Focal: Constructive Social Media
“Where you can be vocal and focused.” Focal is a mobile app that aims to solve the problem of the current social medias where people can complain about anything but can’t feel a sense of resolution. Focal is centered in solutions and leads discussions to actions.
Services
Service, UX
Type
Student Project
Year
2019
In 2019, people expressed their opinions online more than ever on social media platforms. In many countries, including Thailand, social media has become a crucial tool for driving free societal and political discussions. However, these discussions often lack a sense of resolution. Focal is a platform designed to channel people's complaints and opinions in a way that brings conclusions, solutions, and actionable outcomes, aiming to reduce frustration when encountering systemic problems.
Our initial step involved observing online opinion-sharing behaviours. We encountered many forms of expression containing logical fallacies, and not enough that were constructive or helpful. The research also revealed that people tend to feel more mentally fatigued when their continuous voicing of concerns leads to no change. With systemic issues, it is difficult for citizens' voices to reach the responsible organisations or entities, which can lead people to succumb to ignorance over time, and it is easy for public sectors to overlook everyday challenges, especially in countries with significant economic disparities.
Focal's ecosystem map illustrating the value exchanges that make up the service
Focal Application
To facilitate collaboration between citizens and public sectors, we were determined to create an online platform that transforms complaints and opinions into constructive criticism and actions. This simplifies communication with public sectors and allows users to track the progress of responsible organisations. Focal offers a customisable and pleasant experience with an interests filter and simple community rules during the onboarding stage. Once logged in, users can initiate and engage in conversations as they like. With Focal's reaction menu designed to encourage informative and constructive content, we ensured that the platform can be largely self-regulated by its community, with minimal supervision and maximised democracy.
Users can also utilise features such as polls, attachments, comparisons, and a bullet point template to better communicate their arguments. Additionally, topics can be sponsored and highlighted by interested authorities or organisations, increasing the likelihood of resolution and ensuring that contributions are appreciated. For users to follow up on the anticipated improvements once the sponsored topics are closed, they can check in directly with the topic sponsor's official account. The platform also educates users on logical fallacies in a positive manner through trivia displayed on the side menu.
For future development, we plan to introduce a fact-checking feature to enhance discussion integrity and conduct further user and algorithm testing to ensure the platform effectively addresses the targeted problem.
