Short Description of the visual project

ROUGH THESIS STATEMENT

Using Facebook APIs to implement applications with better ‘interactions’ by providing customized information to the user focusing on the educational and business fields.

CONCEPT APPlICATION

1. Establish a connection with Facebook API
2. User allows permission for the site to access their Facebook information.
3. Site taps into Facebook JSDK and Facebook Graph API to obtain user Facebook information.
4. Once the information is obtained, a function will parse the contents compare then against the site preset and generate the results.

CONCEPT REASONING

By connecting with the Facebook API a site will be able to provide quality of a global user experience. The connection with the social network will allow the site to account for the human factors that affect interaction and interface design. The user information from the social network will be factor in from the beginning. Facebook will offer the site information like first name, last name, gender and location to name a few. This information then is used by the site to tailor the content presented to the user. For example: an educational site can show special offers and information trigger to people that were part of the military or are part of an organization that can offer then scholarship. The site can show a feed with the articles in the site that your friends like. Also, if the visitor has told Facebook that likes soccer and is visiting a news site then the sport section will load by default for this user.

I plan to focus the application of my thesis to the educational and business field.

EDUCATION FIELD

One of the projects that I propose to undertake for my thesis is an application that will show users how to implement Facebook APIs in their website. The application follows the concept of ‘Code Academy’ by providing an interactive way of learning how to code. In the case of ‘FB4You’, the user will learn through hands on training how the implementation of Facebook APIs can benefit their site.

‘FB4You’ will be a Facebook App. The advantage of making this game-like application and app is that it allows ‘FB4You’ to use test users. Providing ‘FB4You’ control over what informa- tion is available to display when performing API calls. Moreover, the application will provide the user with the knowledge needed to immerse their site in the “social interaction”.

“FB4You” will be divided in 3 stages: beginner, intermediate and expert. In the beginning stage the user will learn how to connect with the different Facebook APIs. The intermediate level will focus on FBJS and the expert level will focus on the Graph API.

The development of this application will allow me to gain a better understanding of the what the Facebook API can offer. Additionally, the same concept applied for this game-like application can be applied to any other educational app.

BUSINESS FIELD

Additionally with the learning obtained from developing ‘FB4You’ I propose to complete a set of websites, facebook pages and facebook apps using Facebook as the tools to provide customized information to the user. The user information obtained from Facebook will allow the site to factor in the user interest, aptitudes and likes to enhance the visual, usability

and technological qualities of an interface. The site will match up the user obtained input against six main qualities of successful user interface: usefulness, learnability, efficiency, ease of memorization, reliability, and user-friendliness to provided the user with a better user- oriented customized view.

ACTION PLAN

  1. Start working on ‘FB4You’
  2. Research the different options that Facebook API has to offer.
  3. Plan a set of usefull methods and guidelines that will help the “social interaction” process.
  4. Develop the structure and flow sequence of the application.
  5. Implemented the structure.
  6. Create a rough version of the application and test it out for bugs.
  7. Per test result update the draft, fix any functional issues.
  8. Create a Facebook test user for this app
  9. Re-test the app using the test user

10.Cross-browser check the application 11.Second round of test
12.Fix any issues.

The above process will also help me develop a basic set customazible functions that will be used to help the “social interaction” process. This will be the first stab to apply this functionality through Facebook.

Once the basic functions are created this library will be used to create the following:

  1. Facebook App – Exploring the “like” functionality and displaying concept once the userhas liked the content.
  2. Business Site using Facebook API to implement “social interaction”.
  3. Facebook & Sites – Moving informaton back and forward. Can we make informationposted in any of the two location populate in the other.
  4. Business Sites using Facebook Graph API actions to implement “social interaction”.
  5. Implement “social interaction” in Facebook Tabs.

Initial research of Facebook Functionalities research and  rough sketches of how the website functionality will work is available here.

Please note that you will not be able to submit the action yet since in order to see them working you must be an administrator until the actions get approved by Facebook.

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