4. 4
The Problem
TEDx programs are held across the world to create TED-like events and spur
discussion at a local level. TEDxUGA began in 2013 as a way for alumni, students, faculty
and staff to share their ideas on-stage and spark discussion at a local level. At the inaugural
event, there were 240 attendees, followed by 415 in 2014, and an expected 550 in 2015.
With this high growth in attendance, the event is losing its intimacy. As the event gets larger,
it will seem more and more like a large conference, and less like an intimate way to share
ideas that have the ability to spark discussion and change. For our project, we set out to
change this.
In the spirit of “ideas worth spreading,” we want the audience members to be able to
meet and share ideas with each other. The speakers will, without a doubt, have great ideas-
but that’s not enough. Everyone has great ideas, even the audience members. For our
project, we created a mobile web app to connect the attendees of TEDxUGA 2015 during
and after the event in hopes of spurring discussions beyond the stage and into the crowd. By
doing so, we hope that audience members will be less intimidated by the large crowd and
will be more likely to meet others. This will help bring intimacy back to the event as it grows
in size.
5. 5
Solution
The Web App
The web app includes user profiles, so that attendees can be matched with their “+1.” A +1
will be another audience member with whom an attendee can meet during breaks between
presenter sessions, so they can share their own unique ideas.
There will also be a point system, so that attendees can earn points when they participate in
a social media activity such as tweeting about the ideas they have heard or shared, or taking
a picture with a presenter or a member of the TEDxUGA Steering Committee during a break.
This gamification aspect will encourage the audience to actually meet and share ideas with
one another, and it will make them feel like they are more connected to the presenters and
the other attendees.
The web app will also have a tweetwall, which will display tweets that use the hashtag
#TEDxUGA. This should encourage attendees to participate in social conversations about
the event and to share their own ideas.
Target Audience
Our target audience is anyone who attends TEDxUGA. Our main focus is to target and
engage UGA faculty, staff and alumni. We want to encourage our TEDx community to fully
engage with the ideas presented, the presenters and each other.
Purpose
The purpose of the TEDxUGA web app is to get the audience engaged with the ideas that
are being presented to them and to encourage audience members to connect and interact
with one another throughout the event. We want our web app to be a platform where
attendees can connect and share their own ideas.
Goals for users
We hope that our users will take our web app and use it to apply their ideas during the event
and even after it is over. Our goal is to get our users to make strong, lasting connections with
the people that they are matched with.
6. 6
How Our Web App Addresses the
Problem
Our team focused on making a project that was effective in increasing interaction
between the users and ease of use. We want the app to be effective during the event, but we
also envision this project to have an impact beyond the scope of the day of the event.
Therefore, not only did we implement a point system where users are rewarded for being
active at TEDxUGA, we implemented a TEDxUGA social feature where users will be able to
discover and message each other. The app is a tool that the community can use to further
grow in the times after March 27, 2015.
To increase the ease of use, our group contemplated using various techniques to
reduce speed. We considered NFC chips, texts, and other means of cellphone inputs, but
we also had to consider the fact that we were not going for a mobile app but rather a mobile
website due to the constraints of multiple operating systems for different types of smart
phones. We settled on the QR code input method for fast access to data, and from there we
were able to implement it to enhance the interactivity by enabling QR Profile search and QR
point redemption.
Technology Used
As a mobile website, we used html and css for the layout and the styling. All of the user
data is stored on the sql which is accessed via php. Php was implemented to allow
personalization of the application for each user by filtering out the data for each user so the
users will see data that is tailored to them, and Javascript was used to run the QR code
scanner. Bootstrap was used for the general layout for all of the pages, and
PagePreloadingEffets was used specifically for the Login page.
7. 7
Walkthrough of the Web App
Before the Login
Once the user enters the app, they are greeted by the login page. Every user will be
registered with an email, and this is how they will log in.
Before the users even log in, there are four different tabs on the bottom the users can
access, regardless of their status of registration. These are the login page, the About
TEDxUGA page, about the TEDxUGA presenters page, and the #TEDxUGA page.
8. 8
Users that do not have login access will still find this web app useful in gathering information
about the TEDxUGA as a whole in the following pages.
“About TEDxUGA”describes the vision of TEDxUGA and where the organization is headed.
“The Presenters” page will provide the users the description of who is presenting at the
TEDxUGA and give a brief description of their idea and their background.
“#TEDxUGA” allows the users to gather the hashtag #TEDxUGA from multiple social media
platforms to see what is being said about the event in real time.
However, the users that are able to log in are met with numbers of tools that encourages
community interaction with other people that are attending the meeting.
After the Login
The moment the user logs in, they
are met with a homepage that
encourages them to meet with
their “+1’s” who are also
attending the TEDxUGA.
9. 9
Search Functionality
The users are also given the freedom to look around and find others in the community who
may have the same interests as they do.
10. 10
Also, at the event itself, as the members of the community intermingle, they will be able to
scan the nametag of other attendees via a QR code that will be printed on the nametag.
These codes are linked to their TEDxUGA Profiles, and by scanning it through the app, the
users are taken to the QR Code Owner’s Profile. This is an innovative way of sharing user
information, and adding technology in a way that may promote interaction.
Once the user uses the camera application to take a picture of the QR code the user is
automatically taken to the profile of the QR.
11. 11
User Profiles
Once the users are at their desired person’s profile, they are able to see the information the
person provided on their profile, such as their short bio, field of study, year associated at
UGA, and their idea.
Messaging
From the profile, the user can send an email to the desired person’s email straight from the
application, further encouraging interaction among the TEDxUGA attendees even beyond the
scope of the event itself.
12. 12
Account Settings
If the users are to visit their own profiles, they see a very similar layout as everyone else’s.
The main difference is that the users are able to edit their profile.
The users are free to update (or not update) in ways that they feel comfortable. If they are
willing to be public they can share as much as they want. In the contrary, if they feel
uncomfortable with sharing of the data, they can leave the informations empty.
13. 13
Gamification
In order to get the users engaged in other ways, we implemented a point system in which
they are able to redeem codes for accomplishing tasks. The users can redeem his or her
codes through QR and Text codes.
The QR code scanning is a very similar process to the one shown above. The Text
redeeming is a means of emergency point system where one of the TEDxUGA staff can
manually enter points for the users to gain credit for what they have done.
The users can keep track of the number of points they have accumulated, and there will be
announcements to let people know who is in the lead for the prize at TEDxUGA.
14. 14
The Team
Our producer, Cameron Dodge, is majoring in Marketing and
earning a certificate in New Media. Cameron was exposed to
TEDxUGA when he took the New Media and TED class through
the New Media Institute. He enjoyed the class so much that he
took it two semesters in a row. Cameron is currently a member of
the TEDxUGA Student Council. He is interested in how technology
is changing industries and hopes to get into an industry where he
can sell technology solutions to businesses.
Our content producer, Abbey Giese, is a senior majoring in
Magazine Journalism, minoring in Communication Studies and
earning a certificate in New Media. Abbey took the New Media
and TED class in the spring semester of 2014. She was on a
presenter prep team with two other students and assisted two
presenters throughout the semester as they developed their talks.
Abbey is currently on the TEDxUGA Student Council. She is
interested in how the digital age has changed the way people
consume media and wants to work in digital media or sports
media.
Our programmer, Chan Jong, is a senior majoring in Computer
Science. Chan took the New Media and TED class in the fall
semester of 2013 and worked on the TEDxUGA Student
Competition, and he is currently on the TEDxUGA Student Council.
He is intrigued by the advancement of technology and is excited to
be a part of a new media field that will only continue to grow in the
future.
Our visual designer, Adelaide Obasanya, is majoring in Mass
Media Arts, minoring in Sociology, and earning a certificate in
New Media. Her first experience with TEDxUGA was through the
New Media and TED class. In the class, Adelaide learned about
event management, how to make and execute effective
presentations and what the TEDx program is really about. She is
a member of the TEDxUGA Student Council.
