book

Building Social Web Applications

Name: Building Social Web Applications
Author: Gavin Bell
ISBN: 9780596518752

by Gavin Bell

September 2009

Beginner

432 pages

15h 57m

English

O'Reilly Media, Inc.

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Building Social Web Applications
Dedication
Preface
Design As the Primary ApproachWho This Book Is ForWho This Book Is Not ForWhat You’ll LearnHow This Book Is OrganizedTypographical Conventions Used in This BookSafari® Books OnlineWe’d Like to Hear from YouHow This Book Came AboutAcknowledgments
1. Building a Social Application
Building ApplicationsThe Distributed Nature of Seemingly EverythingReal-Time ServicesAPIs and Their ImportanceCollective Intelligence: The New Artificial IntelligenceSummary
2. Analyzing, Creating, and Managing Community Relationships
Analyzing Your Users’ RelationshipsRelationships with Baby Boomers to Gen-C’ersBehavior and Interaction-Based RelationshipsCustomer-service-drivenPublisher-drivenMember-drivenContributor-drivenPros and Cons of Different Relationship TypesAnalyzing the Essence of Your Community’s NeedsApple and Its Many CommunitiesDetermining Your Site’s PurposeCreating and Nurturing RelationshipsSummary
3. Planning Your Initial Site
Deciding What You NeedBuilding a Web ApplicationChoosing Who You NeedPlanning the Life CycleExpecting to Evolve with the CommunityTwitterFlickrKeeping Your Application SimpleAvoiding the Line Item ApproachGetting to the Core QuicklyTaking Time to PlanIteratingShowing it offFiguring out the verbsCommunicating During DevelopmentManaging the Development CycleFeature Prioritization and the Release CycleChoosing a Development MethodologyCollecting Audience FeedbackWhy Would People Continue to Visit Your Site?Summary
4. Creating a Visual Impact
Dynamic InteractionsThe Power of Partial Page ReloadsDesigning Around Community-Generated Internal PagesVisual Design and NavigationDesign FirstPage TypesDesigner Roles and Team ApproachesVisual design approachSoftware design approachWireframes approachSketching approachCopywritingSummary
5. Working with and Consuming Media
Media Types Affect Consumption StylesAnalyzing Consumption PatternsCollecting Consumption DataMedia Evolves and Consumption Styles Change“comment is free”Amazon: Reader Reviews Encourage PurchasesNew Services Respond to Evolving NeedsMusicPhotosVideoSummary
6. Managing Change
ResistanceSchema TheoryCongruenceAdaptationRate of changeWeb Communities and ChangeInternal WorkflowCommunity ManagersSummary
7. Designing for People
Making Software for PeopleWaterfalls Are Pretty to Look AtInteraction DesignIdentify Needs with Personas and User-Centered DesignTalking with Potential UsersNaming Influences PerspectivesCommon Techniques for UCDRunning Interaction Design ProjectsUsing Agile and UCD MethodsBeyond UCDHCI and Information ArchitectureThe Craftsman ApproachLearning to Love ConstraintsKeeping Experiments QuickFiguring Out the Social AspectSubjects, Verbs, and ObjectsIncluding You, Me, and Her Over There, Plus Him, TooMoving Quickly from Idea to ImplementationExplaining to Others What You Are DoingCreating Service Functionality DocumentsCalculating Content SizeDon’t Let Your Users Drown in ActivityImplementing SearchMember-Specific SearchAdvanced SearchUnderstanding Activity and ViewpointsRecipe Books: An ExampleRemembering the FunTwelve Ideas to Take AwaySummary

8. Relationships, Responsibilities, and Privacy
We Are in a Relationship?Personal Identity and ReputationHandling Public, Private, and Gray InformationPrivacy and Aggregate ViewsSee But Don’t Touch: Rules for AdminsPrivate by Default?Setting Exposure LevelsManaging Access for Content Reuse, Applications, and Other DevelopersContent ReuseDon’t Give Away Too Much PowerLicensing ContentSummary
9. Community Structures, Software, and Behavior
Community StructuresPublisher-LedInterest-LedProduct-LedSupporting Social InteractionsNon-Text-Based Social InteractionCompetition: Making Games SocialContent Creation and CollectivesSocial MicrobloggingWho Is Sharing, and Why?Competition Between Peers Skews InteractionTalking About Things That Are Easy to DiscussHow Are They Sharing?Being SemiprivateLifestreaming and Social AggregationOverfeeding on LifestreamsA Simple Core for Rapid GrowthSocial Software MenagerieBloggingCommunity bloggingCreating a blogging systemCommenting Is Not the Same As BloggingGroupsGroup FormationGroup ConversationConversing on message boardsMaking message boardsGroup Aggregation ToolsCollaboration Tools for GroupsSocial Platforms As a FoundationNing and White Label Social SoftwareGrowing Social NetworksSummary
10. Social Network Patterns
Sharing Social ObjectsRelationships and Social ObjectsDetermining the Right Social ObjectPublished Sites Expect AudiencesDeep and Broad SharingCapturing IntentionalityCohesionFiltering Lists by PopularityFiltering Lists to Show Recent ContentCalculating Popularity Across a SiteCommenting, Faving, and RatingCommentingFaving or Marking As FavoriteRatingInternal Messaging SystemsFriending Considered HarmfulSharing EventsSummary
11. Modeling Data and Relationships
Designing URLsGetting to the Right URLPermalinksPutting Objects on the InternetIssuing IdentifiersIdentifying PeopleUsing Data-Driven Site DesignHandling ContainmentChanging Identities and Linking ContentIdentity and Context-Dependent ViewsExploring a Video ExampleAggregating Data to Create New ContentExploring GroupsHandling Groups and PrivacyHandling Privacy and Scaling IssuesMaking the Most of MetadataConnecting the Relationship to the ContentModeling RelationshipsEntering the GeoworldBecoming “Brokers of the World”Considering Time ImplicationsLooking Beyond the WebSummary
12. Managing Identities
Existing IdentitiesForms of IdentificationEmailReal Names Versus Aliases and Screen NamesOpenIDTips for Account Registration and VerificationThe Need for Profile PagesProfile Page AnatomyReal-World Profile PagesPownceTwitterLinkedIn and Nature NetworkPersonal network member maximumsActivity PagesInvisibility and PrivacySummary
13. Organizing Your Site for Navigation, Search, and Activity
Understanding In-Page NavigationTagging ContentSearching for PeopleConnecting People Through ContentProviding Activity PagesDetermining Activity Page ContentFiltering Activity Lists and the PastUsing Replies to Create ConversationsAllowing for Content Initiation Versus Content Follow-UpProviding for Email UpdatesCreating RSS FeedsWho Stole My Home Page?Providing for Site NavigationCreating Page TitlesSummary
14. Making Connections
Choosing the Correct Relationship Model for Your Social ApplicationCreating the Language of ConnectionsBlocking RelationshipsInformation BrokersNotifications and InvitationsInvites and Add As Follower RequestsSecure and Personal InvitesPending InvitesSpamSocial Network PortabilitySocial GraphImporting Friends by the BookSpamming, Antipatterns, and PhishingAddress Books, the OAuth WayChanging Relationships over TimeAdministering GroupsPublic or Private?Regulating Group CreationSummary
15. Managing Communities
Social Behavior in the Real WorldStarting Up and Managing a CommunityTrolls and Other DegeneratesSeparating CommunitiesEncouraging Good BehaviorAuthenticating Through Profile PagesRating Posts and PeopleGaming the SystemMembership by Invitation or SelectionRewarding Good BehaviorHelping the Community Manage ItselfModerating a CommunityIntervention and Course CorrectionPremoderation and LibelExtreme Measures: Banning Users and Removing PostsAbsent Landlords Lead to Weak CommunitiesFiltering and AutomationBalancing Anonymity and Pseudo-AnonymitySummary
16. Writing the Application
Small Is Good: A RepriseHow Social Applications Differ from Web ApplicationsAgile MethodologiesDeployment and Version ControlTesting Live Is Possible, but Use ConditionalityTest-Driven DevelopmentAutomated Builds Make Management EasierApplying Developer Tools to Social ApplicationsMaking Use of Flexible Development with Your CommunityInfrastructure and Web OperationsManaging OperationsDesigning Social ApplicationsUsing Prototypes, Not PicturesAssisting Developers with Use CasesDesigning in Good BehaviorsYour App Has Its Own Point of ViewHow Code Review Helps Reduce ProblemsThe Power and Responsibility of NamingBeing RESTfulBeyond the Web Interface, Pleasei18n, L10n, and Their Friend, UTF-8Bug Tracking and Issue ManagementTracking ToolsPrioritizing IssuesDifferentiating Bugs from Feature RequestsHandling SecurityRapid User InterfacesRapid PrototypingScaling and Messaging ArchitecturesAjax Helps with ScalingQueuing Non-Visible UpdatesReal Time Versus Near TimePolling Versus PushingXMPP MessagingExternal Processing: Scaling on the Fly and by the BatchPerformance TestingLanguages Don’t ScaleCache, Then ShardFast and Light Data StorageImplementing SearchIdentity and Management of User DataOpenID for IdentityWhat to Ask for on RegistrationWhen a User Chooses to LeaveAdmin UsersAccessing Content via OAuthFederationMaking Your Code Green and FastBuilding Admin Tools and Gleaning Collective IntelligenceSocial Network AnalysisMachine Learning and Big Data SetsReputation SystemsSummary
17. Building APIs, Integration, and the Rest of the Web
“On the Internet” Versus “In the Internet”Making Your Place Within the InternetWhy an API?Exposing Your Content to Search from the InternetRunning Services, Not SitesBeing Open Is GoodArguing for Your API InternallyImplementing User Management and Open Single Sign-OnIntegrating Other ServicesLightweight Integration Works BestAvoiding Data Migration HeadachesAvoiding DuplicationEmail Notifications: Managing Your Output from Multiple ApplicationsMaking an API the Core of the ApplicationHandling People and Objects, the Stuff of Social ApplicationsDesigning an APIRPCRESTXMPPResponse FormatsComparing Social APIsTumblrFlickrTwitterReviewing the APIsWritable APIsExtending and Fine-Tuning Your APIWrapping API CallsUsing API AlternativesUsing HTML BadgesInteroperability Is Harder with Snowflake APIsSticking with StandardsStandardizing APIsUsing OpenSocialCreating a StandardManaging the Developer CommunityAPI and Scaling IssuesAllowing IntegrationReal Time Versus Near Time for APIsAPIs Can Be RestrictiveNot Just Your Own APICreate an API?Summary
18. Launching, Marketing, and Evolving Social Applications
Loving and Hating the Home PageYour Site LaunchThe Soft-Launch ApproachThe Hard-Launch ApproachYour Product NameA Friendly InvitationFinancing Your SiteOffering Premium and Freemium ModelsMarketingAchieving and Managing Critical MassArriving with ContextConsidering Contact Import APIs and Their ImportanceUsing Tools and Services for Launch and SupportNurturing the First Few Hundred UsersEncouraging Your CommunityEvolving Your SiteRemaining in BetaBalancing Feature Requests and Issue ManagementAdding FunctionalityBuild Something New or Refine the Old?Adding Functionality After RefiningWatching for What Your Community DemandsDelicious and Boolean searchFlickr printing and videoTwitter and @repliesKeeping Up with the Competition (or Not)Avoiding Feature-Led DevelopmentEncouraging Data-Supported DevelopmentMaking Useful Products (Experience-Led)Determining When a Bug Is a BugStaying Focused and CoherentPlanning for Redesigns and RefactoringEstablishing the Rhythm of Your Evolving ApplicationSummary
Index
About the Author
Colophon
Copyright

Content preview from Building Social Web Applications

Building Social Web Applications

Gavin Bell

Beijing • Cambridge • Farnham • Köln • Sebastopol • Tokyo

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Building Social Web Applications

by Gavin Bell