Tài liệu Web Application Design Patterns- P11 ppt

286 CHAPTER 9 Social Applications

CLEARLY INDICATE HOW USERS CAN REACH THE NEXT LEVEL

When using reputation levels, make it easy for users to determine how they can

reach the next level. This keeps them interested and motivated to participate

( Figure 9.38 ).

CONSIDER INCORPORATING PEER RECOMMENDATIONS

In the reputation systems discussed so far, users indirectly earn a reputation

based on the swiftness of transactions, quality of the products delivered, useful￾ness of advice, and so forth. Many social networking applications, on the other

hand, allow users to establish reputations through testimonials or recommen￾dations that they receive. LinkedIn, for example, allows users to write recom￾mendations for others. Users who get recommendations receive a thumbs-up

icon on their profi les and an indication of how many people have recom￾mended them.

FIGURE 9.37

Kwanzoo, an

entertainment

trivia site, shows

top players ’ ranks

and points in a

leaderboard format.

It also shows whether

a user moved up or

down and by how

much.

FIGURE 9.38 Yahoo! Answers shows users how many points they have accumulated and the

number of points that they need to get to the next level.

287

Although it could be argued that peer recommendations are based on past

interactions, transactions, or services provided, and there are other similar

forms of reputation systems, an important difference is that the recommenda￾tion action is phrased more directly toward the person rather than the services

offered or products sold by him or her — that is, “ recommend this person, ”

instead of “ recommend services offered by this person. ”

Related design patterns

Both RATINGS and REVIEWS patterns may accompany REPUTATION because

gaining reputation requires users to rate and review the transactions or activi￾ties they are involved with.

DISCOVER NETWORK MEMBERS

Problem

Users new to a social application may not know how to connect with others

with similar interests or with whom they have lost touch. In addition, users

who are part of other community-based applications may want to fi nd out if

anyone on their current “ friends ”list is already a member of the community

they are joining.

Solution

Make it easy for users to discover network members based on common inter￾ests, past workplaces, other online communities, and contacts (i.e., email

address books) ( Figure 9.39 ). In addition, recommend friends based on users ’

profi les and stated interests to make it easy for users to fi nd new “ friends. ”

Why

Social networking or community-based applications revolve around connecting

users with current, past, and potentially future friends and colleagues. Without

an easy way to connect with them, the community aspect of the application

disappears.

How

Social networking applications can help users discover friends in a myriad

of ways: by email address books, instant messenger (IM) buddy lists, users ’

existing networks, recommendations, and searches. Having multiple ways to

discover connections is important, since users may not have fi lled out their

profi les completely and may use email addresses differently than those in their

address books.

ALLOW DISCOVERY OF FRIENDS BY EMAIL ADDRESS BOOKS

Enable users to import their existing address books from popular email appli￾cations such as Outlook, Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, and so forth ( Figure 9.40 ).

Discover Network Members

288 CHAPTER 9 Social Applications

Offer this as an option after users have signed up; it helps in the following ways:

1. To facilitate quick sign-up, users typically provide (or are asked to pro￾vide) very minimal information about themselves. This makes it diffi cult

to connect them with people they already know in the community. By

not getting a sense of community after signing up, users may question

the usefulness of the application and may not return.

2. Accessing users ’email address books is relatively straightforward once they

have provided login credentials, which makes it easy for the application to

help them fi nd and connect with those already in their contact lists.

FIGURE 9.39 Facebook offers users several options to fi nd friends: by email (uploading of

contact fi les too); by schools, colleges, and work locations; and by IM buddy lists. The site also

offers recommendations via “ Discover People You May Know ” based on profi les and current

network.

FIGURE 9.40 When signing up, Yelp offers users an option to fi nd existing friends by matching

their contact lists on email systems such as Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail, AOL Mail, and Gmail.