News
Development is nearly complete! | Emma Moody | Indie MobileThere's not much to report this week, other than that development is almost complete…
We have been internally testing the app which has brought up a few minor tweaks which needed to to be made. These have been things like;
1. changing and adding buttons and links to the management interface to make it more user friendly
2. setting up filters which reject blank messages sent in by users so that they do not enter the central database
3. getting the data reporting to reflect the needs and requirements of all involved
4. implementing user blocking
5. making sure that a user will be send the welcome message per campaign. We found that initially if they had interacted with 'The Generator' on another campaign a welcome message was not sent out.We haven't yet secured our first campaign as hoped, but we are working on this now in full force.
See you soon.
Breaking News… | Emma Moody | Indie MobileWe have just had word that we could have a very exciting launch campaign for 'The Generator'…. They are a top stadium band and the campaign is set to bring 'The Generator' to life!!!
We will know on Monday so don't forget to check in…
'The Generator' is ready for testing… | Emma Moody | Indie MobileWork has been underway on 'The Generator' now for the last three weeks… we have the first phase of the development completed ready for focus group and internal testing!!! Development progress over this time has been as follows;
15th May 2009 Install virtual desktops and supporting libraries to allow Skype installation. 14th May 2009 Started investigate the addition of Skype interface. Problematic as the Skype interface does not run in a headless environment. 13th May 2009 AIM, Yahoo, ICQ and MSN configured and tested.
Added support for different presence and presence text. This will allow campaigns to alter their presence text and possibly have time based availability. Possibly extend to subject matter as well?12th May 2009 DNS mapped and new services migrated. Minor issue with dynamic image processing.
IM server configured and connecting to external systems.11th May 2009 Server delivered and managed to complete; - OS build
- Installation and test of Database
- Installation and test of Web Server
- Installation and test of Image libraries
- Installation and test of Message Queue components
- Installation and test of IM components
DNS mapping will take place tomorrow.
Acceptance Test Specification completed.
Version 1 of User Guide finished, ready for delivery.10th May 2009 Validation of Acceptance Test Specifications and User Guides.
General bug fixing and tidy up in preperation for new server delivery. Server build, DNS mapping and DB port expected for tomorrow.9th May 2009 Completed summary reporting functions. System now produces 4 visual items for each campaign showing; - days traffic by type; sms, im, email [bar chart]
- distinct users by type; sms, im, email [pie chart]
- last 7 days traffic by type, sms, im, email [stacked bar chart]
- moderation gauge, which swings between green and red depending on how much moderation work needs doing. [gauge]
8th May 2009 Development of basic Moderate functionality now completed. Messages can be viewed, paged through and marked as accepted or rejected. Also added the ability to view messages that have already beeen moderated but not yet sent.
It appears there is a paging bug as present when moderating the last page of messages!7th May 2009 Development and testing of the Campaign module completed. Seed messages can now be added, modified and deleted.
Issues with YIM seem to be fixed. Problem related to presence response generated for an 'unregister' presence notification. Yahoo! don't expect to receive said and then go on to bar subsequent connect requests for 5-10 minutes.6th May 2009 Development of the Campaign module is almost complete. Currently supports; - add a new campaign
- list exsting campaigns
- edit campaign details including; name, description, T&Cs message and start/end dates.
- Call To Action module includes;
- support for SMS, email and IM CTAs
- add new CTAs
- edit existing CTAs
- toggle on/off moderation for any given campaign
Seed Messages module left for later date.
5th May 2009 Development of the Accounts progressing well. Currently supports; - list exsting accounts
- change password for parent and child accounts
- create sub accounts
- delete sub accounts
No access control exists as yet nor the ability to change the account name/description.
4th May 2009 Started web site (here!) today. Initial graphics are done and the Ajax request agents have been written and tested.
Added little spinny graphic to top right corner of white insert to show the Ajax element is talking to the server.
The spinner was created at AjaxLoad.info3rd May 2009 Integration of Yahoo! Messager connection generating errors at this time. We will continue to tune the connectivity. 2nd May 2009 Installation of chat libraries completed including libxmpp and supporting Python libraries. Completed integration of MSN, ICQ and AOL Instant Messenger. 29th April 2009 SMS Integration completed.
Added +447781484448 and +447781484449 to test campaigns 1 and 2.28th April 2009 e-mail interface completed.
Email email2gentor@the-generator.net for test campaign 1 or testc@the-generator.net for test campaign 2.
Phase 1 of main message processing engine completed.
Processing engine connects to queue and accepts messages. New users are added and message exchange takes place.
No welcome message processing actioned as yet.24th April 2009 Test machine built. System is running on a Centos 5.2 virtual host
Database built and database table constructed.
Message queue installed. Initial messages queues defined and tested.
An Introduction to the Generator | Emma Moody | Indie MobileThe awarded Media Sandbox grant will be used to research and develop ‘The Generator’; an exciting cross platform social media application.
Our conceptualised application is based on four main principles;
- Innovation – ground breaking within the mobile/social media space, delivered and displayed through an original and innovative new application.
- Ability to relate – providing a balance between broad target market appeal and allowing segments of a more targeted community to identify with its style.
- Entertainment – subject matter and interaction with the content is engaging and entertaining.
- Functionality/Accessibility – the use of innovative technology with consideration of the ability to be replicated across all platforms and mediums.
The Application
The generator is a fully interactive, cross media promotion utilising user generated content, ruffling some feathers giving its users a funny, enjoyable experience. Users send in a short message via sms/msn/aol/skype/i-chat/twitter etc… The inbound number or address is promoted via web, print, outdoor. The message is received by the database, which fires back a random message sent in by another user. Each time you send in your message via either text or instant message you receive another back. The concept is simple and open to mass community participation, from those with the latest twitter java app or iphone to those with a phone barely capable of sending an sms. The concept was originally tailored as the bold (but risky) un-moderated “Dissing contest” but has broad application possibilities including safer, more brand friendly ‘mistakes I’ve made’, ‘wishes’ and ‘things that irritate’ depending on the target audience.
