Direct messaging members of the community - (existing task, easy)
Anya is a Studio Art major working on a painting-printmaking multimedia project, and is looking for a collaborator well-versed in printmaking. She scouts the works produced by the printmaking class this semester and is very impressed with Liz’s work. Not knowing how to contact Liz, Anya talks to the printmaking professor, searches for Liz on Gmail, WSO, and Facebook. She opts for sending an email first, as that seems most appropriate for someone she does not yet know. After receiving no reply, she shows up to printmaking class to talk to Liz, and from there they become friends on Facebook and use text and Facebook messages to communicate.
A forum for discussion, sharing inspiration, and more - (existing task, medium)
Eli is an English and Studio Art major who produces art for class and in their spare time. They often have a lot of ideas and topics they like to discuss, and can discuss them with their friends, but sometimes Eli feels like this can be constraining. It would be great to be able to talk to other people who are interested in these ideas and topics outside of Eli’s circle of friends. Eli gets the opportunity to discuss ideas for art relating to class with their professor, but never about personal projects. Additionally, Eli goes to artist talks and gets the opportunity to see their art and hear their ideas, but doesn’t always get the chance to ask them all the questions they wish they could.
Showcase work through one central platform - (new task, medium)
Frankie is a local painter in the Williamstown area. He uses his website to upload photos of his paintings and and organize his paintings in a thematic manner. He has the website because he wants a place for other people, mainly potential employers, to be able to peruse his art and see what he’s about. He includes contact information on his website for this reason. Frankie likes having his own website because he has the flexibility of showing his artwork exactly the way he wants, but he wishes there was a way to make his it more discoverable.
Sort and filter art-related events by personal interest - (new task, medium)
Vu is a Math and Physics double major who doesn’t consider himself an artist, but is very interested in art events and performances on campus. He often learns about them from Facebook, Daily Messages and the Social Calendar. He is only interested in student-initiated art-related events, ignores department- or officially-organized ones and all sports events, and is only free on Friday or Saturday nights. Liking specific groups on Facebook helps Vu discover events that he likes, but he still has to scroll past events that he’s not interested in, and sometimes still misses student-organized events because they’re not listed. It’s even worse with Daily Messages and the Social Calendar, and even with all these sources, Vu still misses out on some events since they do not pop up on his news feed early enough for him to catch.
Discover/browse events and set notifications for them - (existing task, medium/difficult)
Mark is a Comparative Literature major who enjoys relaxing after a long week by listening to a cappella. He keeps a close eye on Daily Messages, the Social Calendar, and the different Facebook pages, watching for event notices to pop up. When he happens upon them, he sets a reminder on Google Calendar so that he doesn’t forget to attend, even if he gets caught up working on his thesis. This system works for Mark so long as he has the time to check all three sources, since not all of them have the same information. If he doesn’t have time to read the Social Calendar or checking the a cappella Facebook pages, or if the group forgets to advertise their show on Daily Messages, there’s a chance he might miss a show.
Advertise need/desire to collaborate and/or search for projects in need of/desiring collaboration - (new task, difficult)
Mai is a student dancer developing a piece for her choreography tutorial. This process includes costuming, but she doesn’t know how to draw and isn’t even interested in designing. She’s asked her friends if they know anyone interested in costume design, and they suggest talking to the Art department, studio art majors, and the costume shop. However, Mai doesn’t know any of these people, and neither do her friends. She can email some professors and the shop managers to see if they can point her in a direction, but she knows that even if they give her recommendations, there’s no guarantee that these people would be interested in working with her.