Salster Final project

Update so far...

2006-08-02T16:22:00.000+01:00

Well, I know it has been a while, but here are some screenshots, so you can see how the design is going!

The Yes or No Oracle

Mystical Household Objects

Gypsy Love Predictor

The Colour Fortune Teller

Showing Research (Tutorial 5)

2006-07-15T16:14:00.000+01:00

One of the key ideas that came about from my tutorial is that perhaps there should be a section in the site that explains about the project - for example the yes or no oracle came about from different sources (for example, the ideas of quick decisions and binary 1 or 0 from computing.).
This will probably be a different section on the site or as another option in each of the different sections - as long as this extra information does not confuse the user though!

Project so far... working on the designs and actually building parts of it! Updates and some of the initial designs will follow!

Initial User Testing (Tutorial 4)

2006-07-15T15:45:00.000+01:00

One of the suggestions from tutorial 4 was that I conduct some more detailed testing and catalogue the results. Well, the testing so far has yielded some interesting points. I sat with each of the partipants and watched their behaviour and asked some questions. I had already conducted some informal testing, so this time I chose 10 people randomly - different age ranges, sex and computer ability. The results:

2. Which order did the participant visit the sections?
Most people visited the sections in order - from the top to the bottom. There were a couple of people who looked at all the different options and chose one. The Gypsy Love Predictor and the Mystical Household objects were chosen first in these cases. Only 2 people visited the Contact Us section, and most of the comments were 'Why would I want to contact you?'. This is therefore a section that probably needs to be there, but will not be used very often!

4. How did you find the navigation on the site? (range from 1 is difficult to 5 is easy)
8/10 people rated the navigation either a 4 or 5. This was not surprising as the site is not deep and does not go down many levels. I must ensure that on the final piece, the design does not get in the way of the navigation.

5. When the site is online, would they visit it? (range from 1 is no to 5 is yes)
This was probably an unfair question to ask face-to-face, but the answers were actually spread quite evenly between 1 and 5.

6. Are there any improvements, amendments or changes they would make?
Most people seemed to have a problem with getting an email and then revisiting the site. I already knew this from the informal testing, so it wasn't a surprise. Generally, people felt that there needed to be more instructional test - for example on the Create your own Device page - it was unclear as to what to do.

8. What are your thoughts on this colour scheme and design for the site? (Just a rough design at this time)

Example comments: "Pretty, girlie, fairy-like, eye catching – wouldn’t think it was a fortune telling site though as its not mystical enough." "Like the tree – like the design, but would it detract male viewers?" "Do more women than men use these sites though?" "Answer is spelt wrong!"

All in all, there was positive feedback and people enjoyed playing about with the bits of paper. I am glad that I have gone through this process, as there are some key areas that have been highlighted and it is better at this stage than after the site has been built.

Design & Testing

2006-07-12T23:45:00.000+01:00

In the middle of testing different paper versions and looking at the design and feel of the project - eventually! I think that I needed to get all the techie bit working before I could do this stage! Some initial designs and results from the testing should be up at the weekend!
(:>)=

Progress so far...

2006-07-05T17:08:00.000+01:00

Well, this week has been great so far - I've taken a week off work, so I am actually progressing well. I did have a bit of a moment, when I couldn't get my flash, php and mySQL talking - I spent literally hours testing, rewriting and testing. I have to thank Mark for the line of code that enabled it to work in the end!

I have also created an amended production schedule to take into count this week and also the extended time it took me to get the code sorted! I have started to do some testing with another more detailed paper version and this is going well.

One of the main issues however is with the ecard idea. The idea in theory was that the gypsy fortune teller would send an ecard to the user to give them their fortune. (A modern way of giving a fortune card to people!). Absolutely everyone that I have tested has hated that idea and most asked 'Why can't you just show us the fortune on the screen?". This is one area that works in theory, but not in practice! User testing at this stage has shown me that it is not something that people want. I am glad that I have found out early, before spending all that time programming an ecard system! People don't mind sending ecards to friends for special occasions, but do not see the need to receive them themselves!

As well as user testing and more coding, I am currently also working on a visual diary and will be shortly creating some initial designs to test on my band of willing volunteers - hint for the future - be careful about ticking any boxes on surveys that allow you to be contacted again!!

Third Tutorial

2006-06-28T17:46:00.000+01:00

Well, my third tutorial went well and we have a good discussion about my project. I'm going to still carry on testing php, mySQL and xml code bits, but also carry on with adding more detail to the site map. I will also need to revise the production schedule, making it a more fluid document.

The prototype testing is still in its infancy, with only 5 willing victims so far. The next stage is to add more details to the paper prototypes and perhaps test some design and graphical ideas at the same time. I plan to find some non internet users, as well as some more experienced internet users. Luckily, many of the people who filled out the hard copy of my survey ticked the box to allow me to bother them in the future!

So, although I have created a research diary, I will be starting a visual diary as part of the process, as I need to start thinking about the look and feel of the project.

(:>)=

Site map and plan of action

2006-06-24T16:30:00.000+01:00

Well, I've created a [slightly more] detailed version of the site map and a paper version of the site which I am currently testing with friends and family. There are 5 main areas to the site.

The first is a COLOUR FORTUNE TELLER using some of the traditional methods to determine future - colours and chinese numbers. The research that I have conducted up to this point shows me that if something appears Chinese or uses traditional methods, then people believe it more! This will have some basis in colour and number research and will use these to create the fortunes - they won't therefore be random.

The second area is a YES / NO ORACLE because people want quick answers in life! Many people use devices such as tossing a coin to make a decision. This is a simple random yes or no answer, no complicated code, equations and databases. It mirrors the basic truth about computers - they only really give us 2 options in its binary nature - 1 or 0, true or false, yes or no.

The third area is MYSTICAL HOUSEHOLD OBJECTS - you get to chose what object tells you your future. This will randomly pick one of the many fortunes from an XML source. This is based on the premise that there are many different sources for finding out your fortune and there is no reason why normal household objects (for example a toilet or a washing machine) cannot have the dual purpose of also telling you your fortune. We look at many ways of having our possessions have more than one use. Our phones also take pictures, our microwaves tell us the time & our watches have a stopwatch function! This gives the user control over where their fortune comes from.

The fourth area on the site is a GYPSY LOVE PREDICTOR. Love is one of the key areas that people want to know about the future. Most of the women that answered my survey had this as on of their top reasons. The gypsy fortune tellers have gone through a change with technological advances. Mechanical fortune tellers were very popular - using relays and sound loops to give you a little card with your fortune on. If the newer technology is used, then more random sounds, movements and fortunes can be obtained. It is a recognisable format, where people are familiar with the idea of receiving a fortune from a gypsy. In this case, I will look into the gypsy sending an e-card with the fortune on it - truly utilising the technology.

The fifth area will be a CREATE YOUR OWN FORTUNE page. Here, people can create their own fortune telling devices and share them with everyone. Users enter a name and description and 12 fortunes, then chose a theme from a list. They can then play with their own fortune teller and invite friends and family to also play. Most people will be familiar with the concept of creating a paper fortune telling device and then getting their friends to play. This way, you can create your own and people from all over the world can play. The php / mySQL database will list all of the fortunes that people have entered - there will be no passwords, as the fortune tellers will be open to all. This will enable fortune telling to be truly interactive!

There will also be an area where people can feedback any suggestions - anything they want adding or changing, so that the users can in a small way take ownership of the site.

Well, that's about it for now - i'm doing fun php and xml testing!

(:>)=

Second tutorial

2006-06-24T16:28:00.000+01:00

The main thing that I have to do now is to pad out my site map and create flow diagrams for how the site will work - this should help me with the technical and design stuff! Also create a paper version, so that I can test how it will work - results from this will be posted soon!

Users can ‘build their own’ fortune telling devices

2006-06-14T23:02:00.000+01:00

Hopefully, my final project will incorporate many different fortune telling devices, but one of the fortune telling devices on my final project will be an interactive area, where people can build their own and access other people’s devices.

User enters name and description & 12 fortunes using a basic form and then submits the fortune teller.

If all the fields are populated, then this takes then to a personalised fortune teller, using the data they have entered.

The fortune teller ‘game’ will be built in flash and will use the 12 fortunes and display them as part of the process. This is not clear yet, it might be rather like the paper fortune telling game, where you chose numbers and colours and you are left with one fortune.

It will also list all of the fortune tellers that have been submitted by name and description and as there are no passwords all of the devices can be used by other people.

When you click on one of the names, you can use that fortune telling device.

All I really want is a database that can store some really basic information and then can be retrieved by flash.

Is PHP & mySQL really the only answer to making something truly interactive? If there are any other options, please can someone let me know!!!!

Tutorial & further thoughts

2006-06-11T12:52:00.000+01:00

One of the main points that came out of my tutorial on Thursday, was that my initial thoughts on the interactivity had to be developed further.

One of my ideas was not just to have a blog or area that people can comment, but make sure that there are elements that make the project truly interactive. This could be an area where people could personalise a fortune device with their own fortunes and then get their friends to access it - kind of like the paper based fortune tellers, where half the fun was making relevant fortunes for your friends.

This could be taken further by the exploration of handheld devices, or areas where the users could post information for each other. Perhaps the site could have a mobile version. I've got to make sure that my project is different to all of the typical fortune telling sites out there.

Instead of thinking about a traditional site, I feel that this will be more of an art piece - I hope it will still be useful and fun to use though. Something that is not just a product but a comment on the exisiting sites and technology in society. Basically a reflection on "Fortune Telling, Technology & Interactive Media within Society"

Areas that I have got to explore further are technological determinism and the sociological aspects of the subject. I suppose that I can't really look at fortune telling without society as a whole. The changes in society combined with the changes in technology.

Another area of interest is how people use fortune telling. Some people, for instance, use it as a way to offload their problems - because it can be personal people may get more out of visiting a fortune teller in that way, than using an online device.

I have been doing a ton of research over the last couple of months and now its time to settle down and create! (while still researching obviously). To that end, I have created a Production Schedule. It is really scarey to see how much time there is left!

Ideas for Final Project Question

2006-06-07T12:38:00.000+01:00

I need to finalise my 'Question' for my final project. I have kind of narrowed it down to about 4 areas. Starting with the base of "Fortune Telling, Technology & Interactive Media".

1. How has the role of the fortune teller in society changed with the emergence of new technologies?

do people visit fortune tellers less and now just use the internet?
do gypsies use computers rather than a crystal ball?
how does the role compare to different countries?

2. How has society’s attitude to Fortune Telling changed with the emergence of new technologies?

banning some fortune telling mobile services in China etc.
due to the internet and phone lines, there are more psychics and fortune tellers – does this make people believe in them less or visit them more?
as TV programmes show us the secrets of ‘cold readings’, does this make us more sceptical?

3. How has people’s perceptions of fortune telling changed with the emergence of new technologies?

same as question 2, but more of a personal point of view

4. What impact has technology & interactive media had on fortune telling devices?

look at the development of the devices themselves
with electricity, computers, phone lines, the internet etc.
can now use mathematical equations to create random answers and databases full of answers to our question.
phone lines enable people to get instant access to psychics and not wait until the fair comes to town
the internet has meant that there is more knowledge of and access to different types of fortune telling

Thoughts for Final Piece - Part 3

2006-06-04T12:20:00.000+01:00

Well, the basic objects that I would like to use are based on the gypsy style fortune tellers and simple objects that give you a choice of a set amount of answers - these 2 kind of sum up what I want my project to be all about.

I also found this site while I was looking at fortune telling sites - I love the colours and style, which is typically Japanese but also has some of the elements that are a bit 70s! I will look into using these colours and style on my final piece... perhaps!

Thoughts for Final Piece - Part 2

2006-06-04T11:47:00.000+01:00

There are quite a few amusing websites that do not take the subjet of fortune telling seriously - Fat Shaman Billy http://www.saviodsilva.com/ads/ftp/askbilly.htm This is an example of a very basic one, where you enter a question and then get an answer with the click of a button.

You can find examples of virtually every conceivable object to click on to get an answer on sites all over the internet.

Another site that is quite amusing is the Palm Reader on Greetings America. http://www.greetingsamerica.net/PalmInstructions.htm It pretends to scan your palm and give you a reading, if you place your hand on the screen. Instead of actually using the new technology to 'read' a palm, it emulates the process - although I don't think it is designed to actually fool anyone!

As well as positive future and fortune telling, there seems to be quite a few sites that give you a bad fortune! http://www.badcookie.com/ is one of them.

Another site that one of the people who answered my survey mentioned was the Death Clock site. http://www.deathclock.com

This is the ultimate fortune telling site as it predicts when you are going to die and gives you a countdown clock so you can see the seconds tick by!

Thoughts for Final Piece - Part 1

2006-06-03T22:49:00.000+01:00

Well, after doing a ton of research of different fortune telling devices and technology - these are some bits of my thought process for ideas for the final piece:

I love all the old penny arcarde style devices, such as Zoltan...

Where they use relays, electricity, tapes, automata and glowing lights to give people their fortunes. Some of them even had speakers so you could talk to the fortune teller to get your response. The Gypsy ones are particularly creepy! But then you do get the comic ones like 'Ask the Brain'.

I also like the devices that are simple and take you back to childhood, like the Fortune Telling Fish. When questioned, most people also remembered this fondly from childhood! This Date Ball is an 8 ball, with a modern twist - pink and glittery, it answers questions about love and dating!

New technolgy can be used in a rather odd way as well - this version of the paper fortune teller is made out of plastic and has a lot of sound clips instead of written fortunes. I am not entirely sure that it doesn't take the fun out of actually making the fortune teller yourself!

Another area that I briefly looked at were tarot cards, there are a vast amount of interactive tarot sites, with varying degrees of authenticity, but the main thing that I noticed was the artwork on most of them was fabulous.

Most of the people that I interviewed who were very interested in tarot readings would not consider the internet as a trusted source, so combined with the amount of sites out there already, it is an area that I am probably not going to pursue further!

Results from Survey - Part 2

2006-05-28T18:09:00.000+01:00

Well, the last few questions that I asked were:

The statistics on the surface don't look that good if I was planning to create a fortune telling website, but... 25% of the people that I asked would use a fortune telling website! I suppost for subjects that are more specialised, you cannot expect a high figure

The reason that most people gave for not using the internet was that it is not face to face enough and that you cannot trust the internet for such a personal subject.

Most of the people who said yes gave the reason that it would be fun - something to look at while surfing - as long as it was not serious - as long as you don't have to pay!

From my research, I feel that my audience would be for people who would like fun fortune telling devices and decision making tools - I will probably steer clear of traditional tarot and other devices.

These are just a few of the results that I have gathered from my initial research. Now that I have got my monster spreadsheet I will be able to query my results and compare them against other surveys and statistics found in my secondary research.

One good point about this quantative research is that as well as the figures, I have got a ton of good quotes and comments from the many people who answered the survey. This will help immensely.

Results from Survey - Part 1

2006-05-27T17:33:00.000+01:00

Well, here are some of the results from my survey of 143 people (there are going to be more results in the future, but I am looking at this sample for now!)

This is from both the online survey and manual survey. I looked at what fortune telling devices people had used in the past & were still using:

Other fortune telling methods include:

Phrenology (head reading)
Hands on reading
Intuition
Psychometry (reading from personal objects)
Looking at the moon!
Dream analysis
Teletext horoscopes

These figures show us that 77% of the people that I interviewed had done their horoscopes at least once and for most of them it was 'occasionally'. Half of the people had used coin tossing to make a decision and around a third of those interviewed had used tarot and 8balls.

Another figure showed that 21 people had never tried any of these devices and out of this figure, 16 were men!

Another area that I looked into was people's perceptions:

a. It’s nonsense, I would never do it
b. It’s only a bit of fun
c. It can help you make decisions in your life
d. I think its dangerous and should be banned
e. It is based on solid scientific research
f. There must be some scientific basis
g. It should be developed further
h. Other

From these statistics, it shows us that over 60% of the people interviewed thought that it is only a bit of fun!

As far as what information people were searching for... 'Love' came out on top (not surprising!), with 'General Future' next and 'Direction in Life' and 'Career' close by!

Only 7 men compared to 49 women admitted to using fortune telling devices to find out about love!

Well, that's the end of my Part 1 results - I am having to teach myself excel functions to find out all of this information, so its taking a bit of time!! Part 2 will probably be in the next couple of days!

Project Update

2006-05-27T15:17:00.000+01:00

Well, I have got all the data from my surveys together in a huge spreadsheet - but it is going to take a while to put it all together, but after that I may have a clearer idea on where my project is heading. I have some other surveys that mori have done so that I can do some comparison. This will be the general patterns of people's attitudes and behaviour.

I am also researching how fortune telling has changed through the use of technology throughout history and then the impact of interactive media. I know that I have got to narrow down the subject, perhaps looking at the impact on the audience or the fortune teller themselves, but this will be decided once I have got all of my initial research together.

I think that I am going to concentrate on the more fun aspects of decision making and fortune telling, because after an initial look at the results, it would appear that the people who are really into fortune telling as a serious subject would not use interactive media and most people appear to see it as a fun subject.

Quantative Survey

2006-05-24T23:46:00.000+01:00

I have just had a look at SurveyMonkey to find out whether anyone has replied to my group BMS email and found that I have already got 75 results. I am astonished that so many people have replied as the email was sent out after lunch today - there is going to be loads of data and statistics to help me with my research. (Especially if I combine it with the 50 or so hard copies of the survey!) I have only really had an initial look at the results as its a bit late, but it looks like people have also added in details as well as ticking boxes. In a couple of days, when I have had time to analyse the results, I'll be publishing the data on this blog! Thanks to everyone who has replied! (:>)=

MAIMe Blogs

2006-05-22T23:43:00.000+01:00

I was mucking about with the template on my blog (as you do!) and lost all of my template amendments. I have therefore lost the links to everyones blogs - oops! If any of you guys read this, please can you send me your link! Ta!

Feedback from Presentation

2006-05-19T20:16:00.000+01:00

Well, the feedback that I got from my presentation was quite positive. Some of the points that were raised:

Perhaps look at the fortune teller as a person and how that role has changed due to technology.
Horoscopes - do they actually need to be interactive?
What will the final art piece actually add to the project - is it needed?
Survey - what will happen if your survey tells us that there is absolutely no demand for interactive fortune telling and no-one is interested in the topic?

It was also great to see everyone's ideas for their projects as they were all very diverse and interesting. Ideas that came to me out of other people's presentations. (Thanks guys!)

Remember to do a proper project timeline, to structure the research and creation.
Comparison tables are a good format to show information.
To make it truly interactive, consider users adding information to the final piece.
Remember to constantly evaluate and re-evaluate assumptions.

Well, here's to the future!...

(:>)=

Survey

2006-05-18T13:07:00.000+01:00

Well, I have managed to create a survey - first I have just created a hard copy as it is more personal to hand them out - only one person has said they don't want to fill it out so far - I hoped for about 50 responses, but it looks like there is going to be more like 100 when I have finished. I really want to find out whether people use these devices, what they think, how often they use them and other basic behaviour. From this, I will be able to do some more detailed research and I will have a good idea about my target audience among other things.

I have also tried SurveyMonkey - first time that I have used an online survey tool. I am using this for added data and not relying on it for all of my responses (in case I don't get any!!!).

Click here to take survey!

Here's the link if anyone wants to have a go - obviously as always your help is much appreciated!

Presentation of Ideas

2006-05-15T22:40:00.000+01:00

I have now finalised my ideas a little more in this PowerPoint presentation! If you'd like a look ... click on the picture on the left! (Sorry, it's 2.58 Mb, so okay if you've got Broadband!)

For the people with dial-up, here's a link to a lo res version:
Fortune Telling Presentation

Finalising Ideas

2006-05-13T12:35:00.000+01:00

Ok, so the A4 piece of paper that I handed in to explain my project probably wasn' t that clear!
So, I thought I'd try and firm up the ideas here...

"Fortune Telling, Technology & Interactive Media"

My plan is to research how different methods of fortune telling have adapted with technology - for instance, the penny arcade machines, which use simple engineering principles through to the enormous amount of telephone services that are now available. From this, I will look at the impact that interactive media has had and could possible have in the future.

During this process, I will look at how these changes have impacted the audience and also how the technology has affected the methods, i.e with the advent of computers and programming.

Does this make more sense? Have I narrowed down my topic enough? Let me know what you think!!!

Mechanical Museums in the UK?

2006-05-08T21:14:00.000+01:00

Does anyone know of any mechanical museums in the UK?

I have found some great museums in the states...

http://www.museemechanique.org/home.html
http://www.sandsmuseum.com/
http://www.marvin3m.com/

I must be a bit of a nerd, as I find these devices fascinating!!!

Brainstorming

2006-05-08T19:20:00.000+01:00

Well, now that I have started from the original ideas and looking at different aspects, it would appear that my research could go on for ever! At some stage in the near future, I will have to concentrate on a few of the areas and research in more detail. It has raised some interesting points that can be followed up!

I do have until Thursday to narrow this down, when the ideas need to take shape (in the form of an A4 piece of paper!)

Initial Ideas

2006-05-04T18:58:00.000+01:00

The starting point for my project is the Ladies' Oracle by Cornelius Acrippa and the Book of Answers by Carol Bolt.

The Ladies' Oracle is a book that I have had for years. it is a fortune telling book, where you choose from various old fashioned and rather sexist questions "What profession will my husband be?" or "Shall I soon be courted?". You then point to a symbol and get a corresponding answer - which is often harsh "You will not acquire a husband until you are more agreeable". It is a book that has been used on many girl's nights in and taken just as a bit of fun.

The second book, the Book of Answers is one that i have recently bought. It is along the same lines, but you can ask any question and flip to a page. The answer is chosen at random, but fits most questions perfectly.

These books are the starting point to my project - during research, I may look at fortune telling devices with technology and study the interaction between the subject and the fortune teller! This is all still at the very early stage though!

Lift off!

2006-05-04T18:05:00.000+01:00

Well, managed to actually create the blog - so that's a start!