Creating an App to Provide Residents With News About Their Local Community
By Sandy Mui
Pain Point:
How might I use new technologies to give residents news about their local community?
Solution:
My group discussed creating a mobile app similar to the Citizen app, which sends users alerts about nearby crimes and emergencies. We have not yet determined specifics, but I envision users having the ability to opt into push notifications and logging into an interface that displays aggregated news about their local community. Users will also be able to filter for news based on their geographic locations and interests, so that they are consuming local news that is most relevant to them.
Feedback From Interviews:
Ahead of conducting interviews, my group had proposed the idea of reconfiguring the MTA’s interactive kiosks as a solution to our pain point. From my interviews, I learned that many commuters don’t use the MTA’s kiosks because they are concerned about hygiene.
During my interviews, I brought up some alternative ideas to gauge the viability of a solution that revolves around commuting via the subway. One alternative was interactive screens on the subway. This idea was also not met with much enthusiasm since my interviewees had the same concern about hygiene.
The other alternative was digital screens on the subway that play video content. This idea was met with much more enthusiasm since there aren’t any concerns about hygiene. At first, my group was open to this idea. However, we realized this would not give residents access to more “localized” content that is most relevant to them, and we decided to change direction — to an app.
New/Emerging Technologies:
From “A guide for journalists in a world of immersive 3-D content” (Associated Press)
360-Degree Video (“360 Video”)
“360 video” is a form of emerging immersive media that provides “the ability to expand [a] frame of view and capture spherical images.” It may not be simple to incorporate into my group’s app because there likely isn’t much local news that incorporates 360 video. However, from a workshop I attended about 360 photo and video, I believe it may be feasible to incorporate a 360 photo component. 360 photos can be taken on smartphones, so one feature on the app could give residents the opportunity to capture and upload 360 photos of areas around their neighborhoods.
From “Journalism, Media, and Technology Trends and Predictions 2018” (Digital News Project)
Camera Driven Search and Discovery
One example of “camera driven search and discovery” the report brings up is Google Lens, which “enables your smartphone camera to understand more about objects and then act on that information.” I was most intrigued by the report’s mention of how this technology can provide information on a building or landmark, since that may be relevant to providing residents with news about their local community — and thus could be implemented into my group’s solution.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Driven Apps
One example of AI driven apps the report brings up is Toutiao, “an app that uses artificial intelligence to aggregate content” and has newsfeeds that “are constantly updated based on what its machines have learned about reading preferences, time spent on an article, and location.” My group’s app may incorporate AI in some way, since users’ location and preferences/interests will be central to the news that is aggregated specifically for them.
