Archive for December, 2008

aha!open source social networks : buddypress

December 16, 2008 · Filed under Portfolio ToolKits

i discovered buddypress ! which is linked to wordpress!! which is awesome and i will make updates soon.

I will also talk about tumblr…

So, here i am , talking about Buddypress which has me getting excited. Here are some key features

Buddypress

LIST OF FEATURES
Activity : RSS
Profile
Blogs ( Journal – portfolio space )
Wire ( wire posts are within the SSN, sthg like the Wall in FB)
Messages
Friends
Groups
Settings (something that should be taken out)

not yet available at the demo but will be available soon
Status Updates
Albums
Private Messaging
extended profiles

Also from the buzz going on in the forums Buddypress supports
supporting widgets
media Wiki
PHP my Admin

NOTES

Made by Automattic- Mathew Mullneweg, funding of  $29.5 million by Ny times and others

Buddypress is basically a wordpress MU,multi-user version of WordPress, the popular blog/cms tool. The aim of WPMU is to allow for one installation to spawn multiple WordPress blog instances. Basically, you can install WPMU on your server and run as many individual WordPress instances as your box can handle.

It has an excellent plugin API, as well as a whole host of quality pre-built plugins ready to download and activate. Plugins were built and used for private messaging, advanced profile management, online polls, photo management, multi-blog search and user credential management. ( this is not yet available at the demo) As each one is a separate plugin, there is no reason why site admins can’t pick and choose which components they want and don’t want. There is also no reason why additional components couldn’t be written, or other existing WordPress plugins be used alongside

Following our idea of creating a journal for the students, a member home page includes a users own personal profile front and center, their own personal “journal” as a feature of their home page, as well as private messaging functionality. That could be very useful for the mentor as well as hotline api’s in the Wellness Domain.

Moreover, on the visual part of it . ‘The theme has been designed so that colors and the logo can easily be changed. It has also been created to make use of every BuddyPress feature, theme designers can then cut and paste functionality they’d like in their own themes.’

Finally what is great is the limited credentials that allow us PRIVACY and full control : we can limit the administration functionality that a member has on their own blog. This stops them from signing up new users, deleting content they shouldn’t be, or changing the theme of their member page. I created a simple plugin that disabled the menus for these settings in the WordPress admin interface. The pages could only be accessed by site-wide administrators if needed.

HOW IT LOOKS WITH FULL FEATURES : http://apeatling.wordpress.com/2008/06/12/new-buddypress-theme/

check also Andy Peatling’s blog, and the site he has build with buddypress : http://chickspeak.com/mypage

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Habbo Hotel School District & cool facts

December 10, 2008 · Filed under Virtual spaces

So last August Habbo announced the School District Competition.

‘The next step would be competing for funding by boosting enrollment and holding live classes and events. Habbo District High Schools are under tremendous pressure to continually grow and prove their curriculum. The schools will face regular visits from the Habbo School District and some may even be featured on Crash Carson’s Radio Show. In the end, a handful of the most impressive principals will be selected to receive Habbo School District funding. ‘

I am trying to find more information on what has happened to Habbo hotel’s school district and in the meantime i checked habbo for some inspiration, here are some cool facts :

  • Competition&Event posting . Nice structure in all posts goes as following : Story blurb. Rules. Prize.
  • Currency.  In Habbo you earn currency ( the new currency is called pixels ) in order to get discounts on furni ((new furniture for your rooms), rent effects for your room or  your Habbo avatar.. Check out here
  • Personal Page Layout.  Includes Buddy list, personal notes, link to your room, traxplayer (plays music), high scores, my profile box that includes avatarand tag, my rooms box. The page is in a sticker style

habbo_home-page

  • In the hotel: you can chat, check your friends list (buddy aim list, friend request, search for friends), open a navigator, check the event browser, check the catalogue for furnishing your room, from your controller join fee games (like snowfight ). You can also acess help that immediately wil ask you if there is a safety issue and will link you online to a chat assist- hobbo. You can also dance, wave and check your badges, your achievemnts and your effects. Here are some badges: Level 1 for playing and wining a snow battle, 50% tru habbo for being member of the community for 24 weeks etc etc. Some achievements ( focus on helping others) : bunny, the speedy one, for being a habbo guide, here to help. Bambi, level 2, the loving one, makes you wanna help others. etc etc For more check here

habbo_achievemnts

There is also the Habbo School Group on the uk server, check here

to be continued…

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Being Me : User scenario Lucia

December 10, 2008 · Filed under Vignettes

Lucia knows a little something about books. She has of course read all Harry Potter books, kicking the ‘24 hours awake’ limit for that last one, but her latest obsession is Holes, by Louis Sachar.  Last week she introduced ‘Holes’ to the Bookworms Group in Being Me. Everybody got really excited but they all agreed that it’s the rule- nobody can post anything about how the book ends until everybody in Bookworms has read it.

Today is Lucia’s favorite day of the week; it is Codeworlds class ! Last week her teacher, Igor, announced that there would be a new puzzle quest before they level up to Boss Challenge. But Igor has been so secretive about it. Lucia has been constantly checking Igor’s page on Being Me and he hasn’t posted anything yet.

Lucia is very excited about these mini quests and has been doing pretty well in them, wining the title of a Wiki-us Talent last month, an award that made her little learning creature next to her avatar grow a bit. Also, her badge collection is finally getting bigger.

In the Wiki-us Quest, her class had to solve ‘the mystery of Alexandria’. They had to use this new tool in their Being Me, called Wiki, to seek and find missing information about the famous library of Alexandria and reveal who is behind the mischievous plot.
Obviously, this was a piece of cake for Lucia who easily led her team to gaining extra points for the quest, awarded to them through Being Me. With all those points she can easily now get some lab time with this famous mentor in metaplace, called Ibu, that everybody has been talking about…or maybe she gets some smalab time…she ‘s heard that the smalab scientist Kyle is really awesome…

Ah… class time on the matrix data screen, time for Lucia to go.


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Currency: ways to get rewards in Being me, some first ideas

December 9, 2008 · Filed under Currency

1.Mini rewards. Students get currency by clicking, posting, sharing etc (this is an automated procedure)
2.Macro rewards : teachers assign currency to students or students get currency by most popular vote ( for example Denis had the highest rate on his wellness blog post)
3. Bonus rewards by playing mini games within the being me sections. For example in expertise exchange a quiz about a knowledge domain, or a scavenger hunt in the wiki were students have to find different types of wrong information and correct it.

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Being Me: User Scenario Jeff

December 9, 2008 · Filed under Vignettes · Tagged ,

User Scenario #1: Jeff

This past summer eleven year old Jeff moved with his parents from Portland, Oregon to New York City. He is normally quiet and quite shy which has made starting the 6th grade in a new environment a little hard on him. He has not made many friends since the move and after finishing his homework spends most of his nights playing World of Warcraft and talking to his friends back in Portland on MySpace.

About a month into the school year the students are given access to the school’s new social web site “Being Me.” On “Being Me” Jeff is able to create an avatar, design a personal space and portfolio, and explore a 3D simulation of his school and its neighborhood.

Jeff starts fiddling around with some of the applications available on the site and soon is designing and building custom items for his virtual space. He notices that students are allowed to upload items they created to the virtual school store and decides to post a few of the things he made for others to use. Within a few days, news of Jeff’s talent spreads. Lots of students stop by his personal space to praise him for what he made. Two other students–Mark and Tom–ask Jeff if they could come over one day and have Jeff help them design custom items for their spaces.

During their visit Mark, Tom and Jeff learn that they have a lot in common. They start eating lunch and playing together during recess. Jeff’s confidence builds. He initiates IM conversations with other classmates in Being Me’s virtual space. These virtual interactions allow Jeff to emerge from his shell gradually, breaking the wall between himself and his new schoolmates at his own pace.

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getting inspired : ways to collect & spend currency in games

December 9, 2008 · Filed under Currency · Tagged

Here are some ways to gain currency in a game:

  • collect/ harvest resources
  • collect points directly ( mario and the lot) : double points, powerups, suprise points. // seek and find points
  • win a conflict in order to get points
  • win an argument in order to get points
  • solve a problem ( a mystery, a puzzle etc ) to win credit
  • share expertise and get rewarded ( mmo’s )
  • participate in the community and get macro points ( by achieving better strategy)
  • perform and gain points ( subjective judgement)
  • be evaluated by your fellow players ( judging- social games)
  • capture a territory and win points
  • find your way out of something ( a labyrinth , a maze ) //  or eliminate something : reward through elimination
  • ’steal’/ acquire points – attack// could also be challenge your enemy in battle to win his points
  • create / make thing and get points ( mmos’)
  • ‘bet’ on value / risk to get points?
  • combine and win ( card games where certain combos give you more points)
  • get time bonus ( racing )

Here are some ways to spend currency :

  • buy objects / get stuff
  • make things
  • get a skill ( be more powerful or win a special power ) / LEVEL UP
  • unlock something
  • trade objects
  • get collectibles
  • participate in a new community ( with ‘leveled up’ players)

Another issue we also may want to look into is the idea of macro-micro points.
micro points : small rewards, require minimum amount of effort and provide instant gratification
macro points : harder to get rewards and if combined with strategy will lead you into future victory

Finally, points in games have standard growing patterns such as single points , super points , bonus- unexpected, double, triple, power up etc

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Being Me: Informational Architecture

December 9, 2008 · Filed under Design

This is the first pass at the structural outline for the teacher and student pages of Being Me.

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