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RequirementsAndUseCases-WorkArea

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Contents

Lexicon

Not really for definitions, just to dump words we agree on and should use throughout the document instead of other words.

This lexicon ill probably not appear in the final document. Instead, definitions will be given in the margins or a framed section in the story that centers around it. Definitions can then be indexed at the end of the document.


Narratives

An End-User Narrative: Alice spends an hour on Twitbook

Synopsis: DNN just did a report on the new services everybody's talking about: Twitbook. Alice having been asked by friends repeatedly to join, she finally decides to get around to it, then spends an hour interacting with the site.

We probably need mock-ups for a lot of these to illustrate.


A Developer Narrative: Trent implements Twitbook

Synopsis: Rewind to one year earlier. Trent is trying to make his vision of a social network called “Twitbook” come through. He's facing a lot of issues.


A Revenue/Financial Analyst Narrative: Zoe's fund ponders an investment in Twitbook

Synopsis: Trent needs funding to complete the development of his service, to operate the service and to improve it over time in the future until the revenues exceed his cost of operation. In order for Zoe, an analyst at a fund, to consider Trent's company for investment, she carefully reviews the section of his business plan which describes his business models.

Trent plans to generate revenues from three sources:

  • the end users of the service,
  • companies who want to have the users of Trent's service which match the profile of a future customer come to their site/service (advertisers) and
  • merchants who are partners with Trent's company.

The above constituents in the ecosystem will generate revenues for Trent's company if and when they perceive that they are receiving value for their payment.

Value for an end user may be in the form of a unique piece of content (e.g., a game, download a video from another user), a high placement on a page (e.g., Personals advertising-banner ad), send a virtual birthday gift to another user of the application, or use of a special search string in a dating service (e.g., show me people with four or more attributes in common with me).

Value for an advertiser could be a qualified lead (which can convert to a customer) or a positive review about a new product or service by a community member.

For a merchant, the completion of a transaction (e.g., merchant sells an avatar accessory in Trent's community/application)is the best indicator of a social application's value.

By combining several revenue strategies for his service, Trent's company is planning for different types of growth in the business.

A Corporate End-User Narrative: Erica uses company tools

Synopsis: Erica works for ACME and is getting ready to start a new project. Before jumping in head first, she would like to do a little research to see if anybody else has done something similar and if she can find any "lessons learned" that pertain to her new project. Rather than sending emails out to the people that she thinks might be able to help her, she logs in to the company social networking site and starts searching for topics related to her new project. After finding people and additional information captured from other projects she has an idea on a different approach for her project and would like to engage other experts within the company that could provide feedback. She posts a question to the social networking system and an online discussion ensues.



Catalog

Template

Story Title

Tags: privacy, context, user experience

Description: totally awesome description. (1-5 lines.)

Description in a Corporate context: (if applicable). Description of this story in a corporate context or outline of differences with the general context. (1-5 lines.)

Development view: (required). Description of existing technologies, current ongoing work, challenges, things that could be capitalized upon to create a protocol or recommendation that this should stay application-specific. (1-10 lines.)


Account creation, management/maintenance (personalization)

This use case category (including all extensions) describes tasks which the user does to set up, manage and maintain one or more identities or profiles on the Social Web.

Covers all system set up/user account management/profile maintenance, settings (choose how and when to be seen, receive notifications). Interactions with devices and/or service portals could be envisaged.

NOTE: Need to decide if we recommend a unique user have multiple identities and multiple profiles, one unique identity and multiple profiles, etc.

Creation of a new profile

The goal of this use case is to set up (create for the first time) a user’s personal profile and to make it "visible" in one or more social applications or to those in the community of users. Profiles may be distributed.

See profile management below.

Should take into account:

Entering and modifying (updates to) personal information

When setting up a profile (use case above), a user is not required to complete all the property fields about themselves. They may wish to create new (custom) fields in a profile. And there may be, in the future, a desire to modify the content of those fields filled in/populated in the past (favorite music, movie, relationship status, etc).

A user's multiple profiles (business profile, family profile, friends profile, etc) may be managed through a single platform or service.

Profiles are "associated" with a unique user's digital identity. Use care not to mix identity with profiles.

Setting mood indicator

Mood is an indication of the actor’s emotional state. There is no universal set of mood definitions. The user’s mood is an important element of context. This should be adjustable and then the change in state (status) propagated so that any application that monitors a user’s mood is updated, as well as the current state appearing when those with permission request to see/view the mood indicator.

Managing presence

The user’s “state” is a description of the condition between the terminal/user device and the presence server (managed/operated by presence management provider). Possible presence states may be binary: logged in/logged off, in a call/not in a call, typing/not typing, in motion/stopped (see context services), in a dark place/well lit place…

NOTE: This is a mine field.

NOTE: See Seesmic client announcement/vision

Setting/choosing music to stream from personal profile

In the management interface of an account or profile, the user may elect to have a personal audio stream (music or speech) associated with all, some or none of their profile, all, some or none of their “friends” on a list.

This can be a logical extension on existing ringback tone service for mobile subscribers. If a subscriber selects a ringback tone for incoming calls this might also be applied to profile.

Policies may include conditions on use of commercial or User Generated content.

Adjusting location-awareness service settings

In the management interface of an account or profile for a service which supports location awareness, there must be settings for adjusting when the location is detected, by whom and the level of accuracy (granularity) of the location. Companies providing location aware services are developing agreement on how to share location between services, but there must be consistent ways for the user to control the data stream/publication of location.

Blocking others’ ability to engage (privacy from unwanted users)

A user must be able to adjust the “visibility” others have relative to their personal/profile information and some or all social media. In some scenarios this can be called “blacklisting”. Control can be binary: permit this person to send messages/do not permit this person to send messages, permit to see my profile/do not permit to see my profile, permit this user to see my presence status/do not… Settings can be more general: hide me and all my media from anyone who is not already known to me (prevents people from identifying me on a photograph?)

Managing stored social media (personal content)

This is a use case which is related to but separate from uploading/sharing of personal social media objects (category 2 of 8). This use case covers management of stored social media. Management has (at least) four aspects: packaging (put this object in an album, leave this object out of an album, remove from an album), annotation (associate key words, names, etc), visibility to others (some social media are public, private, shared with some but not all), monetization (controlling any rights for distribution, downloading, etc).

Checking status or popularity indicator (e.g., page views)

As part of this use case, the user clicks a button or navigates to a menu for information of several types (extensions of this use case). For example, the user can see their rank among community members (popularity), see who has responded to invitations to join community or check the “trail” of visitors (footprints of who has been viewing what part of the social media). There should be reports which show activity levels over time. This is popular in Japanese community platforms.

Choosing avatars

An avatar permits the user to be more and different than they really are and to engage imagination, fantasy and the digital avatar is more efficiently transmitted (low bandwidth) over mobile networks than a full resolution photograph/image. Avatar accessorizing is a huge business in some societies/communities. As part of a set up menu, or as part of a continuing personalization feature set, the user can modify what their virtual personae looks like, how it sounds and other parameters.

Exporting & Importing personal data

Originally: Re-Use Your Data and Drag and Drop.

Access Control

Should include

Also, Access Control should not only encompass assets uploaded but also profile information, annotations, groups created and Friendship Relations, hence the repetition of this subsection in other parts of this document.

The right to be forgotten

Originally: Removing Data or Changing Data Permissions.

Must clearly specify the data concerned can include not only Profile data but also:

  • List of friends;
  • Content shared;
  • Comments and ratings given;
  • Payment information;
  • List of purchases.

Setting a last will for online data

Originally: Last Will For Online Content / Account Last Will.

Create, edit and share/post

This next group of use cases includes everything which can be considered “Create, Undo, Remove, etc”. It spans all variations and media from writing a text message to post to no one in particular (or to everyone), posting (upload and annotate) photos, videos, sound files, anything which has media and metadata associated with it. Includes having user context associated with the media object.

This category covers only use cases with the user as the source (original) of the content and where the user has sole rights.


Uploading, publishing user-generated text (blog post) with or without tags

The user generates social media objects by way of keyboard or voice (in a voice-to-text engine) and posts with or without tags to one or more profiles.

In the simplest scenario this is just a WordPress post. The post is published to one or more profiles.

Properly documented use case should have mention of moderation requirements/regulations and latency. Moderation is required in some but not all communities.

There needs to be a standard for metadata which the user/owner of the media associates with an object.


Uploading, publishing user-generated images (photos) with or without tags

The user generates social media object by way of still image camera (on a mobile handset or separate appliance-camera) and transmits it to the destination.

“Destination” can be the personal digital media locker or to the distribution/aggregator interface, or directly into one account or profile on a platform.

There needs to be a standard for metadata which the user/owner of the media associates with an object.

Should have some recognition of moderation and policy for latency between publishing and appearance to audiences. The user should also be able to see how many views an image has had.


Uploading, publishing user-generated video content with or without tags

Similar as for photos. Difference is there will be use case extensions which illustrate workflow options. for example, when the user is mobile: compression on handset before transmission (upload), whether the transmission is performed in real time (avoids storage on handset, lowers handset power consumption) and notifications to the user regarding completion of upload.

There needs to be a standard for metadata which the user/owner of the media associates with an object. Should have something about moderation and policy for latency between publishing and appearance to audiences.


Access Control

Should include

Also, Access Control should not only encompass assets uploaded but also profile information, annotations, groups created and Friendship Relations, hence the repetition of this subsection in other parts of this document.

The right to be forgotten

Originally: Removing Data or Changing Data Permissions.

Repeated here and in other places as what we share, how we comment, etc. defines us as much as our profile. This story needs to be adapted in each case.

Associate people, social objects and people/objects

This category of use cases covers requests for associations and all extensions regarding permissions, expiration of social objects, includes establishing as well as removing or deleting links-could say it covers all “creation and manipulation/changes of connections or associations”.

The use cases in this category should all be focused on “social” activities, regardless of whether unidirectional, bidirectional or multidirectional.


Forwarding/recommending to a friend

This is an action which is taken when a user sees/reads/hears something which they believe is of interest to another person or a group. It must be extremely easy to recommend or forward. The model for this use case is forwarding an e-mail or retweeting. Ideally the user can see what happens to the recommendation (did the recipient open? Go to the social media object?)

Should include: Tracking Sources?

Adding and removing people from friend and contact lists

These (adding and removing) are two separate actions. There is also a difference between adding and removing a group (the group use case is below).

In the case of the distributed profile the user maintains their own address book and it is linked to the profiles of anyone in the address book. Current information is “retrieved” by way of a common API between one user’s address book and the profile (file, server?) of the person whose name appears in the address book. The API for these associations does not currently exist and needs to be standardized.


This must include the general use case, as well as the following existing stories:

Adding and removing links between user’s profile and third party generated social media objects

These (adding and removing) links are two separate actions.

Adding a link between one person’s profile and a third party’s social media need not always be based on permission or reciprocal links. In other words, a user may link to the social media object of a user who they do not know. The two actors/users are not directly associated.

There should also be the ability to put conditions around a social media object which define if the object can be associated with a third party without first obtaining permissions.


Adding, removing, sharing groups

The user wishes to have an explicit association with a group which has a name, a URL and other identity elements. The required elements to identify/validate a group are not known/standardized.

A group is composed of users/actors and can have its own profile, however, it only publishes social media, does not actively establish links with other groups or individuals.

The manager of a group will be associating people and social media to a group’s profile (page).


Should it also include Automatically Generated Groups?

Anonymous interaction

Several different things to consider here:

  • Whistle-blower scenarios 'à la' wikileaks or for review sites: Anonymous Information;
  • Spamming and trolling problems associated with anonymous posting;
  • Positive effects of anonymity (group spirit, creativity): @TODO: tanglade.

Access Control

Should include

Also, Access Control should not only encompass assets uploaded but also profile information, annotations, groups created and Friendship Relations, hence the repetition of this subsection in other parts of this document.

Annotate/interact with social objects of others

Posting text comments/feedback, guest book or leave a message – any media – for someone (individual or group) on their page/inbox

Gifting to community member in same community

Gifting to person who is not in same community

Rating and/or voting on social media of others

Should probably include a word or two on user-based moderation against stuff like: Shills Posting False Information to Dilute the Truth.

Access Control

Should include

Also, Access Control should not only encompass assets uploaded but also profile information, annotations, groups created and Friendship Relations, hence the repetition of this subsection in other parts of this document.


Discover, explore, Consume (read, view) social objects

Viewing and downloading user-generated images (photos) with or without tags

Viewing and downloading (with or without purchase) user-generated video content with or without tags

Viewing and purchasing (download or streaming) professionally created video (media): music and stories (mobisodes)

Viewing and purchasing (download or streaming) professionally created or independent music

Downloading professionally published games (download to handset)

Downloading applications (utilities) to handsets

Searching catalogs of social media

Nice previous writeup in a corporate context: Social Web for Business Intelligence.

Searching catalogs of social media based on tags

Browsing catalogs of social media

Initiating real time session via user’s profile page

Initiating a live voice session from a page/profile

Initiating a live video session from a page/profile

Text chatting (group, public or private) from a page/profile

Instant Messaging with people via social network

Playing multi-player games with community members

Transactions in communities/between communities and merchants

Community members buy/sell from one another

Community member purchases from merchant receives the goods or services personally

Community member purchases from merchant and “gifts” the object or service to a third party

Loyalty points accrued /received by a user for inviting another user non-community member to join the community and they (the person who invited receives credits, points) joins

Purchasing of products and/or services by a community member as a result of a community member recommendation (loyalty points/credits)

Use of contextual data in use cases

My history as context

My current location or vector as context

See: Inferences on location-based contextual data.

Also remember that a location can be a vector between two points: Current Location as a Direction.

My pre-set preferences as context for social network actions

My friends as context

My current time of day as context

My weather/environment (indoor vs. outdoor) as context

My current time or place as a context (ephemeral networks)

Including: Virtual Private Organization but also Concerts, Attendance at a sports game, etc.


Third-party data usage

Exposing APIs

Must include the previous story: Adding new features to Social Networks.

Traceability

Should include: Tracking Sources?

Updateability

Originally: all the stories of CRUD Operation on Social Data. Overlaps with Data Protection.


Existing Networks Diagram

A figure that shows how existing networks like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, map onto the catalog, where they overlap and, by contrast, which blocks are rarely or not used at all.




Business Models Diagram

A figure that shows which functional blocks are needed for the Business Models listed below. Again, the goal is to see where they overlap and by contrast, which blocks are not particularly useful for any of the business models.

Social Web Business Models

In the Social Web, the scenarios for generating revenues include:

  • Social application is advertising sponsored, ads are contextual and/or "social" (i.e., people like you like this)
  • Social application offers features/value for which end users are willing to pay one time or on a recurring basis
  • Social application is hosted by a company which is the single sponsor. The sponsor benefits from the engagement with customers/end users.
  • Social application generates revenues for the provider by way of small commissions from transactions between users (peer to peer), between community members and merchants, between community members and the social app itself (games)
  • User has a Social Media host (UGC management provider, social media “custodian”) which the user may pay for or may be advertisement sponsored; it may be used with many social apps
  • User has an identity management provider and uses it with many social apps
  • User has a profile management provider and uses it with many social apps
  • User has a single (central) billing (transaction) service provider which has access to a variety of financial tools. API makes it possible for interfaces with many social apps.

Ecosystem Participants

  • End user
  • Advertiser
  • Corporation
  • Merchant
  • Social Application Provider
  • Social Web enabling service providers (e.g., UGC management service provider, identity management provider, presence + location management provider, billing and transaction management provider)

Value

In each of the first five categories of ecosystem participants, the values sought are listed. In parentheses is the recipient of payment.

End User Pays for

  • access to a unique social application (pays to Social App provider)
    • a "buyer's" club
    • a professional association
    • a "private" application
  • a special feature in the social application which is not included in the free version (pays to Social App provider and/or to Merchant)
  • a digital "good" such as an accessory, tool or image (template) (pays to Social App provider who pays source of digital good)
  • a physical good or service (pays to Social App provider or to Merchant in store front which is then fulfilled outside the social application)
  • notifications/alerts sent by the service to a mobile device (pays to Social App provider and/or communications provider)
  • highly secure authentication (pays to Identity management provider)
  • convenience (an application on the mobile device which is different user experience than Web)(pays to Social App provider or developer of the application)
  • storage capacity (pays to provider of UGC management service)
  • an advertising-free experience (application without advertising) (pays to Social App provider)
  • (do users pay extra for privacy?)

Advertiser Pays for

  • impressions of a logo (appears on the page of the user)(pays to advertising agency, to ad network or directly to the Social App provider)
  • click throughs by user of the social application to the advertiser's service (pays to advertising agency, to ad network or directly to the Social App provider)
  • other...

Corporation Pays for

  • their logo and special features on a customized Intranet version of a white label social Application platform
  • secure hosting
  • development of a social application feature which is unique for their business needs
  • other...

Merchant Pays for

  • placement of service/object in the social application catalog of items to be purchased
  • contextually-aware insertion of the object (when/as detected by the social application)
  • transaction management
  • fulfillment/delivery of digital goods in social application
  • anonymized set of data revealing consumer on-line activities and trends/interests in goods and services
  • other...

Social Application Provider Pays for

  • hosting of service/bandwidth
  • communications to social application users (SMS, MMS, etc)
  • Social Web enabling services (e.g., high security authentication of users, billing and transaction management service provider)
  • other...