pitches, among other things.
my notes during planning for the project
RESEARCH
In the preparation phase of the project, I researched the current landscape of social media sites designed for offline meet-ups. I summarized the functionalities of the most prominent sites, which not only helped my project find its unique niche, but also inspired us on some of our design and security features.
Between the prototyping sessions, I was in charge of making feedback forms for our participants to fill out. I visualized the data we collected from feedback and used them to help guide my group to make improvements to our project.
My research summary in our team folder
One of the post prototyping surveys I made
Data visualization slides I made for both my project group and the presentation
DESIGN
I was involved with our product design every step of the way. I initially pitched the idea that we should do a location-based social media app at the very beginning of the project.
In the second and third iterations of the project, I worked on the security features of MeetMe. I improved the security features based on both the feedback we received from the participants of our prototypes and the existing security features of mature sites such as dating apps or event organizers.
Security is an important aspect of a meet-up site because it directly correlates to users’ willingness to join the site.
The final pitch for MeetMe includes a security system that requires the user to register with their name and phone number, as well as system of moderation.
PRESENTATION
I was involved with making the presentation and pitching MeetMe to the class.
Presentation after the first prototyping session with feedback
Final product pitch for MeetMe
PROTOTYPING
MeetMe underwent 2 rounds of prototyping. The first round was a paper prototype to prove the concept. The second round was a piggyback prototype with FigJam as the primary interface and Gather Town as a virtual location. I was involved in both preparing the prototyping sessions and conducting them.
Paper prototype
Piggyback prototype with Gather Town and FigJam