Access journals feed (B4)

[theoxygenated]

First page after login should immediately be the feed of all entries to make it quick access.

I'm thinking of feed like on Pinterest or Hipster.com (very visual). Common actions should be available on hover over an entry, an entry should display last 2 comments and provide link to view details/all comments if there are many, commenting should also be available right from the feed (vs. on details page) Details page should only serve for more concentration requiring tasks - participating in discussion or reading some longer text based posts.

[theoxygenated]

What are your thoughts on visual board layout? There seem to be 2 very popular and apparently well accepted board patterns:

1) like on Pinterest, Hipster.com and the board style Flickr announced to launch soon (http://www.workinghomeguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/flickr-new-photo-view-interface.jpg) where the images are allowed to have their custom dimensions, but they're arranged in a board

2) like on Flipboard (http://screenshots.en.sftcdn.net/blog/en/2010/07/flipboard1.jpg), dabble.it (http://screencast.com/t/jz5fXe30 ) and Instagram (http://www.pricenfees.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Instagram-For-Android-Interface.jpg) where all images/entries are resized into same size thumbs and organized into strict rows and columns

I feel like 1) is more interesting and interactive, however 2) is easier to grasp/less overwhelming since it looks more orderly. What are your thoughts?

[billiedemott]

Yes, a user should login immediately to a feed of entries, and in the beginning, this feed should be of all entries!

And I agree re display of last 2 comments, ability to comment on public feed & that a user should visit the details page to read longer text based posts & see the full discussion.

Some questions for us to consider:

1. What happens if there is no image? How will we deal with those scenarios using visual board layout UI? (I know we are discussing this in another issue, but I’m including this here b/c I think it will affect the kind of UI we use for the public feed.) (I’m going to respond to your thoughtful UI examples in my following comment.)
2. The amount of text in entries will be different lengths. How much of the entry should we show? If we don’t show all of it, would it deter from people pressing the clickbacks? (I think you might have been broaching this topic when you talk about “longer text based posts.”)
3. As we discussed, certain entries will be “open to comments,” so we will want to highlight those on the feed so that other users comment on those. Perhaps it could look like FB highlights: http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1428&bih=587&authuser=0&tbm=isch&tbnid=2bJOh_bFIQlB-M:&imgrefurl=http://funcitystuff.com/2012/03/timeline-highlight-feature/&docid=xI_R0Dy-uxWT9M&imgurl=http://funcitystuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/HighlightFBPost2.jpg&w=500&h=320&ei=KQXST5-yMIS26QHk-bm0Aw&zoom=1 (I think the viability of this sort of UI depends greatly on the visual design of the mood shading, but I’m putting it out there as an idea anyway.)
4. We will also want to figure out where these “open to comments” entries fall in the feed. Should entries “open to comments” all be prioritized in the most prominent locations of the feed or should we alternate between entries that are “open to comments” with regular entries? I sort of have my bias, but before I present it, tell me what your gut says?
5. How long do entries stay in the public feed? (I don’t think we quite have the luxury yet of asking this or this: “How many entries will be in the feed at a time?,” but I’m adding these questions for future consideration.)
6. For entries that are getting a lot of comments or clickbacks, do we keep those on the feed (perhaps changing its prominence in the feed)? For how long? (I know a lot of this depends on the traffic & entry frequency, but figured we should plan this out, right?)
7. As of now common actions are “been there,” “hang in” & “comment.” We can definitely have only two clickbacks (otherwise too many), but I wonder if we need something that is just more neutral, but lends support. Like a thumbs up or high five. I feel like there might be something better than “hang in.” (I’ll brainstorm more.)

[billiedemott]

Great screenshots! I think the UI in #2 works best for us because we are a mental health platform. I’ll try to explain this more below.

Do you know that moment where you just cleaned your messy room & you feel a sense of relief & sanity? Your ordered world reflects back & creates an ordered mind & a sense of calm collection. That’s why I think the UI in #2 is better for us.

UI examples

In particular, I like the UI in dabble.it.

I like it over the Instagram UI because the amount of photos isn’t overwhelming. There aren’t too many choices (going back to that Hick’s law issue again). (I think too many entries on one page would be like entering a room where there are too many conversations that you could join. You get a little paralyzed.)

The reason I liked dabble.it over Flipboard’s UI is because there is nice space between the entries (pauses as Liz Danzico, IxD guru, would call them.) (Those spaces between entries are like spaces between conversation groups. If there are 6 conversations in a room, each conversation is more pleasant to listen to if the conversations are taking place farther apart from each other. You can zone in on one & not get distracted, but can easily move to another if it’s not too far away.)

I also liked Twizgrid’s UI: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/twizgrid-media-browser-for/id518395036?mt=8 (A few more entries on the page, but the arrow on the right shows a possible way to let users move to other entries. Also, I like the frames.)

Let me know if these real-life metaphors are annoying. I’m just trying to explain my thought process.

[theoxygenated]

Yes, excellent, lets discuss the details during the meeting!

[billiedemott]

See email sent titled "Issue 145..." sent 6/11/12 12:24 am by Billie DeMott. Answers to above questions.