Social Web
This is one of three Hackathons I participated in during my time at TD Lab. I worked with a developer to research student problems and create Social Web, a website that allows students to post about and discover clubs, design teams, groups and meetups at their school.
Helping university students make
friends
CLIENT
ROLES
User & market research
Qualitative data synthesis
Concept testing
UI Design
Wireframing
Prototyping
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TOOLS
FigJam
Figma
Survey Monkey
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COLLABORATORS
Developer
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How might we help university students find friends with limited time, COVID 19 restrictions, and large campuses?
The solution: Social Web
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All in one platform
Large database of clubs, events, and meetups to browse from
Informative
Information on location, time, number of attendees and if the event is hosted by the university or students
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Tailored recommendations
Search filters based on interest allow for the best chance of connecting with like-minded friends
Safety
Student authentication required, providing a safe environment for students to meet other students
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Exploratory user interviews
Where do students meet new friends?
Friends of friends
90%
Class/lectures
50%
First year residence
35%
Discord servers/group chats
Clubs & Extracurriculars
75%
35%
Our conversations with the targeted users led to the discovery of 3 main pain points:
01
Meeting new people
“Most of the friends I have are people I knew from high school”
02
Staying in touch
“I wish I could stay in touch with that person I met in a lecture once and thought we could be friends”
03
Finding relevant clubs
“Joining clubs helped me make friends but I had a hard time finding the right club”
Existing solutions on the market
Meetup
Find events near you based on your interests
Bumble BFF
Swipe through people in your area to find friends
Discord
Group chat platform often used by gamers
Facebook groups are created for users with similar interests
Why our solution over others?
01
Ease of use
An all in one platform to meet friends through clubs, events, study groups and meetups
02
Security
Student authentication required providing a safer environment for students compared to Facebook or Discord
03
Student focus
Find school-sponsored events, clubs, and study groups at your school
04
Free of charge
Reduces barriers for budget conscious students compared to Meetup
Risks & contingencies
Alcohol use
School system prevents
students under 19 from seeing events with alcohol
consumption
Security
Authentication through a
university email is required to access the application
Legal Issues
School sponsored
events are marked and unsponsored event attendees assume their
own safety risk
Alumni access
Student ID field during login rejects inactive IDs
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