Change text on Connect page

[briancroxall]

The first section on the Connect page ("Make unexpected connections") seems to belong more on the "About" page than Connect. The text explains what Serendip-o-matic is, as well as some use cases. The rest of the Connect page is about the way to work on the code or to get your collection pulled into Serendip-o-matic.

I suggest moving the text to the About page. Interested in thoughts from @rpalin @amrys and @JackDougherty, however.

[JackDougherty]

Brian, I understand your point, and do not have any objections to moving the first section from the Connect page to the About page. But if you make this change, think about how to integrate the text into the About page, which currently has two main sections: "What it is" and "How we built it" Looking at the text you're proposing to move, the most relevant portion is the middle paragraph on use cases. You could blend this into the "What it is" section, or start a new section titled "Who should use it" (or something better).

[rpalin]

I see Brian's point and think that Jack's idea of a new "Who should use it" section makes sense. I really don't like the idea of extending the length of the About page, though, and therefore wonder if just the middle paragraph can get carried over and integrated into the existing "What it is" section. Perhaps something like this:

"Serendip-o-matic connects your sources to digital materials located in libraries, museums, and ....

Whether you begin with text from an article, a Wikipedia page, or a full Zotero collection, Serendip-o-matic's special algorithm extracts key terms and returns a surprising reflection of your interests. Because the tool is designed mostly for inspiration, search results aren't meant to be exhaustive, but rather suggestive, pointing you to materials you might not have discovered.

Students can use one source to point to a variety of others that expand their research opportunities. Scholars can get inspiration for their next project, or break a writing block by finding new materials that take their thinking in a fresh direction. Bloggers can find open-access images to illustrate their posts. Librarians and museum professionals can discover a wide range of items and objects from institutions beyond their own, and build bridges that make their collections more accessible.

At the very least, Serendip-o-matic's magical input-output process helps users step back and look at their work from a new perspective. Give it a whirl. Your sources may surprise you."

An alternative and more radical relocation would be below the text box on the homepage. If the Zotero section disappears and the text box becomes full width, then there might be room for the use cases. These wouldn't even need a heading. I know that I've been advocating for a cleaner, more Google-type look to the homepage and that additional text is incompatible with that, but I thought I'd throw it out there. At this point I'm not in favor of more of anything on the home page.

P.S. Apologies for limited contributions of late. Life and sick parents have impinged on evenings and weekends. Thanks for all the efforts that continue to improve things.

[JackDougherty]

Thanks, Ray. Your suggested rewrite is exactly what I had in mind, so thanks for spelling it out. Best wishes to you and your family.