Creating a Sustainable Online Geek Community in Jeddah

7/30/2019 Creating a Sustainable Online Geek Community in Jeddah

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EFFAT UNIVERSITY

Creating a Sustainable OnlineGeek Community in Jeddah

CS491

Khayra Bundakji

1/9/2013


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Table of Contents......................................................................................................................................................ABSTRACT i

..........................................................................................................................................INTRODUCTION 2

PROJECT SCOPE...................................................................................................2

PROJECT OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................2

METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................2

.................................................................................................................................LITERATURE REVIEW 5

GEEK: A RAPIDLY EVOLVING ETYMOLOGY .................................................................5

GEEKS AND SOCIAL MEDIA .....................................................................................5

Functionality of collaboration: Using restructuring of the music industry as an

example6

......................Functionality of collaboration: Technology and publishing industries 6

JEDDAH AND SOCIAL MEDIA....................................................................................6

GEEKS INJEDDAH ................................................................................................7

...........................................................Results of focus group in GeekFest Jeddah 7

.................................................................................................Casual focus group 7

....................................................................................................3.4.1.1.1 Participants 7.........................................................................................................3.4.1.1.2 Findings 8

.................................................................................................Formal focus group 9

....................................................................................................3.4.1.2.1 Participants 9

.........................................................................................................3.4.1.2.2 Findings 9

..........................................Results to surveys before and after GeekFest Jeddah 10

..................................................................................Invite request survey results 10

........................................................................................Feedback survey results 12

..........................................Results to surveys before and after GeekFest Jeddah 13

...........................................................................Ticket application survey results 13

........................................................................................Feedback survey results 13

...............................................................................................Email subscriptions 13

SUSTAINABLE ONLINE COMMUNITIES .......................................................................13

.............................................................................................................CURRENT SOLUTION REVIEW 16

GLOBAL SOLUTIONS ...........................................................................................16

Creating a Sustainable Online Community in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Khayra Bundakji

Table of Contents ii


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......................................................................................Online platforms (Global) 16

...........................................................................................Ofine events (Global) 16

LOCAL SOLUTIONS.............................................................................................17

........................................................................................Online platforms (Local) 17

.............................................................................................Ofine events (local) 18

LIMITATION OF AVAILABLE SOLUTIONS ....................................................................19

..................................................................................................Global limitations 19

....................................................................................................Local limitations 19

..........................................ANALYSIS AND IDENTIFICATION OF PROJECT REQUIREMENTS 20

RESPONSE TO CURRENT SOLUTION LIMITATIONS.........................................................20

NON-FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS ........................................................................20

......................................................................................Community sustainability 20.........................................................................................Professional reputation 20

....................................................................Incentive for reputation maintenance 20

............................................................................Community-based business models 20

.......................................................................................Personal growth of members 20

...................................................................Streamlining community participation 21

...............................................................................................Casual atmosphere 21

..................................................................................Making members at home 21

.........................................................................................Encouraging innovation 21

.................................................................................Speaking the same language 21

.............................................................................Dierent perspectives - gender 22

FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS ................................................................................22

....................................................................................................Users and Roles 22

............................................................................................................Public user 22

......................................................................................................Showcase user 23

........................................................................................................Member user 23

................................................................................................Member user subtypes 24

...........................................................................................................Admin user 24

CONSTRAINTS ..................................................................................................25

ONLINE PLATFORM ............................................................................................25

OFFLINE PLATFORM ...........................................................................................26

........................................DESIGN OF THE ARCHITECTURE AND ALL RELEVANT ENTITIES 27


Table of Contents iii


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OFFLINE PLATFORM ...........................................................................................27

ONLINE PLATFORM PROCESSES ..............................................................................27

...............................................................................................6.2.1 Subscriptions 28

.............................................................................................6.2.2 Article sharing 29

........................................................................................6.2.3 Sign up and log in 29

.......................................................................................6.2.4 Article submission 30

6.3END-USER INTERFACE ..................................................................................31

...............................................................................................6.3.1 Landing page 31

........................................................................................6.3.2 Article view layout 32

..........................................................................................6.3.3 Submission page 33

............................................................................................................................................WORKS CITED 34


Table of Contents iv


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1. Abstract

The aim of this project is creating a sustainable online community

geographically based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The online community is a

consistent source of news, opinions, and collaboration opportunities by and for

its members. Instilling a community of technologists and businesspeople iscrucial today because many ideas worth monetizing are Internet-based. A

successful Internet startup is based on fast development, wide consumer

recognition, and relaying the idea to appropriate investors. This collaboration

can lead to needed niche industries and job creation in Saudi Arabia. The rapidly

evolving market and the current unsustainable resources used to power the

country creates an undeniable need for technological and business innovation.

Saudi Arabia has many restrictions in meeting and collaborating with like-

minded individuals, which leads to the majority of the able population to fill

social networks. This unique use of the Internet makes it dicult for local tech-

savvy individuals to find each other. Once they do locate each other, theprobability of them actively collaborating is very small, therefore an ofine event

will be incorporated in the project to sustain the community. This event takes

place a few times annually as part of the MENAs GeekFest events. These events

are created and sustained by select individuals in the community. The events

focus group of early technology adopters encourages sponsorship and

investment.


Abstract i


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2. Introduction

2.1. Project scope

There are problems facing dierent sectors of the business community that stop

them from evolving rapidly using technology: (1) Geeks in Jeddah are not able to

find like-minded professionals to collaborate with in the city, (2) investors have

no access to innovative concepts by geeks, (3) technology companies have a

hard time displaying products to exclusively early-adopter consumers, and (4)

geek developers do not have access to a wide range of end-consumers because

consumers are not on the same platforms as geeks. (5) All these problems of

interaction are made more dicult by gender segregation and cultural

dierences, but (6) online platforms in the region have a very short life

expectancy due to unsustainable communities.

2.2. Project objectives

This project seeks to achieve the following: (1) create a virtual and sustainable

space for interaction among geeks in Jeddah, (2) create a virtual and sustainable

space for collaboration among geeks in Jeddah, (3) create a virtual space to

coordinate similar eorts within the geek community, (4) give investors a chance

to collaborate with geeks in creating innovations, (5) fund the project by giving

advertisers a space to present products to geeks, whom are known to be early

adopters of technologies, (6) give geeks access to end consumers in order to

understand the needs of the market, (7) to achieve all these interactions in an

environment ensuring relaxed social norms and transparency.

2.3. Methodology

Throughout the research of the online platform and its supporting ofine event,

collection of data was ongoing. The first step was to gauge the potential

community in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Since online communities based in Jeddah

were found to be unsustainable for a study, it was decided to gather a focus

group. Certain constraints are found when gathering a community in Jeddah,

which include the following:

Public gatherings require permission from the government

Social gender mixing is illegal for non-family members of society

Because entertainment in the city is limited to very few activities,individuals will attend events in which they do not necessarily takeproactive interest


Introduction 2


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Creating an event on Facebook became the easiest way to invite relevantindividuals, but RSVPs tend to be wildly inaccurate, with most claiming toattend but not doing so

The only venues for public events are exhibition halls and hotelballrooms, both of which are costly and negate the required casual

atmosphere

The study was aimed towards individuals grouped as the technological early

adopters. Throughout the Western world, these early adopters have maintained

a stereotype until social media became commonplace. The stereotype describes

early adopters of technology as main users of social media whom are usually

involved in computing or design. The correlating personality traits include

seclusion, anity to reading, and a strong sense of curiosity. The stereotype

also indicates a created culture started in the 1950s that includes dierent

mediums of entertainment such as comic books, science fiction, imaginative TV

series, and role playing games. This stereotype has been described as geek.

Certain constraints were found when finding geeks in Jeddah, which include the

following:

Subcultures embracing entertainment mediums originally associated withgeeks became more popular

Technologies of social media became much simpler and more intuitive touse

Since public gatherings and gender mixing in Jeddah is dicult, the mainhub of social life was moved to the Internet

Smart phones and Internet access devices became more attainable

Lack of public entertainment in the city encourages individuals to findentertainment online

Technology professionals gain knowledge and community interaction onnon-Saudi websites where resources are rich

Many fitting the English-speaking geek stereotype tended to work andstudy outside of Saudi Arabia (this changed during the global recessionwhen employment opportunities dwindled)

In order to attract such individuals spread across a massive online society, an

existing event with a relevant reputation was adopted. As explained in

Limitations of current solutions, reputable profitable events are more

sustained by a local community. After analyzing current ofine events both

globally and locally, GeekFest Jeddah was chosen to create a casual collaborative

atmosphere ofine. GeekFest Dubai was the first event of its kind. The notion

spread to become GeekFest Beirut, GeekFest Cairo, and so on around the MENA


Introduction 3


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region. It gained traction amongst attendees of milestone technology events

such as ArabNet, which attracts relevant freelancers and entrepreneurs.

The three dierent GeekFest events and correlating surveys will be explored and

explained in the literature review. These events were organized by the initiators

of the research. In November 2012, members of the community voluntarily tookthe responsibility of sustaining the community and GeekFest Jeddah 1, which is

to take place March 2013. A change in dynamics occurred where the majority of

organizers are now male.

A literature review of the psychology and sustainability of online communities

was then performed.

Finally, current global and local solutions were studied along with its limitations

in respect to Jeddah.

The analysis and identification of requirements use the current decision making

process of the event and expectations of the potential online community. Both

GeekFest Jeddah and used community interaction on Trello2 to help define

the program of the event, and its tools will be briefly analyzed. The literature of

sustainable online communities will be mapped to local online communities.

Design of the architecture and all relevant entities will draw upon the current

website trends in interface and structure, ensuring users experience the same

sense of casualness felt while using any of their other preferred community

sites. Implementation will give the platform to users to create content and fill

the website with interaction and archives.

Chance of resistance in testing and integration is minimal with the majority of

members being described as early technology adopters and most being

bloggers themselves. By the end of the project, GeekFest Jeddah should have

parallel running systems to gather ideas, plan, and sustain the community of

attendees.

The conclusion will include the initial feedback from 10 members of the core

community. It will also include the future plans of the community and what

restrictions still lay in light of current website trends, such as mobile sites.


Introduction 4

1 Pronounced and interchangeable with GeekFest Jeddah Delta

2 A online tool used for organization collaboration that can be open to the public with dierentlevels of members


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3. Literature Review

The focus of reviewing the literature is to define working sustainable methods of

community development, specifically those with anities to geek culture and

technology exploration. After giving a brief etymology of the term "geek", the

first step was to follow the relationship between geeks and social media, as thesubculture is among the first to adopt online communities. By understanding

the eects of individuals independently creating new ways to experience the

Internet, the importance of empowering collaboration between such people can

lead to sustainable participation. Because geeks in Jeddah are the target, data

collection is needed to confirm self-proclaimed individuals share personality

and interests as their Western counterparts. Surveys were given as an

application to attend GeekFest Jeddah and analyzed data has been included.

Before exploring relevant solutions, attributes of sustainable online

communities were defined. Solutions include platform dedicated to either global

or geographically local communities. It was decided to also take ofine eventsinto account as it will ensure sustainability for the online platform. Thusly,

solutions to empower geek collaboration were studied. After researching

solutions, an analysis on its appropriateness to the constraints will be provided.

3.1. Geek: a rapidly evolving etymology

The term geek appeared in American literature in a 1950s science fiction novel

to denote a scientifically inclined individual with limited social capabilities.

Before its use, the term denoted a circus entertainer. During the popularization

of the Internet, the term was casually used to describe the individuals working

to create tools and devices used today to access the Internet. Today, subcultureshave transformed it to be popular (Fox, 2003), and the entertainment and retail

industries are catering to the stereotype. The term has reached mass academic

approval and conjured more than 800 relevant search results on the esteemed

ACM Digital Library3. It still denotes an individual with more systematic thinking

processes leading to possible social inhibitions (Buchen, 2011), but is now

endearment and includes anyone becoming an expert on a topic by will and

determination (McArthur, 2009). This includes topics ranging from film and

music to ecology and politics

3.2. Geeks and social mediaTodays geek has strong ties to social media use, especially in harnessing

functional uses of networking and collaboration (Utani, Mizumoto, & Okumura,

2011). This collaboration can lead to open-source development of software and

media projects, causing a redefinition and restructuring of both industries.


Literature Review 5

3 http://dl.acm.org/results.cfm?h=1&cfid=155121985&cftoken=87495340


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While social networking sites were hesitantly adopted to socialize with family

and friends by the general public, geeks used website forums and media sharing

sites to connect with like-minded individuals.

3.2.1. Functionality of collaboration: Using restructuring of the music

industry as an exampleThe dawn of public Internet use showed a cultural emergence. Platforms such as

Napster, a music sharing site, showed the promise of projects developed on the

side by individuals unknown to the then-sturdy music industry. A basic

fundamental shift in concept collapsed an entire industrial structure of

manufacturing and distributing music.

Social media use eliminated the need for core structural agents, namely the

following three: (1) artist managers and sta, (2) physical production of CDs and

tapes, and (3) physical stores to distribute the CDs. This example is used to

highlight the ability for any artist to directly sell their product to consumers in a

decentralized and relatively unaccounted fashion. The true investment

opportunity remains in providing equipment and exposure platforms such as

The X Factor and The Voice.

3.2.2. Functionality of collaboration: Technology and publishing industries

IT security and software development companies found the same type of

industry restructure once open-source operating systems like Linux and White

Hat Hackers came into light. Traditional publishers of magazines and

newspapers found readership leaning towards the blogosphere4. Blogs and

open-source methods of creation had less cost and more innovative solutions

than centric managed conglomerates.

3.3. Jeddah and social media

Saudi Arabia has a very limited and constricted place for social interaction. The

very basic form of online social interaction, the online forum, proves to heavily

aect local individuals emotional, social, and intellectual growth (Al-Saggaf &

Weckert, 2004). Using this instance of social media interaction, it can be

deduced that the general public as of late use more sophisticated mediums to

maintain relationships and explore interaction in order to evolve. Research

indicates this is the case for expatriates facing isolation from community(Hattingh, Matthee, & Lotriet, 2012). Online communication is clearly not needed

to the same degree in cultures encouraging public interaction and communal

experiences. From this we can highlight the diculty in which Jeddahs geeks

face when seeking each other.


Literature Review 6

4 blogosphere n. all of the blogs on the internet as a collective whole


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3.4. Geeks in Jeddah

Several surveys were taken over the span of 2012 to better understand the

needs of geeks in Jeddah. All results are from Saudi-based individuals highly

interested in local geek events promising a community of collaboration. The

initial event of GeekFest Jeddah at the end of 2011 was chosen to be an all-female event because of the apparent understanding of social media from more

females than males. Many of the first Jeddah-based social media experts were

women as of August 20115. Many Jeddah-based blogs also belonged to women

at the time. This may have been due to the small percentage of public female-

only spaces compared to the majority of male-only spaces; Men have the option

of sports, online caf activities, and many other forms of spaces.

3.4.1. Results of focus group in GeekFest Jeddah

In October 2011 an open invitation was announced on Facebook and Twitter for

GeekFest Jeddah

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, which was to act as a hands on focus group. To adhere tolaws, it had to be gender segregated. Since the organizers and interested

majority were female, the focus group event was all-female. The event was to be

held in November 2011, but was cancelled due to the venue having business

licensing issues; also associated with gender mixing and gatherings.

3.4.1.1.Casual focus group

Instead of GeekFest Jeddah , an open invitation to a small dinner was

announced as a casual meet up with no speakers or sponsors. This formed the

first focus group. Loose discussions covering what each of the 10 participants

knew about geeks in Jeddah took place.

3.4.1.1.1 Participants

Participants were all female and shared the following traits:

Between the ages of 16-30 years

Had their own website/blog

Were very passionate about an activity/interest and curated information ontheir website/blog

Could easily speak about topics outside their expertise in order to learnmore

Were very friendly after initial ice-breakers Were diplomatic, open, and straightforward in their opinions


Literature Review 7

5 As mentioned on an episode on That Jeddah Podcast (http://www.jeddahpodcast.com/2011/08/episode-41-that-social-media-episode.html). More academically acclaimed referencesare unavailable.

6 Pronounced and interchangeable with GeekFest Jeddah Alpha


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Were active participants of discussions on the GeekFest online platformbefore the event

Had at least one device at the time to access the Internet

Many intended participants could not be there due to transportation issues

3.4.1.1.2 Findings

The following points were brought up and agreed upon by the majority:

Importance of HTML & programming for bloggers

There were geeks in Jeddah, but participants did not have any way of

finding them before the invitation from GeekFest Jeddah

Participants that did not identify with the term "geek" were intrigued to

meet self-proclaimed geeks

Geeks share a defining set of traits, at which point one of the participants

showed all a Venn Diagram on the dierence between geeks, nerds, and

dorks, found in the figure below

Geeks have some form of anity towards computing and technology

Figure: Image provided during casual focus group discussion on dierence between nerd, geek,

and dork


Literature Review 8


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Topics discussed casually among participants included:

The importance of back-end web knowledge vs front-end

Social networking platforms

Internet memes7, which participants expressed enthusiasm for finding each

other to share this common interest

Social networking platforms

No mention of male geeks was made

Improvisation exercises to practice creative collaboration

1. Formal focus group

The purpose of gauging a community was formally announced and attendees

were again invited for a more serious focus group discussion in February 2012.

A brainstorming session took place February 19, 2012. It concentrated on what

would attract geeks in Jeddah to an event and how an atmosphere of innovationand collaboration could be created.

3.4.1.2.1 Participants

Participants were all female and shared the following traits:

Between the ages 16-28 years

Very active members of society

Were very interested in learning new things

Most had their own blog/website

3.4.1.2.2 Findings

The following points were agreed upon by the majority:

Geeks are individuals aliated with technology and computing

The Jeddah geek community would benefit by focusing on technology

interests

A female-only or gender-segregated event is more comfortable

A casual event like GeekFest is very appreciated, as all similar events are

very formal and not open to students

Other points included the following:

Some participants did not use social networking platforms because they did

not enjoy the online Jeddah community and felt they were not relatable


Literature Review 9

7 "mm: noun an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within aculture". In this instance, the culture being cyber space and the ideas being images and songs.The most recent instance of "meme" is the song "Gangam Style" by PSY.


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The self-proclaimed geeks did not enjoy an only virtual environment

Many participants could not be there because of transportation issues

1. Results to surveys before and after GeekFest Jeddah

GeekFest Jeddahs online presence was created as GeekFest Jeddah 8 was being

planned. The event took place at two dierent venues to respect gender

segregation laws. The event took place in April 2012 and launched a loose

community based on Twitter, Facebook, Google+9, Instagram10, and

DeviantART11.

1.1. Invite request survey results

An invite request survey was required to be filled in order to attend the event.

The survey aimed to assess the needs and expectations of geeks in Jeddah. 107

surveys were filled.


Literature Review 10

8 Pronounced and interchangeable with GeekFest Jeddah Beta

9 Google+: a recently growing social network from Google http://plus.google.com/

10 Instagram: a smart phone based photo sharing community http://instagram.com/

11 DeviantART: an online global community of artists which had a very heavy following in Jeddahbefore 2007 http://deivantart.com/


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Figure: Life status from GeekFest Jeddah Beta invite request survey released March - April19,2012




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Figure: Interests from GeekFest Jeddah Beta invite request survey released March - April19, 2012

Figure: Gender from GeekFest Jeddah Beta invite request survey released March - April19, 2012

1.2. Feedback survey results

A feedback survey was given to all interested in the event, with 42 responses. It

gathered an understanding of expectations and what attendees defined the

event.

All questions were aimed towards only the event and gender segregation,

making it irrelevant to the project.




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2. Results to surveys before and after GeekFest Jeddah

Planning for GeekFest Jeddah 12 began in May 2012 and took place October

2012. A similar but more automated invitation system as GeekFest Jeddah Beta

was used and more data was collected. After the event, two metrics were used

to gauge community participation: a feedback survey and a rate of email

subscribers. The type and number of email subscriptions remained passively

collected until the publication of this research.

2.1. Ticket application survey results

Using EventBrite, surveys were filled about interests. Findings showed a higher

number of freelancers and professionals compared to last event. Number of

female attendees dropped to less than 40% of total attendees.

2.2. Feedback survey results

After the event, two metrics were used to gauge community participation: a

feedback survey and a rate of email subscribers. The feedback surveys only

included questions towards the event and gender segregation, making it

irrelevant to the project.

2.3. Email subscriptions

The type and number of email subscriptions remained passively collected until

the publication of this research: a total of 8 months.

Subscribers were asked to specify what level of involvement they wanted with

GeekFest Jeddah. Results are as follows

13 core members: Wanted to know everything about GeekFest Jeddah and

participate as much as possible

9 important meetings & fun meetups: Wanted to only know of important

organizer meetings and any time geeks wanted to casually meetup

6 fun meet ups and events: Wanted no part in organizing the events

91 only events: Only wanted ocial GeekFest Jeddah events

88 did not choose. This may possibly be due to them not receiving the

emails.

2. Sustainable online communities

As of 2004, place-based communities were taken as a research standard

(Blanchard & Markus, 2004).Enterprise online communities based on interests,



12 Pronounced and interchangeable with GeekFest Jeddah Gamma


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technology, and team goals were found to have more frequent visits than those

focused on recreation and idea generation (Muller, Ehrlich, Matthews, Perer,

Ronen, & Guy, 2012). The engineering of having more frequent shorter visits

rather than intensive few visits helps in monetization of the website and

creating a more casual atmosphere, which are two objectives of the platform.

Using principles of strengthening exercises in place-based communities, we can

ensure sustainability of the online community. Some exercises include rituals

and gift-giving (Krieger & Mller, 2003). Both of these exercises can be fulfilled

by having a regularly occurring community-powered ofine event. Using the

events as milestones and having the community bond in preparation for them

creates pre-event rituals. Encouraging a helpful and bonded atmosphere creates

collaboration in the place of gift-giving. The cycle of members interacting online

and ofine will facilitate event attachment (Farnham, Brown, & Schwartz,

Leveraging social software for social networking and community development at

events., 2009), which creates a sense of community, theoretically forming an

attachment to the online platform. The website can function much like Pathable

(Farnham et al, 2009), the application to connect at conferences. During the

events, the online platform will be available to discuss happenings and get the

most out of occurrences given that more than one experience will be available.

The events and meetups can function as a third place (Farnham, et al., 2009),

which is a physical space of regular interaction aside from work and home. The

research shows that accompanying technology to a third place strengthens the

sense of community in the space and connects individuals sharing place

attachment.

Aside from consistent interactions, sustainable online communities rely oncollaboration. Collaboration requires trust and cooperation. Of three common

forms of communication (text chat, text-to-speech, and voice), voice has been

proven to create the strongest form of trust and cooperation (Jensen, Farnham,

Drucker, & Kollock, 2000).

A life-cycle perspective on online community success (Iriberri & Leroy, 2009)provides success metrics collected from empirical studies of online communitiesover the past decade:

Quantitative metrics include size (number of members),

participation (number of visits, hits, logins), contributions (number

of messages posted per period), and relationship development

(extent of contact between members). [] The common

qualitative metrics of success are member satisfaction and quality

of members relationships.




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Figure 2 'Online communities' life-cycle' as found (Iriberri & Leroy, 2009 p.11:14)

According to the online communities life-cycle, the geek community is at the

level of growth.




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4. Current Solution Review

4.1. Global Solutions

This section focuses on solutions open to the global public.

4.1.1. Online platforms (Global)

Publication site io9.com specializes in producing content on science, science-

fiction, and all things related in the future including psychology and technology.

With it comes a supporting online forum for readers to interact on community-

sourced topics. There is a way to follow and friend fellow members. Members

can sign up using one of the major social media networks such as Google+,

Facebook, and Twitter. It is not aimed to be a place of collaboration.

Zerply13 is a professional network site allowing members to showcase their

design and technology work as well as their curriculum vitae. It brings together

all their accounts on dierent social media and portfolio sites. Members can

follow, chat with, and endorse each other, creating a type of community based

on professional needs of collaboration and hire. There is also a conversation

module where members can start conversations that will be seen globally, and

others can reply, like, and share it. This gives a lot of room for reputation

building and idea exchange, but has mostly been used to share opinions on

general topics. Members can sign up using a new name, Facebook, or Twitter.

4.1.2. Ofine events (Global)

Geek Girl Meetup14 is an event for women "interested in web, code and business

development" to connect at an event coined as "un-conference". The "un-

conference" takes the template of a conference with lectures, workshops, and

networking, but is made to be casual and engaging. The term especially suits

technology professionals requiring an environment to connect with peers and

come to solutions15. Each event is organized by a local group of interested

individuals using experience and advice from the other chapters. It is clear that

the niche attendees benefit from learning from each other's experiences and

exploring opportunities. Investors can also gain from having a community of

similar interests and backgrounds in one place.

GeekWire events16

are based on the news syndication site GeekWire.com. It isintended to be by and for technology/digital professionals in Seattle,


Solution Review 16

13 http://zerply.com/

14 http://geekgirlmeetup.com/

15 http://www.unconference.net/unconferencing-how-to-prepare-to-attend-an-unconference/

16 http://www.geekwire.com/events/


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Washington and works to sustain the community collected on the website. It

also posts job opportunities on the website and exposes its members within a

community page17 on the site.

Meetup.com is an online platform allowing local groups around the world to

form an online database. When any member of the group wants a meet-and-greet style event, they can suggest one for a core administration to create. Once

an event is decided upon, all members are notified. Many technology

professionals choose this platform to create collaboration opportunities for

themselves. Produced events result in understanding local trends and job

opportunities.

Geeks On A Plane18 take the notion of local meetups and add international

visitors interested in cross-border collaboration and investment. The online

platform is aimed towards the travelling businesses and potential local event

planners. It is an invite-only event requiring application beforehand. It is

sponsored by many companies making it clear the importance of collaborationand computing professionals.

4.2. Local Solutions

4.2.1. Online platforms (Local)

3aish Jobs19 is an example of how online local initiatives are dicult in being

maintained by a community. Looking to be an initial service in finding jobs or

freelancers, the site is a platform for displaying credentials and posting job

opportunities. Members sign up as either an employer or a freelancer and must

create a new account. All participants are encouraged to comment and createdialogue on job postings. The site shows the diculty of a local online platform

has despite being supported by known entities such as Design Magazine of

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This diculty is highlighted by the need for such a

service. In lieu of using the website, hiring local creative talent depends solely

on word of mouth and Facebook pages, both of which allow many deserving

individuals to elude popularity.

Bayt.com is a platform for individuals to post job experience and companies to

post job opportunities. It also contains technology to make appropriate

matches. It includes a news syndication service, advertising space, and in-depth

research of business in the Middle East. All features which have made it the first

choice in finding and understanding regional jobs and careers.


Solution Review 17

17 http://www.geekwire.com/community/

18 http://geeksonaplane.com/

19 http://get3aish.com/


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An important dierence between Bayt.com and 3aish Jobs' member participation

is the type of sites they are. Bayt.com is a complete profitable company and

3aish.com is a site made for and by creative professionals. The participation of

members with monetarily sustainable sites seems to be more than sites created

for the community.

4.2.2. Ofine events (local)

ArabNet20 is mostly a conference "for Arab digital professionals and

entrepreneurs to connect and learn", but calls itself a "hub" and includes other

events as road shows. It is the closest to the intention of the project, but is

sustained by writers and administration hired by the company. It also has a

number of strategic partners and sponsors and advertising space. They have

become a trusted entity among technology and Internet businesses in the

reason.

Social Media Week is a global event powered by Nokia "exploring the social,

cultural and economic impact of social media." Their mission is "to help people

and organizations connect through collaboration, learning and the sharing of

ideas and information"21. The event was to make its first debut in Jeddah in

September 2012, but just a week before the event released the following

announcement:

"The Jeddah community has reacted wonderfully to Social Media Week Jeddah,

and we had several distinguished local, regional and international guest

speakers and esteemed thought leaders in the field scheduled to showcase and

share findings, data and business solutions to support us in our daily business

lives.

However, today, we were delivered some unfortunate news. Due to instructions

from local authorities, we must postpone Social Media Week Jeddah. While the

situation is out of our hands, we are complying and will return to Jeddah in

November."

The announcement came after authorities became wary of social media uproars.

This is a very common occurrence with debuting Jeddah-based events. This is

unusual in light of the event being backed by companies as Nokia, Aljazirah

Ford, Eat University, The Loft, Red Sea Mall, Unilever, Abu Dawood and Al

Arabiya TV. Unfortunately, with protests in the region starting on social media,the technology associated has been met with apprehension instead of utilizing

opportunity.


Solution Review 18

20 http://arabnet.me/

21 http://socialmediaweek.org/conferences/about/


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4.3. Limitation of available solutions

4.3.1. Global limitations

In the global cases, the online platforms ignore aspects of the region such as

bi-linguistic opportunities (Al-Salman, 1996) and cultural references. As shown

in the data, geeks of Jeddah are mostly full-time employees and students, both

of whom do not have the ability to attend events outside the country at any

time. Even if they did, most global initiatives are intended to create a

sustainable community local to the event, taking away the benefit for many

travelling.

4.3.2. Local limitations

In all the local cases, the online community formed is on a need basis.

Members only search for and contribute when they are in need of work or hire,

and leave the community soon after. This takes away from having a consistent

source of information.

In light of the local events, the level of formality is higher than that which is

needed in the region as it is mostly B2B and employment mapping services.

They are also target technology professionals, taking away from the creative

solutions to be found by artists and entrepreneurs. They are also mostly

beneficial in introductions and networking, not collaboration.

It should be noted that the local ofine events make no attempt to facilitate an

online community, while the global events take every opportunity to sustain

strong virtual ties during times of no event.


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5. Analysis and identification of project

requirements

5.1. Response to current solution limitations

Using the previous sections findings of current solution limitations, the

following points of focus were derived:

5.2. Non-Functional Requirements

5.2.1. Community sustainability

5.2.1.1.Professional reputation

The clearest trend for both ofine and online sustainable local platforms is the

trust and maintenance by the public of profitable and reputable companies. The

decision was made to make a reputable online platform by producing relevant

needed news and providing advertising space.

5.2.1.2.Incentive for reputation maintenance

As will be further explored later in the chapter, online interaction from users of

local websites depends on the reputation and promise of profitability. Websites

and communities on social media platforms associated with global and

regionally acclaimed companies are more sustainable than volunteer-based

websites centered on ideals or vague activism. Thusly, information must be

gathered to present sponsors and advertisers with incentive to make the website

reputable and profitable.

5.2.1.2.1.Community-based business models

Community-based business models can take value created by the community

and make it profitable (Krieger & Mller, 2003). Attaining the trust of a

community increases customer retention rate. Having a self-sucient focus

community available to propose ideas and spread campaigns virally saves a lot

of time and money.

5.2.1.2.2.Personal growth of members

Research has shown that eective networkers are promoted more quickly

within organizations, more easily find new jobs across organizations and earn

more money (Farnham et al, 2009). The article further describes professionalnetworking behaviors such as maintaining contacts, socializing, engaging in

professional activities such as attending conferences participating in community

groups, and increasing visibility to others. Highlighting all these attributes that

can be learned will provide incentive to companies based on growth to take part

in the event. Universities and training facilities can gain from encouraging their


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trainees to participate in the online community. The visible support of such

institutions will lead to sustainability.

5.2.2. Streamlining community participation

One of the more attractive features of an online community is the existing

activity. While GeekFest already has many platforms with activity, it is imperativeto feature popular activity on the website in order to continue discussions. That

is to say, if there is a hot topic on the Google+ page by members, it should be

noted on the website with links to all replies, encouraging the conversation to

continue in the community.

5.2.3. Casual atmosphere

In order to bring the most participation from the community, a constant feeling

of casual etiquette must be maintained on the website. A casual atmosphere will

encourage honest opinions that will lead to community trust.

5.2.3.1.Making members at home

Such an environment can also be created by giving members the social media

tools to which they are most accustomed. Members should be able to share

anything on the site with any of their preferred social networks. By interacting

with the project's online presence in various ways, members will constantly be

encouraged to participate and share content with their own friends.

5.2.4. Encouraging innovation

5.2.4.1.Speaking the same language

Despite Jeddahs first language being Arabic, early technology adopters havebeen found to prefer speaking in English. This may be due to most technology

terminology and available resources being in English. Along with this is the

organizers inability to speak in Arabic. All these factors have led to the

requirement of the online community to be in English with encouragement to

use tools such as Google Translate to communicate.


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5.2.4.2.Dierent perspectives - gender

It is also clear that women make up a very small part of mixed-gender websites,

only coming to equal or majority number in female-targeted social networks.

Research has found women to integrate their IT education far less into leisure

time than men (Stanton, Guzman, & Fagnot, 2006). The decision to deeply

integrate the site in members' preferred social media networks will helpsustainable use.

Encouraging social network integration can also help in changing the

demographic of users by including more female-centric networks into the

structure (i.e. Pinterest22).

5.3. Functional Requirements

5.3.1. Users and Roles

The following are the 4 user types to access the website with detailed lists on

access and interaction ability.

5.3.1.1.Public user

The most basic form of interaction is by the public user, which should be able

to do the following:

Have access to all articles posted on the site.

Have access to an RSS23 feed.

Subscribe to an email newsletter that allows choice in what news theyreceive.

Sign up as a member user using one of the following existing socialmedia networks:

Google+

Facebook

Twitter

Share articles on the following platforms:

Facebook

Twitter


Solution Review 22

22 Called the fastest-growing social network of all history, Pinterest is known to have women asthe majority of its members. It allows users to share links on self-curated pages. http://pinterest.com/

23 Real Simple Syndication


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Google+

Pinterest

LinkedIn

Read comments on articles Navigate the website's following sections:

About

Categories

Contact Us

Latest Community News

5.3.1.2.Showcase user

There is a subtype of public user named showcase user, which should be able

to do the following:

Do everything a public user can do

Submit advertisements for the ad space on the site

Submit a maximum of one article a month directly to admin for approvaland post

5.3.1.3.Member user

A public user can sign up to become a member user, which should be able to

do the following:

Do everything a public user can do

Comment on articles

Submit articles for approval and eventual publishing

Have their custom username if they choose

Report abuse or spam in comments

See all other members

Become an admin user by an admin user's permission


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5.3.1.3.1.Member user subtypes

There are subtypes of member users, named and described as follows: (1) an

aliate user is an individual representing a company aliated with the

community admin. They must be able to submit articles featuring job

opportunities and deals. (2) An investor user is an individual representing a

company or themselves that seeks business ideas and brings member userstogether for project development. They must be able to submit articles featuring

calls for proposals and job opportunities.

5.3.1.4.Admin user

A member user can be upgraded to an admin user, which should be able to do

the following:

Do everything a public user

Do everything a member user can do

Approve submitted articles

Write and post articles

Upgrade member users to admin user role

Edit member users' profiles

Delete member users

View reported comments

Edit modules of the website

Modify the HTML code of the site


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Figure: Basic Use Case of website

5.4. Constraints

Members privacy will be ensured by using industry standards of login

processes. Aiding this will be the use of sign in with external social networking

accounts.

5.5. Online platform

Use cases


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5.6. Ofine platform

The main concern of the ofine events is the constraint of requiringhuman committee of organizers. The present system of membersvolunteering to take part has ocially taken a step forward in organizingGeekFest Jeddah .

All organizers of GeekFest Jeddah have been replaced by volunteers,and more than half the organizers of GeekFest Jeddah have beenreplaced.

A nomination system can be implemented in the form of posts,comments, and polls if a shortage of volunteers occurs.


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6. Design of the architecture and all relevant

entities

Flexibility of admin capabilities is kept intact in decisions. WordPress.org waschosen as the final platform to build the website. Due to cost constraints,WordPress.com was used until such time to switch. The platform is easy toaccess and use, allowing for dierent admin to maintain site without need forcomments in any code.

6.1. Ofine platform

The ofine platform is an event at a specified location in Jeddah that invites

collaborators and sharers of geeky interests. This event acts as a conference and

includes tools for users to learn and share knowledge that can lead to

entrepreneurial endeavors. The ofine event is organized by the community of

Jeddah-based geeks for themselves twice three times a year. Ofine public

agents are defined as investors and direct consumers of the collaboratedproducts from the events.

The ofine event will use the online community to:

Inform members of upcoming events

Oer showcase users visual floor plans of upcoming event with prices

Gain volunteers and ideas

Provide polls and surveys for organizer nominations

6.2. Online platform processes

The online platform is used to keep users in touch and for them to contribute

knowledge and definition to the entrepreneurial industries of technology and

design. The platform will also be used to organize the ofine events. Users will

be encouraged to sign-up using their own preferred social network such as, but

not limited to, Facebook or Twitter.

The following are main functions and its platforms. WordPress.org has a large

collection of plug-ins available to create secure processes using appropriate

APIs.


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6.2.1 Subscriptions

WordPress has a rich plug-in directory and integrates well with MailChimp, an

email campaign manager. Using a MailChimp plug-in, public users will have an

option to subscribe to email newsletters.

These newsletters will be automatically made and manually sent throughMailChimp. The following is the sequence diagram to subscribe.


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6.2.2 Article sharing

Posts will act like articles that can be shared by public users. Sharing buttons

will be provided on the article allowing sharing with accounts such as Twitter,

Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, Digg, and Reddit.

6.2.3 Sign up and log in

In it is Janrain Engage that will be used for logins. Janrain has a WordPress plug-

in allowing users to securely sign in using network accounts from Twitter,

Facebook, Google, and Yahoo.


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6.2.4 Article submission


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6.3 End-User interface

6.3.1 Landing page

The layout of the landing page


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6.3.2 Article view layout

Interface after article is selected


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6.3.3 Submission page

Layout of submission page. The form is a WordPress plug-in; the submitted

article will be emailed to the ocial GeekFest email for review.


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Creating a Sustainable Online Geek Community in Jeddah

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