[Chandler-dev] Web widgets strategy and proposal

[Mimi Yin]

Thanks for framing the discussion Sheila. See more specific thoughts  
re: prioritizing the web widgets below:

On Feb 12, 2008, at 3:54 PM, Sheila Mooney wrote:

> Proposal
>
> + Get the quick item entry widget working first. This is very  
> useful for the desktop user and high-bandwidth collaborator. It can  
> be put in lots of places - Mimi will talk more about this.

If we agree that it makes most sense to optimize this widget for the  
Desktop user, then I would push for making sure we make the widget  
available as an OS X Dashboard widget and as an iPhone widget...and  
also as a Vista Confabulator widget if possible. We will provide  
value to a broader range of users and we are more likely to meet the  
needs of Desktop users because by using the Desktop regularly, they  
are already spending a lot of time at their 'personal computer'  
whereas it's less sure that they 'sit' in Google or Yahoo homepages.

> + The second priority would be the email notifications. Dashboard  
> users and sharees receive an email summarizing the changes that  
> have been made to a particular collection. This reaches out to  
> support mobile devices and enhances the experience for regular users.
> + Implement the editable detail view. This is a great hook where  
> the desktop users can reach out to others.

Sheila and I discussed the possibility that a ticketed-single item  
view (ad-hoc item sharing) might be the 2nd web widget we should  
tackle. It has the most potential for making Chandler viral in that  
it broadens the field of people Desktop users might loop into the  
Chandler ecosystem. Instead of being limited to the relatively small  
set of people with whom you might share an entire collection, ad-hoc  
item sharing opens the door to collaborating with anybody you might  
cross paths with: organizing a potluck party, getting input on  
mother's day gift ideas, pulling together a grocery list for the  
superbowl party, etc.

Notifications via email or SMS are valuable for the Desktop user and  
for encouraging existing casual collaborator to keep returning to  
Chandler (Desktop or Web UI). But there's a good argument to be made  
that what we need most is a way for Desktop users to 'infect' *more*  
people with exposure to Chandler concepts and Chandler functionality.

> + Implement the simple list view in a way they can be viewed by non  
> Chandler users as well as Chandler users. It would be really useful  
> to share a list with others they can edit anonymously in the same  
> way a detail view is.

Is some very basic implementation of a 'collection log' that details  
recent activity in a shared collection (+ links that take you to the  
created/edited item + shared collection in the web UI) completely out  
of the question in the next 6-9 months? I worry that a shared list  
view for Casual Collaborators won't be compelling without some way to  
engage users by showing them that 'things are happening' in the share.

> + Implement the mini cal and preview pane so they can be viewed by  
> non Chandler users as well as Chandler users.
>
> The goal of this proposal is to support the people who have already  
> bought into Chandler and improve the ability to reach out to more  
> who don't have a clue but might find over time that they are  
> targets for our other core features.
>
> Comments, questions, suggestions welcome.
>
> Sheila
>
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