Thesis Prototype 6 - Editing & Currency
Collective is a digital platform which utilizes a community of peer editors to help aspiring writers create quality work through a constant review process.
In this iteration, I chose to expand upon the editing process and see how it works within a community, and perhaps more importantly, question why somebody would want to edit another person’s work. In order for the system to work the thing that is seemingly least desirable (editing) needs to become the most desirable factor. In order to do that, I decided to test gamifying the experience. If I can create a currency within the system, earned through editing, then that becomes a desirable thing to do for the user. I foresee in the future a way to spend that currency, perhaps by selling it to get a particular editor or type of editor to look at your work, or perhaps something else which I have not yet ideated.
I tested two things with this prototype. The first is what a collaborative editing tool might look like. I pictured something in the form of Google Docs or Editorially, where somebody can go in and type freely in somebody else’s work. The only difference here is that the edits would need to be approved, altered or denied, as you’ll see in the next image. I’ve also considered, though have yet to demonstrate, a means where you could invite an editor to become a contributor so they no longer need approval and can freely work without oversight. One thing to note in the above image is that an editor has to explain their reason for editing. This is so the writer can learn and hopefully over time become cognizant of their errors and the writing process, especially since the target user here are aspiring writers who may not be as informed as some of their peers.
The second thing I wanted to think about is how currency works within this system. If you edit something, is that enough to warrant points? Do the edits have to be worthwhile? Are certain edits more deserving than others? I think there will need to be some sort of sliding scale to determine how points will be divvied out. I still need to figure out the close to this loop. We now know how to get the points, but what do you do with them? What makes them valuable? I’ll need to answer these questions in my next prototype. I’ve also learned there are many different types of editors and that you need different things from editors at different points in the writing process, so I will address that accordingly as well.