the Bridge
the Bridge is a social online application targeting elderly individuals that may have limited access to human interaction outside of the home
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Home Page (Bite) The logo is large and to the left. This design intends to pull eyes over to the logo for a brief moment. Look at it – then ignore it. The four squares intend to draw eyes to the interactive area. Information is presented in white boxes with black text to simulate a hardcopy reading experience. (Concept: just read this stuff.) The information is lean: a snippet about the site and a prompt for story ideas. Actions are limited to two choices. Instructions are direct and offer no explanation. Try it! It won’t hurt you. Report It! (Bite)
From the Home Page, the user reads about a moment in history and is offered the option I Was There! The landing page from that option tells the user how many users, including the user, have reported being at the historic event. Any page associated with the idea prompt references the prompt (in these examples, the references are to Bob Dylan “going electric”) to keep the task at hand in focus. |
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Enter Site (Snack)
This was originally my home page, but I decided I wanted the day-in-history story prompt and the “I was there!” function on the first page. Tell a Story will get the user recording in next step. Hear a Story will return any new posts associated with most recent prompt and give the user access to search for posts in a broad context. Getting Tips before Recording is intended for novice users. The textual information presented in the white box will be updated periodically to suggest ways to use the site. By switching from 2-white/2-yellow squares to 1-white/3-yellow, I’m subtly training them that white is information, yellow is action. Hear a Story (Meal)
When users select Hear a Story, they will be presented with a predefined search based on the current idea prompt from the home page. As users cruise through the site, they are reminded of the current prompt to help maintain focus. They can hit the Next Five button to get more results using the predefined search or select Search to define their own search terms. The Next Five will be useful to repeat visitors that keep an eye out for some of their favorite Historians. This page allows overlap of the yellow action boxes with the white text box to help maintain focus while presenting them with a lot of information and options (comparatively to bite and snack pages). The goal is to continue increasing complexity without overwhelming them. Story Selected
The example below would appear from selecting a name in the pre-defined search and references the current idea prompt. The eyes should be trained to keep right and to reach a white box, touch a yellow box. By this stage of the flow, the user is hopefully comfortable with trying things. There’s also a tip present regarding duration of recording. |
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User-Defined Search Search criteria will be captured by voice. The lower text box will use talk-to-text functionality to display the search criteria as understood by the voice-capture application. As the functionality is more complex, the text is friendly. Also, with increased complexity, there are fewer actions and large buttons to encourage “try it!” Search Results
Similar to the pre-defined search, the text will repeat the search criteria used Record a Message
After listening to a story, the user will be prompted to send a short message to the Historian. As this is the first opportunity to network with a Historian and may be the first time to use a voice function, the action options are limited to help keep things simple. Thank You
Thank you pages resume being very basic to give the user a virtual break in the action. Tell a Story
The idea prompt from the home page is repeated. Users that don’t respond "I Was There!" are still encouraged to share their memories related to the event, time, or place. Anything that is on their mind is welcome to be recorded as well. By the time they reach this page, users should be “trained” to focus on the information on the right, so we can add more information and more complex interaction. A commonly used Recording in Progress light will blink while recording is live. Also, users should be “trained” by this time to associate white boxes with information, yellow boxes with actions, and the free floating text below with help instructions. Post Recording
The white text box serves as a confirmation page that the recording is complete. By this page, the users are becoming more and more familiar with what this site, so more functions and information can be presented, but it still must be limited to the space to the right and follow the easy-to-read guidelines. |
Prototype / Team Project
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Research Snippets
Isolation is often a part of aging that research has determined can reduce the quality of a person’s life.
“People researching the psychological impact of social networks for seniors suggest that the quality of life of seniors increases when they maintain strong ties with family members and others in a social network. With an increase in the number of older couples living alone, families living separately, economically independent children, remarriages, and technological advances in health, these researchers suggest that the lower quality of life that seniors experience, compared to younger generations, is due to weaker social networks. The use of social networks is a major factor in determining quality of life, stronger than other underlying factors.” [2]
Meeting new people is significant to the quality of life; however, elders often feel the need to devote more time to established close connections than to making new friends. This tendency is reported to stem from the perception that the time they have left on the planet should be devoted primarily to close relationships. [2]
Many opportunities to network online exist, and each year more and more seniors are joining in.
Many opportunities to network online exist, and each year more and more seniors are joining in.
“The social networking site adoption rate for Americans 65 and older more than tripled in the last four years (up to 43 percent in May 2013 from 13 percent in the spring of 2009) according to a new survey from the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
But even with that increase, seniors are less likely than other age groups to use social networking sites. Pew’s research shows 72 percent of U.S. adults use social networking sites as of May 2013, including nearly 90 percent of 18-29 year olds.” [3]
Even with the increase, the need for social sites targeting the interests of seniors over 65 are not being met. [1]
“Consequently, although seniors participate in blogs ad some online communities, they do not find social networks an environment that encourages them to share their own information with others.”
“The problem that older adults face in online social networking services is that the element of fun comprises a large part of those services. SNSs such as Facebook and MySpace are designed for individuals to to send simple messages and share pictures, videos, and games. Because the the element of fun is emphasized, older adults do not feel satisfaction in using existing SNSs.” [1]
Information sharing provides satisfaction and encourages seniors to use social networks to meet new people.
References
1. Kang, J., Lee, S., Lee, I., Kim, J. (2nd Quarter 2010). Social Network Sites for Older Adults, Online User Experience for Korean Seniors. User Experience, Volume 9 pp. 20-22, 29
2. Duggan, M., Brenner, J. (February 13, 2013). The Demographics of Social Media Users — 2012, Washington, D.C.: Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project
3. Peterson, A. (August 5, 2013). Your grandma is three times as likely to use a social networking site now as in 2009. The Washington Post.
4. Gazzaley, A. (1st Quarter 2009). The Aging Brain, At the Crossroads of Attention and Memory. User Experience, Volume 8 pp. 6-8
5. Jarrett, C., Redish, J., Summers, K., Straub, K. (2nd Quarter 2010). Design to Read, Guidelines for People Who Do Not Read Easily. User Experience, Volume 9 pp. 10-12
1. Kang, J., Lee, S., Lee, I., Kim, J. (2nd Quarter 2010). Social Network Sites for Older Adults, Online User Experience for Korean Seniors. User Experience, Volume 9 pp. 20-22, 29
2. Duggan, M., Brenner, J. (February 13, 2013). The Demographics of Social Media Users — 2012, Washington, D.C.: Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project
3. Peterson, A. (August 5, 2013). Your grandma is three times as likely to use a social networking site now as in 2009. The Washington Post.
4. Gazzaley, A. (1st Quarter 2009). The Aging Brain, At the Crossroads of Attention and Memory. User Experience, Volume 8 pp. 6-8
5. Jarrett, C., Redish, J., Summers, K., Straub, K. (2nd Quarter 2010). Design to Read, Guidelines for People Who Do Not Read Easily. User Experience, Volume 9 pp. 10-12