2.0 Skimming the surface

-an ultra low resolution view of the UX.

First, a point of clarity.

EVR does not have “users” as such. Throughout our documentation & design we stay well away from the term “user” for the passivity & consumer-orientation that it implies. We refer to persons we serve as “members” because they take an active role in the proliferation & maintenance of the platform. We do not peddle in memes or microblogs, promote doom scrolling or passive entertainment. Our aim is to provide not so much a “feed”, as with a “landscape” from which they may browse, forage, or cultivate according to their tastes.

On the surface

Evr presents the same functionalities that we've become accustomed to in a social networking/ media app. Members make their profiles, search for, create, & share "content" with one another. In this way we land very close to the tried-and-true models of UI, so there isn't much of a learning curve. There is nothing unique in what we are expecting/asking of our Membership base. -The difference is in what they can expect in return from their efforts, and what emergent properties can be wrought with the devil exorcised from the details.

Opportunities

Members come to EVR for the Opportunities, these are the basic units of content on the platform. An Opportunity is a public offering to participate in a specified activity with the person who generated it. Searchable by area of interest, participants, Time/Date/Location, or tag, Opportunities also display the Reputation of the person posting. Interested parties then respond to these Opportunities with an offer to engage. With mutual consent established, the engagement is set.

Engagement

Coordinated via agreed upon time-place-participant & activity; participants begin their Engagement by affirming the interaction is taking place and authenticate it by scanning a QR code (or similar active process). *Now pay special attention, because THIS is where the magic happens: at this point in the UX, the app steps quietly to the side as participants disengaging from the UI, and engage with one another. It is in this liminal space, guided by mutual interest & facilitated through shared pursuit, that interpersonal relationships take their shape. EVR is a cartography company, we help our members to map the environment around them; -their journey is their own.*

Review

Once the Engagement is complete, participants relate their experience of both the person & activity they engaged with. The inputs consist of a simple sliding scale across independent fields including the Nature, Aptitude, & Communication of the person involved, and how Enjoyable, Meaningful, & Intuitive the activity itself was. Importantly, reviews are contextual & relate to the specific Verified Interaction (the completed engagement) in which they occurred.

Repeat

While highly superficial, the sequence of find something to do, do it, & review it is the most frequent pattern of interacting with the app. There are a great deal more explicit actions taken by Members, but above are the minimum requirements for participation.