Link to my notes, thought process, and progress in my project as it was being made: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1T1ymld68Lme5Atb8xlJYhGXi5wk3vyfcELXHy8e81BI/edit?usp=sharing

In Speculate Everything: Design Fiction and Social Dreaming (2013) by Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby they explain speculative design as having an “A” and a “B” side. The “A” side of the process follows a clear, predetermined path with a specific purpose, while the “B” side is more exploratory, allowing for speculation, new ideas, and consideration of alternative approaches (Dunne & Raby, 2013). As I mentioned in my first rendition of this hack, “B was not intended to replace A but to simply add another dimension, something to compare it to and facilitate discussion” (Dunne and Raby, 2013). I feel as though in my initial model of this hack, I did the complete opposite of this. My intention was to take Google Docs, the “A” side, and make it into a social media platform with numerous uses, the “B” side, but I initially failed at doing this. I wanted to make Google Docs more playful and social by making it into a form of social media, but I completely made it lose all forms of seriousness by neglecting most of its features. This second time around, I wanted it to have both a sense of professionalism and playfulness. I want users to have a choice between how they want to use the platform. That is what separates it so much from other forms of popular social media that already exist. 

Dr. Mark Sample summarizes Nick Monfort’s five layers of digital media in Platform Studies as Historical Inquiry; or, Videogames Bleed History (2011). In this we see that at the base of all digital media is the platform. This is essentially just the hardware that runs whatever software platform you want to use. For example, in the case of repurposing Google Docs, our laptops and computers would be our platform. Next is the code and the form and functioning of our software. This refers to the set of rules the software follows and the main mechanics for how the software is used (Sample, 2011). This is then followed by the interface of the software and hardware. This refers to the keyboard you use, how the program you are working with physically looks, etc. (Sample, 2011). Lastly, reception and operation is at the top. This is how people interact with and perceive the software. This is how users make sense of what they are working with (Sample, 2011). Most of the time when discussing the five layers of digital media, people are referring to videogames, but I feel as though they apply to make a project of repurposing Google Docs as well. All of the layers of Google Docs remain the same when I am repurposing the software platform, except for reception and operation. Nothing about the platform is physically changing or being recoded, I am simply applying the features that are already available in Google Docs to make the software platform be seen in a new, creative light.

In my revisiting of this hack, I wanted to encapsulate both the main features of Google Docs that we all know and use on a daily basis, but also the features that get completely overlooked as we do our professional work. I obviously wish I could expand upon this hack even more and have many of my friends interact with it and have much more variety in responses as real people test it out, but unfortunately it was only me who got the chance to interact with it as many of my friends were busy with their own work during finals period. I would love to see how real people would interact on this platform because I feel like Google Docs really has all the tools and features to be able to cater to all types of users. In order to discover a lot of these features, I honestly was just playing around with Google Docs and clicking on almost every little feature it had. When doing this, I stumbled across this feature called “Smart Chips.” There are so many tools in the “Smart Chips” feature. I found that you can put the specific location of a place, link real peoples’ email addresses, set a timer, create a checklist that you can interact with in real time, set dates, create polls for people to vote, and many more. I implemented most of these features as they felt they would be extremely useful for people to be able to express themselves. Some of these features felt more playful, and others felt more professional. To give users that choice between either a more social or professional use of the software, I added features that caters to both types of users. This truly allows for such a wide variety of uses for all users. People have the ability to freely express themselves in any way possible, no matter how serious or jokingly it is. I feel like the second time around, I did a better job at this. Again, that is what makes this repurposing of Google Docs so special and unique.