On types of users we’re hoping to have
Following the previous post about infopoint categories, let me just signal that this is closely related to the type of users we want BlooSee to have: every possible sea-lover out there. Although I am a cruising sailor, and so are other team members, we’ve tried from the start to have a broad approach to how we want people to relate to BlooSee, thinking about different user profiles than our own.
This means we’ll try to have a system able to accomodate all kinds of people relating to the sea: cruising sailors like ourselves, but also racing sailors, but then also kite-surfers as well as scuba-divers, sport fishers as well as beach relaxing holiday-makers, dinghy sailors as well as inland water sailors, and, well, you name it.
By combining the information provided by different kind of users we can aspire to have a complete a geographical database as possible. In other words, we’re designing the system we’ve always dreamt of as both sea-lovers and internet users.
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On infopoint categories
Infopoints are categorized. This allows for grouping of related items, and switching on and off the visibility of those items. It is practical for, say, a sailing cruising skipper planning a vacation who wants to see all of the facilities in the area they are looking at, but doesn’t care about fishing spots or underwater interesting areas. On the contrary, a windsurfer will be interested in windsurf/kitesurf spots and beaches, but less about navigation aids.
At this point we’re pretty sure about the categories we have, but this might of course change as we further test the system.
The present categories are:
- Facilities
- Navigation Aids
- Services
- Sports and Activities
- Tourist Information
- Underwater
- Fishing
- Other resources
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What it looks like
Since the system is private for the moment, I thought I’d share some screen captures to show what it looks like. You can click on each image to see a larger version.
But first let me show you some of the preliminary designs we developed:
First designs - Explore section
First designs - Groups
Although we had some okay-looking designs, before coding the actual XHTML we decided to go back to what’s essential, Continue reading »
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First status report
This project was but an idea on (virtual) paper about a year ago, but we’re currently getting ready to launch the first beta version with actual users.
I thought it would be clarifying to shortly mention where we are, what we’ve accomplished so far and what are our expectations for the near future. Continue reading »
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About the project
Bloo See is a new web-based project targeted at sailors and sea-lovers in general, a place to exchange geographic data related to navigation (harbors, anchorages, dangers, navigation aids, etc.), create and share routes, as well as a social network oriented towards people with interests in the sea environment. The core of the system is a map of the world with information updatable by all registered users, thus keeping an up-to-date global navigation chart. The system will be in constant development, adding data and functionalities as it evolves into a richer source of nautical information. Continue reading »
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Our log starts here
This is our very first post.
From now on we’ll use this space to keep you posted about how the Bloo See development is going, what features are being implemented, and what other features we intend to implement in the future. Do not hesitate to use this place to add comments and let us know about things you’ll like to see in the system.
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