Megan Cary ITGM: 705 1/11/11 Exercise 1
NeverForget™ NeverForget is an iPhone application that would manage life occasions and events. Many applications already exist that remind people of birthdays/anniversaries etc., but I’ve always found myself wishing that there was an application would take the extra step of actually sending the acknowledgement/card/gift for me so I wouldn’t forget after being reminded (which I frequently do). NeverForget would fill an appropriate gap in the industry with these unique features.
NeverForget meets many of the characteristics of the digital medium as defined in Janet Murray’s essay “Inventing the Medium.” It is participatory, because users can interact with it by entering data/photos and personalizing messages and it is spatial because of the the appʼs user interface. Also it is encylopedic, because of its strong ability to store and retrieve data and finally it is procedural with how it is programmed and its ability to move users through a specific set of steps and questions to organize and process user input.
NeverForget would allow the user to enter all types of occasions, such as birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, and holidays for people they know. It would create a database of events for each person, and allow the application owner to enter information such as relationship, age, likes and dislikes, sizes, etc. and even store photos of the contacts. Additionally, it would keep a record of gifts previously given to each contact. The app would also allow you to store your credit card or paypal info for gift purchases and allow you to sync with your social networks and email accounts.
Two weeks before an event the App would send you a push notification to remind you of the event. This notification would then ask you if you would like to do one of the following:
A. Send an appropriate acknowledgement of the event to acquaintances such as coworkers via social network, text or email. (Ex. Happy Birthday John, via Facebook)
B. Send a physical card via U.S. postal service with a handwritten note that can be personalized or simply chosen from a pre-determined list (Ex. Happy Birthday Grandma! Love, John) – postage and service fee charged to your credit card.
C. Send an appropriate gift with a message or card included. The user could choose from recommended gifts or search through a database if they are not happy with the suggestions. (Ex. Mom’s Birthday – Send flowers and note – Happy Birthday Mom! Love John) – purchase price charged to your credit card.
D. Skip this event.
This app would also have an Oops! feature to help users to deal with last minute events/occasions such as Get Well Cards, Sympathy Cards, and anniversaries and birthdays that were never entered into the database. For many of these events rush service could be added for an additional fee.
Overall, I think that NeverForget meets the characteristics of the digital medium easily. Also, by taking an idea and extending it in a unique and helpful way, it fills a current void in the market in a unique and innovative way that has the potential to produce revenue.